Course Overview  

MST 5763 Capstone is the comprehensive, end-of-program course where students engage in a project that applies the knowledge and skills learned in the program to professional topics. Under the supervision of the course instructor, the student will select a topic and project design. Projects may include, for example, in-depth literature reviews, research studies, or exhibit designs.1 

The purpose of the Master of Arts in Museum Studies (MAMS) program’s academic e-Portfolio is to offer you a platform to document your learning journey, reflect on your educational experiences, and showcase your mastery of course content and learning objectives. Additionally, the e-Portfolio serves as a valuable tool for transitioning into the job market.2 

Course Learning Objectives3   

• Present your cumulative accomplishments throughout the Museum Studies program.

• Reflect on the significant learning experiences you have had in the program.

• Reflect on your career goals and how the work completed in the program has advanced your progress toward those goals.

• Develop a professional e-Portfolio that showcases your work and growth.

• Demonstrate the achievement of your ongoing learning goals.

• Highlight the importance of professional standards in shaping your learning and career development.

Course Learning Outcomes4 

• Draft a personalized e-Portfolio that reflects your individual learning journey and achievements.

• Provide constructive professional feedback to peers on their e-Portfolios.

• Complete a professional e-Portfolio that presents your cumulative accomplishments throughout the program.

Analysis  

MST 5763 Capstone has allowed me to comprehensively compile all the work I have done over the last two years during my journey in the MAMS program at the University of Oklahoma. Concepts that were most impactful to me in the course were creating my Personal Learning Goals, as well as the SWOT Analysis, which required me to reflect upon myself professionally, my achievements and strengths, but also acknowledge my insecurities and provide insight on how I can move beyond these weaknesses to best enhance my skills and expertise. A challenge at the beginning of the course was initially creating the e-Portfolio, which honestly seemed a bit daunting at first, but I watched the example videos provided by Dr. Demir in the course modules, and after some experimentation with the function of Google Sites, this assisted me in creating a professional-looking site. Another challenging topic was developing my Personal Learning Goals, which required me to reflect on the past two years and critically assess my goals before, during, and after the program. The course was appropriately structured, with readings, periodic discussion boards, and periodic live sessions that supported each component of the e-Portfolio. The discussion boards were a great help in getting peer assessment, especially the last two live sessions, which were specifically over peer review, and allowed feedback on any questions or concerns about the e-Portfolio. Ultimately, the e-Portfolio will be a great tool to include in my resume and showcase my skill set, experience, and expertise to potential future employers. 

The artifact, Self-Assessments, provides a background about me, and as shown in the Personal Learning Goals and SWOT Analysis, requires reflection on previous courses, professional growth, and my future plans and goals in the museum, aligning with the AAM Core Standards for Museums.9 While creating the artifact, I applied knowledge from Technology for Museum Professionals to build my Google Site. I was able to use the understanding and skills I gained from this course to create my e-Portfolio, which made me more confident and the process easier, including setting up the interface, uploading documents and photos from Google Drive, and ensuring the navigation on each page is user-friendly. All of this knowledge will also be highly transferable skills for my future profession in the museum field. Other knowledge used to create the artifact included feedback from peers and Dr. Demir, information presented in the course Live Sessions, discussion boards, and resources provided in the class. In addition, the artifact showcases my growth in communication and critical analysis (SWOT Analysis) and highlights my capabilities and accomplishments as a museum professional, which helped me to reflect on myself and “toot my own horn” (Background Essay), along with assisting me in developing feasible goals and objectives that aligned with my own professional interests (Personal Learning Goals). The artifact meets the course objectives by reflecting on significant learning experiences from the program, on personal career goals, and on how the work completed in the program has advanced progress toward those goals, and by drafting a personalized e-Portfolio that reflects my individual learning journey and achievements.10 The artifact’s strengths include its presentation, which effectively showcases my personality, creativity, and work ethic, along with further identifying my experiences, interests, goals, and objectives, and how it can aid me in my future career as a curator. 

Reflection  

The Capstone course and the artifact impacted me both personally and professionally. The course allowed me to reflect on my time in the MAMS program, evaluate what I learned and accomplished, and compile it all together. This has been a very rewarding experience, in which, looking back at courses I took at the beginning of the program and comparing them to where I am now, I see so much growth. For the past two years, this program has pushed me to develop my critical and analytical thinking and further fine-tune my skills, preparing me for my future in the museum field. Challenges faced in the course were balancing the workload between this course, Exhibit Development, and the Independent Project. Even though this course had many components to complete for the e-Portfolio, the overall experience has been extremely rewarding, allowing me to look back and assess my academic journey and how it has prepared me professionally. 

Completing the Capstone course allowed me to meet my Personal Learning Goals (PLG) 1, 2, 3, and 4, to develop effective stewardship skills in collections management and curation, enhance skills and expertise in exhibition planning, design, and development, develop valuable skills that incorporate hands-on experience into the operations and function of a museum, and cultivate skills in authentic and accurate interpretation strategies, along with meeting the Program Learning Outcomes (PLO) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Even though I am currently still taking the Capstone and doing the finishing touches on my e-Portfolio, I feel very proud of the work presented in this e-Portfolio and believe it effectively showcases my capabilities and accomplishments to advance my professional career in the museum field.