Assignments and projects are a part of the curriculum that aims to hone the child’s mental ability and enrich them with practical knowledge. However, both have different focuses. In this article, we have delineated the difference between them and have reasoned why the best schools in Abu Dhabi make them an integrated part of the curriculum.
Difference between Project and Assignment
Project and school assignments are given to provide impetus to student learning. However, projects are research-oriented, and assignment is text-book based.
Meaning of the two concepts
In school, the teacher gives the kids a project or a research assignment wherein they have to research and present the report. On the other hand, an assignment is fairly easy to crack. It includes questions within the curriculum that the teachers provide after the chapter is completed.
Purpose of projects and assignments
Cramming is a rote way of learning and will do no good for your child. They need practical skills to scale high in their career.
Projects and assignments serve the purpose. The students get real-life experience, and they learn to interact with their peers.
Importance of projects and assignments in school
Project-based learning helps the child prepare for real-time jobs and enhance their soft skills. It is a modern learning method that promotes teamwork and communication skills. The kg schools in Abu Dhabi do it excellently. Here are some more points that emphasise the importance of project-based learning.
1 – It develops critical skills among them
Project-based learning encourages critical thinking and improves problem-solving abilities. By working on different projects, the students gain hands-on knowledge on addressing problems and finding solutions.
2 – Their creativity skills are improved
Project-based learning boosts their cognitive thinking and forces them to think creatively and develop new ideas and possibilities. They learn beyond memorization, and it boosts their confidence to manifold times.
The project assignment helps students hone their time management skills and prepare them for their careers and future endeavours.
3 – To make them feel connected to the lesson
The assignment’s main objective is to analyse whether the students have understood a particular concept. If they are not able to do well in the assignment, it means clarity is lacking. Apart from this, the teachers also assess various other skills.
The importance of school assignments is that they assist the students in their academic learning and help them grab and refresh their skills on the subject. They come up with new problems and discover relevant solutions for them. The practice also makes them ready for unpredictable situations.
The project and assignment help the students in their future studies and prepare them for exams and how to handle real-life challenges. It also helps them to achieve specific goals and focus on their future endeavours.
Examples of projects
Here are some examples of a project that your school might give:
● A project on how to set up a garden.
● Create a family tree
● Show properties of air
● How are volcanoes formed?
Examples for assignment
Here are some examples of an assignment that your school might give:
● Create an assignment about different occupations of the people.
● Describe the planets of the solar system.
● Write five things that you see in nature and briefly explain them.
● What are the different shapes used in maths? Explain with the help of scenery.
Other Differences Between Project And Assignment In School
While both aim to develop the kids’ fine motor and general skills, there is a lot of difference between them. Let’s enumerate the project vs assignment.
1. Projects are off topics, but assignments come within the curriculum
Projects aim at providing you with a comprehensive view of the topic.
While preparing the project, you must conduct deep research on the topic and create a report. The motive here is to assimilate the information, learn from it and present it.
On the other hand, the assignment’s questionnaire assesses the student’s ability to understand and implement the lessons they have been taught in class. The teachers might ask the students to refer to multiple textbooks and then frame the answer.
2. Projects are group tasks, while assignments are solo tasks
The projects are group-oriented activities and teach them collaborative skills, which is vital for their career. They learn to delegate, work in teams and help each other. The assignments, on the contrary, are focused on a specific task. It aims to make the children self-dependent. Completing assignments on their own gives them a sense of accomplishment and boosts their academic performance.
3. In the assignment, evaluation becomes easy for the teacher
A group project must enable the children to evaluate and quantify the student’s performance. It brings out their abilities. The students will work in an area they are experts at, and the rest will leave the task to their partner. So the teachers won’t be able to assess the student’s abilities. It is where assignments come into the picture. It evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the students and gives them a chance to improve. Individual evaluation is the main criterion of the assignments.
4. Projects include hands-on learning, while assignments are textbook oriented
The projects include a field trip to a science museum or creating a science model to understand the phenomenon. Through it, the teachers assess the concept’s clarity. It gives them a lot of experience. Instead of reading, they understand the real working model, while traditional assignments are limited to textbooks.
5. Purpose of Assignments
An assignment develops deep-rooted knowledge of a concept and pushes their learning goals. They are action-oriented and test the direction of a pupil’s thoughts and activities and how they achieve an objective while the project evaluates their research skills.
Signing it off
To sum it up, projects aim at providing you with a comprehensive view of the topic, while the assignments examine the student’s ability to understand and implement the lessons learnt in class. Projects tend to be group tasks, while assignments are solo tasks. Projects can encourage hands-on learning, while assignments examine comprehension of textbook subjects.
We can say that both projects and assignments are vital for the students and help build their communication, public speaking, and written skills. Overall, they improve students’ grades and let them peek into real life.
GIIS school in Abu Dhabi exposes the kids to both forms of learning to make them future leaders.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are projects or assignments more time-consuming for students?
Projects tend to be more time-consuming as they involve more planning, research, and possibly group work, whereas assignments are usually shorter and can be completed in less time.
2. Which one is more effective in enhancing learning: projects or assignments?
Both can be effective, but projects often provide a more in-depth learning experience as they require students to delve deeper into a topic and apply their knowledge in a creative way.
3. Are projects and assignments more common in certain subjects?
Projects are often more common in subjects like science, where hands-on experimentation and creativity are valued, while assignments are more common in subjects like math, where practice and problem-solving are key.
4. What types of skills do assignments and projects help students develop?
Assignments help students develop basic skills like time management and organization, while projects develop skills such as research, critical thinking, and presentation skills.
