4 BULLETIN 346, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Lack of unity in definition. — In many sections where teachers talk 

 of projects there seems to be a lack of understanding of the plan and 

 a lack of unity in definition of the term. According to some teachers 

 any effort toward giving their work a practical turn is termed a 

 project. Others have used the word in lieu of "practicum," so that 

 simple laboratory exercises are spoken of as projects. In a general 

 way a project is anything mapped out or planned to be done. The 

 term has been used for years by this department in connection with 

 its work and that of the experiment stations. The term, "home 

 project," however, has come to have a special meaning in connection 

 with the teaching of agriculture. It is essential that this meaning 

 be agreed upon before plans for carrying out the idea are discussed. 



ESSENTIALS OF A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT. 



Definition. — The following definition of a home project is sug- 

 gested: The term "home project" applied to instruction in elemen- 

 tary and secondary agriculture includes each of the following requi- 

 sites: (1) There must be a plan for work at home covering a season 

 or a more or less extended period of time; (2) it must be a part of 

 the instruction in agriculture of the school; (3) there must be a 

 problem more or less new to the pupil; (4) the parents and pupil 

 should agree with the teacher upon the plan; (5) some competent 

 person must supervise the home work; (6) detailed records of time, 

 method, cost, and income must be honestly kept; and (7) a written 

 report based on the record must be submitted to the teacher. This 

 report may be in the form of a composition or a booklet. 



A project to cover an extended period at home. — -A distinction should 

 be drawn between a project and a simple exercise used as a prac- 

 ticum to illustrate some principle, or for the purpose of increasing 

 skill in some operation of farm or shop. A project, to be worthy 

 of the name, should involve skill in many operations and the appli- 

 cation of a number of principles. To accomplish this it should cover 

 a branch of farming that will extend over a comparatively long 

 period of time. The testing of seed corn may be cited as an example 

 of a simple laboratory exercise performed at school. The stringing 

 of seed corn would be a suitable home practicum, the aim of which 

 would be to acquire skill in a useful operation. The growing of an 

 acre of corn would involve both of these operations and many others, 

 hence it would be a worthy project. 



It is obvious that if the term "home project" is applied in a strict 

 sense the work should be carried on at home. In case a suitable 

 project may not be arranged for a student at home, there shouldbe 

 no objection to the student working away from home. If this work 



