Capstone Seminar Format—Portfolio

Graduate students electing the capstone portfolio option develop a portfolio showcasing their learning across their program area. They are encouraged to begin to prepare their portfolios from the beginning of their program by developing a thoughtful cataloging system for their readings, notes, projects and research papers.

Each portfolio has the following sections:

• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Section I: Program Core Study ( with rationale paper)
• Section II: Concentration Core Study (with position paper)
• Section III: Special Area of Interest Study (with special interest paper)

Essentially, the portfolio requirement is to include at minimum:

• a table of contents that includes each item they select to include in the portfolio.
• an introduction to each of the three sections of the portfolio.
• three detailed section papers (each approximately 7-10 pages in length).
• papers and projects from courses across the program as documentation to support each of the three section papers.

The portfolio consists of three sections representing (1) the program core study, (2) the concentration core study and (3) at least one area of study specific to the graduate students' interest. In the first section of the portfolio, students write a paper (approximately 7-10 pages in length) where they examine their philosophical and theoretical learning in the program core courses and how that learning links conceptually to their teaching or concentration coursework. Students also include descriptions of papers they have included in this section to document their learning experiences in the program core courses. In the second section, students identify a controversial issue from their area of concentration and take a stance, articulating a position supporting the stance they take on their issue of choice. The students write a position paper in which they identify a current issue in their area of study, briefly discuss competing positions on the issue, present their position on the issue and defend it by citing relevant research. Students will also include descriptions of papers they have included in this section to document their learning experiences in the program core courses. In the third section, students write about an area of special interest to them that relates to their course work and professional lives such as curriculum development, current socio-political issues that affect schools, school improvement, classroom inquiry, or their praxis. As part of this focus in the third section, students write a literature review that is tied to the topic they have chosen. Students also include descriptions of papers they have included in this section to document their learning experiences in the program core courses.

Portfolio preparation

Students participating in the seminar are organized into study or preparation groups. These groups are designed to encourage the students to share information and approaches to their portfolio preparation.

Each time the capstone seminar is convened, the students have the opportunity to bring portfolio sections and section papers to review and share any additional information or questions they have related to their preparation.

Portfolio presentation process

The dates for submission, review and presentation of the portfolio are determined by the instructor(s) and graduate students who are participating in the capstone seminar. The capstone portfolio will be presented to the two designated reviewers and other interested parties who are invited by the graduate student and the instructor(s). Each student is given approximately 30 minutes to share key elements in their portfolios and to address any questions from the audience. After a portfolio is presented in the seminar, it will be submitted to the seminar professor and one additional professor in the student's concentration area for review and grading.

Capstone portfolio assessment

At the conclusion of the capstone seminar, portfolios are evaluated by two reviewers. One reviewer will be a designee of the student’s unit; the other reviewer will be the faculty member directing the seminar. The portfolio is graded pass (A), revise (I or incomplete), or fail (E). Those students whose portfolios are rated “revise” receive an incomplete until the portfolio meets expectations. The graduate student is allowed to prepare a "passing" revision two additional times after the initial effort. This grade will be changed to “pass” once the student successfully completes revisions. The student has up to one year to make revisions. If revisions are not made within the year time frame, the incomplete grade will lapse to an E or a failing grade. The grade the student receives for the capstone portfolio is the grade they are assigned for the capstone seminar, ED 6790.

Reviewers must reach consensus regarding the student’s successful completion of the portfolio. If they are unable to reach consensus, a third reviewer will be invited to review the portfolio. In these cases, the final grade will be the grade assigned by 2 of the 3 reviewers.