Professional Development- Senior Capstone Project

This page was designed to help other schools interested in CAL's Capstone Project. Here you will find information on what Capstone looks like at CAL, as well as generic documents to help you to develop your own capstone projects. By the Spring of 05 there should be some examples of finished student projects.

What are the goals of the Capstone Project?

There are two main goals that all Capstone projects should meet. First, all Capstones should allow students to delve deeply into a project connected to their program area. The project should be one that students find challenging, interesting, and meaningful. Second, Capstone projects need to provide an opportunity for students to show that they've met key outcomes. Our hope for all students is that they'll be able to complete significant work that truly matters to them and that allows them to tap into and demonstrate their talents and skills.

There is no one answer to this question, as there are many different types of projects that will meet the Capstone goals. A health sciences student might work with a scientist at OHSU to conduct a research project. An information technology student might work with a team of other students to create a web site for ThinkQuest, an international student competition. An engineering/manufacturing student might design and build a solar-powered car. One student from engineering and one from IT might work together to mentor a middle school team entering the Lego Robotics competition. Whether students want to work alone or with a team, with students from their program area or with students from other program areas, solving a problem for an industry partner or just exploring a question that intrigues them, the main feature of Capstone projects is that students are deeply engaged in substantial, real-world projects connected to their program areas.

What is required for Capstone?

While there will be differences between what students do for their Capstone projects, there will be a uniform process that all students will go through. All students will complete the following: w Proposal · All students will submit a preliminary project proposal, including as much information as possible about their planned project. Advisors will review those proposals and either give the go-ahead to proceed with the project or help students revise their plans.
· Students in information technology and engineering/manufacturing will compile and submit a project notebook to document their Capstone experience. Included in the notebook will be the proposal and, depending upon the specifics of the project, such things as budgets, work plans, work documentation logs, drafts, revisions, correspondence, etc. Because the nature of Capstone projects in the health sciences may be based more upon experiences than in creating projects, they may choose to substitute a formal research paper or a reflective paper for a project notebook. w Meetings with advisors
· All students will be assigned a Capstone advisor, who will be an instructor. Students will be expected to meet at designated times with their advisor throughout the Capstone process. w Oral presentation
· The Capstone experience will culminate in an oral presentation to an audience of students, staff, industry partners, family, and friends. In the presentation, students will share not only the results of their project, but also their process and a reflection on the experience.

Through their Captone projects, students will be able to demonstrate that they've met selected CAL core outcomes and outcomes specific to their program area. Projects will be evaluated using scoring guides that describe performance in pre-defined outcomes. All Capstones will be scored with the same scoring guide to determine the degree to which students have met the core outcomes. Each program area will also have scoring guides specific to their program areas. Grades for Capstone will be determined by both the products student create and the process they use to create them.

Who are the key players in the project?

Chart

Student- Project Proposal,Meet with Advisor, Project Notebook, Project, Project Presentation.
Advisor- (Usually a Teacher) Approve Project, Monitor Progress, Meet with Student, Evaluate Progress, View Presentation.
Teachers- (Non Advisor Teachers) Monitor Progress, Help with Writing and Notebook, View Presentation.
Parents- Monitor Progress, View Presentation.
Community- View Presentation.