Box Lunch session focuses on "Teaching in the Capstone"
The On Teaching Box Lunch discussion series continues Wednesday, Nov. 28, with a session on "Teaching in the Capstone" from noon to 1 p.m. in the Red River Valley Room, Memorial Union.
Many majors and programs at UND offer or require capstone courses. Capstones provide a “culminating experience” in the sense that they are usually taken in the last year of college and would typically be expected to pull together learning that occurred in previous courses. Capstones in the major often offer students the opportunity to develop skills that will help their transition into the workplace.
With the implementation of the new Essential Studies (ES) Program at UND, a capstone course will be required for graduation by freshmen who start in the fall of 2008. As of fall 2009, incoming transfer students — including those who come with their lower division GE/Essential Studies requirements completed — will also be required to have the capstone for graduation. The capstone is an upper division ES requirement which can be taken in the major or in another discipline. An ES capstone should pull together learning around two or more of the Essential Studies goals. It is separate from the distribution requirement, but it is designed to integrate and reinforce the Essential Studies learning goals: thinking and reasoning, communication, diversity and information literacy.
In this discussion, members of the panel (Melinda Leach, Anne Kelsch, and Matt Cavalli) will share their experiences with capstone courses. They will address creating or revising capstone courses, assigning and assessing student learning in a capstone course, and talking to students about the capstone. Information will also be available on the new ES program and the capstone requirement.
To register and reserve a free box lunch, call Jana Hollands at 777-4998 by noon Monday, Nov. 26. Please indicate if you require a vegetarian meal.
-- Anne Kelsch, Director, Office of Instructional Development, anne.kelsch@und.nodak.edu, 777-4233 |