Project Evaluation
Choosing a Title
One of the most important parts of the EPQ is choosing the title as that is what I was going
to do the project on. The first step I took to do this was making a mind map of all the possible
themes and topics that interest me. From that I chose the three I liked the most and then
made three separate mind maps of them. I did some initial research for each to help me
come to a decision of which one I wanted to do. Another way in which I came to my decision
was weighing up the pros and cons of doing each. Something I had to consider was how
Coronavirus would affect my project as it meant there were some things that were restricted.
I wanted to make a film originally but due to the threat of quarantine I thought it would be
better to do something that didn’t heavily require other peoples help.
Time management
Time management was an important part of the EPQ especially if you want to do well in it.
The most useful time management method to me was the gantt chart which laid out my
whole project on one page with each section colour coded so it was easy to see how long
each part should take me. Also, due to the ‘Active, Upcoming, Complete’ drop down bars, it
was easy for me to track my progress in the project. A time management strategy that did
not help me as much was the kanban board as I would forget about it for weeks and not
update it- I think a ‘to do’ list would’ve worked better. The last time management strategy I
used was my EPQ log. Although this wasn’t it’s only purpose it helped me to keep track of
everything I had already done and how that had gone so I could focus on what I still need to
do. Also, I wrote the time each task took me in the margin of my log which helped me to see
how much time I should plan for a future task that is similar to make sure I don’t run out of
time.
Difficulties
Referencing some of my sources was tricky because there was missing information, for
example, the date of publishcation or the author. This meant it was hard to reference
effectively as I had to write ‘anon.’ or ‘no date’ on my bibliography which reduces the
credibility of the sources even though some of them were very helpful within my project.
Another difficulty involving sources was not having enough of a range. Due to coronavirus
and lockdown, going to libraries became impossible so I found it hard to get books that
related to my topics- however, I did find a very useful National Geographic Magazine which
became an incredibly important resource throughout my project because it didn’t just give
information but it also presented me with pictures which helped me a lot to create a visual
representation of my topics. After I’d done my exhibition I felt like I should have opened it up
to more people as only two age groups took back in my questionnaire. This would’ve made
the data I collected quite similar to each other as they would’ve had similar experiences with
art. I wish I’d done my exhibition in a room where people come to see it specifically so I
would’ve got some art lovers rather than just people walking through an art room to get to
their lesson. The last big difficulty I faced was my exhibition being confusing to students who
didn’t know Rene Magritte. Although some people did, many had never heard his name so
they wouldn’t be able to see the link between his work and mine. To combat this problem I
should’ve got an art book of his work and placed that open on the table with my paintings so
my target audience could flick through that and get a better understanding of Magritte’s
work.
Choosing a Title
One of the most important parts of the EPQ is choosing the title as that is what I was going
to do the project on. The first step I took to do this was making a mind map of all the possible
themes and topics that interest me. From that I chose the three I liked the most and then
made three separate mind maps of them. I did some initial research for each to help me
come to a decision of which one I wanted to do. Another way in which I came to my decision
was weighing up the pros and cons of doing each. Something I had to consider was how
Coronavirus would affect my project as it meant there were some things that were restricted.
I wanted to make a film originally but due to the threat of quarantine I thought it would be
better to do something that didn’t heavily require other peoples help.
Time management
Time management was an important part of the EPQ especially if you want to do well in it.
The most useful time management method to me was the gantt chart which laid out my
whole project on one page with each section colour coded so it was easy to see how long
each part should take me. Also, due to the ‘Active, Upcoming, Complete’ drop down bars, it
was easy for me to track my progress in the project. A time management strategy that did
not help me as much was the kanban board as I would forget about it for weeks and not
update it- I think a ‘to do’ list would’ve worked better. The last time management strategy I
used was my EPQ log. Although this wasn’t it’s only purpose it helped me to keep track of
everything I had already done and how that had gone so I could focus on what I still need to
do. Also, I wrote the time each task took me in the margin of my log which helped me to see
how much time I should plan for a future task that is similar to make sure I don’t run out of
time.
Difficulties
Referencing some of my sources was tricky because there was missing information, for
example, the date of publishcation or the author. This meant it was hard to reference
effectively as I had to write ‘anon.’ or ‘no date’ on my bibliography which reduces the
credibility of the sources even though some of them were very helpful within my project.
Another difficulty involving sources was not having enough of a range. Due to coronavirus
and lockdown, going to libraries became impossible so I found it hard to get books that
related to my topics- however, I did find a very useful National Geographic Magazine which
became an incredibly important resource throughout my project because it didn’t just give
information but it also presented me with pictures which helped me a lot to create a visual
representation of my topics. After I’d done my exhibition I felt like I should have opened it up
to more people as only two age groups took back in my questionnaire. This would’ve made
the data I collected quite similar to each other as they would’ve had similar experiences with
art. I wish I’d done my exhibition in a room where people come to see it specifically so I
would’ve got some art lovers rather than just people walking through an art room to get to
their lesson. The last big difficulty I faced was my exhibition being confusing to students who
didn’t know Rene Magritte. Although some people did, many had never heard his name so
they wouldn’t be able to see the link between his work and mine. To combat this problem I
should’ve got an art book of his work and placed that open on the table with my paintings so
my target audience could flick through that and get a better understanding of Magritte’s
work.
