Capstone syllabus template
College
Department/ Academic Unit
Course prefix, Section number and Title
Term/ Year
Total Units of Course Credit
Course Pre-requisite(s), Co-requisite(s), Co-convened, and/or Cross-Listed Courses:
Mode of Instruction: Identifies whether the class is face-to-face, online, blended.
Instructor’s Name
Instructor’s Contact Information Office Phone; E-mail; Skype address, etc.
Instructor’s Availability Includes such elements as office address, office hours, and/or online availability, times the instructor is typically online or may be reached by phone, amount of time within which the instructor will respond to e-mails, etc.
Course Purpose
Describes to students how this course provides a culminating experience within the major, wherein students inquire, synthesize, apply, or work in ways that prepare them for a productive future.
Specifies that this course integrates at least two of the Liberal Studies Essential Skills into the culminating experience, or into an additional learning outcome and assignment.
Specifies that this course integrates at least one of the Liberal Studies Distribution Blocks into the culminating experience, or into an additional learning outcome and assignment.
Note: If your capstone is a “Topics” Course, ONLY the Liberal Studies-related section of the Course Purpose must be identical across all iterations of the Course Syllabus when taught. Other aspects of the Purpose may be changed according to the topic.
Guiding steps Accordion Closed
- Review your Degree Program’s Purpose and Student Learning Outcomes located in the Academic Catalog(in the “search” type in your degree program for the purpose and outcomes).
- Select the Degree Program Student Learning Outcomes that represent culminating learning in the discipline.
- Draft the course learning outcomes section.
- Draft the assignments section.
- Review the descriptions you developed for the assignments and determine how best to summarize those assignments to describe how the course culminates learning in the degree program.
- Incorporate descriptions of how students’ experiences in this course overlap or integrate at least two Liberal Studies Essential Skills and at least one Liberal Studies Distribution Block.
Example 1 Accordion Closed
The Capstone Seminar is designed to demonstrate your accumulated training in International Studies in a single original project of your choice, subject to the instructor’s approval and under the additional
supervision of a faculty mentor. Although the most common way of completing this course is the writing of a research thesis of approximately 8000 words, alternate projects can be explored in consultation with the instructor of the course and the International Studies Director of Undergraduate Studies. The completed thesis or project should bring together and culminate your theme, your region, your foreign language expertise, and your overseas experience. As you consider your research project, you will also be engaging in culminating the learning from the Liberal Studies Program. In particular, your research project will incorporate learning from your Cultural Understanding and Social & Political Worlds Distribution Blocks.
The Capstone necessitates multiple drafts of your research that are subjected to heightened peer review and regular feedback from your instructor, your peers and your mentor. Upon completion, you will present your research and findings at the International Studies Undergraduate Academic Conference. The completion of this project will ensure you graduate with strong skills in writing and oral communication, both of which overlap with the Essential Skills you have cultivated in the Liberal Studies Program.
Example 2 Accordion Closed
Candidates for student teaching at Alverno College engage in a portfolio assessment experience the semester before they complete their student teaching. This is a culminating experience, one toward which they have been working since the beginning of the program. The purposes of the portfolio assessment are to give candidates an opportunity to demonstrate their readiness for student teaching by showing how they plan, teach, assess, and give feedback—and how they assess their own teaching. Both Alverno faculty and an educator from the P-12 sector give feedback on the portfolio. There are eight standards for teaching English to be attained by every student who graduates from our program:
- Content Knowledge: Candidates demonstrate knowledge of English language arts (ELA) subject matter content that specifically includes:
- literature and multimedia texts as well as knowledge of the nature of adolescents as readers
- language and writing as well as knowledge of adolescents as language users
- Planning Literature and Reading Instruction: Candidates plan instruction and design assessments for reading and the study of literature to promote learning for all students.
- Planning Composition Instruction Candidates plan instruction and design assessments for composing texts (i.e., oral, written, and visual) to promote learning for all students.
- Implementing English Language Arts Instruction. Candidates plan, implement, assess, and reflect on research-based instruction that increases motivation and active student engagement, builds sustained learning of English language arts, and responds to diverse students’ context-based needs.
- Professional Knowledge and Skills:
- Candidates demonstrate knowledge of how theories and research about social justice, diversity, equity, student identities, and schools as institutions can enhance students’ opportunities to learn in English Language Arts (Liberal Studies: Cultural Understanding and Social & Political Worlds).
- Candidates are prepared to interact knowledgeably with students, families, and colleagues based on social needs and institutional roles, engage in leadership and/or collaborative roles in English Language Arts professional learning communities, and actively develop as professional educators.
Note that students are actively using their knowledge learned from their Liberal Studies Cultural Understanding and Social & Political Worlds Distribution Blocks when they are creating learning opportunities for students in English.
Students regularly work on lesson plan development and self-assessment according to the frameworks used in the portfolios, so that they prepare for the portfolio assessment in every class they take. New learning also occurs in doing the portfolio in two ways. First, students write reflections on what each lesson shows about them as developing teachers. They also write a detailed analysis of a videotaped lesson in terms of the double list of abilities above. These reflections and analyses overlap with two Essential Skills learned through the Liberal Studies Program: Critical Thinking and Effective Writing. Second, a professional in their field publicly critiques the portfolio. In these ways, students advance from just reflecting on their own performance to a deeper understanding of effective teaching.
Course Learning Outcomes
- Describes to students how the course learning outcomes align with the course purpose and description of the culminating experience
- Includes outcomes for at least two Essential Skills, and these outcomes align with the Essential Skill descriptions. See list of descriptions.
- Includes outcomes for at least one Distribution Block, and these outcomes align with the purpose and example learning outcomes of the Distribution Block. See: information on Distribution Blocks.
Note: If your capstone is a “Topics” Course, ONLY the Liberal Studies-related section of the Course Learning Outcomes must be identical across all iterations of the Course Syllabus when taught. Other aspects of the Course Learning Outcomes may be added or subtracted according to the topic.
Guiding steps Accordion Closed
1. Copy and paste the culminating Degree Program Student Learning Outcomes you selected to create the Course Purpose into this section, and, if necessary, modify them to create course learning outcomes. Because you are using the outcomes you selected to develop the course purpose, the course outcomes: “will align with the course purpose and your description of the culminating experience,” which is what the reviewers will be seeking.
Degree Program Student Learning Outcome | Liberal Studies Overlap | Course Learning Outcome |
---|---|---|
Graduates will know basic concepts and terminology in the study of literature, linguistics, rhetoric, and creative writing. Students will know how to use appropriate disciplinary and professional language. | Cultural Understanding | Examine the fundamentals of rhetorical analysis, with an emphasis on the importance of diverse genres as well as the cultural contexts of rhetoric. |
Students will have a basic knowledge of the political world, including contemporary political thought, and public policies, and be able to use key concepts and analytical approaches from Political Theory, U.S. Government and Politics, Comparative Politics, and International relations. | Social & Political Worlds | Identify and use salient political science concepts and analytical methods to evaluate the impact of scientific evidence on current environmental policy. |
The student teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s decision making. | Science & Applied Science | The student designs assessments that match learning objectives with assessment methods and minimizes sources of bias that can distort assessment results. |
Graduates will be principled creators of visual iconography that demonstrates a contemplative view of the many connections (both subtle and overt) between art and environmental sustainability, global engagement, and cultural diversity. | Aesthetic & Humanistic Inquiry | Examine and describe in students’ final written paper the relationship and influence of social, historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts upon students’ final capstone studio product. |
2. Review the Liberal Studies Essential Skill definitions
- Review your course learning outcomes and identify the outcomes that already overlap or align with the Essential Skill definitions. Select at least two Essential Skills that are best aligned with the culminating learning within the Degree Program.
- Next to those outcomes, write the LS Essential Skill (example: Liberal Studies Essential Skill: Critical Thinking) next to the learning outcome (click for <example>).
- Examine the fundamentals of rhetorical analysis, with an emphasis on the importance of diverse genres as well as the cultural contexts of rhetoric (overlaps with Liberal Studies Critical Thinking).
- What if I can’t identify any overlap?
- Return to your degree program student learning outcomes. Identify any outcomes that overlap with the essential skills.
- Incorporate those outcomes into the course.
- Still no overlap? Ask a colleague, or LS representative, or the LS Director, to identify overlapping aspects they see in your degree program’s learning outcomes. If you are unable to identify overlapping outcomes, you will need to develop an outcome that is important to the degree program that addresses a Liberal Studies Essential Skill.
- Review the Liberal Studies Distribution Block purpose statements and learning outcomes.
- Review your course learning outcomes and identify the outcomes that already overlap or align with the Distribution Block. Select at least one Distribution Block that is best aligned with the culminating learning within the Degree Program.
- Next to those outcomes, write the LS Distribution Block (example: Liberal Studies Distribution Block: Cultural Understanding) next to the learning outcome (click for <examples>).
- Identify and use salient political science concepts and analytical methods to evaluate the impact of scientific evidence on current environmental policy (overlaps with Liberal Studies Social & Political Worlds)
- What if I can’t identify any overlap?
- Return to your degree program student learning outcomes. Identify any outcomes that overlap with one of the Distribution Blocks.
- Incorporate those outcomes into the course.
- Still no overlap? Ask a colleague, or LS representative, or the LS Director, to identify overlapping aspects they see in your degree program’s learning outcomes. If you are unable to identify overlapping outcomes, you will need to develop an outcome that is important to the degree program that addresses a Liberal Studies Distribution Block.
Assignments/ Assessments of Course Student Learning Outcomes
Ensure that the assignments/ assessments clearly align with the culminating experience within the major, wherein students inquire, synthesize, apply, or work in ways that prepare them for a productive future (such as: research paper, thesis, report, presentation; exhibit, portfolio, performance; service learning project, internship; practice in the field: student teaching, working with patients, designing work for clients, etc.).
Ensure that the assignments/ assessments clearly align with or integrate:
- the Liberal Studies descriptions of the Essential Skills
- the Liberal Studies outcomes that represent at least one of the Distribution Blocks.
Factors to consider when using the Capstone for Degree Program Assessment
Grading System: Includes such elements as how points or percentages are allocated to each assignment/ assessment, points or percentages necessary to achieve each letter grade, etc.
Readings and Materials Lists such elements as books, readings, musical manuscripts or recordings, access to software requirements, and other such materials required for the course.
Class Outline or Tentative Schedule Includes such elements as expectations regarding the class schedule, when assignments, readings, materials, etc., need to be completed, as well as any expectations about completing work or lab or field trip requirements across the term within which the section is taught.
Class Policies: Identifies and describes class policies, including the makeup of missed assessments, academic integrity, attendance, etc.
University Policies: Approved University Policy Statements copied and pasted in the syllabus and/or provided via URL.
NAU Faculty Senate Syllabus Template Notes:
- Elements not in bold are provided as descriptors and are not meant to be included in the syllabus.
- Additional syllabus information may be included based on the program’s or instructor’s preference.
- Use the order of this syllabus template for submissions to the Academic Catalog. Otherwise, headings may be ordered as seen fit by the academic program or instructor
Guiding steps Accordion Closed
- Copy and paste the culminating Degree Program Student Learning Outcomes you selected to create the Course Purpose into this section, and, if necessary, modify them to create course learning outcomes.
Because you are using the outcomes you selected to develop the course purpose, the course outcomes: “will align with the course purpose and your description of the culminating experience,” which is what the reviewers will be seeking.
Examples:
Degree Program Student Learning Outcome | Liberal Studies Overlap | Course Learning Outcome |
---|---|---|
- Review the Liberal Studies Essential Skill definitions (click for <Essential Skill Definitions>).
- Review your course learning outcomes and identify the outcomes that already overlap or align with the Essential Skill definitions. Select at least two Essential Skills that are best aligned with the culminating learning within the Degree Program.
- Next to those outcomes, write the LS Essential Skill (example: Liberal Studies Essential Skill: Critical Thinking) next to the learning outcome (click for <examples>).
- What if I can’t identify any overlap?
- Return to your degree program student learning outcomes. Identify any outcomes that overlap with the essential skills.
- Incorporate those outcomes into the course
- Still no overlap? Ask a colleague, or LS representative, or the LS Director, to identify overlapping aspects they see in your degree program’s learning outcomes. If you are unable to identify overlapping outcomes, you will need to develop an outcome that is important to the degree program that addresses a Liberal Studies Essential Skill.
- Review the Liberal Studies Distribution Block purpose statements and learning outcomes (click for <Distribution Block Purposes and Outcomes>).
- What if I can’t identify any overlap?
- Review your course learning outcomes and identify the outcomes that already overlap or align with the Distribution Block. Select at least one Distribution Block that is best aligned with the culminating learning within the Degree Program.
- Next to those outcomes, write the LS Distribution Block (example: Liberal Studies Distribution Block: Cultural Understanding) next to the learning outcome (click for <examples>).
- What if I can’t identify any overlap?
- Return to your degree program student learning outcomes. Identify any outcomes that overlap with one of the Distribution Blocks.
- Incorporate those outcomes into the course.
- Still no overlap? Ask a colleague, or LS representative, or the LS Director, to identify overlapping aspects they see in your degree program’s learning outcomes. If you are unable to identify overlapping outcomes, you will need to develop an outcome that is important to the degree program that addresses a Liberal Studies Distribution Block.
- What if I can’t identify any overlap?
Examples
Assignments/Assessments of course student learning outcomes Accordion Closed
Ensure that, as a whole, the assignments/ assessments address all of the course learning outcomes, including:
Outcomes aligned with the degree program
Outcomes aligned with the Essential Skills
Outcomes aligned with the Distribution Block(s)
- Review the assignments/ assessments and evaluate how well the current assignments address the culminating degree program student learning outcomes covered by the course.
- Make a note of which course learning outcome is covered by each assignment. If there are any course learning outcomes that are not addressed by the assignments:
- Consider how to integrate them into the assignments that are already present.
- If it isn’t possible to integrate the outcomes into current assignments, consider what type of assignment would address the outcomes, and incorporate that assignment. (Go to common types of culminating experiences for some ideas.)
- Draft your ideas about how the assignments fulfill a culminating experience in this degree program/ degree program.
- Use your ideas to describe how each assignment engages students in culminating the learning in this degree program/ degree program.
- For assignments that overlap with Liberal Studies Essential Skills and Distribution Blocks, describe how the assignment engages students in the skill or block.
- Determine whether to place these descriptions in the course purpose or in the assignments/ assessments section.
Factors to consider when using the Capstone for Degree Program Assessment
There are two additional elements that the degree program faculty will need to consider internally. These two aspects will not be reviewed by the Liberal Studies Committee, but have strong impacts upon the success of the capstone as the most efficient course to assess the degree program:
- Clearly identify which assignments will be used to fulfill assessment obligations for the degree program and develop clear guidelines for the assignments to ensure assignment parameters required for assessment remain consistent across all faculty members teaching the course. Ensure faculty members teaching the course implement the assignments and understand their importance to degree program and Liberal Studies assessment.
- Develop explicit evaluation criteria (e.g., rubrics) to ensure grading is consistent across all faculty members teaching the course; inform students of the evaluation criteria and how it assesses their culminating learning in the degree program as well as the Liberal Studies Program.
Grading System: Includes such elements as how points or percentages are allocated to each assignment/ assessment, points or percentages necessary to achieve each letter grade, etc.
Readings and Materials Lists such elements as books, readings, musical manuscripts or recordings, access to software requirements, and other such materials required for the course.
Class Outline or Tentative Schedule Includes such elements as expectations regarding the class schedule, when assignments, readings, materials, etc., need to be completed, as well as any expectations about completing work or lab or field trip requirements across the term within which the section is taught.
Class Policies: Identifies and describes class policies, including the makeup of missed assessments, academic integrity, attendance, etc.
University Policies: Approved University Policy Statements copied and pasted in the syllabus and/or provided via URL.
Syllabus Template Notes:
- Elements not in bold are provided as descriptors and are not meant to be included in the syllabus.
- Additional syllabus information may be included based on the program’s or instructor’s preference.
- Use the order of this syllabus template for submissions to the Academic Catalog. Otherwise, headings may be ordered as seen fit by the academic program or instructor