Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: Ethan Gelinas Date: Oct 16th

Teacher: Ms. Lacroix Block: 1-1

The Capstone strand I have chosen is Project Strand

Proposed title for my Project Proposal: (write the proposed title for your Capstone Project in one
clear sentence):

Math with Huskies: A fun and engaging animated guide to primary level math.

Choose one of your stored inquiry questions from grade 9 or create a new inquiry question that
interests you for further research. It should be a question that connects with a purpose, passion
or personalized area of interest for you.
My inquiry question is:

How can math be taught in a way that engages and informs young children?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are
choosing to investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry connect
to your passion(s), purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

This inquiry question interests me because my current career interest is in the teaching
industry. Over my time as a student, I have become a passionate lover of mathematics. Also, I
have begun to indulge in the idea of teaching. Both of these lead me to desire to follow the
path of becoming a teacher. The interest steams from math class it's self where I would help
teach the class in a tutoring way for those who did not understand the material that I knew.
Combined these passions lead me to want to learn more about the teaching profession. My
love of videos and animation lead me to choose to be an animated product. The idea of using
videos the convey these topics gives me a passion to continue with this project. Finally, the
fact that Huskies are involved in this project has to do with the fact that they are my favourite
animal. Their inclusion in this project has helped me feel fully invested in this idea.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this

area of inquiry?

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 When it comes to teaching Math, I have experience teaching other students the basics of high
school math. However, when it comes to elementary, I am not as experienced, though I am
currently surrounded by people who work in elementary schools. This means that I have
become aware of the skills required to teach primary level classes.

Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What
connections does this inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

My intended career at this point is teaching in some capacity. This leads to my inquiry
question nicely as they both deal with the transfer of knowledge in a teaching way. These both
also connect to my life in that I find great satisfaction and joy in the growth of others. This
leads to teaching because it is one of the few ways that are most effective to help and
facilitate the growth of others.

Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core
competencies will be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

My project will require me to use many subject areas and core competencies. The main
subject areas include Math, Art/Animation, and Writing. Math will be need as it the main focus
of the project and what I will be teaching. Art and Animation skills will be need to create the
visuals that will go along with the math. Writing will be required to insure that the information
portrayed will come across in a manner that is interesting and informational. As for the Core
Competencies involved in this project the main ones are Communication, Creative Thinking,
and Critical Thinking. All of these Core Competencies are required to effectively express and
teach the concepts of math in a fun and interesting way.

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to
present your project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once
completed. You may use a combination of mediums.
o Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
o Physical portfolio
o Website
o imovie presentation

I will present my Capstone Project through two mediums, the mediums being a website and
an online video series through YouTube. The website will house all information and videos in
a cataloged and easy to use format. The website will provide the viewer with both a written
guide and video animation that describe the chosen topic. The YouTube series will contain the
previously mentioned video animations as well as additional content such as guides on how
lessons of a specific topic could be taught. The final presentation will consist of me displaying

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 the final product. The presentation will be me going through each of the resultant products
showcasing them and how they would be taught in a classroom. The videos will be played to
illustrate the concepts. Then the website will contain all of the information on how to teach the
subject including other resources available.

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what
will you research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced
at the end of this project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your
proposal.

My Capstone project will try to show parents and teachers how to help facilitate the learning of
math using fun and engaging short length animations. This will be done in a multi-step
process. The first step in the journey of this project will be the research phase. During this
length of time research will be done to understand what is needed from the website and
videos. For example, there will be research on what the current teaching method for math is in
primary schools. Also, in this time frame, basic outlines of what needs to be said in the videos
will be created to be revised with the mentor later on in the process. At the end of the
information gathering stage of this project, approximately four or five topics will be chosen to
be used as the subject matter for the project. Then the creation of the product will begin. This
stage will have the greatest time investment of all the stages. During this period scripts will be
finalized for the videos and blogs will be written for the information on how the specific section
could be taught to the students. The blogs will be posted on the website for ease of viewing
whereas the videos will be posted on to a YouTube Channel for this project. The videos will
then be posted to the website with the accompanying blogs. The short videos will be created
in a three-step workflow. The first step is a script that will be started in the research phase.
The script will be improved and rework to involve all the needed information during this part of
the project. The scripts will then be put into a video draft where the videos will be planned out
and basic animations will be made. When the drafts are done, they will be looked over and
analyzed for improvements in timing and the adding components. Finally, the videos will be
finalized and reviewed for the best product achievable in the timeframe given. Once each
video is completed, they will be uploaded and a blog on how to teach the given section will be
added to the website alongside the video. At the end of the project, the final product will be
tested by the sharing of the website and videos to other teachers who will give critiques on
how they could be improved. Also, the videos will be shown to primary students learning the
subjects talked about in the course and thus proving the utility of the project.

Project Design Team: who needs to be on your project design team to make this
project/research effective? To support your work? Outline the team and their roles.

To make this project effective and work well a small team will be needed to support the
creation of the product. A person will be needed to oversee the quality and design of the
animations to be the best it can be. An academic supervisor will ensure that all the information
and concepts being taught are appropriate for the age level of the recipients. Also, a website
consultant will make sure that the website of the project is easily navigable and looks

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 acceptable for the given audience. Each member of the team will not be involved at all times.
Every member of the team will be called upon occasionally to look over their specific areas.

Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and

skills you will need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to
access/learn all of the resources necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail
your plans.

To complete this project a specific set of skills will be needed to complete to the highest
possible degree of greatness. Art skills and talent will be needed to create the animations for
the project. Also, a program will be needed to create the art digitally for animation. In
conjuncture with art skills, animations will need to be created for the final output of the project.
All of these art programs will be used off of my personal computer so that they can be created
at times outside of school hours. If any additional resources or help is needed there are many
contacts available at my disposal for required assistance. The website will be created using
online templates and website building software. If any problems arise from the website
creation, there are many resources around for general use. Finally, the teaching and concepts
of the product will need to be learnt. These topics and resources will be accessible to me
through the mentorship. The mentor will go through the material needed to be covered and
how to best explain and present the topic.

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will

you need to help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you?
What is your plan to access the mentorship/community connections necessary for this
project?

The type of mentor needed for this project is a teacher that works in the primary grade levels.
The mentor will help me by making sure that the information is being portrayed is appropriate
for the given age group. Also, my mentor will provide knowledge and expertise in the subject
and how it can be taught. The mentor will be found through connections available via a friend
of family members that work in the education industry.

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee
that might affect progress with your Capstone Project?

Many limitations will become evident during this project. One such roadblock will be the fact
there are many topics to cover in primary math. This challenge will be overcome by choosing
a set amount that I find to be the most important to the given grade. Another obstacle that will
be faced is the creation of the animations. This will be an obstacle because as any artist will
tell you that no piece of art is finished only published. That means that I will want to continue

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 to work on them longer than needed. The combat the problem I will set a hard deadline that
will be met. This will mean that after the allotted time the animation can not be changed unless
both the members of the design team and myself decide a change necessary.

Other considerations: List and detail any other related information/ considerations about
your project that you feel should be included in your project proposal.

A final note that if at the end of the project there is still time left to continue working on the
project due to overly padded deadlines or another unforeseen reason, there are available
extensions. Those extensions are; additional topics that could be covered, a section of time
dedicated to promoting the product, or the creation of example videos that show an example
of how the specific topic could be taught to a class.

References: Provide a literature review or links for 5-10 references: research, videos, etc.
that offer some preliminary research you have done for your project that shows you are able
to access the key information that you will need to be able to complete this project/work.

Here are some links that I have found that could help me with this project.
 https://www.khanacademy.org/kids
o This link can help show me what others have done with a similar goal.
 https://www.homeschoolmath.net/teaching/teaching.php
o This link can help me learn how to teach different grade levels.
 https://sciencing.com/how-to-teach-mathematics-in-the-primary-school-12746191.html
o This link will help specifically in the teaching of math for the primary level.
 https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2012/jul/20/primary-maths-programme
o This link will show me the different way that a child can learn this will help me
to know what is needed from me.
 http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/math/
o This link will give me an idea of how some teachers teach primary level math to
their class. This iss helpful to guide my teaching along a good path.

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Project Plan & Timeline: Plan the steps for your project with a timeline of when the work
needs to be done.

Complete the attached Capstone Project Action Plan or create your own timeline to
show steps and dates needed for completion.
Capstone Project Action Plan/Timeline

Project Title Math with Huskies: A fun and engaging animated guide to primary level math.

Capstone Strand Project strand.

Design Team
Members
 Creative consultant
o Carissa Gelinas
 Website advisor
o John Denver
 Academic Overseer
o Mentor

Objective(s): Date of Completion:

March 7th
Create multiple short length animations to convey primary level math for This is the end of the project
children and those who will them. Accompanying blogs will created for those work period and from this day I
who will teach and help the learning. The blogs will give examples of how the will work on the presentation
section could be taught. part of the project.

Resources Required:
Art creation software and the materials that will be taught are the main and most important resources that are
worth mentioning.

Essential Skills Required:

The essential skills required for this project are both art and communication skills as they are the primary
abilities used to convey the topics of math in this project.

Mentors/Community Connections:
A primary level teacher is needed for my project to be my mentor.

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Develop Timeline for the overall Project:

Action Plan Steps:

What needs to be Who will do this part? By when? Done:

done? (add rows as
needed)
Ethan Gelinas November 30th
Choosing of topics that will
be discussed.

Ethan Gelinas December 15th

Drafts of the script
completed.

Ethan Gelinas January 13th

Rough outline of videos
completed. To be reviewed.

Ethan Gelinas February 14th

Final videos are completed.
Review by:
Mentor

Ethan Gelinas February 28th

Blog post created and videos
posted to the website

Testing of the product Nancy Holland End of February to early

march.

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Other considerations:

An extra thing to consider is the order of completion as above the animations are completed all at once
whereas; it might be more effective if each video goes through the same order of making but for each
topic repeating the steps of creation. For example, the first topic will be chosen and then an animation
will be created for it. Once the first video is completed then another topic will be chosen and so on so
forth until the date of completion.

Required check in dates: Students will refer to the list of published due dates which were
provided in September and are available on the class website.