Senior Project Orientation- Day 1

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. Bears Ears Forms and Money...get it in!
2. Modified Schedule for This Week- 
   1. Tuesday- Meet 4th and 5th periods in the Commons
   2. Wednesday- Normal Wednesday schedule
   3. Thursday- Meet 4th and 5th periods in the Commons
   4. Friday- Normal schedule

​FOURTH PERIOD
Week Overview (5 min)

1. Tuesday- Overview and project skills (Combined pods, 4th and 5th periods)
2. Wednesday- Senior thesis and writing goals (regular Humanities class pods)
3. Thursday- Project exploration (Combined pods, 4th and 5th periods)
4. Friday- Project Brainstorming and Sustainable Development Project Launch (regular Humanities class pods)

Senior Project Overview (15 min)

1. Ashley and Kyle give overview of the process
2. Student Q&A to Ashley and Kyle (and Kurt if available)

Skills Inventory/Brainstorm (20-30 min)

1. 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
2. Focus on PROJECT, not thesis.  We’ll be talking about the thesis more specifically in Humanities on Wednesday
3. 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)

1. Split into two groups
2. Paseo Questions:
   1. What dream do you have that seems unattainable?
   2. What strategies do you have for dealing with anxiety?  Are they effective or not?
   3. What about your senior year is making you anxious?
   4. What’s one behavior or work habit you have that you would like to get rid of?
   5. What’s one behavior or work habit that you have that everyone should cultivate?
   6. What do you want out of your senior year?
   7. What is a skill you would like to have?  Why?
   8. What is your most valued skill?
   9. What kind of problems need to be solved in the world/our community?
   10. What do you consider important work?
   11. In 10 years, what’s something you see yourself doing that would make you happy

FIFTH PERIOD
Discussion Groups (45 minutes)

1. Spirit Read (each student shares their line)
2. 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? Write the whole time!  Now, underline the most interesting line of your reflection, and share it with a partner.

HOMEWORK:
Read one of the example Senior Theses linked on Lori’s blog and found below.  Please have it read before the start of class tomorrow!

1. Tucker Leavitt- Water Arc Explosions (Physics)
2. Bekah Kuster- Energy Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases  (Energy)
3. Lyle Bryson- Trends and Youth Culture  (Marketing/Psychology)
4. Philip Wiley- What makes good science fiction?  (Literary Analysis)
5. Allee McKown- Theories of Global Inequality (International Studies)​
6. Oli Sakadinsky- Special Interest Groups in US Politics (Political Science)
7. Izzy Bonecutter- Mindfulness and the Brain (Neuroscience)
8. Isabel Krull- Culture of Ballet (Sociology)
9. Claire Larson- Brain Trauma and EMDR Therapy (Neuroscience)
10. Anne Chase- Social Media and Perceptions of Nature (Media Studies)
11. Grace Frideger- Ecofeminism and the environmental movement. (Philosophy and Environmental Studies)
12. Corry Arcomano- Dry needling vs. Acupuncture (Medicine)

These are all the finalists from last year- the best thesis award went to Claire Leffler, but it was a close call!

1. Lily Bisantz- To what extent does the sexualization of young girls and women in Western culture perpetuate sexual violence?  (Sociology)
2. Dylan King- What in the past 50 years has led to the economic recession of Puerto Rico and how has hurricane Maria impacted the island?​​  (History and Economics)
3. Quinn Luthy- How do confessional poets use form to create meaning?  (Literary Analysis)
4. Ben Malone- What are the potential future roles of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies in the economy?  (Economics)
5. Izzy Simpson- How can the fundamental structure of the stock market be utilized to predict market price fluctuations?  (Economics)
6. Claire Leffler- How can recurring patterns and forms found in nature be explained mathematically and why are humans visually drawn to recreating these patterns?  (Art and Mathematics) ​​​​