Passion Project
The Components
This is a project-based-learning assignment that spans 2 weeks and encourages you to pursue a creative interest--that aligns with your personal strengths-- that you might otherwise not experience in a regular classroom.
The Passion Project consists of two main components and a final presentation:
The Project Itself
There are two types of Passion Projects:
A. Research project.
These Passion Projects focus on a one specific topic and result in an extended piece of writing.
These pieces should have a very clear purpose. The text created should be referenced, but present the information from a clear and novel perspective; your voice should be evident throughout the work. You should:
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Decide on your topic
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Have a clear purpose for your writing (to inform, educate, entertain, persuade, instruct, investigate etc)
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Determine who your audience will be (this will shape your language)
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Decide on an appropriate form (this will give your writing a purposeful structure)
Think of this as an “I always wanted to learn about _____, and now I have an excuse to do it.”
B. Product Project
These Passion Projects involve creating something, and result in a product or event.
This option allows you to use your creative talents to build, design or make something. This type of project requires extensive research and has a clear aim to solve an identified problem, developing or improving a specific skill or investigating a career.
The Process Journal or Blog
This is the living history of your Passion Project, from idea to completion.
Write/videotape/talk about your work, what you learned, what challenges you are facing and how you propose to solve them. Pictures of the process are encouraged.
You will need to update this often (about every two days) and share this with your teacher, classmates, parents and mentors. The idea is that any time a stakeholder is interested to know where you are on your project, he/she can access your journal or blog and see exactly where you are at.
Present
You will present your final Passion Project at a student showcase. You will give a five-minute presentation to students, teachers, and community members where you will show off their work.
Your five-minute presentation is a carefully written, choreographed, and rehearsed informal Ted-Talk. Along with the Ted-Talk, you will create a display board (tri-fold) that includes your SMART goal, explains your process (this is where the blog/journal becomes key), and shows your final product or demonstrates the skill you acquired. Talk about your work, what you learned, what challenges you are facing and how you propose to solve them. Be sure to include what you determined your individual strengths are and how you included these strengths in your Passion Project.
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Think about how to engage your audience as you present. For example, if you build a prototype, could your audience try it out?
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