Brooks County High School
Gaining What We Need So We Can Better Succeed.
Career Capstone Project
The Senior Project at BCHS is designed to provide you with the opportunity to apply all that you have learned in the four years of high school to a project which will extend your learning, stretch your potential, and challenge your abilities! Completed during the senior year, the work of the BCHS Capstone Project consists of four major pillars: paper, product/performance, portfolio, and presentation. The goal is to choose a topic of interest to you and explore it. This might include investigating a topic you have always been curious about or choosing something you know a little about and taking your understanding of it to a new and challenging level. The Senior Project Concept has been highly acclaimed and proven successful in many high schools across the country.
For Example. . . A possible BCHS Capstone Project for someone who might be interested in English Language Learners might be to investigate how people acquire a second language and produce a bilingual book for young children about a cultural event (Cinco de Mayo, Chinese New Year, etc.). This product will require you to write the story, translate the story, illustrate the story, and bind the final copy.
THE FOUR PHASES OF THE SENIOR PROJECT:
Each phase must be completed and graded before credit will be given on the next component.
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The first is an EXPOSITORY research paper. You must research and document information on a subject of your choice -- a subject in which you have an interest, but are not already an expert. Your research must be a worthwhile stretch beyond what you already know. As part of your research, you must obtain a mentor to assist in advising you throughout the project. Your mentor cannot be a Burke County faculty member, a family member or anyone under 21 years of age. Your mentor must be someone who is knowledgeable or a professional in the area of your interest. Your mentor will be guiding you and grading your finished product. You must spend face time with your mentor (16 hours – 8 hours for job shadowing/8 hours for product creation.
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The second phase requires you to apply the information you have gained from your research to manufacture a "product." Your product may be an actual physical product, a performance or demonstration, or a service to the community. There must be a clear relationship between your research and your product. Select a product within your financial budget, keeping in mind that you are not expected to spend money in order to complete the Senior Project.
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The third phase of the Project is the portfolio. You must keep good records of your progress and preserve everything in a portfolio that demonstrates your journey throughout the entire Senior Project. These documents include personal notes, photographs, time logs with your mentor, journal entries, receipts, letters, your research paper, etc. Although components of the portfolio will be graded throughout the year, a committee will grade the entire portfolio for completeness and aesthetics at the end of the semester.
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The final phase of the project will be the presentation. This will be a speech of between eight to ten minutes, given before a board of judges. You will be assigned a date and time for your board well in advance.
If you adhere to the guidelines, meet the deadlines, and put forth your best effort, you will know that you have been successful in a life-long learning experience. All information is included in your handbook or will be given to you by your English teacher. It is imperative that you maintain good attendance so that you can be aware of any changes in dates or other vital information that becomes necessary as you move through the year.
Where to start...
Project Proposal
The first step in the Senior Capstone Project process will be for students to submit a Project Proposal. The Project Proposal is a brief overview of each student's career interest, prior knowledge, career goals, and mentor information. Click the link below to download the Project Proposal document.
Project Proposal
The Research Paper
The research paper component will be completed and scored as part of each students English class during their senior year. Students will follow guidelines provided to research their career choice as they develop goals which will lead them to success within the career. The research paper component will be scored by the student's English Teacher utilizing a common rubric. Click on the following links to download the research paper guidelines and rubric as well as a template to help with MLA formatting.
Portfolio
The Capstone Portfolio consists of some components which are REQUIRED for students to include, and other components which are BONUS if students choose to include them. Click on the links below to learn more about the components of the Capstone Portfolio.
Required Content
Mentor
You will need to log 8 hours with a mentor in the career field that you are researching. Your mentor will be an adult who is preferably not a family member, and this adult will verify the student has completed 8 hours of research on the topic chosen for the Capstone Project. Mentor meetings do not have to be in person or on the job experience. Meetings and interviews can take place over the phone, or meetings can occur by emailing questions and answers back and forth. Meetings and interviews can also take place by utilizing Skype or other forms of online forums. It is the responsibility of students to find a mentor to work with for the Capstone Project. Below are links to the forms you will need including the Mentor/Mentee Agreement as well as the Mentor Log which will be submitted as part of the Portfolio. Click on the links to download forms.
Presentation
At your presentation, you will turn in your completed portfolio, a product that you created that goes along with your job field, and you will give a 5-7 minute presentation on the career that you have researched. Below are some sample presentations. Also there are some sample PowerPoint presentations students used during their presentation. A checklist is also provided by clicking the link below which will help students as they prepare for their capstone presentations.
