One
Cure for "Senior Slack!"
Judy Jones
About 10 years
ago, I began to teach a class called, Biology 2 (Human Biology).
That was my first experience with teaching high school seniors.
I had always assumed that teaching seniors was a proverbial piece
of cake. I certainly learned quickly that seniors bring their own
set of challenges. One of these is the very real “senior slack.”
Over the last 10 years I have taught the complete gamut of seniors
– from those that will be valedictorians to those that may
not graduate. And they all experience senior slack once the first
semester ends. I think there is something about the high stress
of today’s high schools, the frenzy of fall semester filled
with college applications, and the need to keep those first semester
grades up for the colleges that causes seniors to somewhat collapse
when second semester begins. I learned early on that seniors will
not study very hard for tests during second semester. Giving a final
exam seemed rather worthless in light of this very real senior phenomenon.
So ten years ago I hatched the idea of doing a big end of the year
project (medical symposium) with my 70-80 Biology 2 students (99%
seniors). I have made most of the specifics
available to you as Word document, but I will briefly describe
the Exhibition Project to you here.
Building
Interest
This project has evolved over the ten years; I will describe its
current form. When I introduce the project to my students, I try
to spark enthusiasm by explaining that they will be allowed to choose
any human health topic that they are passionately interested in.
I explain that their topic might involve some disorder or disease
that runs in their family; or it might be something that a friend
or a neighbor has; or it might be something of historical interest
to them. I also explain that for the “exhibition” part
of their project, they can tap into their particular talents –
which might be drama, art, or music, as well as writing, history,
and of course, science. Today’s students are so blitzed with
standardized testing (end-of-course tests, AP tests, and SATs) that
my students welcome this chance to pursue in depth something of
their choice. It always amazes me that each year the projects are
simply wonderful. These projects are presented in an evening EXHIBITION
to which parents, teachers, and community members are invited. Each
year people comment on the high quality of the student’s work.
This public appreciation, and the clear passion and involvement
of my students, more than justify the project.
Specifics
There are three major pieces to this project:
- A 6-7 page
thesis-based research paper
- A tri-fold
brochure
- An exhibition
(a way to show the public what has been learned)
I have many
“check-points” for this work to help my students pace
themselves. These include annotated bibliographies, thesis statements,
rough drafts or outlines, and exhibition plans. (Details are in
the attachment.)
There are a few days of class instruction involved. I need to introduce
the project and build enthusiasm. I also need to teach them how
to prepare an annotated bibliography and how to develop a thesis
statement. I give them samples of tri-fold brochures and teach them
the purpose of a brochure. If I have time in my schedule, I will
plan on a few days in the library for them to do research –
this helps move them along in the process. Students turn in their
papers and one copy of their brochure on the day that they present
their project in class. I allow each student about 10-15 minutes
in class to present their research and their exhibition project.
The Exhibition
will be shared in class as a formal presentation and also at the
evening event for the public. We hold the Exhibition in 4 classrooms.
One of the classrooms is large and has long tables – this
is perfect for all the poster presentations. The other small classrooms
are used for formal (audience-required) presentations and for computer-based
or video based projects designed for circulating crowds. I always
let students choose how they want to present their projects. Some
students truly want an audience and others prefer the smaller group
experience. At each of the student’s projects, we place 5
copies of their brochure for the public to take. This has been a
very popular feature.
Organization
Most years, I form a committee of students from each class (perhaps
a total of 6 students). These students meet periodically to plan
the actual Exhibition Night. They help with all of the following:
- Preparing
a flyer to announce the Exhibition – this is copied on colorful
paper and should go out to parents (both paper and email) as well
as to other key people about 2-3 weeks in advance.
- Preparing
a program of all of the projects for the night of the Exhibition
– this is a simple front-back one-fold program with a cover
and a list of all the students with their project titles, organized
according to the rooms they will be in and the type of exhibition.
- Inviting
specific community members (school board, central office personnel,
etc.)
- Press release
- Planning
the refreshments – we try to keep this very simple. Most
years it is just finger food brought by my students. I provide
sodas, water, ice, cups, and napkins.
- Planning
for set-up and clean-up (very important!) – Each year I
have students who are eager to help so this has not been a problem.
A Few
Highlights from the Last 10 Years
-
Two outstanding
students did a project on Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression).
Their thesis involved the issue of creativity and the effects
of medicating. They took over a large room. They projected onto
a large screen a PowerPoint presentation that ran itself. The
presentation gave specifics of the disorder and then displayed
copious examples of famous pieces of artwork done by artists
suspected of having Bipolar Disorder. The walls were covered
with artistically displayed poetry; there was a running tape
of music as well as a table filled with books – all done
by people thought to have this disorder. Walking into this room,
we were overcome by the sense of beauty and creativity of these
people. It was incredible!
-
One student
did a photographic scrapbook of a little boy who had been through
a difficult surgical procedure for a medical problem. After
presenting her scrapbook, she gave it to the family. It was
healing for the little boy to have his own story to read over
and over.
-
For one
memorable exhibition, a young man wrote a ballad about schizophrenia!
It seems odd but it really worked.
-
One young
man, who suffers from a severe fear of speaking in public, did
his exhibition on the subject, prepared a wonderful PowerPoint
presentation and gave it as a formal “audience”
presentation.
-
One pair
of students did a wonderful poster on leprosy (Hansen’s
Disease) and included all of the history associated with this
disease.
-
A very
poignant exhibition was about multiple sclerosis; this student’s
mother had the disorder and she came to the exhibition to hear
her daughter’s presentation.
-
One young
man did his report on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. When this
young man finished his presentation, he told me that he had
suffered from this disorder most of his life and that doing
the research and project had freed him to enjoy his life.
-
A very fun
exhibition was presented by a young woman who had Attention
Deficit Disorder and did her project on this topic. For the
exhibition piece she took the pages from her senior planner
(which was filled with the doodles and drawings she used to
keep herself focused) and she created a spectacular collage
of all these pages. When you looked at it, you felt ADD yourself!
-
This year
a student did her project on Achondroplasia (a type of dwarfism)
because her best friend, a student at our school, has this disorder.
She brought her friend in and conducted a “live”
interview as her exhibition. We all learned and grew to appreciate
even more this wonderful young woman and her friend.
-
One young
technologically gifted young woman did her project on traditional
versus homeopathic medicine. She designed and produced an incredible
video game that involved hunting for treasures in order to get
information – it was the hit of the exhibition night!
And the list
goes on…………………………..
I encourage
you to consider this type of project if you teach seniors. You and
they will reap great rewards.
Please contact
me if you have questions about this project.
Download the attachment (Word document)
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