What is Product oriented activities and process oriented activites in child development?

Question

what is Product oriented activities and process oriented activities in child development? any good site that defines them good and what is the controversy regarding these types of actvities?

thank you for your help

Answer 1

-Product oriented activities are those that expect a certain outcome at the end of the project.  Such as making an "art" activity to look exactly like a model.  You want the children to make the object just as you have.  This form of "art" should only be used if the goal of the activity is to follow directions, or to master another skill- such as cutting, tracing, or developing sensory tolerance.

-Process oriented activities are those that focus on the process of the project- not the outcome.  The children can make it any way they want, and do not have a model in front of them to show them the adult version of the activity.  These are things like easel painting, collages, or playdough work.  There is not an expected product at the end, it is just about working with the medium (paint, paper, glue, etc) and exploring the possibilities.  This is the type of "art" you want to strive to offer continually in your classroom so that the children are not hindered by the adult version of how it "should" be made.  It allows for imagination and creativity that cannot be gained from a "Product oriented" project.

Answer 2

In a product oriented activity all of the children will be expected to do the same thing and have the same result. for example, everyone makes the same type flower following the directions of a teacher. In a process oreinted activity, the children are given supplies and use their own thinking and problem solving skills to create something that is uniquely their's. What the children are learning while doing an activity is more important than what it looks like at the end.

Answer 3

Product oriented activities are one where the teachers want something out of it. The reason you have the activity is because the teachers want kids to -be able to sing the alphabet, -color in the dinosaur green, -make a mother's day card that looks like everyone else's.

Process oriented are activities that look at what the children are getting out of it. The painting isn't about the beautiful picture at the end, it is about how the children learn to hold the brush, move it in different ways, make different colors by mixing paint, and everything else they learn from that.

Process oriented activities are based on children's interests and developing at their own rates. They are more child-centered and reflect higher knowledge about child development and respecting children.

I hope this helps. As an educator, I'm a little biased.