In your day-to-day teaching you are most likely trying to achieve many things at the same time: You will want your students to acquire subject content, vocabulary, an ability to analyse information, problem-solving skills, confidence, discussion skills and so forth. However, in developing your project, it is important that you select a key goal (or potentially multiple goals) which your project addresses. Some goals that your project might address are listed in the Example Projects section of the website, but you might find that you want to focus on something else.
Whichever goal you choose, here are some things you might wish to consider when deciding on your goal:
| Am I expecting too much or too little from my pupils? |
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Our research and experience shows that all teachers we have worked with, regardless of the kinds of students they taught, have been surprised about their students’ capabilities, learning or engagement: their students could do things they had not expected. So it is important not to lower your expectations even if you work with a challenging group.
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| What if things don't go as planned? |
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It is good to be prepared that things may not always go according to plan initially, and it helps having someone to talk it through with. You may even end up with different goals than you started with and that’s fine as long as you keep recording your original and emerging goals.
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| How small is ok? |
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Our partner teachers recommend that “rather than just a one-off lesson, make the Toolkit approach part of your routine.” However, it is perfectly fine to start with small steps (see Starting Out Small). What is important is that you are open to being surprised. |
Once you have decided on your project goal, enter it in the Project Planning Template. Our partner teachers found that recording your project plans together with a clear timeline was key to success.