senior project reflection essay

Senior Project 2021

A commons for senior project learnings, on reflection.

While deep exploration of a subject, topic or question is an essential element of the senior project so too is reflection on the process and experience of learning. We hope that students who engage in these projects come to also understand something of who they are as learners. In this way, the senior project serves not only as enrichment, but as an opportunity to refine strengths and develop skills to better lean into and address challenges.

To that end, students are asked to reflect periodically on their own and with their cohorts as they work through the project; they should document this reflection as a blog post.

Below is a list of prompts that can be used throughout the course of the project and, where needed, adjusted to fit the particular scope of a given project:

• Describe at least one powerful learning moment that you’ve had while working on this project. What made it powerful? What was the context for this learning? What was comfortable about this context? What if anything pushed you a bit (or maybe a lot) outside of your comfort zone? What lessons can you take from this experience that might help you in other parts of your learning life? If this learning took place in a manner that feels really different from your daily school experience, how might you seek to make your  school learning more like your senior project experience?
• Focus on a moment (or moments) this week when learning connected to your senior project was fun and engaging? Were you working on something independently or with others? What do you think contributed to this positive feeling? How might you use this insight to your advantage in other situations?
• Was there a moment this week when you surprised yourself with some aspect of your learning? What was the context of this surprise? Were others involved? What new insights did you gain?
• Describe an aspect of your recent learning that has revealed an area of challenge or a sense of being stuck? What was the context of the challenge/stuckness (i.e., what was going on before you encountered the problem?) Did you overcome it? If so, how? If not, what is your plan of action for moving forward?
• Describe something from the project experience so far that you’d like to have the chance to do-over, fix or revise? What led you to this conclusion? What can/will you do to actually make the commitment to see this change through? (If you go down this path, it would be great to write a follow up reflection on what you did or didn’t do.)
• Reflecting in a different modality: Do some reflection that tells the story of your recent learning with some other modality rather than exclusively in writing. For example, you might tell the story through photographs, audio or video. You might tell the story through drawing or as a comic. Choose one or several of these to tell the story.
• Redux: Look back over an earlier reflection and provide an update. Where are you now? What is still the same? What has changed? Where are you going? What new insights do you have? Did you identify any expectations for future work or set some goals in that post? If so, how did you do? If not, what are some next steps that you might take at this point?
• Look over all of your reflections to date. Are there any patterns that emerge? Themes that connect the thinking in your various reflections? What the big ideas? Strengths on which you can capitalize? Areas of challenge to address?
• Describe a recent moment that really reinforced for you that you have made improvement in some aspect of your learning? What was it? What do you think contributed to the improvement? What’s next?
• Was there a recent moment that provides evidence of your growth in one of the 4Cs (critical thinking, creativity, citizenship and courage)? What was going on? What did you do? What did you learn?
• What have you created so far in your project that is beautiful and important? Something that you’d want to hold onto for the rest of your life? What was it? How did you create it? Why is it an important piece of work for you? What does it say about you as a person and as a learner?
• Identify an important goal you have for this project and then break that goal into the behaviors that you can control that if followed will move you closer to your goal. In thinking about the behaviors, think about the obstacles that you’ll encounter and the make sure that you’ve identified the behaviors that will get you around, over, under, or through these obstacles. Maybe there are behaviors that can help you to avoid the obstacle(s) entirely? What might some of these behaviors/navigating tools be?
• A Voice from the Past: Look back over your old reflections and identify a comment from your advisor that really challenged you to think more deeply about the issues/ideas you raised in the reflection. R espond to your advisor’s feedback based on where you are now. As you do this, consider not just where you were in your learning journey when you wrote the original reflection, but where you are now? Explore how this feedback from the past may resonate in new and unexpected ways now.
• Seeking Feedback: Describe an aspect of your recent learning that has revealed an area of challenge or a sense of being stuck? What was the context of the challenge/stuckness (i.e., what was going on before you encountered the problem?) Choose something for which you don’t have any immediate answers and would welcome some feedback from a peer. Find a peer and ask them for some feedback. Reflect on their feedback.
• Taking Stock: What? So What? Now What? What? Describe a learning experience; outline what happened that compelled you to choose this learning experience. This may include a description of the context, the conditions or background under which you have learned, the assumptions that you entered the situation with, a description of the experience itself, and the outcomes that occurred through the process. Basically, what did you do? So What? Describe what difference it makes; outline what impact or meaning it has for you (or why it should matter to others). This may include relevancies to you as an individual, the degree of importance that this knowledge has to others in the “real world”, how the experience has changed you, and the ways in which this experience relates to you as a learner. Basically, how is this learning important? Now What? Describe what’s in store for the future now that you’ve learned from this experience; outline what you are going to do to continue your growth in light of this learning. This may include looking for future learning opportunities related to the one under consideration, mistakes that you are now prepared to avoid, situations that you are now prepared to take advantage of, an assessment of things that you as of yet do NOT know how to do but would like to, etc. Basically, now that you’ve done this, now what would you like to learn?
• Choose something you finished recently on the project that you’ve been working on for some time and that evolved over a series of drafts or attempts? Tell the story of this work. Focus on a number of key moments along the journey. As you look at the journey, try to make sense of what you have learned as a result of going through this process.
• 7 Questions to End Your Week With :
• What pleasant surprises did I discover this week?
• What lessons did my work teach me that I could build upon next week?
• Are my short-term efforts and long-term goals still aligned?
• What could I have spent more or less time doing?
• How did fear and uncertainty affect what I did and didn’t do?
• What mental clutter can I clear?
• What is the first logical step for next week? For some additional insight into these questions read this . Copy the above questions into a post and answer them.
• What have I learned?
• When have I learned? In what circumstances? Under what conditions?
• How have I learned or not, and do I know what kind of learner I am?
• How does what I have learned fit into a comprehensive, continual plan for learning?
• What difference has the learning made in my intellectual, personal, and ethical development?
• In what ways is what I have learned valuable to learn at all?
• Why did I learn?
• Some additional questions for inspiration: https://minds-in-bloom.com/20-end-of-year-reflection-questions/

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50 Senior Project Ideas That Will Inspire You

Senior project is a long-awaited experience for many high schoolers. The anticipation can lead to a lot of uncertainty on what exactly to do, however. After years of looking forward to this opportunity, many students get so caught up in looking for the perfect idea that they can’t make a decision.

If you’re looking for original and inspiring senior project ideas, this is just the place for you. Read on for suggestions related to a wide variety of interests, from medicine to marketing to environmentalism.

What is a Senior Project?

A senior project allows high school students to explore whatever interests them through experiential learning. Students normally design and implement their own projects from start to finish. These projects often occur in the second semester of senior year, and can involve time off from regular classes.

Senior project ideas include everything from future careers to special talents to community service projects, and can range from research to hands-on activities. One of the great benefits of senior projects is that students can apply their acquired skills and knowledge to a project they’re passionate about, while also gaining greater insight into their particular interest. 

High schoolers can also build essential life skills by participating in a senior project, such as long-term planning and time management.

50 Inspiring Senior Project Ideas  

While many schools will have a list of suggested senior project ideas, they don’t always have one that lines up with a student’s interests, and the best senior projects generally involve a subject or area the student is enthusiastic about. If you’re looking for an engaging and exciting senior project idea, look no further—below are 50 senior project ideas spread across 11 areas of interest to inspire you. 

• Volunteer on the campaign of a local political candidate, or work in the office of a local representative.
• Write op-eds and articles for your local newspaper on issues you truly care about.
• Start a mock senate to give your fellow students a simulated experience with the business of the U.S. Senate and a better understanding of how a bill becomes a law. 
• Define a local problem, the political situation around it, what interest groups and lobbyists have a stake in it and what their positions are. Then, discuss potential solutions, or what it would take for there to be progress on the issue.

Virtual Arts

• Organize the creation of a mural at your school or local community to highlight a memorable moment in local history.
• Take portraits of meaningful life milestones (engagement, wedding, senior photos) for low-income families who might otherwise not be able to afford it.
• Start a painting class for kids from low-income homes who may not have easy access to art supplies. 
• Make a documentary about a lesser-known part of local history. 
• Put on a production of a play you wrote yourself to call attention to issues such as racial discrimination and body image. 
• Create a curriculum for teaching seniors how to use a computer/internet and circulate it to local nursing homes and retirement communities. 
• Organize volunteers to mentor adults without high school diplomas and help them graduate.
• Work with local business people to create a series of workshops teaching vital job skills to people out of work.  
• Construct a “ Little Free Library Box ” in a neighborhood where access to libraries and books is limited.
• Go through the process of changing a school policy that many students disagree with.
• Work with your local senior center or retirement home to teach a foreign language to their members/residents—you’re never too old to learn! 
• Volunteer to assist in an ESL (English as a second language) class, or mentor non-native speakers one-on-one. 
• Develop a website or app where people can find language partners to practice with.
• Act as a translator at school or in a local business, or translate documents/media that are read by a significant immigrant population
• If your school serves a large percentage of non-English or non-native English speakers, petition your school to become more inclusive by also providing documents in the predominant language spoken. 
• Help translate for patients at a doctor’s office with a significant immigrant population.
• Define a community health problem and develop solutions, working with local officials and medical professionals (for example, obesity, diabetes, drug use, etc.).
• Coordinate a free health screening event with medical professionals for at-risk and underserved community members.
• Investigate the accessibility of healthcare in your community by interviewing a diverse selection of residents, and writing a paper on your findings, or creating a documentary.
• Work with a local nonprofit or business to better understand what it takes to thrive in today’s economy.
• Start a business—conduct market research, develop a product or service, and sell it. 
• Identify a local economic issue and develop solutions, working with local representatives and organizations who can make a difference (for example, homelessness, hunger, inaccessible healthcare, low minimum wage, etc.)
• Help a local business with their accounting or record keeping. Tech-savvy students might even upgrade an old business, transferring them from pen-and-paper bookkeeping to a program like Quickbooks.

Marketing/Media

• Create a social marketing campaign for your local animal shelter to raise awareness and find homes for pets.  
• Start your own blog on a topic that you’re passionate about and write SEO-optimized content, or start a blog for a local business or non-profit.
• Intern for a local magazine or newspaper.
• Research the impact of the media on your community during a local or national election.
• Work with your high school Amnesty International Club to create materials like pamphlets and posters to raise awareness of human rights issues. 

Environmentalism

• Work with the local government to create a space for a community garden. 
• Create a documentary to teach people about environmental issues in your community.
• Work with your school cafeteria to implement changes that reduce food waste, like introducing compost or switching to biodegradable trays. 
• Organize an event to clean up a local park or woodland (you can take it a step further and even make it a hike or a run to pick up trash; there’s actually a trend called “plogging” when you jog and pick up trash)
• Work in the lab of a local professor to research a topic that you’re passionate about.
• Develop an app for simplifying school communication. 
• Act as a teaching assistant for your STEM teacher at school, helping students during labs, developing supplemental materials, or holding review sessions.
• Build a website that changes an industry—Facebook, WordPress, and Dell were all founded by undergraduates, and Google began as a Ph.D. research program.
• Develop a plan for building mountain bike trails, organize volunteers, and demonstrate the economic impact they’ll have on the community. 
• Organize a new club for an unrepresented sport at your school, like rock climbing or fencing. 
• Offer a service that pairs high-energy dogs whose owners can’t give them enough exercise with runners looking for a canine training partner. 
• Volunteer to coach a Special Olympics team. 
• Found a group that exposes athletic opportunities to people who might otherwise not experience them—for example, taking inner-city kids backpacking.  
• Take your love of shopping and do good by organizing a squad of shoppers that picks up groceries and medicine for the elderly. 
• Gather a group to make and distribute holiday gifts for kids in the hospital. 
• Set up a ride service that takes the elderly to and from doctors’ appointments. 
• Serve meals at the local homeless shelter, or work with a local restaurant to help feed the homeless. 
• Plan and put on a low-key party for children on the autism spectrum who can find some festivities overwhelming. 

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