BY Nancy Knight
Cape Cod Regional Technical High School
Project Description
Senior Project is a culminating project that allows students to demonstrate mastery of the technical, academic, social and employability skills acquired during their four years at Cape Cod Tech. Stronger independent thinking skills and decision making skills, while experiencing the pleasure of learning something of their own choosing, will be developed by students. Their academic skills improve as well, and they are motivated to strive for greater rigor in both academic and technical learning. Senior Project is a one credit graduation requirement, comprised of the following four phases: Product, Paper, Portfolio and Presentation. All components of Senior Project carry weight. The Product Phase, which is completed during the fall trimester, is a ‘hands on’ experience or product related to some aspect of their vocational technical training. Students must spend a minimum of 15 hours on their Product. At least 10 of those hours must be completed outside of school time. Projects are often a tangible demonstration of the student’s technical skills. Often, they incorporate elements of green technology or are community service based projects. Over the last 16 years, over 2000 students have completed Senior Projects. Just think of the impact that those projects have had on the Cape Cod community and beyond!
How will the project be evaluated (e.g. how will you gauge its success)
Senior Project is evaluated on a yearly basis by the Senior Project Design Team which is comprised of technical and academic teachers as well as administrators. Students requesting financial support will complete a Senior Project Scholarship Application. Data will be collected and evaluated on the number of recipients and if their financial needs were met.
Benefit to the students and the school
Frequently, we will see students that used their own money to complete the Product portion of their Senior Project when other resources are not available. Many of these students have other financial responsibilities. The Senior Project Scholarship Fund will provide financial support for outstanding effort and performance on their Products.
Timeline of Project (when will you do the project, if applicable)
Students will have completed the Product Phase of their Senior Project by November 10, 2016. Many students will have already used personal funds for their Product completion. Therefore, we will notify students of the scholarship and the application process as soon as we are informed of the award of the mini-grant. We will promptly review the applications and award the scholarships to our students.