As part of our Year 10 Humanities course, we are able to research and develop a project of our own jurisdiction, creating an outcome to showcase at a final exhibition in Term 4. Out of the four key topics within Humanities, we have selected Civics and Citizenship as our subject.
Progress Update 1
1. Ideation
This was our first phase of the project, where after being assigned our HASS topic we discussed various ideas we could investigate, and produce a final product, based on. We found many areas within civics and citizenship we were interested in, and therefore attempted to incorporate multiple points of interest into our first idea.
How did Ancient justice systems function, and how do they compare to modern systems of law? OUR INQUIRY QUESTION
Topic choice
After ideation, we concluded that we wanted to investigate and compare ancient laws and justice systems to the modern-day equivalents of these systems. This combined law with another HASS topic we were interested in, History, and also gave us the opportunity to analyze the ethics behind the justice system – investigating the influence of religion on government, and capital punishment.
Our interest in these areas of ancient law leads us to choose to investigate Medieval Europe specifically after some basic research, due to the major influence of the Church and punishments such as torture and capital punishment.
2. Research
After choosing our topic, we began the research stage of the project. As an assessment and check-in, we were required to complete 10 annotated references, cited in APA 7 style. We attempted to focus on reliable sources, citing academic interviews from reputable authors, articles from Encyclopedia Britannica, reports published by various Universities, and even images of primary sources.
We utilized a citation-generating website, scribbr, in order to create and organize the sources we found during our research. This made the process much smoother and ensured we could generate the citations in the formal style required.
3. Planning
After, and during, the completion of our ideation and initial research, we utilized a timetable in order to ensure we are getting enough work done and therefore are able to complete the project within the time necessary. We have also created some initial ideas of final products, and have assigned a little more research to each do over the holidays.
Timeline
The timeline to the left was initial planning, guiding us the first two weeks of our project, and will continue to be developed throughout the remaining weeks of the project. Future planning will include any needed research, pitching product ideas to receive feedback from the class, and finally the development of our final product in the coming weeks.
Capabilities
The HASS+ Project is designed to challenge and develop a range of capabilities alternative to traditional assessments. Within this project, we have largely improved the key capabilities of:
- Organisation: in order to complete necessary tasks in establishing our final product, we have utilised a timetable to keep us on track.
- Effective communication: as I collaborated with a group member within this project, communicating will be essential. We have touch out of school using mediums such as Microsoft Teams and Discord – and in person have learned to understand the other group members’ ideas and views, compromising in order to clearly outline individual tasks.
- Resilience: resilience is absolutely necessary in such a long task, wherein we will be presented with many challenges both internally and externally while working towards completion.
- Creativity: this capability is unavoidable within this project. After collecting research into our inquiry question, our creativity is challenged as we develop a final product worthy of presenation.
- Problem-solving: both internally and externally, many challenges were presented throughout the course of this project. From absence, to not being able to access certain resources, to attempts at final products not working the way we’d imagined, there were many tests.
Progress Update 2
Our progress after update 1 included utilising peer feedback to improve our product, as well as assisting us in deciding what mediums we would use to present our information.
1. Feedback
Following Progress Update No. 1, our classmates were asked to review our progress so far and provide critical feedback, endeavouring to assist us in producing a high-quality final product. We requested more feedback about our ideas for our final product, and in summary, were given two main aspects to include in our presentation.
- Interactive Product
The idea of a game was appreciated, where the players would navigate their way through Medieval England. The idea we had to structure it like a choose-your-own-adventure game – as this is an effective way to engage the audience.
2. Visual Product
We were also advised to use a separate medium to provide official information – either through the use of a model with written labels and descriptions, or a series of posters that could be mounted behind the game for more contextual info.
This feedback was taken into consideration, leading to us deciding on two main products to be utilized to present our inquiry question.
Exhibition Floor Plan
To the left is the collection of our final products, and that plan for our exhibition. This means that we require a pin-up board, and will need to organise this before exhibition night. We decided to settle on using posters as a visual, information-heavy resource, with booklets that you can take home to accompany this. For a more engaging aspect, we decided to create a board game – involving the audience within our context. This was heavily influenced by our feedback, advising us to use a balance of interactive and visual products.
Pin-up Board Layout
To the right is a sketched layout of our various posters and sources to be displayed behind our exhibition. It is divided in half, one side focused on providing insight into the context of Medieval society, including theoretical and written law, feudalism, etc. The other half focuses on punishment – death sentences, torture, and a case study into the witch trials.
