Contents Preface ?xi Acknowledgments ?xv Introduction: How Children Really Learn ?1 Potatoes, Potatoes, Potatoes ?1 Learning Is in the Brain ?2 Connected Learning ?3 Synaptic Junctions ?5 Brain Structures ?6 Pruning ?8 Respecting Child Thinking ?9 Play as Mental Development ?10 Pillars of the Mind ?11 Using What We Know ?14 1. ?Projects and Young Children ?15 The Project Approach ?16 Intellectual Competencies of the Early Years ?22 More on Building Mind and Brain Capacity ?23 Guiding Projects With Young Children ?25 2. ?Getting Started ?29 Issues in Selecting Topics for Projects ?29 Anticipatory Teacher Planning ?38 Building Common Experiences ?44 Finding Out What Children Already Know ?45 Developing Questions for Investigation ?48 Setting Up the Classroom for Investigation ?48 The Next Phase ?51 3. ?Developing the Project ?53 Beginning Phase II ?53 Preparing for Investigation ?56 Moving Into Investigation ?62 4. ?Investigation ?63 Field-Site Visits ?63 Debriefing ?70 Moving Into Phase III ?80 5. ?Concluding the Project ?81 Culminating the Project ?81 The Power of Documentation ?86 Types of Documentation ?87 Using Materials and Equipment for Documentation ?95 Distilling Documentation ?96 Evaluating the Project ?97 6. ?Preschoolers Engaged and Learning ?99 The Camera Project ?99 Learning as a Journey ?112 7. ?Using the Project Approach With Toddlers ?113 The Fire Hydrant Project ?113 The Sign Project ?122 Diverse Pathways to Rich Experiences ?125 8.
?How Projects Can Connect Children With Nature ?127 Thinking About Children?s Contact With Nature ?127 Finding a Project Topic on Nature ?128 Overcoming Teachers? Fears of Science ?130 Investigating Nature ?131 Sharing Nature Projects to Educate Others ?134 The Canada Goose Project ?135 9. ?Project Investigations as STEAM Experiences ?141 STEAM and the Project Approach ?141 STEAM Disciplines ?143 The Airplane Project ?147 STEAM in the Airplane Project ?150 10. ?Responding to Challenges Teachers Face in Project Work ?153 ?Yes, But? Thinking ?153 Focusing on Teacher Decision Points ?156 Final Thoughts From the Authors ?172 References ?175 Index ?181 About the Authors ?190 Project Planning Journal ?.