October 26th | Outline Your Ideas for Process Essay

Use the following prompts to develop your thinking, as you prepare for writing your process essay. Please recall the largest part of your Process Pie (from yesterday) as you focus in on specific research and evidence.

PART TWO of PROCESS PIE: OUTLINE
Evidence

• What have you learned? What research do you have that demonstrates this learning? (research, analysis, critical review, persuasion) 
• What do you want your audience to understand through this research? 

Creation

• What is the purpose of your creation and how does the evidence relate to it?

Reflection

• What have you learned about yourself as a scholar, creator, innovator?

October 25th | Creative Process Pie

Please reserve 15-20 minutes of your Wednesday to complete this week's Process Journal. There will be an extension of this in Project Block on Thursday, October 26th.

Create a Pie Chart: Respond to the following question using a pie chart. Show how much emphasis you have put on each part of the creative process so far.

How has your process and/or creation come together?

STEP 1: What % of your emphasis/time in Project Block have you spent on the following:

___% Ideation: mind mapping and reflection
___% Research: professional models, academic research, interviews, survey, personal process journal
___% Creation: sketches, prototypes, drafts, choreography, sounds
___% Feedback: presentations, conferences with advisor, peers, and ELA advisor
________________________
100%


STEP 2: Create Pie Chart:

• Create a circle in your process journal. 
• Divide the circle up into four parts that represent the percentages you wrote above.

STEP 3: Write Pie Chart Reflection:

What is the largest part of your pie chart? Why do you think this is the case for this project? What piece of evidence best exposes this?

• For Example: The largest portion of my pie chart is ideation. I spent a long time working on my mind map, trying to choose a topic that I would be interested in. My mind map started with the word “plastic waste” at the center. Over the course of three weeks working on it, the lines and new ideas spilled onto two more pieces of paper. I talked to my peers and my advisor in the process. I finally ended up with the topic of “oil spills in the ocean.” I’m glad I took the time to identify something I really cared about. 

What is the smallest part of your pie chart? Why do you think this is the case for this project? What piece of evidence best exposes this?

• For Example: The smallest piece of my pie chart is feedback, because I haven’t created any sketches or drafts yet. It took me so long to decide on a topic, that I have spent my time since then reading about historic oil spills in the ocean. The only evidence I have of feedback is in my process journal, where I wrote down my science teacher’s suggestions about which oil spills to look at.

Friday, October 20, 2017 | Process Journal + Research

Needs

• materials for a Parking Lot

Gathering (no more than 15 minutes)

Headlines: Create a headline that publicizes your thoughts on the topic you have been researching the past several weeks. Publicly document headlines for reference later in project block. Whip Around to share headlines.

Writing Studio (30 minutes)

Journal Prompt

As many types of research continues to happen in project block (professional models, scholarly journals, media articles, etc.), reflect once again on the learning that is happening through this research.

Respond to the prompts below directly in your process journal. While there is not one way to write or approach these prompts, you should use specific details in order to make your reflection clear and your ideas understandable. Remember that you will be looking back at this writing and thinking in order to create your essay.

• What makes you say that? What is your current understanding of the topic? What are your individual ideas about the topic? What makes you say (or in this case write) that? 
• I Used To Think...Now I Think? How did the research change your perspective about the topic? 
• So What? Based on your current research, why is your topic important? What is important for your audience to learn from your topic? What are your next steps in the research process?

ELA Standard
Today’s reflection standard is SO WHAT?

Last week we asked you to consider the evidence you were recording throughout the research process. This week, please answer so what?. What understanding do you now have because of the research, that goes beyond the research? What has the research helped you understand about….topic, culture, problem-solving, society, human nature (just pick one!).

Week of October 16th-20th | Research & Techniques

Students should be seeking project approval from a combination of peers and advisors. By the end of this week, all students should communicate evidence that they have a vision and plan for their project. Advisors will provide feedback on and report evidence of the following in Skyward:

• Proposal: Have you clearly communicated the What, How, and Whys of your project? Have you written this in a formal proposal? If not, what steps do you need to take to get there?
• Driving Question: What is the central wonder that makes your project interesting to you and to others? What are you trying to do or figure out?
• Scale of Project: There are two and a half months of making left in this semester. How will you maximize this time to create something that has never existed before?

BEYOND THE PROPOSAL

Project already approved? Great. Continue your reading and figuring things out. Specifically, focus some time this week on techniques you are considering applying to your project. During making time at the beginning of the semester, we spent a whole day exploring a technique by looking at a professional model, analyzing its parts and purposes, and trying to make something. Do this. 

1) Search for a professional model

2) Analyze its parts and purposes

3) Identify the characteristics/style or specific technique used

4) Commit a day to playing with this technique. It does not have to be specific to your project (yet). Just test it out playfully.

5) Reflect on the relevance for your project. 

6) Document this experience in your process journal 

REMINDER

Research and Creation Phases are running concurrently this semester, meaning that they are both on-going at the same time. Individuals need to manage their time devoted to each of these. The project must have academic and creative substance. Do not spend the entire semester just reading or just creating. Document all your thinking, testing, playing, reading, etc in your Process Journal. 

THIS WEEK

Suggestions below. Advisors may re-arrange as is relevant to ritualized week. Each day should include short gatherings, goal setting, documentation, reflection.

Monday:

• Review proposal expectations, deadlines, and everything required to achieve approval of the project. 
• Review Process Journal writing prompts. All students should have 3 complete. If not, please spend time writing today.
• Research plan....what is yours? On Friday, everyone identified at least two immediate next steps. Take them.
• Research resources here.

Tuesday:

• Look at "Beyond the Proposal" above as a whole group. As individuals or in small groups, begin identifying professional models and following the steps above.

Wednesday:

• Juniors & Seniors will attend a required presentation by LTC. The presentation will define what a technical college is and compare it to other future options.
• Sophomores & Freshmen will be able to get individualized support from Project Advisors. Challenge: Prepare flash (2 min) talks about 1) what they made yesterday OR 2) their project in general.

Thursday:

• Juniors & Seniors at Wisconsin Education Fair from 9:00-11:00am
• Opportunity for all Freshman & Sophomores to get completely on track with projects, providing all required evidence for project approval & ELA Process Journals.

Friday:

• Process Journal #4

Friday, October 13, 2017 | Process Journal + Research

Needs:

• Mini-Sticky Notes

Gathering (no more than 15 minutes)

PREP List

Write down your To Do List for the research phase on the sticky notes provided. Only write one task per sticky note. Review and rework your To Do List using the PREP method.

• Prioritize: Sort the tasks into three groups in your Process Journal under the labels Research, Creation, People - Place the tasks that are essential to your research under the Research label. Place the tasks that are essential to your creation under the Creation label. Place the tasks that require you to communicate with other individuals (i.e. pblock advisor, ELA advisor, partner, professional, etc.) under the People label. 
• Reorganize: Predict how much time the two most important tasks will take to complete (doesn’t matter which labels these task are under). Write in a day of the week on those two sticky notes. Separate those sticky notes in your Process Journal. These are the two things next week you will make sure you do by the day you just wrote on the sticky note. 
• Eliminate: Separate two sticky notes that are either unrealistic expectations for the week or things that won’t have a negative impact on your life if they don’t get done. Place these sticky notes under a long-term To Do’s label.
• Plan Ahead: Forecast three important To Do’s that you know you will need to schedule time for in the weeks to come. Also, place these sticky notes under a long-term To Do’s label.

Share out the two most important research tasks you will focus on next week in a Whip Around.

Writing Studio (30 minutes)

Journal Prompt 
Respond to the prompts below directly in your process journal. While there is not one way to write or approach these prompts, you should use specific details in order to make your reflection clear and your ideas understandable. Remember that you will be looking back at this writing and thinking in order to create your essay.

What makes you say that? What is your current understanding of the topic? What are your individual ideas about the topic? What makes you say (or in this case write) that?

I Used To Think...Now I Think? How did the research change your perspective about the topic? 

So What? Based on your current research, why is your topic important? What is important for your audience to learn from your topic What are your next steps in the research process?

ELA Standard
Today’s reflection standard is EVIDENCE.

• How did you gather evidence about your topic? What mediums did you use and why?
• How did you use the evidence you gathered? (i.e. define of topic, summarize topic, support argument, suggest a solution, etc.)

Friday, October 6th | Process Journal 3

Gathering: For today’s gathering, students will reflect on their habits using three “Are you more like…” prompts. Begin each prompt by collaboratively discussing the characteristics of each bullet point. Students then move to the side of the room designated by the bullet point they identify most with. Discuss with others. Share out reasons why.

Are you more like….

Sustain focus - goal is to find a project that engages and motivates

• Hunting dog….laser focused on a specific goal
• Sloth….vulnerable and slow moving without a purpose

Work independently- goal is to be self-directed and feel confident and comfortable in your project direction

• Taking the stairs….developing plans independently
• Taking the escalator….developing plans with some assistance and some independence
• Taking the elevator….developing plans by relying solely on outside influences

Seek to understand - goal is to eventually have clear boundaries for your project.

• Puddle….thinking has been small and shallow
• Lake….thinking has been deep but shorelines provide boundaries
• Ocean….thinking has been deep, vast, endless

Journal Prompt

Respond to the prompts below directly in your process journal. While there is not one way to write or approach these prompts, you should use specific details in order to make your reflection clear and your ideas understandable. Remember that you will be looking back at this writing and thinking in order to create your essay.

• THINK: about your use of time...
• What have you spent the majority of your time working on this week? (ideation, research, creation, etc.)
• How successful have you been with your use of time? Why?
• EXPLORE: consider the learning that took place...
• What have you learned about yourself as a learner these past weeks?
• How can you connect what you are learning about yourself to your process? To your life? To your audience?
• PUZZLE: explain future investigations...
• What new questions do you have based on your work these past weeks?
• What are your top priorities in the coming weeks?

ELA Standard

Today’s reflection standard is COMMUNICATING.

What does it mean to communicate?

What does good communication look like? Sound like? Feel like?

How did you communicate your ideas within your process journal? What did you do to make sure your ideas were clearly explained?

Week of October 2nd-6th | Innovation & Project Proposals

At this point, all students should have process journals that they are using each day. Notes from their gatherings, goals for studio time, notes from their reading and professional models, source information, sketches, etc. It should all be in one place. Process Journal entries should also be going into that place each Friday.

Each project block should have developed or started to develop rituals or routines for their weeks. Please revisit those decisions at the beginning of this week, and evaluate the effectiveness of those procedures so that they can be adjusted to meet the needs of the group. It is important to make individual student expectations clear.

This week is all about narrowing down all of the possible projects to a single project that is personally engaging and relevant to others. Remember that a project has to contribute to an ongoing conversation not be the same as an ongoing conversation. It has to be innovative. Groups should explore the following through their gatherings, reflections on professional models, and feedback:

What does it mean to be innovative?

What is the goal of the project?

Discuss what it means for a project to: Contribute, comment on, 

respond to, interpret, question, correct a misconception, 

uncover, amplify, correct, complicate, etc in various contexts.

What are the open and closed questions that must be explored in this project?

What is the driving question at the center of this project?

Recall making time themes. Where are the connections? What techniques are involved? How can we remix this?

*Note: The resources under the proposal tab will be updated this week, to include a catalog of formerly used workshops for driving questions, staff generated "must haves" for proposals, and more. Please look there for whole group and individual ideas. Project Advisors who have proposal expectations//directions specific to their groups should send information to Kimberly to be posted there.