Appendix

Brief Description of Project CHILD

See http://www.ifsi.org/projectchild/  for more information, research findings, and classroom videos.

Project CHILD is an elementary school instructional model that provides specific strategies to enhance classroom instruction through technology and active learning. It offers a unique pedagogical framework to differentiate learning for all students. It integrates best practices thoughtfully. The model has identified 20 Essential Components that make it highly replicable.

The CHILD model is framed from the research literature on time-on-task that postulates that students learn best when they are highly engaged in interesting work and motivated to take on challenging learning tasks (Butzin, Joyful Classrooms in an Age of Accountability: The Project CHILD Recipe for Success, 2005). The CHILD instructional model grew out of the realization that the traditional grade school model has severe limitations for the 21st century. It is difficult to meet the needs of 21st century children, raised in a multi-media world, using a one-dimensional instructional model. The added demands for higher standards and a more rigorous curriculum make it difficult for a single teacher to provide instructional depth across every subject.

Project CHILD takes a three-dimensional approach to teaching and learning. It uses a triangulated team-teaching design. Teachers form triad cluster teams that span three grade levels, K-2 for primary and 3-5 for intermediate. This triangulated design promotes high academic achievement across all subjects by transforming the traditional one-dimensional grade school model into a three-dimensional design: 3 subject-focused teachers (reading, writing, mathematics); 3 years to work with students; 3 learning modes (technology, hands-on, paper/pencil).

Students rotate through the three cluster classrooms for instruction in the core subjects.  Science and social studies are incorporated throughout. Each CHILD classroom is set up with six differentiated learning stations: a Computer Station for learning with instructional software and web-based applications; a Teacher Station for small group instruction; a Textbook Station for written work; a Challenge Station for learning in a game-like format; an Exploration Station for hands-on activities and projects; a Construction Station for creative expression. 

After a brief teacher-directed lesson, students work at the stations to practice and apply the lesson content.  The teacher assigns students to their beginning stations; then students move independently at their own pace as they finish the assigned task.  They set individualized goals and keep track of their station work using a logbook called a Passport. Students spend 60-90 minutes in each of the cluster classrooms.

CHILD classrooms are student-centered learning environments. CHILD provides challenging work for all students. The model has been used for gifted students, as well as an inclusion model for students with special needs. Students with limited English proficiency and students with disabilities also thrive in CHILD classrooms. A majority of the CHILD sites are Title I schools.

The CHILD model includes intensive and on-going self-examination processes. Cluster teachers meet weekly to share successes and concerns, using a structured agenda format. They review and analyze student work, and use student data to plan and coordinate instruction. They also conduct structured observations in each other’s classrooms, and do a self-appraisal of their adherence to the CHILD Essential Components on a regular basis.

The CHILD model provides consistency and continuity across the curriculum and across grade levels. By working with students for three years across three grade levels, CHILD teachers learn to differentiate their instruction to meet the needs of each individual child, rather than be constrained by arbitrary grade level restrictions. The three cluster teachers use the CHILD curriculum resource materials to coordinate instruction between subject areas, and to incorporate standards and benchmarks into daily station work. Busy work is not an option.

Students in CHILD classrooms are highly engaged, and learn to set goals, monitor their own station work, and move independently to the next learning station. Disrupted time, wasted time and waiting time are unacceptable. Behavior problems become minimized when the focus is on work and productivity. CHILD students follow daily routines that they have learned during a 10-day student orientation to prepare them for the added responsibilities required in a CHILD classroom. The children rise to the challenge, creating more time for the teacher to work at the Teacher Station with small groups and individual students.