Eighth Grade Research Projects

In Eighth Grade, each student is asked to undertake an in-depth, independent research project. Shepherded by Eighth Grade Class Teacher, Joseph O’Donnell, and supported by mentors within and beyond our WSL Community, the students this year were encouraged to select a topic that truly drew them in deeply.

From that initial choice, students developed their projects by thinking in terms of three exploration ‘threads’: Research/Gathering knowledge; Making/Creating/Crafting; and Documenting/Collecting. Their desired topic may seem ‘anchored’ in one of these areas, but each project had to incorporate all three threads for a truly ‘thick’ exploration. The students were challenged to locate and propose a collaboration with a mentor and submit progress reports with supporting artifacts every two months. The project culminated with a presentation to the community and a final portfolio and writing of the entire project.

This year’s projects included studies in both the arts and sciences, expressive arts to data-driven explorations. The projects included: the Neuroscience of Psychopathy and Sociopathy; Beach Rocks and Their Formation; Japanese Woodblock Printmaking and Hokusai’s ‘The Great Wave’; SurfBoard Construction and the History of Surfing; The Process of Film-making; How the Brain Signals the Body; and a Journey through Twentieth-Century Art.

Student projects were capped with presentations and an Exposition in the first week of April—to the school in the afternoon and then to the larger community and families in the evening. The Eighth Grade students were eloquent and engaging, and the younger students and adults were inspired by all of the creativity and thought put into these Capstone Projects. Well Done!

See photos from the presentations here.