What it is

The Project-method is widely used in the traditional Danish educational system. It rarely functions as originally intended, but the method has been maintained - not least because the connection between the qualifications and competences you acquire and the methods which are used in the acquisition process (the project-method).

The increasing use of projects in trade and industry requires that the employees are capable of working in a way which resembles project-organised training very much. For managers and other staff it will be important to have knowledge of the methods - among other reasons because they might easily end up functioning as either project group members or as project leaders.

The main principles of the project-method are:

1. Problem orientation

2. Participant control

3. Interdisciplinary coherence

4. Theory-practice relations

Problem orientation

The problem orientation entails that a project must take a definite problem as its starting point - basically it ought to be a problem, that which the individual participant could formulate himself- among other reasons to ensure participants interest in the process. Preferably with so much of an interest that there is a basis for considerable change in the participants' competences.

The problem orientation is also used in order to ensure that participants get used to asking questions (and not only to answer questions), and that they get the experience to finding the answers to the questions (solving problems) themselves.

Participant control

Participant control is actually a logic consequence of the problem orientation. At least as far as participant-influence is concerned. When it includes trainer control as well it is to ensure the subject relevance and to ensure that something is actually happening - even if it sometimes seems a little difficult.

Interdisciplinary coherence

The interdisciplinary coherence is logically connected with the fact that no problem of any significance can be answered by means of knowledge from one discipline (subject) alone. Problems are by nature interdisciplinary. It is not an attempt to erase the knowledge already established in the individual disciplines, but on the contrary to ease the participants' transition from one subject to the other - simply by working in an interdisciplinary way.

Theory - practice relations

The relation between theory and practice should be seen in very close connection with the acquisition of the necessary knowledge. "Nothing is as practical as a good theory".

It is thus important partly to look for theories, which can explain practical problems, and partly it is important that practice can contribute to the improvement of the existing theories.

Another fundamental problem of Project-organised training is the division of responsibility. The participants often find that what goes on in the training is the trainer's responsibility. In project-organised training, responsibility is divided. Therefore it is necessary to agree on how it should be divided. Also this is in accordance with what takes place in trade and industry. Delegation of responsibility, project group work and the overall responsibility required of every single employee to make the whole function.

Special demands are placed on the role of the trainer and the delegation of responsibility in connection with project organized training.

Methodological considerations

The training is planned in such a way that the following phases normally have to be carried out:

1. The Introduction phase

will often be necessary because the participants are not used to this method of work. Stating the reasons for choosing project-organised-training is therefore also part of this phase

2. The Choice of problem

is determined by the training area in question, i.e. the trainer chooses a problem area depending on what is to be learned in the training concerned and which elements of the total training process are to be covered by this particular method of work

3. The Problem formulation

is the task of the participants - if the trainer does it, it is precisely not project work, but some sort of extended group work. It is traditionally a difficult phase because the participants are not necessarily used to formulating problems (asking questions). They are more used to answering questions.

4. The Planning

is naturally very important. As is all planning. It may to some participants be very tempting to skip this phase, however, it is important to hang on to it - also because in itself, this is a way to learn how to plan (by actually planning).

5. The Implementation

is the actual implementation of the project, the project group has decided to carry through. Preferably it should also be a question of working with a project, the implementation of which the company finds very important, and which also provides good opportunities of learning something - something that the participants do not know in advance.

6. The Production

is also a very important part of a process using project-organised-training. There is (and always ought to be) a product requirement. I.e. the participants must achieve certain result. This does not have to be a written report, which it very often is, however.

7. Evaluation

is naturally also an important part of the project. The participants arc entitled to get an evaluation of the work they have performed as well as an evaluation of the method of work (the process). Thus there must always be a continuous evaluation as well as a final one.

8. A Supplementary Phase

is very often necessary. This may be due to the fact that the participants find that it is a bad training method, because they produced some bad products. Of course this is not necessarily the case. If the participants have learned something, they did not know beforehand, all is well.

The role of the trainer and the division of responsibility

One thing is always difficult, and that is the role of the trainer, using the project-method work. It is not similar to the traditional trainer's role, and it is challenging to both participants and to the trainer himself.

Roughly speaking, the trainer will have to act as partly “the creator of structure”, and “the teaser”, throughout all the various phases.

At the beginning of the process a structure has to be established (the trainer’s choice of project). In the problem formulation phase the participants must work on their own – to a large extent.

If the frustrations grow too much the trainer naturally must step in.

In short the trainer must be “the creator of structure” when there is a need for that, but not until it becomes absolutely essential, and he must act as “a teaser” when the participants try to skate over something, or when they have skipped something etc.

Another fundamental problem is – as mentioned above – how responsibility is shared between trainer and participants.