Learning by doing is critical in early education. Projects, especially those involving collaboration with peers, enable children to develop a wide range of skills. Children gain knowledge and skills in learning environments centred around projects, as they are able to work consistently over a period of time on a specific question, problem or challenge.
National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage-2022
By their very nature, projects involve flexibility and continuity over a period of time. This in turn allows each child to explore and discover, thereby developing critical thinking and problem-solving. Children also get opportunities to collaborate with each other, learn to manage themselves, ask questions, inquire, and thereby learn. All these are critical life skills not only for schooling but also later success as young adults.
Projects, for this Stage, can be short and simple to be within the grasp of young children. Authenticity is key to project-based learning. Children engage with a real-world context and are allowed
to pursue their own interests and questions. Sustained, and real-world opportunities are provided to children for exploration, discovery, and critique, which contribute to their growth and learning.
There is no correct or incorrect answer either during the process of doing a project or in its outcomes. The implication is that a child can, without fear of failure, explore their own creative
thinking. In this way, projects nurture the natural curiosity of children, and allow for exploration and discovery. Children’s learning needs are met, while their ideas are valued, and their interests
and creativity nurtured.
An advantage of project work is that it allows students to work with a broad range of content, instead of simply reading about and attempting to memorize content from a textbook. In this
way, Teachers do not cover the content but rather set up opportunities for students to discover and interact with the content and to connect it with any number of disciplines and real-life experiences.
This interaction involves the acquisition and application of skills, discussed later in more detail.
By nature, projects are interdisciplinary, involving as many subjects as language arts, social studies, math, science, art, drama, dance, and health-along with any number of real-life experiences. In addition, projects provide occasions to acquire, practice, and apply skills used within academic disciplines and real-life scenarios.(NCFFS-144)
Reference and Excerpt
National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage-2022
https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/NCF_for_Foundational_Stage_20_October_2022.pdf