Senior Project Program

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Purpose

In keeping with Catlin Gabel's philosophy, senior projects offer students the opportunity for experiential education in an area of their interest, connecting school experiences to further scholarly work or to work experiences that fall outside the Catlin Gabel curriculum. They provide opportunities for living our mission of inspired learning leading to responsible action. Senior projects immerse the senior in an adult world of his or her own choosing.

Project Guidelines

Projects may be internships, research positions, or service jobs. They must take place within an existing adult organization with a clear purpose. There must be an adult mentor on site who is willing to communicate regularly with the school, and an Upper School faculty advisor. The student must be in contact with the faculty advisor at least once a week. All students will write a blog in order to record their experiences and keep their advisor and mentor informed of their progress.

Schedules for Projects

Senior projects typically run for a period of three-and-a-half weeks at the end of the senior year. Students are expected to work a full day (6-7 hours) for each day of the project. Specific hours can be adjusted to accommodate the mentor’s needs or the extracurricular schedule of the student. At the end of the project period, all students give a presentation of their senior project experience or write a substantial paper about their work.

Timeline

Friday, February 3, 2012	Deadline for ALL seniors to submit a general senior project proposal to C and C advisors and to the senior project committee member who is overseeing the project
Thursday, March 1, 2012	Applications due for senior projects
Monday, May 7, 2012 – Tuesday, May 29, 2012	Senior project period
Wednesday, May 30, 2012	Seniors conference with project faculty advisors and rehearse senior project presentations
Thursday, May 31, 2012	Senior project assembly (special schedule)

Application and Requirements

Application Due Date: March 1, 2012

Process

Students should meet with their faculty advisor to discuss their project and the application before doing the final write-up.

Criteria for approval

The senior project committee will approve or disapprove project proposals with the following criteria in mind:

Degree to which the project meets the intent and requirements of the program.
Demonstrated strong interest in the topic of the project, and good project design.
Mentor on the project site who appears willing and able to help ensure the success of the project.

Project presentations

The project presentation is considered an essential part of the project itself. The presentation will be given first to the advisor, and then to a larger audience including students, parents, and faculty at a time to be determined. Occasionally an alternative form of presentation is approved by the committee (such as an art show or recital).

Evaluation and Credit

Evaluation of the projects will be based on a combination of the following:

Quality of the student's blog and final presentation.
Report by the faculty project advisor.
Evaluation by the mentor.

Credit will be given for successfully completed projects, and will be noted on the transcript. Credit for senior projects is required for graduation. Projects will be given only credit/non-credit evaluations.

If a student and faculty project advisor believe partway through a project that the project is unlikely to be successful, they should meet with the senior project committee to rework the project definition in a way that will make it possible for the student to gain credit.

Responsibilities of Senior Project Faculty Advisor

Before the project begins

The advisor will discuss the project and the application with the student well before the application deadline. The advisor will have a conversation with the student’s intended mentor before the application is submitted. If in doubt about the project, an advisor can discuss it with one or more members of the senior project committee.

During the project

The faculty advisor will read and respond to the student's blog to monitor the progress of the project on a regular basis. The faculty advisor should let the senior project committee know as soon as possible about a project that seems to be going poorly. Also, the faculty advisor should check in by telephone or by e-mail with the student's mentor while the project is in progress, and also visit the student and mentor on site while the project is in progress.

At the conclusion of the project

The advisor will preview the student’s final presentation and provide feedback. The faculty advisor will then attend the student's final presentation. The advisor is responsible for sending an evaluation form to the off-campus mentor and reading the mentor's evaluation of the student. Finally, the advisor will write a final evaluative report of the project, based on the mentor’s report, an assessment of the project presentation, and the advisor’s own observations.

For more information on senior projects, open the downloadable files below. The Upper School fax number is 503-203-5123.