The Institute for Future PUI Faculty (IFPF) is a new two-week professional development experience for chemistry graduate students and postdoctoral scholars interested in pursuing an academic career at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI). With the traditional graduate and postdoctoral chemistry experience being devoid of preparation for…

Many higher education institutions have responded to the significant shortage of professionals with strong analytical expertise by offering graduate programs in business analytics and data science. These programs are typically designed to be practitioner focused and many of them offer a Capstone course that gives students the opportunity to…

This study examined the experiences of two cohorts of graduate students completing their research capstone course during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to examine the novice teacher researchers' perceptions about research as they engaged in a semester long collaborative research project that was revised for their cohorts. The…

Academic programs commonly feature a capstone experience as the final building block of the course of study. Often, capstone experiences allow students to demonstrate mastery in the context of an authentic learning experience--a real-life problem or project situated in the field of practice. The growing number of academic programs conducted online…

The current study addressed two problems in adult education: the lack of published research on the use of ePortfolios in graduate adult education, and more specifically, how can graduate adult educators utilize ePortfolios to foster reflective and deeper learning in a graduate adult education program? This was a 3-year qualitative study of 36…

Few empirical studies have demonstrated the positive consequences of integrating design thinking with project-based learning (PBL) for generating meaningful community impact. Our study fills this void by incorporating a new pedagogical approach--design thinking--into project-based learning (PBL) as an innovative way of structuring class…

The financial cost to individuals of higher education is now regularly exceeding £50k before maintenance in the UK; consequently, students are more concerned than ever that their degree should offer value for money when they enter the jobs marketplace. Overshadowed by long-term debt, lack of career options and job offerings with low salary,…

In this study, we explored the lived experiences of secondary school agriculture, food, and natural resources (AFNR) teachers enrolled in, or who recently completed a practitioner-oriented master's degree in AFNR Education at [University]. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews, and interviews were informed by Appreciative Inquiry…

Competency development is important in any MBA program, perhaps the most in the capstone course. Aggregating replies from 167 MBA graduates who completed a client-oriented, team project-based MBA capstone course within a nine-year study period, two new reliable and distinct scales reflecting career competencies learned were developed, Business…

Capstone experiences function as a process in which students consolidate knowledge and skills throughout their degree programme and apply this understanding towards real-world contexts. This process is most often understood, in undergraduate programmes, as a transformation of identity, moving from "student" to "professional".…

COVID-19 created an opportunity to (re)envision students as partners in curriculum development and the curriculum process. Understanding the design and delivery of courses as a flattened hierarchy, particularly with graduate students as partners, is the focus of this study. This article reports findings from research undertaken collaboratively…

This orientation session was designed to prepare students for their final MBA Capstone project, leverage lessons learned from graduates, transfer prior learning about teams and project management, and launch consulting projects with actual clients. Companies have used orientation sessions to onboard new employees for many years to improve…

Although enrollment in online courses continues to accelerate, challenges exist in online learning. A failure to experience collaboration and interaction can impact student retention and success. While peer review activity promotes student interaction, a collaborative community of learners, and critical thinking skills, higher education…

This article tests the project-based research model by analyzing the processes and outcomes of a partnership between a grassroots environmental organization promoting community-based sustainability practices and a series of university-based capstone courses. We begin by contrasting scientist-driven and community-based approaches to sustainability.…

To develop a simulation is to construct a new reality, one where students can safely engage with the course materials, so as to achieve the intended learning outcomes. While there are a wide range of studies that review the utility of simulations in the classroom, the construction of the alternate reality--the pseudo-reality--is a less discussed…