Capstone Reflection

For this page, you will write a general overview of how your understanding of history has developed while at UM-Dearborn. While you are required to complete this in your last term, you may want to begin drafting your reflection earlier and then revising it in your last term. Below are some questions to help you with this reflection:

• Over the course of your study of history, you are exposed to a variety of topics and approaches. Which have you found most compelling and why?

• What themes have emerged in your studies, especially in the research topics and courses that you have chosen to pursue?

• How and where have your skills for “doing history” developed?

• What analytical/theoretical tools do you now have?

• What has “history” come to mean to you?

• Why do you think it is important to study history?

• What have you learned about doing research?

• What have been your greatest frustrations and greatest joys in studying History?

We encourage you to think creatively about this section of your portfolio. You might include, for example:

An Overview: a brief description of your approach to history and the major themes of the work you have included in the portfolio.

Quotes: quotes from others or from your own work that illustrate how you think.

Images: images that represent you or themes in your portfolio.

Anecdotes: information that captures the essence of what you have learned that may not fit anywhere else in your portfolio.

Try to limit your content to one screen in length.

In the remaining sections of the portfolio, you will address the individual learning goals for the History major.

For each learning goal, you should choose one of two assignment(s) from your archive that you feel best demonstrates your mastery of EACH of the learning outcomes for History concentrators and explain how it demonstrates that particular concept or skills.

Introduce the assignment(s) you choose with a short reflection and explain how it demonstrates that particular concept or skill. This might take you anywhere from a paragraph to a page.

The whole paper(s) need not be perfect and need not meet every last detail of the learning outcome. Being able to analyze your own work’s shortcomings demonstrates the kind of higher order thinking we expect of History majors, we encourage you to be critical in your assessment. You can explain what you did and what you might do differently, were you to do it again or take the project further in the future.

Ground rules:

• Do not use any particular assignment for more than two skills/outcomes.

• Include at least one assignment from a senior level course (4XX or 4XXX).

• Include at least four different upper division History assignments in this section of the portfolio.