Boundaries Lead To Success Improving Student-led Capstone Projects Through Creative Constraints. Charles Pearl Science and Technology Teacher Overland High School cpearl2@cherrycreekschools.org 2018-07-19

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What Is Senior Project Right Now? Students complete CTE curriculum “pathways” in areas such as engineering, computer science, and robotics. Senior Project is the capstone course where students design their own projects in their content area.

Personal History With the Class I completed the Engineering pathway with Senior Project in the Cherry Creek School District. I put a lot of time and energy into my project. After I got my project approval, the curriculum was very hands-off.

Experience in College EPICS 1 All teams had the same project and competed. EPICS 2 Students chose from a supplied list of projects. Both classes had certain aspects: Frequent presentations Documentation A breakdown of tasks Research Teams of ~5

Experience in College Both classes were fairly open-ended and had mixed results based on how much energy the students put into it. We were smart and knew how to jump through the hoops.

Activity Part 1 Make the best paper thing you can individually using paper, tape, and pens.

Activity Part 1 TPS Could you categorize the paper contraptions that people made? What other things did you notice during the activity?

Experience in College Consider what you would expect a final product to look like from college upperclassmen.

Experience in College

Teaching The Class On a regular posted schedule: <5 minute presentations biweekly. Documentation and 1-on-1 conversations biweekly. Periodic deliverables: Subsystems analysis Various progress memos and letters Large presentations at the end of each semester.

Issues Faced Some students chose projects outside of the expertise Students said they did not have enough time to work on the project with all of the paperwork The research black hole Teacher energy No easy way to enforce/grade expectations Project funding

What Worked Keeping students to a definite published schedule Having students be accountable to each other Advising every project Students breaking projects into sections Students who worked outside of class time

Example Presentation Clip

Example Presentation Clip

Questions What is a better way to grade? What is a more efficient way to manage that many projects? How do I get students to work outside of class? How do I keep students in their content specialties?

Industry Conversations Weekly stand-up meetings and progress reports to managers and/or clients. Justify your work time Time Sheets or observation Members of teams are doing and expanding what they are good at. Research requires documentation implementation and/or prototyping.

Activity Part 2 Assemble into groups 2+ who made things similar to you. Share with your group the expectations you have about what you can do.

Activity Part 2 As a group, let your powers combine to make the best thing you can using paper, tape, and pens.

Activity Part 2 TPS What do you notice about the quality of the group projects? What modifications were made to the activity? What were your expectations for your product?

Suggestions For Next Time Large group projects: Teams of 2-5 Community provided projects with real-world application Make student requested projects the exception Students as content experts: They rank the projects they want to work on Assigned based on student skill and need

Suggestions For Next Time Every 2-3 weeks teams update: Update teacher and client on progress Generate and get teacher approval for expected work Inform the client of the next work segment Documentation on a Google Site

Suggestions For Next Time Grades for progress and documentation: Individual progress based on their goals Team progress based on their goals Peer grading Major presentations and deliverables every quarter Require participation at district/state events

Adaptations For Other Grade Levels 2-3 teacher-selected projects. Goals and expectations outlined by teacher Real-world and community driven Students learn most of the content skills in class Student project managers if taken multiple times

Unanswered Questions Content pathway class sizes? Do you require an intro class first? Grading? How to enforce working outside of class time? Students whose skills do not fit the available projects?

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Rubric files Excel https://www.dropbox.com/s/ffwi9gw1erwygla/SrRubric%20-%20Spring%202018.xlsm?dl=0 PDF https://www.dropbox.com/s/adatnlkbffvkkg1/Mid-Semester%20Presentation%20Rubric%202016- 2017.pdf?dl=0 Word https://www.dropbox.com/s/5147fr0df431t54/Mid-Semester%20Presentation%20Rubric%202016- 2017.docx?dl=0