WHS Capstone Course

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Presented by Malissa Northup, M.Ed.

Capstone Chairperson

A little about me:

● Worked at Weymouth High School since 2005 as a Science Teacher and have served as Science Lead Teacher

● Worked with the program since it began with the Class of 2012

 

● Served as a judge, Capstone advisor, Capstone teacher, Capstone Chair

● Also serve as the Academy Chairperson

 

What is Capstone?

● Independent project which synthesizes students’ learning from the electives in their career academy

● Student must demonstrate command of core 21st century skills

● Use these skills to apply what they have learned to have an impact on their career field or community

Why a Capstone Class?

● Students wanted time in school to work on the project and meet with their advisor

● Previous model was not sustainable, teacher volunteers were declining

● Wanted to move the program forward, by reviewing the skills in the course and giving ample time to practice

● A course with a written curriculum would increase consistency and rigor

 

How was the Capstone Course Created?

● Initial curriculum was written by a team of teachers (6) which included previous Capstone advisors from various disciplines including CTE

● We based it on the steps of the previous project, but included activities and lessons where we thought students continue to struggle (i.e. professional emails/oral communication)

 

Course Roll-out

● Two year roll-out of the course

● First year 2018-2019, ran September to March of senior year

● Second year 2019-2020, ran April of junior year and will finish in March of senior year

● The Class of 2020 will be the first class of a full-year

 

Capstone Course The Course

● All documents for the course can be found on the Capstone website

● This includes the syllabus, grading policies, due dates, student exemplars, assignments, and instructional slideshows

● The course and the website are continually updated based on feedback from staff, students, and administration

 

Feedback from Class of 2019

 

Areas of Strength - Students

● Being able to speak with my advisor consistently

● The website

● Learning time management

● Time to work in class

● Presentations in class

● Learning how to research

 

Areas to Work On - Students
● More practice presenting

● Equity in scheduling

● Consistency across classes/advisors

● Want more time for the paper

 

Feedback from Class of 2019

Areas of Strength - Staff

● Teacher-student contact

● Build better relationships

● Exemplars for all assignments

● Structure of the curriculum (Dates/Daily Assignments)

 

Areas to Work On - Staff
● Partners with same advisor (even if not in same class)

● Need training on the course

● Turn-it-in (Plagiarism Software)

● Start Real World earlier/More training on Real World

● More points dedicated to Real World App

● Instructions (Checklist) for Poster

● Grammarly unblocked

● Deadline for survey

● Annotated bib - Connections to the other readings in paragraph 3

● AP students - 3 times per week (or at least a long block) CT

 

Capstone Requirement