The Project Method in Practice

William Heard Kilpatrick’s essay on “The Project Method,” first published in 1918, argues for a method of education in which students’ school activities are inspired by their own interests and guided by their own purposes. This article describes the project method as it is carried out in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades at an independent school. The authors explore the tensions between students’ purposes and teachers’ guidance that arise during collaborative projects that are chosen by students. They conclude that no set procedure could suffice to direct the work of teachers attempting the project method. Rather, the method calls on teachers to respond sensitively to students’ needs in the moment, reflect on the processes and products of project learning, and hold space for students to co-construct the school curriculum.