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From Poe to poker
Schools raise expectations through
senior projects
High school
reform has taken center stage in the national spotlight, where
people such as Bill Gates are advocating for change. In South
Dakota, one small-town high school is leading the way in making
the senior year more relevant for its students, and others are
following suit.
“Part of the
Governor’s 2010 Education Initiative focuses on making sure that
our young people finish high school on a strong note,” said Rick
Melmer, secretary of the South Dakota Department of Education.
“Emery is an example of a school district that has committed to
providing rigor and relevance in the senior year.”
Emery High
School has required senior projects for three years. “I always
felt like seniors attempt to take their final year off,”
explained Chris Schultz, principal of Emery High School. “We
wanted to give them something to keep them focused during that
critical year – something where they had to demonstrate their
ability and skill level.”
Enter: the
senior project. A senior project serves as a practical
application of four years of learning. Not only does the project
keep students engaged in their senior year, it also gives them
an opportunity to integrate their skills, learning and
knowledge.
Typically, a
senior project consists of four major components: a research
paper, product, portfolio and presentation. The student can work
on the project the entire year or for a single semester,
depending on the model a school adopts. Topics run the gamut
from Edgar Allan Poe to Texas Hold’em and everything in between.
After students
select a topic, they embark on the research phase of the
project. The finished product and presentation come at the end
of the process. In between, students develop and meet timelines,
communicate with mentors, keep journals of their work, assemble
whatever tools they need to create their product, and work on
developing the actual product. All of these items can become
part of the portfolio.
“It’s a
process that gives students experience with real-world skills
such as doing research, making decisions, perfecting their
writing, and presentation and organizational skills,” said
Marsha Kucker, a consultant who leads senior project training
sessions for the Department of Education.
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