Designing and Teaching Undergraduate Capstone Courses

PRAISE FOR DESIGNING AND TEACHING UNDERGRADUATE CAPSTONE COURSES

"This volume is a useful guide for educators involved in building and delivering courses that culminate the academic experience. But it is much more. It is a road map to successful faculty collaboration, curricular coherence, intentionality, and learning–centered teaching relevant at every undergraduate level. Hauhart and Grahe argue that the capstone is only as good as the curriculum it caps, and they offer practical, research–based guidance for anyone interested in improving courses at the beginning, middle, and end of college."
Jean M. Henscheid, fellow, National Resource Center for The First–Year Experience® and Students in Transition, and author, Professing the Disciplines: An Analysis of Senior Seminars and Capstone Courses"Faculty invented capstones to help students both integrate and apply their learning to challenging questions and problems. This intensely practical book shows faculty and departments how to match their goals for students′ integrative learning with intentional and effective curricular practices. As a big proponent of capstone projects, I read this fine study with increasing interest and appreciation. It is a rich resource for all faculty members and leaders who want to create a more learning–intensive environment for today′s diverse students."
Carol Geary Schneider, president, Association of American Colleges and Universities"Hauhart and Grahe have created an important, evidence–based resource here; if you are a faculty member who cares about undergraduate education, you need this book."
R. Eric Landrum, professor, Department of Psychology, Boise State University, and 2014 president, Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Division Two)

Preface: The Importance of Senior Capstones in Contemporary American Higher Education 6

The Authors

Acknowledgments 3

Chapter 1: Overview of the Capstone Course 19

Chapter 2: The Role of the Capstone Course in the Curriculum 36

Chapter 3: Characteristics of the Capstone Course 68

Chapter 4: The Role and Design of Research Projects Leading to the Capstone Experience 96

Chapter 5: Research Projects Impediments and Possibilities 131

Chapter 6: Designing the Capstone Course 149

Chapter 7: Teaching Capstone Courses 193

Chapter 8: Using the Capstone Course for Assessment 230

Chapter 9: Conclusion: An Ideal Capstone Course 261

References 271

Acknowledgments

Epilogue

Bibliography

About the Author

Index

ROBERT C. HAUHART is a professor and former chair of the Department of Society and Social Justice for St. Martin′s University in Lacey, Washington.

JON E. GRAHE is a professor of psychology at Pacific Lutheran University, western regional vice president of Psi Chi, and an executive editor of the Journal of Social Psychology.