The Project Work as a Way to Promote Group Interactions: An Experience From Teachers to-be in Primary Education

This work is an answer to one of the problems still unsolved about the teachinglearning process, related specially to the used of project work for the achievement of a higher group interaction for the sake of a cooperative English learning process. The proposal presents the design of a group of project works for the units of the English program from Teachers to be in primary Education. It contains the way students were organized so as to favor group interaction as well as the results obtained from their application. Introduction One of the purpuses of our schools today is to intend and to achieve good levels of material and cultural development for its population, along with an uninterrupted social process in which an excellent place is granted to the education of people. As teachers, we recognize the formation of the present and future individuals as an essential part in the construction of the new society. Our education based on its historical mission and on the interests of the labor class, has as an end, the formation of the new generations and whole people according to the scientific conception of the world, which is the dialectical and historical materialism, to develop the individual’s intellectual, physical and spiritual capacities, and to foment on him, high human feelings and aesthetic likes. 1 Associate Teacher, Language Departament, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Las Tunas University, Cuba. Email: [email protected] 108 International Multilingual Journal of Contemporary Research, Vol. 2(3), September 2014 The achievement of this purpose implies the continuous and permanent improvement of the quality of the educational process, incorporating the scientific contributions to the pedagogical professional practice which enrich the human culture and set rules regarding the theoretical conception and the practical instrumentation of the teachinglearning process. Schools must educate in coordination with the needs of society, to develop the individual not only for its personal profit, but mainly for the benefit of the community he or she is part of. The role of our school is indispensable in the accomplishment of such task. The school should offer the students the mechanisms that allow them to Iearn for themselves in such a way that those skills acquired while learning may be useful when meeting the challenges of their professional careers. Therefore, project works in the educational process gain further didactic and educational values every day. Dr. Carlos Rojas expressed that “the recognition of the role of project works as a way of cognitive activity is a question broadly accepted in the pedagogical literature as well as by the professors and teachers; however all the results expected from its application have not been achieved yet.” (C. Rojas 1982) So, our students need, beyond any doubts, to learn how to carry out a project work, how to study, how to think; abilities which are not acquired overnight. It takes conscious, systematic work until students feel the need to acquire the contents for themselves. The study about the effectiveness of project works has been the goal of this investigation for the following reasons:  It is adjusted to the problems of each territory and its schools and has to do directly with the quality of the teaching-learning process.  It becomes necessary that professors and students be concerned about the quality of project works as a way to improve the learning activity and the cognitive independence.  It is necessary to achieve in the students an independent, dialectical and creative thought by means of a project work system, as a fundamental component of the intellectual education.  Project work as organizational form of the process propitiates the development of qualities in the personality. Kenia Santiesteban Leyva 109 Many authors have researched into project work, but students have only deepened on the cognitive part, not on the qualitative one. It has been approached by different foreign authors as: Klingberg (1972), P.l.Pidkasisti (1976), N. Talizina (1985). In our country, project works have been subject of investigation, by authors as Gladys Valdivia (1988), Rojas Carlos (1982), Alberto Labarrere (1996, 1998), Rico Pilar (1996), and Josefina López (1990). At Pepito Tey Teachers Training Collage this topic has been researched by Marcos Conde (2000), Yoannys Martínez (2000), Yuritza Pérez (2000) and Alexis Vásquez (2001). Nevertheless, the literature consulted does not reflect project work as a way to promote group interaction. That is the reason why this investigation has declared the following : Scientific problem: The none stability of group interaction related to the activity of studying in group II from Teachers to be in Primary Education. Investigation objective: Validation of a set of project works for the achievement of a greater stability of group interaction during the activity of studying from Teachers to be in Primary Education. 1.1 Foundation of the Proposal For the determination of the proposal an initial diagnose was applied to characterize the current state of students; among the main difficulties we found are the following: the low development of abilities on finding main ideas, on summarizing, on Iocate information and the none existence of suitable learning strategies in the majority of the cases and the lack of cooperation on the fulfiilment of tasks. Taking all this into account the author decided to propose the development of project works because it is proved that a better organization of the activities of studying constitute an essential way to the solution of the difficulties. 110 International Multilingual Journal of Contemporary Research, Vol. 2(3), September 2014 The author determines to apply project works as an organizational form in order to transform the situation of the group because project work, not only facilitates the cognitive development of the students, but also the qualitative one when it is organized in a form that favors cooperative learning. It allows the solution of the contradictions between the level of the student ́ knowledge and the complexity of the new tasks, between what they owned and what it is asked. In this solution the students must be confident, sure on the taking of decisions, students need hours of laborious search that allows them the self evaluation of their possibilities and efforts. They also need to develop the collectivism this work becomes richer in the way the partners criticize, value and bring new contributions. It also favors to achieve a better group interaction, making better consolidation of the relationships. Professors should keep in mind the orientation of project work in a systematic way, to achieve not only a better learning in the students but also a better interaction among them. For it, teachers should analyze the personal characteristics of the students, to know everything, starting with a diagnosis not only to look for information in the cognitive area but in many other respects. With the development of project work, students get the necessary knowledge that allows them to act and to move with decision and independence and to face the challenges of life from the own school. In general sense it contributes to the formation and development of the personality, as well as it promotes a better group interaction among the students which is something that favors their learning. lt was necessary also to determine how to organize project work, for that the author decided organize them in such a way that will promote group interaction and in turn contribute to the solution of the cognitive problems detected. lt was necessary to make an analysis of the English syllabus of the Course for Teachers to be in Primary Education which has a total of 60 hours class, with a frequency of 4 hours class every two weeks and its content is distributed in 6 units. Among the general objectives of the syllabus one is the consolidation of habits in the development of project work on the students. Kenia Santiesteban Leyva 111 1.2 The Study Made was Based on the Following Questions Which are the main objectives and contents that are propose in the English syllabus? How to raise the development of the abilities of: to summarizing, to determine the main ideas and to locate specific information by means of the treatment to those objectives and contents propose? How to raise the development of group interaction from the content is proposed in the syllabus? What are the most appropriate units for the realization of project works? What grade of difficulty do the contents offer for the realization of project works? Reflections on the organizational and methodological order were made. They favored the taking of decisions in the elaboration of the proposal, based on the following questions. Which are the means we have for the implementation of this proposaI? What points students, which are the possibilities they offer? Are the students capable of working independently with these means? What time should be devoted to the realization of project works taking into account the level of difficulty of the tasks, time of solution and the desired results? How to make the distribution of the tasks of studying? Which are the possibilities of interaction among the students that the way in which the project work is organize offers? 112 International Multilingual Journal of Contemporary Research, Vol. 2(3), September 2014 In which phase of the lesson is the realization of the project work more productive? Which is the structure that the selected project works should have? Which is the methodology that should be followed during their elaboration? How to fulfill the stages of orientation, realization and control? How to carry out the analysis and evaluation of the results?