See this document for prompts.
Current Essential Question: How can I use my knowledge of American civics/politics/law to inspire others to be more informed voters?
These past six weeks have been some of the most rewarding learning experiences of my life. I have never dedicated such a long period to learn about a single topic—and to share that learning with people around me. The amount of freedom that I had throughout this project has inspired me to look forward to my college experience, which I will be even more self-directed.
I want to reflect on my entire project a bit differently than I have been reflecting on each week. Instead of writing this piece as one long narrative, I want to split up my responses like a news interview. This is mostly so I can refer to my responses individually when I plan for Senior Project Evening. See the document linked above for the prompts.
Take a look back at your essential question. Did you answer it? Do you think that question was a good frame for your Senior Project? If not, how would you phrase that question now?
My essential question was a perfect way to frame my project. In past Critical Reflections, I wrote about why I phrased it as a “how” question. My project was not merely about what information people need to be informed voters, it was about how I would communicate that information to people who need it most—other students. I spent about as much time researching electoral politics as I did designing activities and discussion questions for students. Ultimately, I think it was the “how” portion of my essential question that made my project about “Psychology and Education.” Without it, my experience would have been more akin to an extended research project than a resource for future voters.
Moreover, the “how” portion strengthened my project because it can’t be fully answered even with six weeks of really devoted work. Last week, I reflected on an experience during one of my teaching sessions with LREI’s 10th Grade U.S. History class and what it taught me about the balance between exploring details and getting too “into the weeds.” Doing the former is essential—especially with complex topics like gerrymandering—but doing it too much could leave students confused, as it did during the class. Luckily, Ann—knowing her students—interjected to clear things up. Knowing how to react to confusion (as well as how to prevent it as much as possible) is something that—in my view—comes with teaching experience. I have gotten plenty over these last few weeks (my sixth and final lesson will be this Friday) but I can only get a better answer by teaching more often.
You had a sense of what you would learn and do during your Senior Project. Did you have to adjust your expectations?
When I began my Senior Project experience, I did not expect to teach any of my material. The connection I wished to make with the LREI middle school fell through, so I focused more on creating material that students, teachers, and enthusiasts could access online. Let me quote my third Critical Reflection to illustrate how doing my project like this would have affected my outcome:
In retrospect, I do not think I would have been able to answer my essential question like this. … I would have no way of knowing what makes a particular strategy effective without engaging with students face-to-face (or face-to-screen)—any effort to do otherwise would be mere speculation.
I had to adjust my expectations big-time when I began teaching my lessons to students at LREI and a public school in Minnesota. When designing each presentation, I considered the “student/viewer perspective” much more than I would have under my original plan. I constantly questioned if my activities were engaging enough or if I had enough opportunities for students to discuss. As a result, designing a single lesson took maybe five times as long as I expected. This meant that I planned fewer lessons overall, but I got to teach more of them, which I think is a great trade-off.
What risks did you take, especially for those who created a product? How did those risks pay off?
The first major risk I took with my project was to agree to teach three online lessons to a group of Minnesota students. As far as I was concerned, these students were essentially strangers. My prior teaching experience extended only to classmates and other students that I knew personally, so presenting online to a bunch of strangers? This was a big leap for me.
Teaching to the Minnesota group was also challenging because I never really got comfortable doing presentations online. Students would often hesitate to chime in, making me feel like I was just sitting and talking to myself. I found it helpful to spend a good portion of the class on some kind of hands-on, small group activity. This helped students develop closer relationships to the topic than by just listening to me explain it.
Another significant risk I took was teaching two ninety-minute classes in person with LREI’s 10th Grade. I was much more familiar with the classroom setting, but I had never presented anything for ninety minutes before.
What helped alleviate my concerns about the time—and design an entertaining and engaging experience—was variety. By the end, students had seen two video clips, participated in two hands-on activities, and discussed the real-world consequences of gerrymandering.
In the end, taking these risks helped me understand how setting affects teaching style. I covered the same topics between the two groups of students, but I had to change my approach depending on where and how the lessons took place. For online presentations, I added more tech components and video clips. For my in-person ones, I added more opportunities for discussion to flow freely. Overall, this gave me a well-rounded perspective on what teaching is like.
Has your Senior Project experience influenced your future planning in terms of work, education, or the development of personal interests?
As I answered previously, I did not cover every piece of voting rights content that I want to, nor will I fully answer my “how” for a long time. I want to get to a place where I can answer my essential question as best as possible, but I don’t think I can do so within the next week. I have loved the work I have been doing for the past six weeks—the researching, designing, and teaching—and fully expect to continue it into the summer and college.
What would you do differently if you could do your Senior Project again?
I wish I had been a bit more organized when it came to planning out each lesson. For some presentations/activities, I would often “design as I go.” I think I do this a lot because when I get an idea in my head, I naturally want to follow it to its fruition. This process worked out a lot of the time, but if I ever decided to go in a different direction, I would be left with material that I would never use.
If I did my Senior Project over again, I would start by outlining each lesson in general terms—beginning, middle, and end. An effective example of this is my plan for my upcoming Electoral College presentation, which you can read in my May 16 journal entry.
What is the one thing you want your audience to learn or understand from your presentation on Senior Project Evening?
My most successful lessons prioritized hands-on, interactive learning over everything else. Students learned much better by doing something than by hearing something.
How might you demonstrate your learning?
I know that I will end up speaking over some Google Slides, but I don’t want it to be all TED-talk-ey. To my point on the previous question, I have found that people learn best in hands-on, interactive ways. I want to incorporate such elements into my final presentation, but I’m not sure how.