Project-Based Learning for Pre-school

Description

Pre-school teachers have a huge responsibility to educate tomorrow’s citizens, but it often feels hard for them to provide children with 360-degree, meaningful learning experiences. How hard does it sometimes feel to create a deep understanding of topics and life competencies?

If you also cope with similar issues, project-based learning (PBL) may interest you. It is an educational approach that involves students working on a project over an extended period to explore and solve real-world problems or questions.

PBL is well recognized as an effective methodology in higher grades of education, but with some adjustments, we can turn it into an invaluable tool for your preschool classroom.

During the course, participants will discover PBL through a variety of inspiring examples, and find out how to incorporate the PBL methodology into their own teaching experience.

Participants will learn which tools are best for preschool students, how to effectively evaluate their learning, and how to be a good mentor in order to promote problem-solving, critical thinking, autonomy, collaboration, and other 21st-century skills.

Practical strategies and tools will be available for you to nurture children’s key competencies, such as literacy, numeracy, sequences, cause and effect, sizes, and comparisons, and you will be ready to use a working PBL model you’ll have shaped for your own students!

Finally, the course will explain how to plan a successful, manageable PBL activity.

By the end of the course, you’ll have realized how PBL can provide you with great solutions to design fruitful learning experiences, that encourage your young learners to take action on relevant issues for them and you’ll have gained the confidence and enthusiasm that is necessary to exploit the opportunities it offers.

Concept by Cristina Salvatori

Learning outcomes

The course will help the participants to:  

• Understand what PBL really is and how it can be useful for any educator;
• Incorporate preschool curriculum topics such as literacy, numeracy, sequences, cause and effect, sizes, and comparisons into PBL;
• Get hints and tools to motivate students and boost their key competencies;
• Gain insight into a variety of activities that you can use in PBL (and beyond);
• Confidently implement PBL in their classes and/or school communities;
• Assess PBL products confidently;
• Evaluate students’ learning of curriculum topics;
• Create detailed, effective, manageable PBL lesson plans for preschool education.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Course introduction

• Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools.

Let’s get started

• Understanding what project-based learning really is;
• PBL in pre-schools;
• Motivation in PBL.

Day 2 – PBL for 21st-century skills

• Project, task, inquiry-based learning; 
• 21st-century competencies;
• Examples of PBL in pre-schools.

Day 3 – Implementing PBL

• PBL: Finding a topic relevant to your class;
• PBL: The structure;
• The driving question;
• Frequently asked questions.

Day 4 – PBL design and assessment

• Creating a detailed PBL lesson plan;
• Different types of assessment.

Day 5 – Make it happen

• Completing and presenting your PBL plan and rubric;
• Brainstorming and discussing school-wide PBL programs.

Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities

• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
• Excursion and other external cultural activities.

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