Case
Volunteer Capstone Project

Our school is looking to start a capstone project where students are required to complete volunteer hours each year that they are in school. Then their senior year they will complete some sort of paper about their experiences. These hours from each year and paper will be tied into their senior English/language arts class. I have so many reservations about this capstone project. The biggest one is how is a volunteer capstone project if we require them to do it? And how do we keep students from "cheating" their way through the hour requirements?

Posted on: 03/15/15 | Views: 1036
Solution #1
This capstone project could be a really great experience for your students. To address your concern that the student may not be honest about their hours, your school could make sure to have the person supervising their hours (not a friend or parent) sign off that the did really complete the volunteer hours. Also, when students write about their experiences, it may be difficult for them to write about if they did not really complete the project.

Thank you. Great suggestions!

I agree. Having the coordinator or person in charge of the project is a great way to ensure accountability. My husband is a youth minister, and he signs many community service hour verification forms each year for the mission work that he helps the students to be involved in. Kudos to your school for providing this requirement/opportunity for students.

12 0
Solution #2
I think that this is a great idea. When I was in high school, I had to complete a project similar to this. My teachers required that we submit pictures in a portfolio to show that we did the work. In a society full of technology, the students should not have a hard time getting pictures to show the work that they did.

Great idea! I like that they should take photos as additional proof that they completed the hours.

Including pictures from their experiences is a great idea! They could take those with their phones easily and include them in their written reflections.

Pictures are also a great way for student's to express themselves, especially for visual learners.

5 0
Solution #3
My two children had to do a similar senior project at their high school. Basically,their junior year they were to come up with an idea and then plan it out with the help of a teacher mentor and a community member. The whole project had many written deadlines and an outline that was easy to follow. Then, when it was completed,they had to present their project to adult volunteers who rated them. It was a good experience and the kids learned a lot. I like it that your school is asking that the project be a volunteer effort. Ours was basically,choose anything you are interested in, and that made it difficult. Your school's project sounds more service oriented. It will be rocky the first year, but then you will understand more how to help facilitate the freshman to keep up with what they need to be documenting for their senior paper.
1 0
Solution #4
Perhaps the "Volunteer Capstone Project" is a kind of play on words. What I mean, is that it sounds like it is not a voluntary assignment but required. However, the word volunteer is referring to what they will be doing. In other words, they have a required assignment in which they will volunteer their time at some particular charity, outreach, etc. Make sense? Oh the irony of a required volunteer...or is that an oxymoron?
1 0
Solution #5
The capstone project is a good idea because it allows them to give to the community. You can keep them accountable by having the person in charge of the student at the volunteer place to fill out a progress report
0 0
Solution #6
It's volunteer in the sense that they will be volunteering their time in classrooms, but the project itself is mandatory I'm assuming. A lot of students cheat when they're in a time crunch. Have check in points throughout the years to assess how they're doing before senior year, and making sure everyone is on track.
0 0