Secondary School Senior Capstone Projects: A Descriptive and Interpretive Case Study on Post-Secondary Students' Perspectives of Learning Transfer
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2017-05
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University of Hawaii at Manoa
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This descriptive and interpretive case study investigates how 12 undergraduate college students perceived participation in their high school Senior Capstone Project (SCP) impacted their college academic experience. Learning transfer was explored from the learner’s perspective. Data was collected using qualitative methods in three sequential phases in the spring and summer of 2016. Triangulated data sources include: online questionnaires, focus groups, artifacts, artifact-based interviews, participant reflective journals, and final interviews. For this study, SCP is defined as a culminating project based learning (PjBL) experience students elect to take part in their senior year of high school. Participation in the SCP encompasses experiential techniques of self-direction, authentic problem solving, mentor collaboration, and reflection to complete a research paper, fieldwork, a portfolio, and a presentation. Data analysis produced four key themes: (1) acquisition of skills, abilities, and dispositions took place following two dynamic relationships: concurrently with interdisciplinary content and simultaneously while learning and using, (2) participants described how their SCP acquired content knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions were later applied in the far transfer setting of college, (3) examination of three embedded case studies surfaced career and college preparation connections, and (4) participants perceived self-efficacy resulting from their SCP experience provided confidence for their college work. Throughout all four themes learning transfer was found to cross boundaries and contexts, from the acquisition setting of the high school SCP to the far transfer setting of the college academic experience. Participation in the high school SCP was found to positively impact students later in college. This study added to the available literature on the SCP, PjBL and learning transfer. The evidence of the positive impact of PjBL activities provided by the voices of the participants of this research should be considered when decisions are made regarding allocating limited classroom time.
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Project method in teaching, Twelfth grade (Education), Experiential learning--Evaluation
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