Yourname:
Appendix A: Senior Capstone Project
Essential and Research Questions Template
Youmustcompleteonetemplatedocumentforeachoneofyourtwoprojects.
WehaveplacedtwocopiesofthistemplatedocumentinyourindividualGooglefolderfornextyearsCapstone
class.(Thisfolderhasalreadybeensharedwithyou.)
DUE:Tuesday,September8,2015
PROJECT#______
1.
TopicareayouwishtoexploreforthisCapstoneproject:
[Link](feelfreetoenlargethebox
belowifyouneedmorespace).Youwanttocreatealonglisthereifyouonlyhaveafew
questions,youwonthavemuchtoworkwithinthisexercise.
[Link].
colorthosequestionsthathavesignificantpotentialtobeanoverarchingbigquestionthose
questionsthatcouldleadtootherrich,thoughtprovokingquestions:
GREEN
colorthequestionsthathavesomepotential/possibilitiesandwouldneedtoberesearchedinorderto
answerthebigquestion:
BLUE
colorthequestionsthataretoosimple/deadend:
RED
[Link]
essentialquestion
:
n essential question is:
A
the overarching question that
addresses a problem, need, or challenge you have identified
through your preliminary research.
Hereareseveralexamplesofgoodessentialquestions,takenfromlastyearsSeniorCapstoneprojects:
How does educational equity, accessibility, opportunity, and freedom to choose ones own path
enable a female student to be successful?
How are veterans and their families of recent U.S wars affected by government-allocated benefits,
or lack
there
of, that are meant to support their transition back into regular life?
During the late 20th century to the present day, how has the experience of black students in public
schools changed?
How may a performing art be used to demonstrate the importance of empathy within a population
of people affected by a significant event?
How do todays technological innovations in communication affect the ability of young people (ages
14-24) to think and act independently of their parents?
What are the effects of salt marsh destruction and how can steps be
taken
to prevent destruction
as well as to restore already damaged ecosystems?
[Link],reformulatethosequestionsintoseveralpossiblequestions
[Link]
youvealreadyidentifiedsomewithinthequestionsyoucolored
green
.
Placetheseveralpossible
essentialquestionsintheboxbelow.
[Link]
[Link].
[Link],evaluateyourproposedessentialquestionaccordingtothefollowingcriteria:
Does your essential question meet the following criteria?
Your essential question
is
open-ended;
that is, it typically will not have a single, final, and correct
answer.
Yes
No
Your essential question
is
thought-provoking
and
intellectually engaging
, often sparking discussion
and debate.
Yes
No
Your essential question
calls for
higher-order thinking
, such as analysis, inference, evaluation,
prediction. It cannot be effectively answered by recall alone.
Yes
No
Your essential question
points toward
important, transferable ideas
within (and sometimes across)
disciplines.
Yes
No
Your essential question
raises
additional questions
and sparks further inquiry. Yes
No
Your essential question
requires
support
and
justification
, not just an answer. Yes
No
Your essential question
recurs
over time; that is, the question can and should be revisited again and
again.
Yes
No
[Link],doyouhaveanyrevisionstoyourquestion?Ifyes,reviseitin
[Link],thencopythequestionyouidentifiedinquestion#6withintotheboxbelow.
[Link]
essentialquestion
,answerthefollowing:
(a)Whyareyoupursuingthisessentialquestion?
BecauseIwanttofindoutwho/what/when/where/whether/why/howto:
(b)SowhydoIwanttodothat?
Inorderto:
i. helpmyaudienceunderstandhow/why/whether
ii.
makechangeinthisdirection:
iii.
tocallattentiontothesethings:
[Link],tothedailylivesofindividuals,tothefutureof
theplanetbecause:
[Link]
researchquestion
:
A research question(s)
addresses what are you going to
investigate in order to address/answer pieces of your essential
question, to add to existing research, and in order to find
solutions to the essential question.
There will be primary research questionsbig, multi-directional, meaty questions that
generate an array of subsidiaryaka secondaryresearch questions that are smaller. They
each require research in order to answer primary research question. Not only do you have
to frame your primary research question within the larger essential question framework but
your secondary research questions have to support your primary research question.
Your primary research question will address what you are actually going to do in your
project. Its a narrowing of your essential question. You need your essential question to
frame what it is you are bothering to take on this project--its the big question that your
project contributes to answering. But your primary research question ultimately drives your
day-to-day work on your project.
[Link]
essentialquestionandthentheprimaryresearchquestionforanumberofprojectssothatyoucanseehow
theprimaryresearchquestionworkedwithintheparametersoftheessentialquestion.
Essential Question:
How does educational equity, accessibility, opportunity, and freedom to choose ones own path
enable a female student to be successful?
Primary Research Question:
How do female students from impoverished backgrounds benefit from attending all-female,
secondary public schools in Sri Lanka, Rwanda, and the United States?
Essential Question:
How are veterans and their families of recent U.S wars affected by government-allocated benefits,
or lack
there
of, that are meant to support their transition back into regular life?
Primary Research Question:
How have Massachusetts veterans of recent U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan been affected by the
government-allocated benefits, leading to their current situations?
Essential Question:
During the late 20th century to the present day, how has the experience of black students in public
schools changed?
Primary Research Question:
During the late 20th century to the present, how has the experience of black students at the
nations oldest public schoolBoston Latin Schoolchanged?
Essential Question:
How may a performing art be used to demonstrate the importance of empathy within a population
of people affected by a significant event?
Primary Research Question:
How can an allegorical play be used to depict the experiences of and effects on a population of
people impacted by a significant fictional event (based upon significant historical events) and what
can an audience come to understand about the importance of empathy after viewing the play?
Essential Question:
How do todays technological innovations in communication affect the ability of young people (ages
14-24) to think and act independently of their parents?
Primary Research Question:
How does communication via cell phone affect the ability of young people (ages 14-24) to think and
act independently of their parents?
Essential Question:
What are the effects of salt marsh destruction and how can steps be
taken
to prevent destruction
as well as to restore already damaged ecosystems?
Primary Research Question:
How does salt marsh destruction impact the environment, economy, and society and what can be
done to restore the ecosystem, prevent future destruction, and educate the public on the
importance of this issue?
[Link],takealookatyouressentialquestion,withthe
[Link]
primaryresearchquestion
thatfalls
withinyouressentialquestionbuthasagreaterdegreeofspecificitythatrelatestotheprojectyou
haveinmind.
[Link]
secondaryquestions
,questionsthatyouwillneedtoanswerin
[Link]
[Link]#[Link]
ranked/[Link]
questions.
[Link]
primaryresearchquestions.
Pleaseprovideaparagraphlengthdescriptionwithsufficientdetailastothescopeofandformthat
youthinkyourprojectwilltake.
Nowthatyouhavecompletedthisdocumentforoneofyourprojects,pleasebesuretocompletethesame
documentforyourotherproposedproject.
Andremember:whenyouhavecompletedbothANDhavereadthebook
AsWeSpeak,
pleasebesureto
createthetwoshortvideosoneachofyourprojectsanduploadthistoourYouTubechannel.
Allofthisisdueon
Tuesday,September8,2015.
