EAST DUPLIN HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION PROJECT HANDBOOK 2017-2018
East Duplin High School Graduation Project Overview Congratulations seniors! This year will mark some of the most meaningful work you will produce during the course of your high school years--the Graduation Project. The Graduation Project is a requirement (in addition to all other Duplin County School s graduation requirements) for East Duplin High School Seniors to graduate and receive a diploma. Done well, the Graduation Project is an opportunity for you to learn more about yourself and your community, to gain an appreciation for a new skill, to create a unique product; and to simply do something you will learn from and remember for years to come. Your project will culminate in an oral presentation before a panel of EDHS teachers, staff or community members. The Graduation Project will provide you with the opportunity to pursue an issue or topic that is of personal interest. You will demonstrate the acquisition of new knowledge, experience and skill by producing a product, compiling a professional-level portfolio, and delivering a presentation before an EDHS panel. You are expected to take appropriate risks and stretch your learning so as to grow both intellectually and emotionally. All projects must be approved by the Graduation Project committee. Students are encouraged to take on a project, which will be of benefit to the community/society. Projects may be denied approval if they do not fulfill the service or career requirement or if projects are deemed inappropriate or dangerous. There are four components to the Graduation Project, listed below: 1. PORTFOLIO 2. PRODUCT 3. PAPER 4. PRESENTATION/POWERPOINT Remember, your faculty advisor is there to assist you by coaching and advising on resource requirements necessary to make this a most positive experience. Establish open lines of communication early and you are well on your way to success. April 2017 2
FACULTY ADVISOR The Faculty Advisor s role is to help students through the Graduation Project process. The Faculty Advisor ensures that students receive the tools and information needed to successfully complete their Project. The Faculty Advisor serves as a facilitator, instructor, and coach. They instruct students in both the planning and implementation of the Graduation Project as well as teach specific skills (such as time management, research, effective presentation, and clear writing). The culminating project is an unpredictable process. As a whole, only a few Graduation Projects are completed without modifications and revisions, based on the advisor s input. Students will test their ideas, make mistakes, and modify their plans. A Faculty Advisor doesn't have to have all the answers, but helps students work collaboratively with resources. They help students troubleshoot, find alternative solutions, and resolve problems. Our goal is to be creative in helping students find the answers for themselves. FACULTY ADVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES Assisting the student in understanding the requirements of the Graduation Project Supervising and advising students throughout the process, including conferring with the student regularly and completing the Progress Report Providing expertise or referring the student to others for expertise in the project knowledge area Checking to see that appropriate research methods, technology, and review procedures have been employed Keeping a record of the student's progress Notifying parents/guardians if the student is behind schedule or experiencing any other problems that put them at risk of not meeting the standard. Advisors should use the Parent/Student Acknowledgement and Release Form to document advisees progress (or lack thereof), parental contact, etc. Sanctioning the readiness of the project to be presented to the review panel OUTSIDE MENTOR You must have an outside mentor that will assist you throughout your project. This mentor must be at least 25 years old and be knowledgeable about the topic you have chosen. The mentor MUST NOT be an immediate family member. Immediate family members include: mother, father, brother, sister, and grandparent(s). The mentor will be responsible for signing your time sheet and verify your work on the project. INTEGRITY AND ETHICS Plagiarism, dishonesty, and cheating are unacceptable and have serious consequences. Forging signatures or initials or providing false information on check sheets is dishonest. Not completing the work as you have agreed to is an ethical issue. Be careful to complete all parts of the project as approved. Each student is required to complete the Ethical Commitment form and submit it with the Parent Release Form. Be a man/woman of your word; be honest in your work. April 2017 3
PORTFOLIO You will lose 1 point per day for each day your portfolio is late. You will need: 1 inch white binder with front clear pocket and cover/title page o Place cover/title page in the front clear pocket of the binder o Cover/title page should include: Topic Title Your Name (First and Last Name) Date Page protectors for all pages in your binder The Portfolio contents should be arranged in the order below: Table of Contents Proposal form Mentor Form Mentor Agreement Portfolio and Project Check Form Timesheet (15 hours is the minimum) Journal(s) o Use the journal to write about what you learned each day you work on your graduation project o o Must be typed in Times New Roman, 12 point font Paragraphs should be single spaced and double spaced between entries Paragraph 1 - Describe exactly what you did on a particular day in detail Paragraph 2 - Write a personal reaction or evaluation of what you did that day Ideas to consider: o Did you like what you were doing? Why or why not? o Why do you suppose you were asked to do a certain activity? o Did everything happen exactly as you expected it to, or where there some surprises? o How will you benefit from what you are learning? 8-10 Pictures - you need to be in at least half your pictures Photo Release Form o One form for each person photographed Copy of Thank You Note Sent o See Graduation Project website for a sample thank you letter Absence Request o A copy must be present in your binder if you missed school Final Paper Tech Check Form Documentation of any classes taken, certificates earned, receipts, etc. Mentor Evaluation Form - place in a sealed envelope and with mentor signature across the seal o Place this envelope in a page protector June 2016 4
PRODUCT Products will vary, as indicated below, depending on the project. While the graduation project is not intended to incur costs, any costs incurred will be the responsibility of the student. Duplin County Schools is not responsible for any accidents or injury related to the project. Build a product: With this option, students may build/create something that interests them and present it during the presentation phase of the graduation project. This option must include 8-10 pictures documenting different phases of the building process, including, but not limited to, beginning, middle, and completed product. Pictures must show evidence of the student doing the work. Students should bring the object or a model to the presentation. Learn a new skill: With this option, students may learn a new skill and show evidence of the newly learned skill during the presentation phase of the graduation project. This option must include 8-10 pictures documenting different phases of the learning process, including, but not limited to beginning, middle, and end. Pictures must show evidence of the student participating in the learning process. During the presentation, students should demonstrate the new skill. Job shadow: Requirements for this option are the same as learn a new skill. Additionally, the Graduation Project Committee will not approve requests to job shadow teachers or staff members of East Duplin High School, or at your work place. Students will be allowed a maximum of two days for job shadowing during school hours, with approval. The form must be completed at least two days in advance. The original should be given to the Data Manager and a copy should be kept for insertion in the portfolio. For the presentation, students should show concrete evidence of learning: models, lesson plans, demonstrations of new knowledge. Teaching Products Any product involving teaching a class must include the following: Your class must contain at least 5 students. Must have a minimum of 5 hours of actual instruction time (not observing or planning) Lesson plans must be completed for each teaching session. Use a five or six step lesson plan. Maintain a notebook/folder of handouts, activities for each lesson, and student work samples. Provide evidence in the form of work samples, videos, etc. Coaching Products Any product involving coaching must meet the following criteria: Must have a clearly identified audience to coach, a specific team or group must be identified. Groups or teams of fewer than 5 are not allowed. Must have a minimum of 5 hours of actual coaching time (not observing or planning) Must have a well-written practice plan for each coaching session containing specific techniques or drill for different groups to work on. These plans need to explain in detail how each sessions will improve the person s or team s performance. There needs to be pre-and post-standard measurement. This can be done by measuring timings, counting completed tasks, or videos of improved performance. April 2017 5
Volunteer: With this option students may volunteer their time and/or services to benefit the community or an organization of choice. This option must include 8-10 pictures documenting different phases of the volunteering/services, including, but not limited to beginning, middle, and end. Students will be allowed a maximum of two days for volunteering during school hours, with approval. Pictures must show evidence of the student contributing to the organization. Students must show evidence of completed volunteer work during the presentation phase of the graduation project. Video documentation is mandatory for this product and the students should make sure that he/she is in the video. A photo/video release form should be filled out for anybody else who is in the video. Projects That MAY NOT Be Used Note: All projects must be original. Students MAY NOT use Eagle Scout (Boy Scout) projects, Gold Award (Girl Scout) projects, projects from any other civic organization, etc. OR any project that he/she has previously completed. Proposals must be approved by the Senior Project Committee prior to beginning ANY senior project. April 2017 6
GRADUATION PROJECT PAPER Description The Graduation Project Paper is a 5-8 page research paper on the topic stated on the Graduation Project proposal. For example, if the Graduation Project is volunteering in an animal shelter, a topic for the research paper could be animal abuse in the United States. If the project is job shadowing in a hospital, the topic could be current healthcare issues in the United States. If the project involves building a product or learning a new skill, the topic could be the challenges of the industry to which the product or skill belongs. Make sure the topic is connected to the project and that there is a clear question in mind on what is learned or discovered while completing the Graduation Project and Paper. Plan and Research Choose a topic and develop a research question. Find at least four sources (books, websites, interviews, videos or other publications) about the topic and record all the information needed for an entry in a works cited page. o Must have at least one citation from each source Read and review the sources and gather all the important information related to the research question. Develop a thesis (the answer to the research question) Writing Write a 5 to 8 page research paper. The paper must be typed, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman using MLA citations and formatting. **The Introduction of the paper should open with a statement about the topic. **Each paragraph should help explain the topic and the thesis and should have no less than one citation in each paragraph so as to avoid plagiarism. **The conclusion of the paper should re-state the thesis of the paper and summarize the main points of the paper. Works Cited Create a works cited page with at least 4 sources. Proofread and Save Proofread the paper for typos, grammar, spelling and usage mistakes. Read the paper aloud to help find mistakes and awkward wording. Have a peer or trusted adult to read the paper and give feedback. Print the paper and keep three saved copies: flash drive, email, and computer. April 2017 7
PRESENTATION/POWERPOINT PRESENTATION: Save your presentation on the Google Docs Drive, NOT on a flash drive Before presentation begins shake hands and introduce yourself to the judges Use good presentation skills o Correct grammar o Good volume o Eye contact o Have confidence o Do not just read what is on the slide. Elaborate from the information on your slide. Should be 8-10 minutes (time stops at the Question slide) Product should be demonstrated/shown before the Question Slide. Each student will be assigned a classroom and three judges (students need to check their presentation before the day they are presenting in order to check for technical problems) Students need to be at school at least 30 minutes before their presentation time Practice can be scheduled with any of your teachers that will allow you to practice during his/her class time. No one other than the judges and the student presenting are allowed in the classroom at the time of the presentation Dress professionally Females o Professional/Sunday dress o Suit (slacks or skirt with coordinated top, vest, or jacket) o Dress shoes (no tennis shoes or flip-flops) o Minimal and tasteful jewelry, accessories, and makeup o Dresses and skirts should be tasteful and modest in length and style o Blouses should coordinate with outfit o Cover midriff and cleavage o No jeans Males o Suit and tie with button down shirt o Slacks and sport coat with tie and button down shirt o Slacks, button down shirt and tie or sweater or vest o Dress shoes (no tennis shoes, flip-flops or work boots) o No sagging pants or un-tucked shirts o Jewelry Class ring and/or watch o No jeans April 2017 8
POWERPOINT FORMAT: 9-10 slides Rule of 7 s o No more than 7 bullets per slide o No more than 7 words per line Build effect: o Bullets should appear one at a time o Build effect should be consistent Color scheme o Students should select a uniform color scheme and stick with it Font o The font should be easy to read, and should not be less than 24 pt. o Font size of slides should be consistent Titles o They should be consistent in size, capitalization, and other formatting styles Pictures o A minimum of 4 pictures for evidence of the project are required o You must appear in some of the pictures. o Pictures need to be sized appropriately and placed attractively on the slide Video/Audio (if applicable) o Should enhance the presentation o The length of audio/video should keep the presentation within the given time limits White space o It gives reader s eyes a rest o White space should be used appropriately on each slide Be creative April 2017 9
This is a guideline. Adapt or change to best fit your topic. PowerPoint Content: Slide One: Title Slide o Title of your topic o Your name o Date Slide Two: Outside Mentor o Name (First and Last Name) o Place of business o Picture of mentor o What are their credentials? Last Slide: Questions? Topics to Be Covered: 1. Why did you choose this topic? What was your inspiration? 2. Research on your topic 3. Project evidence: pictures, video, etc. 4. Struggles and successes 5. Overall learning GRADUATION PROJECT COMMITTEE Mrs. Kim Marshburn Mrs. Regina Humphries Mr. Alex Barnette Mr. James Jones Mrs. Dena Jenkins Mr. Scott Ballard kmarshburn@duplinschools.net rhumphries@duplinschools.net abarnette@duplinschools.net jajones@duplinschools.net djenkins@duplinschools.net sballard@duplinschools.net GRADUATION PROJECT WEBSITE http://www.duplinschools.net/edhsgradproj April 2017 10