For political science I chose to create three projects for my students to work on. Two of the projects were short (3-4 weeks) unit projects that were used as alternative to unit exams. The third project was an entire semester long project that I developed in an attempt to give my students a more intensive project to focus upon.
This project was assigned for students to work on during our
"Utopia" unit. The utopia unit is the first unit of the
semester and it introduces students to the idea of a utopian
society. This concept is appropriate for political science because
the students are asked to think critically about the nature and purpose of
government and society. Among the questions posed during the unit
are: Can a perfect government or society ever be created? If
so, how? What type of government will lead to a utopia?
What are the responsibilities of the citizens living in a utopian
society? Will human nature ever allow a utopian society to be
created? To answer these questions the students read several pieces of
political philosophy and literature which are provided to them by the
teacher. Among the works read are excerpts from: Thomas
Moore's Utopia, George Orwell's 1984, Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan,
Machiavelli's The Prince, William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
We read short stories such as: Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron, Ray
Bradbury's The Veldt, Stanislaw Lem's Trurl's Machine.
Finally we used treatises written by John Locke, Jacques Rousseau, and Thomas
Jefferson.
After reading and discussing these works, the students are
prepared to work on the unit project. The project asks them to
create an argumentative essay that argues whether or not they believe a utopian
society can ever exist. To support their thesis the students
must use evidence from the pieces of literature that they have read.
In addition to the literature that I have provided for them, the students are
required to find THREE other sources of information to help support their
thesis. The students are told to use film, literature, art and music
to find works that explore the concept of utopias. Many students use
obvious examples such as Aldous Huxley's Brave New World or Alex
Zamyatin's We, but others find examples of utopias from less obvious
choices like Bob Dylan's Hurricane and Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A
Space Odyssey. The cumulating activity is for the students to
bring their sources to class and to use them as they engage in a debate with
their classmates about the possibility of a utopia's existence. The
students enjoy this piece of the project because they like seeing the resources
their classmates have discovered.
Click here to see the actual Utopia Project assignment.
This project has been created as a final project for our unit on "Social Policy." The students read the Alex Kotlowitz book There Are No Children Here to introduce them to the nature of urban poverty in the United States. After reading this book the students are given a project that challenges them to develop a solution to one of the problems that the characters in the book face. The students spend a great deal of time researching current government programs to combat such social problems as: gangs, drugs, school violence, homelessness, welfare, and poverty. Next, they propose ways in which to improve the current government initiatives and ultimately help more people overcome their problems. After conducting research, and developing their program ideas, the students must present their ideas to their peers. The students enjoy this project because they believe that the work they are engaged in can truly make a difference in the lives of many of our nation's poor.
Click here to see the actual Political Science Final Project assignment and an example of a student's work.
This project was a natural fit for a political science course in the year 2000. As the nation prepared to elect a president, I developed a project that would challenge my students to learn about the presidential candidates and then teach their community about where each candidate stood on the important issues of the election. To complete this project the class was divided into democrats and republicans (sorry 3rd parties!) The students in the democrat group researched Al Gore's position on the environment, abortion, gun laws, capital punishment, health care, education, and civil rights. The students in the republican group did the same for G.W. Bush. After spending 8-9 weeks researching their candidates, watching the televised debates, and evaluating their candidates' websites, the students were prepared for the final phase of the project. The cumulating activity was for the class to design a "voter education symposium." The class chose an evening 1 week prior to the election. They invited members of their families, members of the community, and members of the student body to attend an informational meeting about the candidates and the election. At the symposium, different groups of students presented the information they had gathered on each candidate; each group made a concerted effort to explain how the policies of Gore or Bush would affect the community of Highland Park. From the advertisments, to the organization, to the refreshments, the students were responsible for planning the entire event. The symposium was attended by approximately 250 people and for many students, it was there first opportunity to speak in front of a large audience. The class recieved rave reviews for their thorough and accurate analysis of the candidates and the issues.
In psychology I teach my students many theories about human behavior. One thing that my reflective research helped me understand was that while my the students were learning and remembering the theories, they were often unable to understand how those theories related to their daily lives. Thus, in order to help my students connect my course content in a relevant way to their lives, I devised the following project.
With the majority of my students being seniors, I wanted to allow them as much freedom as possible in creating their psychology project. I believed that a true "self-directed" learning project would motivate my students at this point in their academic careers. Thus, the students were able to choose any topic they wished to study (as long as it related to psychology). In addition, the students were able to choose to work independently or with a partner, and they were able to decide exactly how they would present their information at the conclusion of the project.
The project the students were given to complete was to formulate a question about human behavior, research the answer (or possible answers), and then present and educate their peers and community about what they had learned. The focus of the presentations was not to be solely on regurgitating the information the student had learned about his or her topic, but to also recommend how this information may be useful for someone to use.
As the students worked on developing and answering a question, they were instructed in a number of skills that would help them successfully complete this project. First, the students were instructed in various methods of research. In addition to traditional research, each student had to find an expert to interview about his or her topic. This component was built into the project so that students would develop confidence in their interview skills and so that the students would be exposed to a number of careers that involve psychology. A third skill built into the project was for the students to complete a book review. Each student was allowed to pick his or her own book, and then methods of critique and analysis were discussed in class. Many students enjoyed reading an indepth account of the concept they were studying. Finally, all students were instructed in computer skills such as powerpoint, frontpage, and hyperstudio so that this software might become a method for each student to present his or her data to an audience.
At the end of the semester, all of the students completed their final project and then presented their question and findings to the class.
For a complete look at the Psychology Project click here.