communities by Design Final Project
Design Competition (40% of grade) – Students will work in teams of two on a project to develop an innovative program or practice for enriching one of the 10 Age-Friendly University (AFU) Principles at Lasell. The project will include reviewing existing programming (at Lasell or elsewhere), making recommendations for developing a new program or practice at Lasell, and a space assessment to indicate where the program would best take place, limitations, needs, etc. The project aims to bring together both the social capital and built environment required for fulfilling the AFU principles.
Final Project Presentation Dates: Tuesday April 25 and Monday May 1
Guidelines for Project Preparation, Progress, Presentation, and Evaluation
Project Preparation: In exploring ideas and developing plans, the following sources should be used:
Observational data: Your own evaluation of the existing programs and spaces.
Information from potential users: Lasell students (classmates, friends) and older adults (LV residents, faculty, friends, or relatives) about the project need, design elements, and other factors
Information from text: Dannenber, A., Frumkin H., & Jackson, R. (2011). Making Healthy Places: Designing and Building for Health, Well-being, and Sustainability
Information from other sources: Reports about other programs or design recommendations from at least 2 peer-reviewed sources (e.g., Generations, Gerontology & Geriatrics Education; Educational Gerontology; Adult Education Quarterly; and others )
Project Progress: Progress reports will be submitted and meetings with instructors will be scheduled.
Project Presentation: Project designs will be presented during scheduled class time.
Presenters should dress professionally and presentations should:
use Powerpoint
be no be longer than 5-7 minutes and about 6-9 slides
include information about project need, benefit to users of different ages, design feasibility, and other relevant information determined by the team to build the case
include “stats and facts” and/or use graphs/charts to display data
include figures/images/prototype to describe project components
include a plan for evaluating the health impact of the project
showcase the team’s attention to detail, creativity, and innovation
Project Evaluation: Projects will be given awards in the following categories:
Most Creative
Most Useful (greatest reach and benefit)
Most Feasible (most realistic and effective)
Best Design (features addressed need)
Best Case (argument made to demonstrate need)
Best Overall
Final Grade: The instructors will determine the final project grade based on:
Use of information to prepare design case (e.g., Was minimal information from limited sources used….or, was in-depth information from multiple sources used to build the case?)
The extent to which the case was presented in a compelling, prepared and professional manner (e.g., Was the presentation brief with limited details…or, did the presentation touch key points with supporting information in a clear and engaging way?)
The extent to which the project reflected the age-diverse, age-friendly focus
The extent to which the project reflected built environment considerations
Award status
Building your Slides.
Below is the basic slide outline. You may adjust as needed for your particular project needs. Please check with instructors if you do.
In building your presentation, design aspects are important. Thus, think about using a format and visual images that are engaging, informative, and showcase your distinctive work.
Crafting text that does not detract from your verbal presentation is also an important consideration. You do not want the audience reading detailed text as you speak. At the same time, you want to highlight important elements of your work with your text.
Proofreading and production checks are essential – typos, mistakes in grammar, misalignments of fonts, text, etc. may seem like small things, but they have a big impact on the integrity and credibility of your message.
Slide 1: Project name, designers, class, date, etc.
Slide 2: AFU Principle and project overview
Slide 3: What is your proposed project…Details about how the project works
Slide 4: Why is the project of value…Research and related background about benefits (cite sources as needed)
Slide 5: Where will the project take place…Space needs
Slide 6: Feasibility…How do you know the project will work…Information from potential users, information about similar/related programs
Slide 7: What are the expected health and other outcomes…How will you assess these outcomes
Slide 8: Project summary…End with something memorable!
Slide 9: Sources used (APA format)
need to be a PowerPoint presentation
Also our principle is number 8 and all research informations should be in Boston.
for this you can skip it in the worksheet
Who could you speak with at Lasell to find out more about present activities and opportunities related to your principle?