AQPC

Author:  Isidore Lauzier, retired teacher, Collège de Maisonneuve

The project approach places both the teacher and the student in a rich and rewarding learning situation.  And although there is quite a bit of talk about this approach, there is very little documentation relative to its use.  As such, its implementation varies considerably from one teacher to the next and from one course to another.

This article presents the results of an experiment led by Marius Caron2, one of my colleagues in the Electrical engineering technician Program.  We undertook this educational process about ten years ago and it has become more systematic in the last five years with the advances in information technologies.

Why the project approach?

We have outlined the conceptual framework that underlies the educational principles in question before describing the experiment in greater detail. 

From today’s teaching perspective, it is important to give students a global vision of what they will be learning.  When students are put into a real life situation with a problem to resolve, they seem to have great difficulty in making a preliminary analysis and breaking down a complex problem into simpler parts.   They lack initiative and find it difficult to apply a problem solving process; they expect everything to work just right the first time around, and remain unaware, as it were, that the natural learning process is precisely that of seeking a solution to a problem or improving upon a proposed resolution. 

This situation can be explained by the fact that very often the evaluation objective takes precedence over the learning objective.  This causes students to fear a bad evaluation if they try to implement a personal solution; in so doing, they distance themselves from constructivism and a competency-based approach.  We know the student must construct his own knowledge and that his learning should not been limited to a set of procedures and memorized content.  The integration of learning implies the progressive construction of a coherent whole based on a range of knowledge, skills and abilities and the implementation and use of newly acquired knowledge in various situations (Perrenoud, 1995, p.  20-24). The transfer of knowledge occurs when prior knowledge influences the way new knowledge is acquired (Tardif, 1997). 

It is very important for students to set up their own experiments.  This results in the development of greater skills, self-confidence and greater motivation in their progress toward more complex knowledge.  Their reward lies in their understanding and achieving concrete results.  At a more advanced level, they will work more effectively with abstract concepts.  In short, they assume responsibility for their own learning.

1 So as not to weigh down the reading, the masculine gender is used throughout.  There is no implied discrimination. 

2 Marius Caron has taught design and computer assisted design at Collège de Maisonneuve for the past 28 years.  This experiment took place during his courses and was the result of his personal initiative.  His commitment to his students, his availability and his ability to work within a team made this experiment a great success.