Senior Capstone Project
This will be accomplished through the senior's english class.
Goals
The goals of the capstone project are as follows:
1. To provide students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in their courses to research relating to a career interest area
2. To allow students to extend their academic experience into areas of personal career interests, to include working with new ideas, organizations, and individuals
3. To encourage students to think critically and creatively about academic, professional, and/or social issues and to further develop their analytical and ethical leadership skills
4.To provide students with the opportunity to refine research skills and demonstrate their proficiency in written and/or oral communication skills
Components of the Capstone Project Research Paper
The first component is a research paper documenting information on a subject of the student's choice-- a subject
demonstrating the student’s career interest, but not necessarily one for which they are an expert. The research must be a worthwhile stretch beyond what is already known. The project proposal would be approved prior to beginning this research. The length of the paper is determined by the local schools, with the understanding that certain information must be evident in the paper. This information includes, but is not limited to, reasons for selecting the occupation in the specific career cluster/pathway, career goals, relevant career-related information that provides the reader some information about a specific occupation or current topics related to that occupation, research on job outlook and education and training needed, and any current trends or changes in the future of the career field. Formatting and any additional requirements are at the discretion of the local schools.
Portfolio
The second component of the project should be a portfolio. This portfolio may be in a notebook form or kept electronically. The portfolio provides physical documentation of the career-related capstone project journey.
Mentor
As part of the project, students must obtain a mentor to assist in learning more about the career area. The mentor must be someone who is knowledgeable in the chosen area of interest or someone working in the field. The students have the responsibility to obtain a mentor and then submit a signed agreement between the school, the mentor, the student, and the parent. School personnel should assist with finding mentors, if necessary. If a mentor is not available in a nearby area and it would truly be a hardship on the student, virtual mentoring should be a consideration. An example would be Skype, email,Facebook, or any other electronic means of communication where a student and mentor could share questions and gain information related to the career field without face-to-face contact. Possible resources would be CTAE teachers in the Georgia Virtual School program or the local Chamber of Commerce. Students should maintain a log of hours spent with the mentor and are required to spend a minimum of eight (8) hours with their mentor to complete the project. If the circumstances warrant and time beyond the required number of hours is permitted, systems may ask students to spend more than the minimum of eight(8) hours with their mentor. This additional time is recommended for learning purposes and may be required based on the needs of the system or school. Schools and systems should follow and/or develop a procedure for the selection and approval of mentors to ensure that the system is not held liable.
Student Presentation
The fourth and final component of the project will be a presentation. This presentation could be a formal presentation before a panel of community judges where the students present their research information and findings or a
presentation before a group of interested students at another grade level such as middle school or elementary school students. Classroom presentations are also acceptable. A student may share any tangible evidence/application of the skills and knowledge acquired from the project. The ideal panel would consist of community members arranged by the school to be held in the evening to accommodate work schedules for those outside of the school. Presentations would
consist of the student’s purpose and reasons for choosing the career area, new information gained
about the career, and plans for pursuing additional information about the education and training needed for entering the chosen career area. In addition, presentations could include any other pertinent information determined by the local system. Schools will have the flexibility of scheduling these presentations.
This will be accomplished through the senior's english class.
Goals
The goals of the capstone project are as follows:
1. To provide students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in their courses to research relating to a career interest area
2. To allow students to extend their academic experience into areas of personal career interests, to include working with new ideas, organizations, and individuals
3. To encourage students to think critically and creatively about academic, professional, and/or social issues and to further develop their analytical and ethical leadership skills
4.To provide students with the opportunity to refine research skills and demonstrate their proficiency in written and/or oral communication skills
Components of the Capstone Project Research Paper
The first component is a research paper documenting information on a subject of the student's choice-- a subject
demonstrating the student’s career interest, but not necessarily one for which they are an expert. The research must be a worthwhile stretch beyond what is already known. The project proposal would be approved prior to beginning this research. The length of the paper is determined by the local schools, with the understanding that certain information must be evident in the paper. This information includes, but is not limited to, reasons for selecting the occupation in the specific career cluster/pathway, career goals, relevant career-related information that provides the reader some information about a specific occupation or current topics related to that occupation, research on job outlook and education and training needed, and any current trends or changes in the future of the career field. Formatting and any additional requirements are at the discretion of the local schools.
Portfolio
The second component of the project should be a portfolio. This portfolio may be in a notebook form or kept electronically. The portfolio provides physical documentation of the career-related capstone project journey.
Mentor
As part of the project, students must obtain a mentor to assist in learning more about the career area. The mentor must be someone who is knowledgeable in the chosen area of interest or someone working in the field. The students have the responsibility to obtain a mentor and then submit a signed agreement between the school, the mentor, the student, and the parent. School personnel should assist with finding mentors, if necessary. If a mentor is not available in a nearby area and it would truly be a hardship on the student, virtual mentoring should be a consideration. An example would be Skype, email,Facebook, or any other electronic means of communication where a student and mentor could share questions and gain information related to the career field without face-to-face contact. Possible resources would be CTAE teachers in the Georgia Virtual School program or the local Chamber of Commerce. Students should maintain a log of hours spent with the mentor and are required to spend a minimum of eight (8) hours with their mentor to complete the project. If the circumstances warrant and time beyond the required number of hours is permitted, systems may ask students to spend more than the minimum of eight(8) hours with their mentor. This additional time is recommended for learning purposes and may be required based on the needs of the system or school. Schools and systems should follow and/or develop a procedure for the selection and approval of mentors to ensure that the system is not held liable.
Student Presentation
The fourth and final component of the project will be a presentation. This presentation could be a formal presentation before a panel of community judges where the students present their research information and findings or a
presentation before a group of interested students at another grade level such as middle school or elementary school students. Classroom presentations are also acceptable. A student may share any tangible evidence/application of the skills and knowledge acquired from the project. The ideal panel would consist of community members arranged by the school to be held in the evening to accommodate work schedules for those outside of the school. Presentations would
consist of the student’s purpose and reasons for choosing the career area, new information gained
about the career, and plans for pursuing additional information about the education and training needed for entering the chosen career area. In addition, presentations could include any other pertinent information determined by the local system. Schools will have the flexibility of scheduling these presentations.