Blog Archives

Senior Project- Zen + Project Examples + To Dos

8/25/2023

DUE DATES- ON TIME

Idea Fishing. DUE: Friday, 8/25, Start of 3rd period. Google Classroom.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

Deep Focus Paragraph. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Tuesday, 8/29, Start of Class. Google Classroom.
Signed Syllabus. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 8/31, Start of Class. In Person.

Zen and Motorcycle- Read, Discuss, Write

Discussion Groups (45 minutes)

Divide senior class into mixed groups
Spirit Read (each student shares their line)
1. Discuss patterns, bring into Socratic seminar
Seminar Questions:
1. “The idea that the majority of students attend a university for an education independent of the degree and grades is a little hypocrisy everyone is happier not to expose.” What does this mean? Do you agree? Why/why not?
2. How much are you subject to the “mule mentality” (paragraph 8)? What impact does this have on you? Where does this come from?
3. “The purpose of abolishing grades and degrees is not to punish mules or to get rid of them but to provide an environment in which that mule can turn into a free man.” To what extent are you a mule? To what extent are you a free man?
4. The transformation described in this piece is predicated on the idea that everyone has an innate “creative intelligence” that has been stifled. Do you agree with this premise? Why/why not?
5. “He’d be a knowledge-motivated person. He would need no external pushing to learn. His push would come from inside.” When have you felt this? What contexts/subjects are conducive to this experience?
6. How motivated are you by grades? How motivated are you by knowledge? What implications does this have for your senior project?
7. Make sure to note that senior project itself is ungraded...how then, can we connect senior project to ideas in this text. Inspiring? Terrifying? Both?
8. Last line: “It would be the real thing.” What do you need to do to make sure your Senior Project is the “real thing?”
9. The world outside of school is one that exists without grades. You succeed or fail based on your track record and reputation as well as a list of your accomplishments, not your GPA. How can the final senior project provide you with an artifact or story that will propel you forward outside of school?
10. How can your senior year help you make connections in the community, locally and abroad? How can those connections help you after your high school career is over?

Final Reflection (15 min)
Take 10 minutes to write. What are you thinking about senior project right now? What hopes do you have? Ideas? Questions? Emotions? How did this discussion spark your imagination, ideas, or intentions? Write the whole time! Now, underline the most interesting line of your reflection, and share it with a partner.

Senior Project Exploration (30 min)

Examples of projects (5-8 projects)
Kyle and I will talk through these different projects:
1. What made them amazing?
At the end, turn to a partner and discuss:
1. What were the common threads that connected these exemplars?
2. What did you learn about what makes a good project?
3. How does this shape your ideas or hopes for your senior project?
4. What questions does this raise for you?

To Do List (10-15 min)
What are your next steps? What do you need to do before we see you next?

Who are you going to talk to?
What do you need to learn?
What decisions do you want to make?

This is your ticket out of class!

Lori will be available 5th period to discuss Senior Projects- if you are totally stuck, or unsure, please come talk to me!

Senior Project- Idea Fishing

8/24/2023

DUE DATES- ON TIME

Idea Fishing. DUE: Friday, 8/25, Start of 3rd period. Google Classroom.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

Deep Focus Paragraph. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Tuesday, 8/29, Start of Class. Google Classroom.
Signed Syllabus. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 8/31, Start of Class. In Person.

Idea Fishing
Finish idea fishing- conference with Lori and Kyle as needed.

Yes/And Protocol (3rd for those absent yesterday)

Group 1- Caleb, Zoell, Kai, Michael, Trey, Zoe , Leela
Group 2- Illyria, Django, Bella, Llew, Porter, Brayden

Senior Project- 3-2-1 Brainstorm, Yes/And

8/23/2023

DUE DATES- ON TIME

Signed Syllabus. DUE: Thursday, 8/24, Start of Class. In Person.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

Deep Focus Paragraph. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Tuesday, 8/29, Start of Class. Google Classroom.

Thursday Schedule

Be in Kyle or Lori's room during 3rd and 4th periods (attendance will happen both of these periods).
During 2nd and 5th, you may work here, or you may choose to work elsewhere if that is more productive for you.
Attend all electives as scheduled.

Idea Fishing
Finish idea fishing- conference with Lori and Kyle as needed.

Senior Project Orientation

8/22/2023

DUE DATES- ON TIME

Signed Syllabus. DUE: Thursday, 8/24, Start of Class. In Person.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

Deep Focus Paragraph. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Tuesday, 8/29, Start of Class. Google Classroom.

Period 2
What Is Senior Project? (30-40 min)
Slideshow overview + Case studies

PERIOD 3
Skills Inventory/Brainstorm (20 min)

Going to think about you as a student and how that relates to senior project in a variety of different ways. Goal is to get you thinking deeply about you and how you relate to this project in an expansive way
Focus on PROJECT, not thesis. We’ll be talking about the thesis more specifically in Humanities on Wednesday
Complete TWO graphic organizer/brainstorms. One is focused on your general traits, and one is focused on concrete skills (send outside, other rooms)
1. Brainstorm 1: Emotional self, goals/dream, interests, behavior/work habits
2. Brainstorm 2: Academic Skills, social/emotional skills, non-academic skills, skills to develop

Paseo (20 min- Commons)

Split into two groups
Paseo Questions:
1. Big broad open
  1. In 10 years, what’s something you see yourself doing that would make you happy
  2. What kind of problems need to be solved in the world/our community?
  3. What is your most valued skill?
  4. What is a skill you would like to have? Why?
  5. What do you want out of your senior year?
  6. What ideas do you have so far for your senior project?
  7. Who would you like to work with or collaborate with?
  8. What dream do you have that seems unattainable?

Butcher Paper Brainstorm
Break into 8 groups of 6-7 students, split into two rooms. In each room there are butcher papers with:

Product- What could you build/create/do?
Topic/Question- What question do you want to answer? What questions are you curious about? What topics intrigue you?
Organization- What organization could you collaborate with?
What questions do you have for Kyle/Lori about senior project, thesis, or senior year in general?

Spend 8 minutes at each. The goal is to come up with as many ideas as possible for the various elements of senior project. Be sincere and serious, but also be open to crazy ideas!

FIFTH PERIOD
Erin CR talks college applications!

Day 1- Syllabus, Contracts, Deep Focus

8/18/2023

DUE DATES- ON TIME

Signed Syllabus. DUE: Thursday, 8/24, Start of Class. In Person.
Deep Focus Paragraph. DUE: Tuesday, 8/22, Start of Class. Google Classroom.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

Nothing yet!

Introductions (5 min)

Name, pronouns, one word to describe your ideal classroom.

Syllabus Review (10 min)
Review syllabus, students sign it. Bring home for parents to sign.

Student Contracts (5 min)
Hit the highlights, students sign it.

The Reading Mind- Read Silently (30 min)
In this class, I will be asking you to focus- to focus more deeply than we often do. To that end, we’re going to start our year with a discussion about what it takes to deeply focus…and what gets in the way.

Spend the next 30 minutes reading. Choose a text that feels right for you. If you finish it, start another. Annotate or jot notes if it helps you. No music, no headphones, no talking.

When we’re done reading, we’ll have time to discusstime discuss in small groups, and then reflect in writing (which you will turn in to me).

Mild Options
1. Does the Internet Make You Dumber? (Nicholas Carr)
2. 5 Ways to Develop Deep Focus (Rohab Ahmed)
Medium Options
1. Stolen Focus Chapter 1 (Johann Hari)
2. Stolen Focus Chapter 4 (Johann Hari)
3. How technology literally changes our brains (Ezra Klein and Nicholas Carr)
Spicy Options
1. Is Google Making Us Stupid? (Nicholas Carr)
2. This is Your Brain on Deep Reading (Ezra Klein and Maryanne Wolf)

The Reading Mind- Discussion (15 minutes)
Discuss the following questions:

What was the most interesting idea or provocative sentence in what you read? Share the core of your text with your group.
What did these texts have to say about how the form or medium of information impacts our habits/brains?
What was your experience of reading this text? Was it easy? Difficult? Did you stay focused, or did your focus wander?
What kind of evidence or support did they use for their conclusions? Which evidence was most convincing? Least convincing?
Do you think that the loss of this ability to focus deeply is a problem? Why/why not?
Do you see benefits in the different skills and types of focus people develop in digital mediums? What might those be?
Do you think it’s important to develop the ability to sustain focus and attention for long periods of time? Why/why not?
How do you see the difficulties with deep focus and sustained attention in your own life?
When in your life do you find that you can attain deep and sustained focus? What about these activities lets you do this?
How do you think these things connect to senior year and senior thesis/project specifically? Why am I making you read this?

Written Reflection (15 min)
Write me a well-structured paragraph in response to the ideas you read.

Choose one of the questions from the discussion question list to answer. You need to incorporate specific references to the text, and make connections to your own experiences.

Please turn this in on Google Classroom.

This is due at the start of class tomorrow, if you need additional time. It is my first sense of you as a writer, so please make it as good as possible given limited time.

Introduce Reading Focus (5 min)
Every day in my class, we will “read” a text for at least 20 minutes, uninterrupted. There will be no phones, no music, no headphones, no notes. Just time to read. Sometimes this will take the form of a visual text, sometimes it will be “reading” by listening to a podcast.

The goal of this is to start building that mental muscle, that brain plasticity, that will allow you to deeply focus when you need to. As the year moves on, we will use this time to deeply read research for your senior thesis. All of this will be done off screen, on hard copies.

What Happens Next?
For the rest of the week, we’re going to be going over Senior Project, and beginning to generate ideas. This is the capstone of your senior year, and is required to graduate. For the next 4 days, we will be working in various permutations- sometimes a whole senior class, sometimes in small groups. Expect to be present periods 2, 3, 4, and 5, except on Wednesday, when we will want you periods 2, 3, and 4.

TOMORROW- Everyone meet in Lori’s room 2nd period!

Senior Project- Zen + Project Examples + To Dos

Senior Project- Idea Fishing

Senior Project- 3-2-1 Brainstorm, Yes/And

Senior Project Orientation

Day 1- Syllabus, Contracts, Deep Focus

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