Transcript The Capstone Project: State of Tennessee

Capturing the Capstone
The Capstone Project:
State of Tennessee
Brenda Ables and Janis Kyser
[email protected]
[email protected]
Background and Rationale
• The High School
Transition Policy:
adopted January 2008
by the SBOE
• Recommends: a
Capstone experience
for seniors
• Task: To prepare
students to be ready
for college and for
workforce training
Effects of The Capstone Project
• Emphasizes learning
• Engages students
• Allows students to learn
about themselves
• Promotes higher-order
thinking skills
• Connects new knowledge
to what students know
• Encourages concrete
applications
Process for Seniors
• Move ideas or dreams
toward topics of
interest, specialization,
community need, or
career choices.
• Produce showcased
products submitted for
review and evaluation
A Shared Partnership
Administrators
Teachers
Counselors
Project advisors
Students
Community
Parents
• Share responsibility
• Advise, observe,
dialogue
• Focus on topic and
approach
• Mentor, provide jobs,
and partner in service
Five Core Components
(15-40 Hours Expected)
• Approved Proposal
• Documented
Research and
Contact Hours with a
Mentor
• Short Written Paper
of 1200-1500 words
• Oral Presentation
• Review Panel
Capstone Project Proposal
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Project Title
Project Topic
Goal(s)
Strategy for
Accomplishing the
Project
• Materials for Oral
Presentation
• Student and Parent
Signatures
Documented Research
(under the Guidance of a Mentor)
Contact with Adult
Mentor
who can advise
and assist
Knowledgeable
and
Experienced
Willing to have
Regular Student
Contact
Able to give
Constructive
Feedback
Role of Mentors
• Offer guidance,
suggestions,
feedback, coaching
• Provide opportunities
to volunteer at
program or business
• Demonstrate skills,
share knowledge
• Record progress with
the project.
Short Written Paper
• Length: 1200-1500
words, minimum
• Format: WordProcessed
• Documentation:
Modern Language
Association (MLA)
Written
Paper
Rough Drafts Completed
Project Journal/Log and Research
Seven Capstone Categories
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Senior Project
Virtual Enterprise
Internship
Externship
Work-Based
Learning
• Service Learning
• Community Service
Oral Presentation
• Length: 10 minutes,
minimum
• Potential Audience:
Parents, Teachers,
Community Leaders,
Mentor, Peers, Project
Advisor
• Questions: From a Panel of
School/ Community-Based
Individuals
#1: Senior Project
• Self-Development
through Creation and
Construction
Example: Model of
Repairs Needed for
Limestone Dams in
Tennessee
• Curriculum-Based
Independent Study
Example: Extended
Essay for IB Diploma
Programme
Senior Project: Local Example
Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet, Nashville, TN
Welcome to Senior Capstone! We hope you take full advantage of this opportunity to
design and partake in a meaningful learning experience that will allow you to explore
possible careers/areas of study. . . . It is crucial that you identify and arrange a
jobsite/mentor before returning to school in the fall. You will need to do some
legwork by making inquiries of your own.
Once you have identified a mentor, fill out
and submit the “Mentor and Placement
Confirmation” forms (see attached). These
forms are to be on file before you start at
your capstone site (Hume-Fogg Student
Capstone Guidelines, 2008-09).
Contact John Lee, Faculty Facilitator:
[email protected].
#2: Virtual Enterprise (VE)
• A simulated (virtual)
business, set up and
run by students with
the guidance of a
teacher/facilitator and
a business partner
• No goods produced
• No currency actually
exchanged
Virtual Enterprise (VE):
Local Example
Blackman High School, Murfreesboro, TN
• 2002-03: Established first VE in Tennessee
• 2005: Established TN VE International Central Office,
in partnership with TDOE and under the guidance of VE
Central Offices in New York City
*39 TN schools now offer VE.
*45 businesses/firms participate.
*Contact Cindy Boyd, Director:
[email protected].
#3: Internship
• Chooses to Work in a
Challenging Setting
• Explores Interests
and Talents
• Volunteers to Help
Community Groups/
Organizations
• Apprentices to
Experience Career
Possibilities
Internship: Local Example
School for Science and
Math at Vanderbilt
(SSMV)
• Integrative four-year
program
• Joint venture: MNPS +
Vanderbilt
• Ph.D. instructors
• 25 students per grade
• Contact Dr. Glenn
McCombs, SSMV
Director:
http://theschool.vanderbilt.edu/
#4: Externship
• Moves out of the
traditional classroom
setting
• Spends relatively
short period(s) of time
• Partners with
professionals in
various fields of
interest
Externship: Local Example
Winterim at Harpeth Hall School, Nashville, TN
• Now in its 36th year of implementation
• Takes place during the month of January
• Choice of possibilities
• Conference with Karen Roark, Director:
www.harpethhall.org.
#5: Work-Based Learning (WBL)
• Concurrent work
experience and class
enrollment
• Five hours of required
instruction per week
• An additional credit
earned for WBL
Work-Based Learning:
Local Example
Alignment Nashville
The Mayor's Office, Metropolitan Courthouse,
Nashville, TN 37201
615.862.5009 | [email protected]
• Academic interventions to improve college entrance
exam results
• Prevention of high-risk behaviors
• Internships and job preparation
• Opportunities for community service
• Transportation for before/after-school and Saturday
activities
#6: Service Learning
• 15-40 hours outside school day
• Active participation in meeting community needs
• Project collaboration between the school and
community
1. Identify a problem/project.
2. Provide supervised service.
3. Reflect to clarify values.
4. Celebrate successes.
Service Learning: Local Example
Governor’s Study Partner
Program (GSPP)
Michael Pocchiari, Director:
[email protected]
• Established in 1987
• Matches successful students
with those having difficulty
• Tutoring available for grades
1-12
• Training manuals provided for
tutors
• Sponsored by Bell South
Students work cooperatively to:
• identify a public policy problem in their community,
• research the problem,
• evaluate alternative solutions,
• develop their own solution in the form of a public
policy, and
• create a political action plan to enlist local or state
authorities to adopt their proposed policy.
• Participants develop a portfolio of their work and present their project in
a public hearing showcase before a panel of civic-minded community
members.
Provides a learning model that promotes
the perception of young people as
community assets. Meets the five
characteristics of service learning
when it is successfully implemented.
Offers mentors and faculty
(1) vision and leadership, (2) curriculum,
(3) professional development,
(4) partnership and community,
(5) continuous improvement
Jennifer Piscatelli, Education Commission of the States (2006),
Student Outcomes of Project Citizen
• learn how to make connections across disciplines,
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know how to use what is learned in school to address
real-life issues,
develop people skills that allow them to work effectively
in diverse group settings,
build higher-order thinking skills that enhance their
problem-solving and analytic abilities,
increase their intercultural competencies [e.g., ability to
converse in different languages and adapt to alternate
cultural norms], and
are able to effectively organize and utilize sources of
information”.
#7: Community Service
Three Types
• Direct Service with
those being served
• Indirect Service
“behind the scenes”
• Advocacy to alleviate
a community issue
through lobbying
government officials
Community Service:
Local Example
Father Ryan High School, Nashville, TN
Nancy Langdon, Registrar: www.fatherryan.org
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Putting values into action
Working in nursing homes
Serving in daycare centers
Helping in schools for the physically and/or emotionally challenged
Essential Questions for Schools
• What is your
infrastructure already
in place for The
Capstone Project?
• Who will coordinate
the project and
maintain continuity
from year to year?
• How will student
activities be monitored
and attendance
taken?
More Questions
• What research and documentation skills
have students at our school already
acquired?
• What community connections are strong
for this school: e.g., PENCIL partner(s)?
• How will we set up a mentor-match referral
data base to link seniors and community
members?
Key In-House Questions
• Group of judges to
review and grade
• Rubric to assess the
oral presentation
• Pass/fail rating or
other grade
• Online project guide
for current and rising
seniors
• Celebration plans
Capstone Project Timelines
• Seniors achieve the
maximum benefit in the
college admission
process by being able to
declare Capstone status
in December of their
senior year.
• Completing The
Capstone Project
allows students to
graduate with a
Capstone certification.
8th Through 12th Grade
• 8th grade: Counselors introduce the opportunity
of The Capstone Project to students and
parents: High School Transition Policy, p. 4 (3a,b).
• 9th-10th grades: Teachers emphasize and
sequence skills, such as writing, research,
documentation, oral communication, logging
Capstone ideas.
• 11th-12th grades: Students produce The
Capstone Project
The Capstone Project Manual
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Local and national examples
Research findings
Information for seniors: 10 Steps
Sample forms and logs
Glossary
References and resources
Multiple online links
Course 3500
• Capstone Project may be taken for credit.
• Special course approval process required
• Use the Capstone Manual for the course
curriculum
• One half credit will be awarded
Capstone Manual
• May be found on our website:
• www.state.tn.us/education
Top Ten Reasons to Love the
Capstone Project
1. Self-esteem enhanced
2. Idea as topic
3. Real-life issues
4. College readiness
5. Society needs addressed
6. Students as resources
7. Pride in learning
8. Knowledge combined
9. Community collaboration
10. Voices showcased