Constructing Targets For Project Learning In Senior History

The Project Learning in Senior History refers to the kind of learning which requires the students actively to study history in a research style, in order to acquire materials and solve problems; and which is under the teacher's instruction and based on the particular questions on Senior History.Teaching targets are the-bases for teaching. The traditional teaching targets pay more attention to the teaching of knowledge, but ignore the cultivating of ability; They lay particular stress on the training of essential learning skills, but ignore the cultivating of thinking and discriminating ability; They emphasize abstract education of ideology, but ignore the cultivating of psychological qualities; They stress the teaching of general characteristics, but ignore the students' individual development.There are three theoretical bases for the target construction of Project Learning in Senior History. The first one is the idea of studying actively and studying by discovery proposed by cognitive learning theory. The second one is the idea of developing the students' individuality and creativity advocated by humanist learning theory. The third one is the idea of laying stress on the learning process, cooperative and interactive learning emphasized by constructivist learning theory.The recent development of educational targets home and abroad furnishes realistic basis for the target construction of Project Learning in Senior History. The course criterion for Junior History (experimental draft) and the course criterion for Senior History issued by the Ministry of Education require that the course of history in a middle school should facilitate the change of students' learning style and cultivating their ability of inquiring historical problems actively and their objective and scientific attitude. The national course criterion by the USA and Britain require: Cultivating and promoting students' ability is very basic; Try to cultivate students' ability of creativity and practice; Try to cultivate their citizen awareness and international awareness. Nowadays in China, the Project Learning being developedpopularly requires: Paying much attention to the learning process and the practice and experience of the students; Cultivating students' ability of discovering and solving problems, collecting and dealing with information; Trying to make students learn to cooperate with each other, form the scientific attitude and the sense of responsibility and mission to the society.The target of Project Learning in Senior History is both plural and integrated. It is a many-sided target system which consists of five parts. The first one is general target which intends to change the students' learning style in the course of history, and to promote the students' ability of creativity and practice. The second one is branch target which intends to cultivate the students' awareness and ability in acquiring historical knowledge actively and in applying it in a research style to solve practical problems. The third one is stage target which consists of two stages. During the first one and a half years in the senior middle school, the main target is to cultivate the students' ability of posing and solving tentatively problems; During the last one and a half years, the main target is to cultivate their ability of solving problems comprehensively. The fourth one is specific project target. When we carry out the specific project, we should try to make all the students develop together and also to make their respective individuality developed, according to the principle that all the students join the project and we pay much attention to the individual difference among the students. The fifth one is the target for the teachers' development. The teachers need to change their teaching concept, to make students as the center of the classroom, to make themselves as the students' instructors and helpers in the aspect of learning, and to continue to work hard and improve their teaching competence.