Making Senior Year More Meaningful

When the US Department of Education's National Commission on the High School Senior Year delivered a comprehensive report entitled "Raising Our Sights" in 2001, one of the key recommendations was for schools to "require performance-based assessments such as portfolios for seniors to showcase their best accumulated work... and senior projects where students may demonstrate their capabilities for research, creative thinking, rigorous analysis, and clear written and oral communication." It is with this vision that thousands of high schools nationwide have implemented a senior project program. We too have begun the journey at MHS.

Thirty-eight members of the class of 2010 recently completed this year-long independent project, which culminated on May 14 with oral presentations on their research to panels of faculty members, parents, and community members. During their presentations, each student gave an overview of their study area and also talked about their specific research in the field. Throughout the school year, each student had to identify a mentor who is an expert in their chosen field of study, conduct at least 15 hours of fieldwork, reflect in writing upon their experiences, and submit a research paper on the topics. All experiences are also documented by the students through the use of an online electronic portfolio where artifacts of their learning are uploaded and assessed.

The student topics were diverse and interesting. From topics ranging from the feasibility of starting a ski and snowboard apparel business in light of an economic recession to the influence of intellectual property on the medical field, all projects had one thing in common: they were selected by the students based upon what they have a passion for learning.

Many thanks to MHS Senior Project coordinators Bill Deasy and Ben Caisse for their hard work and facilitation throughout the year. Great work!

Pictures:

Above: Chaelyn Saunders presents on the physics of dance and her work with choreography.

Below: Greg O'Brien presents on his work on creating and patenting an experimental medical device; Ali Dorval presents on her topic of increasing AIDS awareness among teenagers through conducting a charity community event.