Bringing Sociology to Life: The Other Capstone Mandate

Schmid, Thomas J.

doi:10.2307/1319013

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Much of the content of these works on the sociology capstone course has highlighted the need for such a course, suggested a type of capstone course, shared the structure and content of an institution-specific capstone course, and/or discussed a capstone as one part of a review of curriculum. Thus, prior work on the sociology capstone has most often involved descriptions of a particular capstone class offered in a specific context or institution (e.g., Atchison 1993; Carlson and Peterson 1993; Dickinson 1993; Schmid 1993; Sherohman 1997; Smith 1993; Steele 1993; Troyer 1993; Wattendorf 1993).…”

Section: Introduction and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociology Research Experience Capstone Course at Three Institutions

McKinney

Busher

2011

Teach Sociol

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This study describes the objectives, structures, and outcomes of a one-semester, required sociology research capstone course as taught at three institutions. Pre- and postquestionnaires from students, syllabi from instructors, and a random sample of final research papers were analyzed. Results indicate that the main foci of the course are to conduct research, produce a paper or thesis, develop writing and presentation skills, and integrate past learning. Instruction in this course includes numerous best practices from the literature on teaching and learning. There appears to be an underemphasis, however, on helping students to apply theory in their projects. The theses reveal a wide range of topics, methodological approaches, and quality, with the introduction/literature review and discussion/conclusion sections receiving the lowest quality scores.

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Section: Introduction and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociology Research Experience Capstone Course at Three Institutions

McKinney

Busher

2011

Teach Sociol

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“…The capstone course is the culmination of an undergraduate career; a crowning experience coming at the end of a sequence of courses that allows students to "put it all together" (Fanter 2006;Nillson and Fulton 2002;Smith 1998;Durel 1993;Schmid 1993). One rationale for offering a capstone course to graduating geography students revolves around the fear that students will graduate with no sense of what, if anything, was "geographical" about their higher education.…”

Section: Rationale For Capstone Coursesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The general course structure should allow faculty to assess: knowledge (e.g., discipline content area, interdisciplinary connections); skills (e.g., writing, speaking, collaboration, critical thinking, synthesis, evaluation); and attitudes (e.g., openness to more than one position, distinction made between facts and values, reflective self-evaluation, reflective institutional-evaluation) (Smith 1993, 250). The literature details instructional overviews of intensive seminar-based 253 Downloaded by ["University at Buffalo Libraries"] at 12:49 10 June 2016 courses, largely in the discipline of sociology, as well as economics and statistics (e.g., Dickinson 1993;Schmid 1993;Durel 1993;Carlson and Peterson 1993;Atchison 1993;Davis 1993;Steele 1993;Smith 1993;Spurrier 2001).…”

Section: Structure Of Capstone Coursesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Capstone Course of “Geographic Ideas”

Hovorka

2009

Journal of Geography

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Through an instructional approach, this article offers a template for a classroombased geography capstone course grounded in pedagogical elements of synthesis and reflection, as based on exploration of ten key geographic ideas. It provides insights into course goals, structure, and components for instructors who may wish to implement it in geography or in other disciplines, and it situates the template in the general structure of capstone courses detailed in social science literature. The article contributes to geography instruction with a focus on classroombased capstone courses as an application of teaching and learning undergraduate geography.

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“…They are primarily designed to overcome the silo effect of modularisation so that students can integrate what they learn across the curriculum and apply it in open-ended, real world ways. They often act as a 'culminating experience' at the end of particular programmes of study (Schmid, 1993;Wagenaar, 1993). As Durel notes, the 'capstone course is defined as a crowning course or experience coming at the end of a sequence of specific courses with the specific objective of integrating a body of relatively fragmented knowledge into a unified whole' (Durel, 1993, p. 223).…”

Section: Capstone Service Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Deaths in Prison Custody” Capstone Course: Engaging Final-Year Law Students In Service Learning and Public Value

Kilcommins¹,

Spain²

2015

Journal of Criminal Justice Education

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Capstone service learning courses are designed to overcome the negative effects of fractioned knowledge by enabling students to consolidate and apply what they have learned over a program of study. They also promote a scholarship of engagement. This article documents the learning experiences of students on a Deaths in Prison Custody capstone service learning course. Though such a criminal justice course requires significant staff input and involves some loss of educational control, it has many benefits including enhanced learning, meaningful service, public value, and civic engagement. The focus on this article is on student learning experiences. It outlines how the pragmatic focus of such a course made knowledge and student learning relevant and actionable. It also describes how the deliberately unstructured design of the course, together with its emphasis on pubic value, encouraged autonomous and self-directed learning, prompting the students to take greater ownership of their learning.

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Bringing Sociology to Life: The Other Capstone Mandate

Cited by 18 publications

References 5 publications

The Sociology Research Experience Capstone Course at Three Institutions

The Sociology Research Experience Capstone Course at Three Institutions

A Capstone Course of “Geographic Ideas”

“Deaths in Prison Custody” Capstone Course: Engaging Final-Year Law Students In Service Learning and Public Value

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