Senior Project Orientation: What Makes a Good Project?

ANNOUNCEMENT: Tomorrow's Schedule and Location

1. Go to your classes during 1st and 2nd periods (feel free to wear athletic wear!)
2. Meet at the base on Animas Mountain at 10:45 (carpool, and be careful where you park!)
3. Make sure to bring the following:
   1. Appropriate footwear (we had a toenail ripped off last year...bloody and gross!)
   2. Appropriate clothing
   3. Sunscreen
   4. Water
   5. Food/snacks
   6. Ideas and creative thinking ability
4. You will NOT be going to 7th period electives--make sure to communicate with your teacher!

10:15-10:40:  What Makes a Good Project?

1. Get in groups of 4-5
2. Come up with a list of criteria that a senior project needs to meet to be a “good project.”  Think about our discussions, your brainstorm, the Zen article, and projects you’ve seen in the past.  Aim for 4-8 criteria

10:40-11:00:  Apply Your Criteria

1. Look at these Senior Project case studies.
2. Your group should choose two to focus on
3. Read them and answer for each:
   1. By your criteria, was this a good project?  Why/why not?
   2. Did your criteria line up with your initial gut impulse?  Where did they?  Where didn’t they?
   3. What could this person have done to make this project more quality?  Think about the planning process and the execution.

11:00-11:10 Debrief

1. Talk about what criteria you came up- trends, what were helpful, what were not, what matters to you, what you think teachers should be thinking about 
2. What judgements did you make? Differences, similarities
3. How does this frame how you think about your senior project?  What are you going to have to think about to make yours quality

11:15-12:00  Alumni Panel in Commons: Gabe Garcia, Dylan Katz, Julianne Marqua, Keegan Hickerson

1. One sentence version of what you did for your senior project.
2. What was the biggest struggle you faced with this project?
3. What did you learn?  What skills did you develop?
4. If you could do over again, what would you do differently?
5. Were you more thesis driven or project driven?  How did that work, and what were the strengths/difficulties of your approach?
6. Student Questions

HOMEWORK:

1. Check your Infinite Campus- if you are missing anything (DP link, writing goals, college essay), get it to me ASAP!