W. H. Kilpatrick was published a paper on ‘The Project Method’ in 1918. He was a chief proponent of this method.

He mainly
focuses on the purposeful activity and problem solving capacity of the students based on their needs, interest, attitudes and abilities.
He was influenced by the John Dewey’s Pragmatism principle.
The term project is no longer reserved for the planned undertaking calling for the constructive thought and action. Project means
almost any undertaking. It is activity oriented buy it is more than the simple activity. It advocates of this the education should be
related to the life situation. It the experience centered teaching activity. The main focus of this strategy is socializing the child and
developing the problem solving ability.
Definition
 A project is a whole-hearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social environment – W. H. Kilpatrick.
 A problem is a problematic act carried to completion in its natural selection – R. L. Stevenson.
 Project is a voluntarily undertaking which involves constructive effort or thought and eventuates into objective results – Thomas and
Lang.
Types
According to Kilpatrick there are four types of projects. They are:
1. Constructive project:
Practical or physical tasks such as construction of article, making a model, digging the well and playing drama are done in this type
of projects.
2. Aesthetic project:
Appreciation powers of the students are developed in this type of project through the musical programmes, beautification of
something, appreciation of poems and so on.
3. Problematic project:
In this type of project develops the problem solving capacity of the students through their experiences. It is based on the cognitive
domain.
4. Drill project:
It is for the mastery of the skill and knowledge of the students. It increases the work efficacy and capacity of the students.
Other types
Individual and Social (Group) projects:
In individual project every students solve the problem in their own according to their interest, capacity, attitude and needs. It
develops the problem solving qualities individually and not the social qualities. In the other hand Group projects the problem is
solved by the group of pupil in the class. Here the social, citizenship qualities and synergism are develops.
Simple and Complex project:
In the simple projects the students are completing only one work at a time. They are also focus the work in the one subject or one
area only. It gives the deep information about the project in a one angle. The students get deeper knowledge about the problem
deeper and broader.
In the complex project the students are carried out more than one work at a time. They are focuses on the work in various subject
and angles. Here the students get the knowledge about the work in various activities and dimensions.
Principles
1. Principle of Purposefulness
The project should be purposeful, and that should have some main objective. The objective should give the enthusiasm and
work to the students, otherwise that will be a wastage of time and energy.
2. Principle of Utility
The project should be useful to the students and the society. It will give some value to the students. From the good project
the students as well as the society get the benefit a lot.
3. Principle of Freedom
The students are free to select the topic and execute the work according to their well and wish, interest, attitude and
capacity. The teacher just a guide and give a guidelines to execute that.
4. Principle of Activity
Project means the purposeful activity, at the end of the project the students gain knowledge through their activity. It is based
on the principle of learning by doing.
5. Principle of Reality
Project should be real and related to the life situation of the students and the society. Only then they would be able to
complete the project naturally and really. Imaginary problems are not taken up in the project.
6. Principle of Social Development
A good project focuses society needs, social development, and usefulness to the society. A single project solves the
problem of the thousands of the people or the society.
7. Principle of Planning
The student develops prior planning in advance about the project. They find solutions for - How? When? What? Where?
Why? So, good project develops the problem solving capacity and prior planning for the execution.
Steps
Project method has the following steps:
1. Creating Situation
In the first step teacher creates the proper situation to the students in the class. He puts up the knowledge about the project
method procedure, steps, and uses to the students. After that he should give the proper motivation through conversation about the
day to day life problems to the students.
2. Selection of the problem
Then the teacher helps the students to select the problem and guide them. Here the students are having freedom to choose
the topic or problem based on their interest and ability. Before choosing the topic the principles should be taken in to an account.
3. Planning
 The teacher discuss with the students about the problem in various angles and points. He should create the situation to the
discussion with the students and they are allowed to talk freely and openly. After the free expression of the students’ opinion about
the problem, the teacher writes down the whole programme of action stepwise on the blackboard. The grouping is made by the
teacher based on the interest and ability of the students.
4. Execution
The students are stating their work in this step. They are collecting the relevant information/data and materials at first. The
teacher should give the time and right to the students according to their own speed, interest and ability. If need arises, he will
provide the necessary help and guidelines to the students. He demands the groups to complete the project in the particular time.
5. Evaluation
Here the students evaluating their task. They determine whether the objects are achieved or not. After that they criticize and
express their feeling about the task freely. They report the planning, selecting the task, execution and the entire thing are discussed
in the class. The entire things are collectively reported to the teacher.
6. Reporting and Recording
It is the last step of the project method in which each and every step of the work are reported. The reported things are
recorded in a certain order in a book form. The record is useful for the further use and future reference about the project. It reveals
many ideas about the concern project. The book formatted report is submitted to the teacher at the end.
Advantages
 It is students centered, activity based method.
 Students involves whole-heartedly in the learning process according to their needs, attitude, interest and ability.
 This method is related to the life situation of the students.
 This method develops the problem solving ability to the students.
 It makes the students as independent.
 It gives the real work experience to the students.
 It develops the social qualities and synergism in the students’ heart.
 It develops the responsibility realization of the students.
 By this the students organizes the planning things in an order.
Limitations
 It is a time consuming method.
 It is difficult to complete the prescribed syllabus in a particular time.
 It is a very costly method.
 It is not applicable for the lower classes.
 All topics are not able to teach through this method.
 It is not applicable for the all schools.
 It needs so many materials for the execution.
Reference
 Kilpatrick W. H. 1918, The Project Method, Teachers College Record, Columbia, p.319-335.
 Green T. L. 1965, The Teaching Biology in Tropical Secondary Schools, Oxford University Press, London, p. 35-62.
 Sood J. K. 1989, New Directions in Science Teaching, Kohli Publishers, Chandigarh, p. 146-149.
 Rawat S. C. 2002, Essentials of Educational Technology, R.Lall Book Depot, Meerut, p.197-206.

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