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Describe the context of the capstone project: the audience (client served), organizational and project mission or problem statement (what the client wanted), specific project purpose (what you and your group did), the larger goal (what is the "bigger issue" at stake), the stakeholders (who cares about this problem/issue and why) project methods (how you completed the work), and deliverables (what you will deliver to the client and stakeholders--report, oral briefing, etc.). Remember to clearly articulate the "bigger problem" the project addresses. While the capstone project prompts your group to solve a specific problem posed by a client, your reflection should identify the larger issue the project addresses. Why is it important and who cares (i.e., who are the stakeholders affected the your work)? What is the broader impact of the capstone research and results? Next, dig deeper. Reflect on what you learned by answering the most relevant questions about your capstone experience. See also reflecting on projects for additional guidelines.

What did you learn about project management from your capstone?

• • • What tasks did you and your group complete toward managing this project?

    • What project management principles did you apply or did you observe while completing this project?

    • Tip: Surveys from our former students and current employers cite "project management" as a critical to successful job performance. How would you describe your project management skills and experience gleaned from your capstone?

How did your courses or experiences inform your contribution to your capstone project?

• How did you apply what you learned from your coursework or co-curricular experiences, such as internships, projects, study abroad, or other relevant experiences, to your capstone project?

• How did the capstone course encourage you to learn about the subject in different kinds of environments? For example, did you use technology to engage with other people about the subject or learn something new? Did you take a field trip that helped you understand the subject at a deeper level? Did you work with a client in the field?

• What different disciplines or points of view were represented by the people you interacted with? How did these different perspectives influence your perspective or understanding of the subject? Did you adjust a position you held as the result of your interaction with people in your capstone course (or the client) whose perspectives differed from your own? Explain.

• What did you learn about service or leadership as you interacted with your peers or a client in your capstone course?

• What cultures or values were represented by a project you completed? How were these perspectives communicated? Did your perspective differ from anyone else's? If so, how?

How did your capstone experience inform your discipline knowledge?

• What key concepts did your capstone course address? Tip: If you had to narrow your discipline to 3 or 4 key concepts (“big ideas”), what would they be?

• How were these concepts reinforced through your capstone experience?

• How did the work (or project) you completed in the capstone course help you understand and appreciate the importance of skills or knowledge in other disciplines or other areas of specialization? What did you learned about these other areas? How did you learn this? How do you believe these other areas contribute to the success of the work you did (or the work your client needed to be completed). In other words, how did the “pieces” fit together?

• How did your capstone experience provide opportunities for you to meet or learn from peers or scholars from a different field of study from the one you are pursuing? What did you learn about these other fields of study?

• How is research conducted in your discipline? What are the key resources (databases, technologies, or investigative tools) that are instrumental to solving problems, addressing a research question, or the need of a client?

• What ethical issues surfaced during your capstone project that may help you better understand your discipline or prepare you for challenges you expect to face in your professional career?

How do you foresee the skills and knowledge learned through your capstone experience transferring to your new job or post-graduate work?

• How would you describe the impact of the capstone experience to work you will make in the future?

• How did your engagement with people in your capstone course broaden your perspective about the values and interests of people outside the university? How do you think this broadened perspective will influence your actions?

• Would you recommend this capstone course/project to your peers in the discipline? Why or why not?

How did your capstone project require you to integrate communication skills in a variety of contexts?

• What types of writing assignments or presentations did you complete in the capstone course? How did they contribute to your understanding of the topic? In other words, what were the deliverables? How did the deliverables help you understand what is expected in your discipline as you move into the professional world?

• How did you communicate with team members to create a deliverable, complete a project, or provide a service?

• Did your capstone project provide opportunities for you to meet or learn from experts in the field you are pursuing? How did you engage with them? What did you learn from them?

• What type of written or oral feedback did you receive during your capstone course/project from the instructor or the client that helped you understand the level of progress you were making?

• How did you adjust your understanding of the subject based on the feedback you received?

• How did the learning environment (i.e., face-to-face meetings, virtual environment, field trips, etc.) affect the type or amount of communication with your instructors, peers, or the client?

• What was the level of interaction you had with people whose cultural backgrounds differed from your own?

• What kinds of responses did you receive regarding how you addressed different economic, political, cultural, or religious opinions or practices from your own?

• How did you contribute to the "team" of your capstone project? (How did you contribute to discussions, projects, or assignments that required participation from group/class members?) Did you note any conflicts among team members that could deter team goals? How were these conflicts resolved?

• What kind of feedback did you receive from your instructor, client, or your group leader to advance group progress? What did your instructor/leader do or say to encourage the group (or individual members) to put forth their best effort? What did the leader or instructor do or say to discourage unproductive behavior by group members?

• How did the feedback you received influence your understanding of the topic or the work you were completing? What have you learned about the value of constructive feedback? How do you see yourself providing constructive feedback to those you will lead? What does this feedback look like? NOT look like?

What did you learn about yourself by completing your capstone project?

• How has what you learned through your capstone course or project impacted your life, decisions, people you know, relationships, etc.?

• How do you think differently about your discipline or profession based upon what you learned and how you learned it?

• What ethical challenges did you encounter in your capstone project as you engaged with team members whose values differed from yours? How did you address these challenges? What did you learn about yourself from experiencing these challenges?

• What will you do or believe differently based on your broader understanding of differing perspectives or cultures?

• Where do you see yourself applying or benefitting from a broader cultural perspective?

• Where do you see yourself using what you have learned about teamwork in the future? What "lessons learned" do you think will apply to the next team project to which you are assigned?

How did your capstone project prompt your curiosity, i.e., direct you to explore a topic?

• What questions did you have about the topic or purpose of the capstone course or project when you began? What questions were answered by your completion of the project or course? How were they answered? What research question(s) could you formulate based on what you have learned through your course/project?

• How did your capstone course/project broaden your perspective of diverse cultures? What did you learn?

How did you learn (or take) initiative to complete your capstone project?

• What type of research did you complete or what skills or technologies did you have to learn for your capstone course/project?

• Did you have to teach yourself how to do something in order to complete the work required or meet expectations?

• How did your capstone course/project challenge you to communicate with people whose language, ethnicity, values, or experience differed from your own?

How are you developing as an independent learner as the result of your capstone course/project?

• How did you communicate with your capstone course instructor, client, or teammates? Will you continue to communicate with the people you met through the course/project after the course has ended? Why?

• Are you better equipped to meet the expectations of your profession based on your capstone experience? Explain.

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