Senior Project Guide

2010-2011

BibbCountyHigh School

Centreville, Alabama

Table of Contents

Introduction Page 1

The Two Components Page 2

Senior What? Terminology Page 3

Research Guidelines and Hints Page 4

Reflective Essay Page 5

Introduction

What is the Senior Project?

The focus of the Senior Project is to engage every senior in a personalized learning experience. It allows each senior an opportunity to demonstrate interdisciplinary skills and knowledge while investigating a specialized area of interest with the assistance of a community consultant and a faculty mentor.

Purpose

The intention of the Senior Project is to allow you, a graduating senior, theopportunity to demonstrate your skills as an independent learner. Your final Senior Project grade will be used as a major test grade in a second term core course of your choice. This project will become evidence of your ability to problem solve, organize your time and resources, communicate effectively, and reflect on yourself as a learner.

Minimum Expectations

  • All deadlines and appointments with mentorsand consultants will be met and must be documented.
  • Active research will include written notes on the forms provided from personal interaction with human resources such as formal interviews. Active research will also include the use of printed resources including books, articles, websites, and primary sources and possibly the use of electronic media.
  • An annotated bibliography must be submitted on the forms provided and must include at least 10 citations.
  • There will be at least one thoughtful and dated journal entry each week from the beginning of the project to the end. The first journal entry will be due on December 17th and will cover student accomplishments to that date. Journal entries will be consecutively numbered “Week 1”, “Week 2”, etc. and will also contain the date. Journal entries that are not complete will be rewritten.
  • The student will complete a project portfolio, and a product in addition to completing all the assignments and activities.

The Two Components of the Senior Project

The Portfolio – 50% of final grade

The Portfolio is an organized, professional-looking file that documents your Senior Project learning journey as well as meeting several other purposes:

  • It offers an overall perspective of your Senior Project, allowing you to document what you have learned through the project.
  • It provides you a place to keep your work in an organized, useful manner.

The Product – 50% of final grade

This phase of the Senior Project requires you to produce a Product that applies the knowledge and skills you acquire in the research phase. It can be anything that represents a learning stretch for you and is approved by your mentor. It is a representation of something you can do. You might research how P51 Mustangs impacted World War II and then create a series of digital stories, or how to become a luthier and then build an electric guitar. You may find that you want to research the history and techniques of sewing and then design your own collection of purses.

Not all products are tangible. You might research fashion marketing and then, in conjunction with a local department store, direct and produce a spring fashion show. Or you might research how catering is done and then cater a meal for a community volunteer group. In those kinds of situations, your proof of product could be a video/DVD of the event or a scrapbook of photographs and documents related to the event.

The Product is the chance for you to showcase your talents, but, most importantly, it must address your essential question based on what you learn from research and compiling your portfolio.

The Senior WHAT?

If you are confused by all the terminology involved in this project, this page should help.

Annotated Bibliography: This is a compilation of the sources used, in MLA format, and a summary of how each was beneficial.

Clarifying Questions: These are questions with specific answers that assist the student in researching and obtaining conclusions about their Essential Questions.

Consultant: A person from the community that is an expert in the field you are researching for your project. The person must be 22 or older and may not be an immediate family member or staff member of the school. You will ask him/her to help you, interview him/her, and use him/her as a source of information as you work on your project. The consultant will work with you to provide assistance and guidance. Four (4) meetings are the minimum but more are often useful and show extra effort on your part.

Essential Question: Broad based, open ended question that guides the student’s research and product. The interest factor is important because it will give you staying power as you seek answers to your essential question.

Journal: The first journal entry will be due on December 17th and will cover student accomplishments to that date. Journal entries will be consecutively numbered “Week 1”, “Week 2”, etc. and will also contain the date. Journal entries that are not complete will be rewritten. The form to use will be provided.

Portfolio: This is a collection of information about the project you have done. You will work on it throughout the duration of the project. The portfolio will count as 50% of your final grade.

Product: One-half of the Senior Project is for you to produce some sort of product. This is the physical thing that you make, the event that you sponsor, etc. The product will count as 50% of your final grade.

Senior Project Mentor: The teacher assigned to assist you with your Senior Project is your mentor. This mentor will help you tweak your ideas for the project, check that you stay on schedule, and evaluate your work in the end.

Research Guidelines and Hints

Once you have your essential question and approval of your project proposal, you are ready to begin the research. You should use as many different sources and kinds of sources as possible to help you in your quest – 10 are required. You may use printed materials, the Internet, interviews, and digital media, but you must verify the reliability of each source before selecting and completing the annotation. For example, Wikipedia is not an acceptable source because the information provided is not reliable. You must use at least three different types of resources to include at least one book or magazine and one interview. If you have any questions about sources, please see your mentor.

All resources must be cited using MLA format.

Senior Project Reflection Paper Guidelines

You will reflect on your research, progress, and experiences from the very beginning of the project. The real value in your project lies in your honest self-evaluation and reflection. In this paper you will consider and assess the integrity of your process. This final and thoughtful piece of writing is perhaps the most important aspect of your project. Just as you have applied your research to make your product your own, it is important to keep in mind that your final paper is a reflection not only of your entire project, but also of you as a learner. Rather than simply listing your responses, remember this paper is a narrative reflection.

This paper needs to be

  • 500 words or 2 pages
  • Typed
  • Double-spaced

Please use the following questions to guide your writing. Again, please make sure that you discuss your experiences. This is not a summary; it is not meant to be a description of your project. Feel free to discuss both positives and negatives about your work.

Personal

What did you learn about yourself through this project?

What specific problem solving skills did you apply during your project?

What did you learn about motivation, time management, and long term planning?

What specific new techniques did you develop to manage your time?

What specific new techniques did you develop to motivate yourself?

Topic

How do you feel about your selection?

Would you choose the same topic? Why or why not?

1