The Process

A step-by step look at our project

Kickoff and Buckets:

First I asked students to journal about future hopes and aspirations. Many students were finishing early acceptance college applications the week we began this challenge so many of these concerns were fresh on their mind. Each student was given a notecard and asked to write down five specific goals on the front and five specific fears or obstacles on the back, and then everyone had to share. We discussed the similarities, and from these similarities, our buckets came into existence. We narrowed it down to the these four areas: finances, college, career paths, and contentment. Students then thought up as many questions and concerns as they could about each topic and placed each on a sticky note on the large paper for that bucket. Then, when student chose which bucket they were interested in exploring, they had to organize these questions into categories and name them.

The beginning of the buckets

Guiding Questions:

After students spent some time reflecting on what their most pressing concerns were, they chose which bucket to focus on and which sub-category within that bucket most clearly addressed the specific concerns of their group. At this point, students were presented with the requirements of the assignment and the document they would be using to help them work through their "Next Steps":

Project requirements

Project proposals

A list of reflective journal topics

Adult Presentation Form

As students reviewed the requirements and began brainstorming ideas on the project proposal form, I was able to help them guide their thinking by asking guiding questions. Often times, they just needed help identifying what the real obstacle they would face would be. Other times, they needed to ask questions to make abstract ideas more concrete. To help students with this conceptualization, I asked them to work through the future protocol with their group.

Here is the template we used. This tool was especially useful in helping students to identify the challenges that they will face as they work towards their goals.

Here is an example of one group's protocol. This was a group who struggled with the abstract concept of "contentment."

The Requirements

Every student must create a resume and cover letter that is applicable to one element of their project (for college admission, college major acceptance, job application, etc.)
Each group must plan, create, and present a product that helps them answer the essential question of their “bucket.” This can be a group creation or individual creations, whichever is appropriate to your essential question.
Every student must complete the reflective journal entries and submit those digitally with the cover letter and the resume. Journal entries should be a minimum of 100 words, but you can write as much as you would like.
Each individual member of the group must present their project to an invested adult and submit the “Adult Reflections” form. Due by 11/24 for A day students and 11/30 for B Day students

Product Proposals:

Students had to answer these questions by Nov 3 and submit their proposals. I then reviewed their answers and asked questions to help guide their planning.

The original plan was to have students present to their classmates for additional feedback as they finalized their product plans. We had to skip this because we were not in class enough due to Covid crisis, but I plan to do it next time. It was a huge mistake to skip it.

Students then were given some class time to complete their projects, but most of their product creation was done outside of class.

Some products were group creations, and some groups made individual versions of the same kind of product (budgets and five year plans, for example).

Individual Component:

In addition to creating a product that helped each group answer their essential question, each student had to individually write a cover letter and resume that is appropriate to the timeline they addressed in their product. For example, if their group made a budget for their first year out of college, they could write the resume and cover letter as if they were applying to their first real job.

Reflective Journals:

Students will respond to the following reflective journal topics by the stated date:

Reflective Journal #1: What kind of information do you need to answer your essential question? Write about what you need and where you could try and find it. Complete by 11/6

Reflective Journal #2: Write about the product you are thinking of creating and explain how it will help answer the essential question you are attempting to answer. Complete by 11/11

Reflective Journal #3: Who are some of the adults who are invested in your future? What insight can each offer? Who might be the best choice(s) for you to present this product to? Complete by 11/13

Reflective Journal #4: What feedback did you receive from your classmates? What was the most helpful feedback? What additional information or resources do you need to complete your project? Complete by 11/20

Reflective Journal #5: How do you feel about your presentation? Did your audience offer any helpful feedback? Complete by 11/24

Reflective Journal #6: What, if anything, do you feel like you have taken away anything from engaging in this project (honestly is fine)? Complete by 11/28

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