This paper compares case studies and simulations, two popular experiential learning techniques used in capstone strategy courses, to provide insights into how each may contribute to the development and demonstration of students' critical thinking skills. We compared critical thinking assessments of a simulation-based assignment with the same…

Preparing students for the workforce is a balancing act that involves theory, practice, and assessment. As students navigate an educational experience that is, however, often distant from real-world needs, it is imperative that academia finds a novel way to bridge the gap. As many organizations utilize open challenges to attract ideas and talent,…

Curriculum revision does not always turn out exactly the way that educators envision. In 2007, Appalachian State University revised its school administration Master's Degree (MSA) and Graduate Certificate in School Leadership (GCSL) Programs to meet new state mandates for principal certification. The process was called "revisioning."…

In 2014 the White House held a Maker Faire and began a new obsession for American public schools: makerspaces. This capstone begins with an in-depth discussion about the history of American makerspaces and discusses many of the predominant makerspace best practices and the groups that have researched them. The capstone seeks to create a…

Since the TEMAG Review we, as teacher educators in initial teacher education (ITE), have seen a gradual yet perceptible shift in the way pre-service teachers demonstrate their "classroom readiness." In the past readiness was connected to preparing evidence for a job interview. Now, classroom readiness is determined by a pre-service…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to measure the effects of COVID-19 on student learning. Using boundary theory and border theory, the authors hypothesize that learning will be highest in 2019, the year before the pandemic, and lowest in 2020, the year that the pandemic began. Design/methodology/approach: Participants were business students at…

This study examined the experiences of two cohorts of graduate students completing their research capstone course during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to examine the novice teacher researchers' perceptions about research as they engaged in a semester long collaborative research project that was revised for their cohorts. The…

We investigated the development of students' sociopolitical consciousness via engagement in a mathematical activity purposefully designed around understanding the unemployment rate in the US. Qualitative data was collected from 12 university seniors participating in an online capstone class. Results showed that students: (1) further developed…

A two-component undergraduate laboratory experience has been developed by students in a senior level capstone course. The first component is a 3 h laboratory experience dedicated to the rapid synthesis of a metal-organic framework (MOF-808) in aqueous solution using readily available reagents and equipment. During the second component, MOF-808 was…

Teaching interdisciplinary research methods to honors students across disciplines is complex. A pre-capstone seminar, The Art of Inquiry, centers ethical considerations within and beyond individual research interests, helping junior and senior students of all majors prepare for ethical, scholarly projects.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools were met with a mix of enthusiasm, skepticism, and fear. AI adoption soared as people discovered compelling use cases--developers wrote code, realtors generated narratives for their websites, students wrote essays, and much more. Calls for caution attempted to temper AI enthusiasm. Experts highlighted…

Academic programs commonly feature a capstone experience as the final building block of the course of study. Often, capstone experiences allow students to demonstrate mastery in the context of an authentic learning experience--a real-life problem or project situated in the field of practice. The growing number of academic programs conducted online…

Authors describe how a summer respite introduces alternative ways and spaces in which to work, positing how collaborative discourse and dismantled hierarchies can affect positive change and productive outcomes for honors programs.

During their studies, musicians transition to work-readiness, develop a professional persona and graduate from skills acquisition in a traditional master-mentor relationship towards heterarchical collaboration in ensembles. Over the final year of an undergraduate program in performance, students, faculty/industry mentors and course coordinators…

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to explore undergraduate IS students' employability skills development while performing their final capstone project during their academic studies. Background: The importance of soft skills in the Information Systems industry is not an arguable fact and has been broadly discussed both in the industry and the academic…