Senior Project Letter to Cape Cod Tech’s Learning Community

‍Studies have overwhelmingly shown that students who participate in Senior Project programs develop stronger independent thinking and decision-making skills while experiencing the pleasure of learning something of their own choosing.  Their academic skills improve as well, and they are motivated to strive for greater rigor in both academic and technical learning.

At Cape Cod Tech, Senior Project is a one-credit graduation requirement, comprised of the following four phases: Product, Paper, Portfolio, and Presentation!  All four components of Senior Project carry equal weight.

The Product Phase is a “hands-on” experience or product related to some aspect of their vocational technical training. Products (and first phase of the Portfolio) are supported and graded by the student’s Shop Instructor(s).  Students must spend a minimum of 15 hours on their Product. At least 10 of those hours must be completed outside of school time. Products may follow 1 of 2 paths:

•   tangible demonstration of the student’s technical skills student should consider incorporating
    elements of green technology into their projects (renew, reuse, recycle).

•   community service-based project where the student utilizes their technical expertise to benefit their community or a non-profit agency. In this situation, the student’s project would help people directly or contribute to the health and well being of the people or the environment of Cape Cod or beyond.  The second phase is the Research Paper. The research paper requires the student to use specific skills such as written expression, research, organization, and time management to produce a paper on a topic related in some way to their Product. Papers (and the second phase of the Portfolio) are supported and graded by the student’s English teacher.

The third phase is the Portfolio. The portfolio is considered the “paper journey”, which follows the process and progress of each Senior Project and will be monitored and graded each trimester by the student’s shop/academic teacher. The purpose of the portfolio is the documentation, record keeping and organization of all phases of the project.

The final phase is the Presentation. This is an oral presentation given by the student before a panel of judges. For the presentation, the student explains the learning that occurred during completion of his/her Senior Project.  The judging panel will grade the student’s presentation. The Presentation phase is supported by the student’s History teacher.

The third phase of the Portfolio is graded by the History teacher.A successful Senior Project involves parent and teacher support as well as the student’s initiative and self-discipline. By all working together, this can be one of the most rewarding experiences the students will have in high school!

Warm Regards,

Curran Stockwell, Senior Project Coordinator
508-432-4500 x2947  or cstockwell@capetech.us