1. Senior Project 2012
Awesome

3. Being Smart Being Scholarly
Memorizing Thinking
Academic Best Personal Best
Follow Curriculum Follow Interests
Hints at What Your Grade Hints at What Your Future
Will Be Will Be
Involves Playing it Safe Involves Risk Taking
Relies on Knowing Answers Relies on Asking Right Question

4. Finding the right question
Topic:
Beauty
Question:
Do magazines promote unhealthy images of beauty?
Question:
Would you be willing to become extremely ugly
physically if it meant you would live for 1,000 years at
any physical age you chose?

8. Revolving Research

9. They Say
It’s neither
It’s both
I disagree
I agree

10. Group Activity
For each magazine article, identify:
•The topic
•The focus question

21. So What? Who Cares?
“The problem is not necessarily that the speakers lack
a clear, well-focused thesis or that the thesis is
inadequately supported with evidence. Instead, the
problem is that the speakers don’t address the crucial
question of why their arguments matter.”
Graff and Birkenstein, They Say, I Say

22. Group Activity
Prioritize the 6 questions from
most relevant to least relevant

23. What explains teenage behavior?
If the end of white America is a cultural and demographic
inevitability, what will the new mainstream look like and how will
white Americans fit into it?
Will technology be a form of tyranny or will it free us from tyranny?
Will it upend democracy or strengthen it?
Can parents harm their children by doing too much?
How on earth does anyone propose to assign a number to something
as complex as a college or university?

24. Topic Brainstorming

25. Objective:
Leave class with 25 viable senior project ideas
that you are genuinely enthusiastic about
This is what enthusiasm looks like

26. Brainstorming Tip #1
Turn off your inner critic

27. The Brain has two hemispheres
Left brain functions Right brain functions
Analytic Thought Thought
Logic Intuition
Language Creativity
Science & Math Art & Music

28. The Right Brain keeps you from turning into Spock
Right brain functions
Thought
Intuition
Creativity
Art & Music

29. The Left Brain keeps you from turning into a Space Hippie
Left brain functions
Analytic Thought
Logic
Language
Science & Math

30. To generate good ideas, you must silence your inner critic
Left brain functions Right brain functions
Thought
That ideas is dumb. Intuition
It will never work.
Creativity
Art & Music

31. And let your creative side play
Left brain functions Right brain functions
This is fun!

32. How do I do that?

33. Limit your time!
Don’t give your brain time to criticize.
Give yourself 20 minutes to come up 50 ideas.

34. Record your ideas on sticky notes

35. IDEA 1 IDEA 2
Organize them later
IDEA 3 IDEA 4

36. Or mind maps!
Stay away from
the computer -
it will slow you
down

37. Collaborate with others

38. Make lists of interests, hobbies, goals, concerns
In five years, what do I hope to have accomplished?
What problems do I want to see solved?
What organizations or groups do I admire?
What professions am I interested in?
Where would I like to travel?
What controversial issues do I feel strongly about?
What do I want to do better?
What experiences do I want to have?
What do I want to learn more about?

39. Brainstorming Tip #2
Look for inspiration elsewhere

40. Where?

42. LIBRARY RESOURCES
Reference books Magazines Databases