Name of Student: Taygen Date: March 2nd, 2023

Teacher: Mr. Green Block: B

The Capstone Strand I have chosen: Project
Proposed Title Ideas: High School Highs and Lows

My Inquiry Question:
How can I use the experiences of high school from fellow classmates and friends to provide
insight and advice for upcoming students?

Rationale/context:
I chose this area for my inquiry question because spending time with my friends and
acquaintances is something I enjoy and value. And I believe we are at a unique time in our life
where we are able to reflect on the experiences, we have had in the last 4 years.

Background:
From being a high school student myself I know first-hand about the things younger students
worry about, so I can address those questions in the interviews, while adding additional helpful
information that I gather from research done before hand.

Career Connections:
My intended career area at this point is a job in the Medical/Health Care Field. This inquiry
question relates to my life connections with friends and classmates, plus it is a summary of
experiences in school.

Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections:

Leadership- connecting with students in the school to gather insight
Video- recording + editing footage, and turning them into episodes

Personal Awareness and Responsibility:

Self-Regulation “I can set goals, regulate my emotions and persevere in difficult situations”
During this capstone project goal setting will be very important in order to ensure that deadlines
are met and that the project stays on track. Once research is done and I am ready to start the
project, I should put goals/schedule in place for when each episode will be filmed and when they
need to be edited by.

Social Responsibility:
Building Relationships “I have positive peer and intergenerational relationships” While
completing this capstone project I will be able to interact with peers in a positive environment
while reflecting upon the shared experiences we have had during high school. Communicating in
a fun and relaxed way, while sharing ideas and memories.

Critical Thinking:
Question and investigate “I can ask good quality questions, gather relevant information, and
come up with well-developed conclusions” By doing research before starting the interviews I
will be able to develop strong questions that will address common concerns about high school.
Then after all the videos are complete, I can make a summary/conclusion of the answers that
were said.

Creative Thinking:
Developing Ideas “I can persevere and understand that failure can be productive” Throughout the
process of the capstone project challenges will arise. Such as people cancelling scheduled
interviews or even something as simple as footage getting deleted. But overcoming those
challenges and creating new solutions will provide me with a greater sense of productivity than
failure as I am proving that I have the skills to perform higher level thinking and complex
problem-solving skills.
Communication:
Connect and engage with others “I can listen, learn to contribute meaningfully to discussion and
debate, consider different perspectives, and build consensus” During the interviews I will be able
to talk and listen to the person I’m with. While I’ll be able to connect with the things they say or
ask them to further describe something, developing a meaningful discussion.
Acquire, interpret, and present information “I can engage in deep and meaningful inquiry for a
variety of purposes and audiences” This connects to my project because during the interviews I
will be asking the volunteers questions with possible deep/meaningful answers, and I will be able
to contribute and relate to things being said.

Personal and Cultural Identity:

Personal Strength and Abilities “I understand how to use my strengths and abilities to my
advantage, and I can explain how I use them to contribute to my community”. Knowing my
strengths and abilities and being able to put them into play will only prove to make me more
successful. That is why it was important that I chose a project based around my skill of
communication and relationships. By doing this project I will be able to use my abilities to the
fullest, and in the end, I will be able to share out my findings with my community and peers.

Capstone Presentation Medium:

Website
Video/Episodes
Podcast/video recording
*For the interviews I will record them in videos, then put them onto the website. Then after all
the interviews are complete, I will summarize the results in a podcast, finally adding the podcast
to the website*

Description of my Capstone Project:

When thinking about an idea for my Capstone project I wanted to do something that
already aligned with my current life schedule. So, when I came up with the idea to interview
peers about their high school experience, it made sense as I spend so much time in my car
weekly driving to school, practice and tournaments, with every car ride usually involving a
friend. I also think that being in the final half of our grade 12 year, it is a good time to reflect on
the past years we’ve just spent in high school. So, I want to take it upon myself to interview
friends and classmates while driving in my car (with a proper phone holder) to find out the true
experiences my fellow grade 12 students have had. This way the experiences we have been
through can be shared with upcoming students! I plan on filming 5-10 episodes with classmates
who are willing to be interviewed, then editing each one and uploading them to a website I will
be making. That way they are all on the same page and can easily be accessed. Once all the
episodes have been uploaded to the website, I will record a summary in the form of a single
podcast, where I state what the main results were from the episodes. This podcast then will also
be uploaded to the website underneath all of the episodes. After doing some research I have
come up with the following questions to ask my fellow peers during the interviews: what was the
most challenging part of high school, What is something you loved about it, A skill you learned
from high school, One big takeaway/advice for younger students, did you have a job/play a sport
if so how did you manage to have a heathy balance, and finally what was one experience that
shaped who you are now? To carry out this project I will need to make sure I have the following
equipment: phone holder for in my car, volunteers to be interviewed, a phone to film episodes on
plus enough storage on the phone to hold all the footage, and a computer or laptop with iMovie
to edit the footage and create episodes. And although this project works well with my current
schedule, I need to make sure that I am up to date on filming the episodes and editing each one,
so I keep on track with the deadline. Other than managing my time I may run into issues such as
people cancelling when we have scheduled an interview, issues with editing as I am not very
experienced with it, footage getting lost or deleted from my phone, and possibly running out of
storage on my phone. All of which are issues that could be solved but that I need to look out for
while working through the project. Before I start the filming/interviewing process I will need to
do some research into making sure I am asking the best questions that will give me a wide range
of answers. While also considering what questions will give me the most meaningful answers. I
can do this research on YouTube from other interviews done with a similar purpose, or on online
platforms where questions about high school have been asked to past high school students.
Overall, I hope this project can be a way for grade 12’s to reflect on their years in high school
while also providing insight to the students who are about to experience it for themselves.

Resources/Technology/Skills:
For this project I will need friends and classmates who are willing to be interviewed, a
camera/phone to film the videos on and a computer with Movie to edit the videos on, plus a
holder for my phone that is attached to the car.

Mentors/Community Connections:
For this project I won’t need a mentor, but I will need friends/classmates to interview.

Projects Limitations:
-People cancelling planned times
-Issues with editing as I am not experienced
-Footage getting lost or deleted
-Running out of phone storage
-Not having people who want to be interviewed

Other considerations:
The goal of my capstone is to summarize the high school experience from the point of view of
grade 12 students who are close to graduating, while sharing the experiences we’ve had
(struggles, successes, etc.)

References:

Cauley, K. M., Chafin, C., & Certo, J. (2001). Students' perspectives on their high school experience. VCU
https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/merc_pubs/49/
-This was a study performed on high school students to see what it is like to be a high school student in today's
world. While seeing if schools are meeting the needs of the diverse group of students. Looking at both internal
school factors, like instructional time, extracurricular activities, and school climate that help students level of
understanding and engagement.

Goldman, J. P. (1991). Balancing school sports and academics. The Education Digest, 56(8), 67.

https://www.proquest.com/openview/45d3b7a4bca142c146091c3432ab7cb3/1.pdf?pq-o

rigsite=gscholar&cbl=25066

-This article speaks upon balancing both school and sports, while having both good academic and athletic
experiences. It also talks about the immense amount of pressure put on athletes by parents, and community
members. While also covering the fact that to be a full-time athlete they still have to pass their classes at
school.

Ireh, M. (1994). Stress: Helping Students Understand and Manage It. The High School Journal, 77(3), 233–
239. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40364796

-This article addresses what stress is like for high school students and the things that cause it, but also ways to

manage it. It acknowledges that school can be a threatening place for many students and that being there may

cause stress for certain individuals. While students are trying to learn where their place in society is and trying

to figure out the kind of person they wish to be.

Kearney, M., & Schuck, S. (2003, September). Focus on pedagogy: The use of digital video and iMovie in K-12

schools. In Apple University Consortium (AUC) conference, Adelaide, Australia.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matthew-Kearney-

5/publication/229004758_Focus_on_pedagogy_The_use_of_digital_video_and_iMovie_in_K-

12_schools/links/00b7d51c3f382c6d38000000/Focus-on-pedagogy-The-use-of-digital-video-and-

iMovie-in-K-12-schools.pdf

-This article focuses on the new development with digital video and editing software that has provided new
ways to enhance learning in schools, through the use of iMovie. While the project also investigates the
importance of student generated digital video for grades K-12.
Kon, I. S., Losenkov, V. A., De Lissovoy, C., & De Lissovoy, V. (1978). Friendship in Adolescence: Values and
Behavior. Journal of Marriage and Family, 40(1), 143–155. https://doi.org/10.2307/350615

-This article outlines the importance of teen friendships and what is necessary to make them work. It does so
by covering the different dynamics involved in in friendships such as age, sex, and other factors. In the end the
conclusion was reached that adolescent friendship is extremely significant and is an important part of every
teens' life.

Krause, K. H., Verlenden, J. V., Szucs, L. E., Swedo, E. A., Merlo, C. L., Niolon, P. H., ... & Underwood, J. M.
(2022). Disruptions to school and home life among high school students during the COVID-19
pandemic—adolescent behaviors and experiences survey, United States, January–June
2021. MMWR supplements, 71(3), 28. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8979601/

-This article outlines the effects that COVID 19 has on high school students, as it caused many drastic changes
in individual's lives. From things like personal job loss, homelessness, hunger, and suffering with depression.
After completing the study, it was found that over half the students found it more difficult to complete their
homework and suffered abuse at home.

Wilkins, J. (2014). Good Teacher-Student Relationships: Perspectives of Teachers in Urban High Schools.

American Secondary Education, 43(1), 52–68. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43694202

-This trial was performed in order to study what behavioral traits teachers had that formed good student
relationships and allowed for positive education and experiences. Teachers said that students who tried hard in
class, had a good sense of humor, were respectful and communicated well with the teacher were the ones they
got along best with. Showing that with a few factors both the teachers and students can have positive
experiences.

Zahneis, M., & June, A. W. (2020). How has the pandemic affected graduate students? This study has

answers. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 67(2).

https://websupport.montana.edu/covid19_rapid/documents/How%20Has%20the%20Pandemic%20Aff

ected%20Graduate%20Students_%20This%20Study%20Has%20Answers.pdf

-This piece of writing addresses a study performed with over 4,000 recently graduated students, to see what
challenges COVID 19 had on their high school years. Some of the challenges were the following: concerns
about sufficient amounts of food, not having secure housing, and mental health risks such as depression,
anxiety, and PTSD, all of which a percentage of the students faced.