Indep Study Project Steps

Independent Project Step Benchmarks

1) Select a topic that you find interesting.

What to do at this stage: Think about what subjects and topics you like to read about and explore. Think about what kinds of careers interest you.

Tip: You want to pick a good topic, but you don’t want to delay too long because you need enough time to complete your project.

Completion: A topic is picked! This step should be completed by the 2^nd or 3^rd week.

2) Learn “all about” the topic making note of things that you find interesting.

What to do at this stage: During this stage, you are finding out a lot about what is already known about your topic and searching for specific areas that you may find interesting to study further. Conduct research from several reliable, trustworthy resources. Take notes on the things you are learning, and keep track of the resources you are using.

Tip: Get books and other reliable resources right away so your progress doesn’t get stalled. For most topics you should use no less than 5 resources for this stage.

Completion: You should have enough knowledge and written notes to be able to write a report on your topic. Depending on how you manage your time at school and at home, you will want to put in at least 2 to 3 weeks of hard work at this step.

3) Develop an original, narrow, focused research question.

What to do at this stage: Develop an original, focused research question. This question should be “researchable” while at the same time allow you to use information from your research in a new way.

Tip: A good research question does not have a simple answer that can be looked up. Instead it allows you to study an aspect of your topic that you find interesting and discover new relationships between things, figure something out, evaluate different approaches to some aspect of your topic, or think about the topic in a new way.

Completion: A research question is developed and approved by Mrs. Loring! This step should be completed with at least 6-8 weeks to still work on the project.

4) Conduct research on your question using many, varied, and reliable resources.

What to do at this stage: During this stage, you are conducting focused research about your topic. You are gathering information that helps you become a junior expert about the area of your topic that you decided to focus on. You go deeper into learning about your topic than at Step 2 and you are learning things that help you understand your topic in more complex ways. Conduct research from many (think 10+) varied, reliable, trustworthy resources.

Tip: Since your topic is original, think about how you will find information about it. Take notes on the things you are learning, and keep track of the resources you are using.

Completion: You have thoroughly conducted research on your question. You have more than just a list of facts. You understand your topic deeply and understand the complexities and issues related to the topic. This step often takes 3-4 (or more) weeks of steady progress.

5) Organize your information.

What to do at this stage: Sort out your information. You have a lot of different information from a lot of different sources. Get yourself organized!

Tip: Many people organize their information as they are conducting their research rather than doing this as a separate step. Decide which way you think will work best for you.

Completion: Your notes from your research are well organized. This step will probably only take 1 day.

6) Plan an original “real product” for a “real audience”.

What to do at this stage: Think about the kinds of things someone who studies your topic might really make, create, or do. From these ideas, decide what kind of product you will make and for whom you will make it. Create a plan for your product.

Tip: A lot of people start thinking about product ideas earlier in the process. You may want to think about this step when you develop your research question or while you are conducting your research.

Completion: Have a written or drawn out plan. Make sure you complete this step at least 3-4 weeks before the deadline.

7) Make your “real product”.

What to do at this stage: You’ve done the research and the planning. Now you can make your real product!

Tip: Make a list of the tasks you want to complete. Set deadlines for yourself for each of these smaller tasks. Leave yourself a few extra days at the end for setbacks or extra time to do some “finishing touches”. You may need to do some additional research about how to go about making the kind of product you choose.

Completion: Your project is complete! Bring it to school by the deadline.

8) Share your project with your Atlantis class.

What to do at this stage: Share your hard work with your classmates.

Tip: While a speech is not required, do think about what you’re going to say in advance. What did you learn about the content (what you learned), the process (how you learned the things you learned), and the product (how you showed/used your learning)?

Completion: Share your project and learn from what other people share.

9) Deliver your “real product” to its “real audience”.

What to do at this stage: You created a project for an audience. Get your project to that audience. You may need to talk with an adult about setting up appointments, writing cover letters, and/or packaging your project for delivery.

Tip: This is also a good time to write thank you notes if you haven’t yet done so.

Completion: Your project reaches its intended audience.

10) Reflect and self-assess.

What to do at this stage: Discuss and reflect on the process with your class. Fill out the Student Product Assessment Form.

Tip: Use the self-reflection and feedback from Mrs. Loring to celebrate the project’s strengths and to plan for areas to improve upon for next time.

Completion: Your Student Product Assessment Form and artifacts from your project are put into your portfolio.