High-Impact Educational Practices

This is the first of two articles in which the author shares experiences gained from the development and delivery of a business/industry project-based capstone course. The course integrates research, proposal development and design experience based on knowledge and skills acquired in earlier coursework.

Capstones are open-ended undertakings where students are expected to creatively analyze, synthesize, and apply a wide-variety of learning outcomes from prior coursework. This paper discusses the structure, approach and evolution of the capstone project pathways within our College. Specifically two programs, MET and EET, have adopted different solutions towards the planning, organizing and execution. The areas of contrast among projects are: 1) sourcing, 2) type, 3) feedback and evaluation, 4) assessment methodology, 5) supplemental resources and 6) curricular strategy. For the first five, the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches are discussed along with the issues and benefits experienced by students, faculty and industry sponsors. In the sixth, a means to improve capstone readiness and performance is presented in which experiential courses within a topical area sequentially introduce challenging and open-ended assignments that foster cognitive learning.

Students must be prepared to compete in this rapidly changing global society of today, in which many jobs now being created require a minimum of two years of successful college completion. National statistics, however, are staggering when looking at the increasing trend of students who need remediation upon entering post-secondary programs. Many educators have researched different strategies of improving college readiness in high schools, and the Senior Capstone Project is one initiative that provides a rigorous, engaging learning experience for high school seniors. Little research, however, exists concerning the Senior Capstone Experience. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the impact a Senior Capstone Project may or may not have on students who have participated in the experience, specifically in regard to college preparedness. This project-based learning assessment was studied through the eyes of college students who have recently (within the last three years) experienced it and the language of college and career readiness standards and 21st century learning skills are utilized to determine whether or not the learning outcomes (academic and attitudinal) of the Senior Capstone Project are indeed transferrable to college success.