As seniors in high school, you are about to graduate into a world in which YOU will have to manage your lives and your learning more than ever before. In order to prepare for this significant transition, we are going to engage in a unique learning experience.
THE BASICS - Finding an idea worth spreading
You will have from March 13 thru April 11 to become a specialist on a topic of your choosing, to research it thoroughly, to share your learning process in an online journal, and, finally, to present the culminating product of your learning to an audience in the form a CFA-style TED Talk. Your talk will be 6 to 10 minutes in length. Your talk will be presented in the Upper School Commons during our TED Talk Flex Sessions on Tuesday April 11 and Wednesday April 12 . Gear up and get ready! This is going to be an exciting 4 weeks!
Step One: Making the Paradigm Shift from Student to Learner
Are you a student or a learner? What's the difference? What skills are necessary to be a self-directed learner?
Malcolm Knowles (1975) described Self-Directed Learning (SDL) broadly as “a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, to diagnose their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies, and evaluate learning outcomes.” Your first task in the coming weeks will be to make this shift and immerse yourself in becoming a more self-directed learner. You will have a lot of freedom to choose and to work. I am here to guide you and help you reach success; the rest is up to you.
ADVICE from 2016 Seniors on making the shift and completing this project
ADVICE From 2015 Seniors on making the shift and completing this project
Step Two: Topic Selection
For this unit, you get to decide your area of focus. What are you truly curious about? What questions do you want to pursue answers to? What is an area of interest that you have not explored in as much depth as you would like? Be sure that this is a topic that you want to devote yourself to over the next few weeks.
You will become a specialist on your topic by researching it thoroughly, sharing your learning process in an online journal, and, finally, presenting the culminating product of your learning to an audience in the form a CFA-style TED Talk. Ready to get started? Click on the link above for help with selecting a topic.
Step Three : Explore and Research
Now that you have a question selected, it is time to start learning more about your area of interest. But where do we start? And how do we manage the information that we gather? Click on the link above to start your exploration. Your first Research Check will be on Friday, March 24 at which time you will need to have researched and explored at least 5 sources on your topic.
Step Four : Creating your Script
By the beginning of class on Wednesday, March 29 you need to have at least 750 words written for your script. By Friday, March 31, your goal length is 1500 words - which would give you a 6 to 10 minute spoken presentation. We will be working together to observe and discuss the parts of your script - the Opening, Middle, and End. To get started thinking about what you need - consider the simple formula below...
“Say what you are going to say, say it, then say what you just said.”
1. Present an attention-grabbing opening (controversy, puzzle, story, question).
2. State the key point or thesis.
3. State the objective or roadmap.
4. Give analysis -- the meat of the presentation (use transition statements!).
5. Sum up your points and conclude (tie back to introduction).
Step Five : Revise and Visualize
Now that you have written your script, your task will be to work on revising that script and creating your accompanying visual elements to ground your talk. Click on the link above to take you to the page that explores and explains this step in the process.
Step Six : REHEARSAL AND PRACTICE
Now it is crunch time! We have one week to go till we will perform our TED Talks live on stage. You should be living and breathing this speech as much as you can. Check out our program for the TED Talk Sessions and the order we will be presenting by clicking on the link below.
Step Seven : Final Details
THE BASICS - Finding an idea worth spreading
You will have from March 13 thru April 11 to become a specialist on a topic of your choosing, to research it thoroughly, to share your learning process in an online journal, and, finally, to present the culminating product of your learning to an audience in the form a CFA-style TED Talk. Your talk will be 6 to 10 minutes in length. Your talk will be presented in the Upper School Commons during our TED Talk Flex Sessions on Tuesday April 11 and Wednesday April 12 . Gear up and get ready! This is going to be an exciting 4 weeks!
Step One: Making the Paradigm Shift from Student to Learner
Are you a student or a learner? What's the difference? What skills are necessary to be a self-directed learner?
Malcolm Knowles (1975) described Self-Directed Learning (SDL) broadly as “a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, to diagnose their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies, and evaluate learning outcomes.” Your first task in the coming weeks will be to make this shift and immerse yourself in becoming a more self-directed learner. You will have a lot of freedom to choose and to work. I am here to guide you and help you reach success; the rest is up to you.
ADVICE from 2016 Seniors on making the shift and completing this project
ADVICE From 2015 Seniors on making the shift and completing this project
Step Two: Topic Selection
For this unit, you get to decide your area of focus. What are you truly curious about? What questions do you want to pursue answers to? What is an area of interest that you have not explored in as much depth as you would like? Be sure that this is a topic that you want to devote yourself to over the next few weeks.
You will become a specialist on your topic by researching it thoroughly, sharing your learning process in an online journal, and, finally, presenting the culminating product of your learning to an audience in the form a CFA-style TED Talk. Ready to get started? Click on the link above for help with selecting a topic.
Step Three : Explore and Research
Now that you have a question selected, it is time to start learning more about your area of interest. But where do we start? And how do we manage the information that we gather? Click on the link above to start your exploration. Your first Research Check will be on Friday, March 24 at which time you will need to have researched and explored at least 5 sources on your topic.
Step Four : Creating your Script
By the beginning of class on Wednesday, March 29 you need to have at least 750 words written for your script. By Friday, March 31, your goal length is 1500 words - which would give you a 6 to 10 minute spoken presentation. We will be working together to observe and discuss the parts of your script - the Opening, Middle, and End. To get started thinking about what you need - consider the simple formula below...
“Say what you are going to say, say it, then say what you just said.”
1. Present an attention-grabbing opening (controversy, puzzle, story, question).
2. State the key point or thesis.
3. State the objective or roadmap.
4. Give analysis -- the meat of the presentation (use transition statements!).
5. Sum up your points and conclude (tie back to introduction).
Step Five : Revise and Visualize
Now that you have written your script, your task will be to work on revising that script and creating your accompanying visual elements to ground your talk. Click on the link above to take you to the page that explores and explains this step in the process.
Step Six : REHEARSAL AND PRACTICE
Now it is crunch time! We have one week to go till we will perform our TED Talks live on stage. You should be living and breathing this speech as much as you can. Check out our program for the TED Talk Sessions and the order we will be presenting by clicking on the link below.
Step Seven : Final Details
- Check out our TED Program here to confirm your presentation day and time
- Review our Rubric to help remind you of criteria for assessment
- Confirm Mrs. Holliday has your PowerPoint - should be linked to TED Topics page or emailed directly as attachment
- Your Works Cited page should be complete in Google Classroom on the day you present. Click here for help with crafting your page! This will be worth 30 points of your final grade.
- Once you have presented your talk - you have till Monday, April 17 to complete your self-assessment. The assessment is shared with you in Google Classroom and linked to our home page. This will be worth 20 points of your final grade.