[three_fourth]Introduction
Since 2011 the College of Arts has required most BA students to undertake in the final year of their degree studies a 24 points credit-bearing double-unit capstone, The Graduating Project.

A key aim of the BA capstone is to enhance students’ capacity to work collaboratively while building on the disciplinary knowledge and skills and more generic skills they have acquired throughout their degree-level course (or through their working-life and other relevant experiences).

The BA capstone unit allows students to demonstrate their capacity to address complex social issues or problems and their capacity to produce ‘professional’ reports which showcase ‘graduate capabilities’ (including high level research skills, high level conceptualisation, planning, writing for diverse audiences, inter-personal and inclusive communication skills, problem solving…).

Ideally, our capstone teams have opportunities to work in a cross-disciplinary fashion and to make connections or partnerships with organisations or people outside of the university.

Delivery format
In brief, the first of the two units entails a weekly two hour seminar. The unit commences with short lectures and class discussion of set-texts (Weeks 1-5) ranging over several topics (see below), moving to more informal team work during class-time and scheduled team/unit co-ordinator consultation sessions (Weeks 6-10) and concluding with class-presentations (Weeks 11 and 12) prior to submission of the Semester One Team Report (Week 13).

The second unit also entails a weekly two hour seminar. The unit commences with short lectures and class discussions (Weeks 1-3), including close instruction on how to prepare both individual essays (for assessment outline, see below) followed by intensive supervised team work during class-time (Weeks 4-7), team/unit-coordinator scheduled consultation meetings (Weeks 8-10) and class-presentations (Weeks 11-12) prior to submission of Semester Two Team Report (Week 13).

While the allotted weekly class time is important (and sometimes this is the only convenient time for students to meet up with their teams), it is expected that teams will organise some out-of-class-time to work on their projects and (based on 2012 and 2013 experiences) extensive use will be made of social media for team communication (most groups set up a Facebook or other site). A blended-learning site (Web/CT etc.) will be maintained by the unit coordinator, as well as regular email exchange between teams and the unit coordinator; to supplement face-to-face team consultation sessions. Skills for the BA capstone unit are scaffolded in such a way that the teams work more independently as the semester (and the year) rolls out.

Assessment
The assessment for the first unit comprises an individual essay (Value 30%, approximately 1200 words), team-presentation (Value 20%) and team-report (Value 50%, approximately 3000 words). The essay topic/s require students to draw on academic literature and lecture content to discuss theories about effective group communication processes, inclusive communication, ethical communication and project work, planning, research methods and report writing.

The assessment for the second unit comprises an individual essay (Value 40%, approximately 1500 words), team-presentation (Value 10%) and team-report (Value 50%, approximately 3000 words). The essay topic/s require students to either reflect on how their participation in the capstone unit has built on their earlier studies during their degree course (making use of disciplinary knowledge and various specific and generic skills) or reflecting on their experiences of their BA capstone unit (focussing on the personal challenges and achievements, their group processes, their ‘higher level’ thinking, research, planning and writing required, and so forth).

It is expected that all teams – at the conclusion of both units – will have produced high-quality ‘professional’ reports (also, depending on the projects, additional ‘products’). These reports should be suitable for presentation to people external to the university (for instance, prospective employers) and function as a showcase of graduate capabilities and other relevant capacities and skills.

Connecting the two units
For teams who remain intact across both Semester One and Semester Two, and who sustain their original projects for the whole academic year, it is expected that the team will make extensive use of their first unit report (including research work) in their final report for the second unit, while building on those earlier efforts and taking into account peer feedback and assessment reports.

There is provision for students to change their projects (or establish new teams or join an existing team) as they move from Semester One to Semester Two (experience shows that some projects and teams collapse and for a variety of reasons including individual students’ study plans, and interrupted relationships with external parties). There is also provision – on a ‘needs’ basis and by negotiation with the unit coordinator – for individual projects (or ‘side projects’ augmenting an existing team project) and this may be the best option where a Semester One project or team does not carry through to Semester Two.

Weekly Topics
The topics outlined here are sequenced to some extent – producing a learning scaffold – while also revisited throughout the semester and across the academic year. The unit guide is supported by a ‘Graduating Project Book of Readings’, which is used in both Semester One and Semester Two, and includes examples of students’ successful final reports (from 2012 and 2013) and academic articles. Topics include:

• Why are we undertaking collaborative group-project work in the final year?
• What do some of the experts say about the benefits of a capstone unit which requires that students draw on their disciplinary knowledge and skills as well as more generic skills suitable for post-university work?
• What will distinguish these capstone projects from other group work done during the students’ degree-level studies?
• What are some of the expected educational and/or professional outcomes? What sorts of projects might be valuable to the students and also to the wider society? Notions of ‘social entrepreneurship’ and working on ‘wicked social problems’.
• Reviewing the range of topics and some very successful BA capstone projects undertaken in 2013 (see below).
• Inclusive and mutually supportive communication. Taking into account cross-cultural, cross-age and gendered communication issues. Considering the benefits and challenges of working with diversity.
• Inter-disciplinary projects and the benefits of groups comprising people with different specialisations and academic interests.
• Appreciating the range of academic, social and other skills and knowledge(s) different members of a group might bring to the group.
• Decision making processes. Deciding on the project. Refining the project. Getting down to work. What is achievable in the time-frame and based on current resourcing of the projects?
• The importance of background research and other information-seeking.
• The importance of establishing links with external groups (industry, community, elsewhere within the university).
• Self-management of the project workload within the team. The value of time-lines, meeting schedules, team members’ roles and responsibilities, team ‘contracts’ and expected contributions/behaviours’. Do you want a designated ‘team leader’?
• Suggestions about what sorts of problems may arise, and how to deal with difficulties/challenges.
• Producing the end-of-semester team report. What is expected by the end of Semester One, and what in addition is expected by the end of Semester Two? How will the report be structured? What style of writing and presentation? What referencing convention will you use?
• Reflecting on your learning process. As an individual, and as a team, how have you benefited from undertaking the BA capstone unit/s? How has the project work built on and extended your other disciplinary, cross-disciplinary and generic knowledge and skills?

Outcomes
In 2013 approximately 70 BA students were enrolled in the capstone unit/s. Our “successful completion” rate was over 90 per cent (at 1 December 2013, and with some students currently completing work for which they have extensions). 64 of the 70 students received a final result of either Distinction or High Distinction.

Example capstone projects from 2013
Around one third of the students (those enrolled in a psychology specialisation for their BA) were enrolled for one semester (only) and so their projects tended to be of a more limited scope and their final reports generally shorter than the remaining two-thirds of students who were enrolled in both units. Most of the double-unit students remained in the same teams and continued with the same project for both semesters, although some students – for a variety of reasons – commenced new projects in Semester Two, and we allow for flexibility in that regard. I highlight the diversity and inter-disciplinary nature of these projects, all envisaged or chosen and refined by the student teams.

1. ‘Political discourses in conventional and social media in the context of the 2013 Australian Federal Election’
This project and report explored young people’s engagement with politics and the role of ‘new media’ using secondary and primary research data.

2. ‘An in-depth look into the current drinking culture of youth in Australia’
The project was an investigation into youth ‘drinking culture’ and educational resources useful for addressing problematic drinking. It included discussion about a range of youth mental health issues, social pressures on young people from peers and the media, under-age binge drinking and the marketing of sweet alcoholic drinks.

3. Project and Report: ‘Drug and Alcohol Awareness’
This project investigated ways of raising young people’s awareness of abuse of drugs and alcohol, drawing on contemporary public data and an investigation around national intervention strategies. They worked with a local school to deliver an information presentation to students.

4. ‘Eating disorders and gender perspectives’
This project investigated young people’s knowledge about eating disorders, using secondary data and resulting in a detailed analysis of the likely relevance of existing support and information.

5. ‘Breaking the Surface: Gaining a deeper understanding of student and academic perspectives on gender studies’
This project investigated and developed an in-depth report on the role of gender studies as a formal discipline at VU along with their fellow students’ attitudes to this field of academic study.

6. ‘Girls and Self-Esteem’
This project investigated the topic of girls and self-esteem using existing academic literature and primary data, as well as a review of media messages, and resulted in the development of teaching materials as well as an argument for developing new approaches to dealing with the problem.

7. ‘A Discourse of Volunteering: Collaborating with a Refugee NG0’
This project investigated the status of asylum seekers in a contemporary Australian context through scholarly review and engagement with a non-government organisation (with whom the students undertook some pre-volunteer training).

8. ‘A Manual for Producing a Student Literary Magazines’
This project engaged with the production of Offset (VU’s student literary magazine) and produced a set of recommendations and advice to others who might want to be involved with this or a similar magazines.

9. ‘A project that aims to raise public awareness of the hidden brutality that exists within Australia and encourage the possibility of pet adoption’
This project involved students engaging with key organisations that advocate on animal welfare issues, provide animal rescue and shelter, and pet adoption services. Underpinned by significant philosophical considerations and an in-depth examination of competing themes, the team then developed a pilot pet adoption board/service and produced an accompanying pamphlet.

10. ‘Promoting smoking education and informed choices among young people’
This team focused on school children’s knowledge about the health impacts of smoking, and related matters. Using primary and secondary data sources, they critiqued existing awareness material and developed and tested a classroom quiz (and comprehensive teacher’s kit).

11. ‘Attitudes To Food and Nutrition’
This project reviewed some recent and relevant academic literature about children’s knowledge of nutritional food and eating habits, locating this within the context of concerns about childhood obesity in Australia. The team used primary and secondary data to develop an education program at a local school.

12. ‘Vintage Recipes’
This team explored the relation of food to memory and the significance of recipes amongst older and younger members of several immigrant families using cross-disciplinary literature and data around personal narratives. In addition to a highly detailed scholarly report, the team produced a prototype for an original recipe book and blog.

13. ‘Examining Youth Mental Health’
This project entailed research on the available resources for promoting awareness of mental health issues. Relationships were developed with high schools and experts in the field, and informed the development of an education kit.

14. ‘Recently graduated Southern Sudanese students’ journey to seeking employment in Australia’
This project investigated both general patterns of employment for recent graduates and employment outcomes for diverse groups, including an analysis of significant barriers and challenges for Sudanese groups.

15. ‘Promoting healthy eating and wellbeing among University students, by assisting students to stretch the dollar’
This project focused on student poverty and ways students might look at their eating choices to sustain a healthy and affordable life style. The team’s pamphlet, attached to the final report, provided information including a weekly food planner, recipes, and contacts with food cooperatives in the region.

16. ‘The disadvantages of young people in the Australian labour market’
This project built on scholarly literature and other authoritative reports to explain the shifting patterns of young people’s transitions, including the increased numbers of young people both studying full-time and working in the casual labour market.

Find the subject guides at: http://www.vu.edu.au/units/ACX3005 and http://www.vu.edu.au/units/ACX3006 (links correct at time of publishing)
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Key characteristics
3rd year undergraduate, full year capstone, team or individual, student-driven projects, research and industry/community.
Student numbers: 70+

 

Author/s
Unit Coordinator: Dr Andrew Funston [email_link email=”andrew.funston@vu.edu.au”]Email Andrew[/email_link]
Alternate contact: John Weldon [email_link email=”john.weldon@vu.edu.au”]Email John[/email_link]
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