Tatiana Gutierrez
Editor-in-Chief
Sophomores will present a year-long project of each student’s choice in the form of a pseudo-TED Talk, which will complete the restructured Sophomore Interdisciplinary Project on April 24.
“The TED Talk will focus on process,” Lead Sophomore Adviser Rachael Denny said. “They will present on how they decided what they wanted to accomplish, what they wanted to do, and the steps they took to get to the finished product.”
Sophomores previously presented a synthesis of three research papers they had completed throughout the year on a theological or ethical, historical and scientific standpoint.
“The TED Talk-style of public speaking is the newest form for presenting information,” Denny said. “I think it allows for students to share with the audience more of themselves and their experience, versus in the past where we’ve done PowerPoint slides.”
TED Talks are approximately 20-minute presentations given by an individual specialized in a topic, but sophomore presentations will last five to seven minutes.
This format allows students more options to express their process, according to sophomore Abby Dolan.
“I think this year it is much more flexible and allows for more creativity,” Dolan said. “There is not as much of a strict script like there was in the past, which makes it easier to be yourself and show personality.”
Dolan plans on creating a Prezi, an animated presentation, to show how she learned to knit blankets for the nonprofit organization Project Linus, which distributes the blankets to children in hospitals and foster care.
Students previously gave prepared speeches using note cards note cards.
“The presentation aspect of the project itself has been challenging because my speaking skills and presentation skills aren’t very good,” Dolan said. “However, part of the project is improving on our presentation and public speaking skills.”
Sophomores Gabby Gupta and Becka Padgett decided to build an eco-friendly sports car with a solar panel, battery and engine.
“I am a person who gets stage fright,” Gupta said on the blog that she keeps for the project. “I am willing to overcome that fear and make my TED Talk fun and engaging.”
Sophomores will be graded on their presentations since they are not expected to have a finished product, as compared to previous sophomores who were solely graded on their research papers.
“They will be assessed more on the presentation itself and the expression of the process they went through,” Denny said.
Failure has been accepted as a possibility throughout the project, and if students experienced failure, they are expected to incorporate into the presentation how they coped.
“I plan on discussing the challenges I came across, such as not successfully meeting my goal and time management,” Dolan said. “Even though I failed, I succeeded in learning how to knit and learned how horrible I am at time management.”
Gupta and Padgett plan on presenting a model of their car and photographs while also sharing the challenges they faced.
“What I have found challenging is that my partner, Becka Padgett, is gone for Junior Olympics,” Gupta said. “I’m kind of left alone on the project. At least we were able to figure everything out before she left, but I look forward to having my partner back to prepare for this TED Talk.”
Although this type of project is new to the Sophomore Class, it is around a decade old, according to Denny.
“This is a well-studied, well-thought out, implemented project,” Denny said. “This project has been implemented in several different ways, in several different schools.”
