The Content of Capstone Experiences: Determining Best Practices in Assessing the Culmination of Student Learning

Abstract

In 1991, the “Wahlke Report” recommended elements of a curricular structure that would best promote student learning. In particular, the report noted that there should be a capstone experience at the end of the senior year that requires students to survey their whole learning experience. The report stated that this integrative effort could be promoted using one or more of several different methods, including a senior seminar, senior thesis, series of colloquia, and/or comprehensive examinations. This paper seeks to answer the questions, have political science departments arrived at any “best practices” in creating the content of capstone experiences for undergraduate majors? Which suggestions offered by the Wahlke Report are being followed more than others? Are capstones performing the integrative function they were intended? Previous research has examined the extent to which departments use capstones as a method of assessment. However, no study has yet examined the content of these capstone experiences in a systematic way. This paper examines a sample of four-year colleges and universities to determine the content of their capstone experiences. The data are available through the schools’ online course catalogs. The findings can tell us a good deal about how the discipline promotes synthesis and students’ abstract reasoning skills.