Culminating Projects
Faculty had students create non-written projects as a culminating experience (physical representations, videos, web-pages, performances, programs, etc. (might include some writing)).
About
Faculty use a wide variety of summative projects, many of which are discipline specific, such as objects of art, or functioning computer programs. There is a direct benefit in those cases as they are directly applying what they have learned in the course, and are therefore more authentic than a written paper or a test. Other faculty use projects as a variation on the term paper model, and believe that podcasts, websites, slideshows, and digital stories are more enjoyable for students, and hence more motivating. For many students, projects like slide presentations are closer to what they will be doing once they are in the work-world, and so they feel they are more authentic. There are some concerns, of course, and faculty will need to select the medium, become proficient themselves, and carefully construct the assignment so there is parity among students efforts.
The original study's data and analysis for "Culminating Projects" can be found on this link.
What Faculty Have To Say
Strengths (12)
- Require students to analyze and synthesize their learning
- Tests their application of what they have learned
- Teaches a wider variety of skills (data collection, video editing, etc)
- Helps with problem solving complex issues
- Teaches critical thinking
- Broadens their literacy into other areas
- Motivates students to take greater ownership of the project
- Improves communication skills
- Seems more realistic for many majors
- Combines multiple aspects of learning and multiple subjects
- Can encourage teamwork and peer learning
- Creates a concrete takeaway for students
Weaknesses (8)
- Time consuming for students and faculty
- Unwieldily to plan and map out with students
- Quality is highly variable
- Harder to spot plagiarism and cheating
- Hard to grade
- Long completion time means latter learning not incorporated
- They create a lot of end of the semester pressure
- They need to be right-sized or they can be overwhelming
Pedagogy Usage
Bucknell faculty was asked their best estimate for how often in the semester they used Culminating Projects and the average class time it took.
Average Duration: N/A
Remote Suggestions
A final project should be reflect aspects of the learning that have been practiced through the semester, and perhaps even echo the mid-term, but be deeper or more detailed. Bucknell facutly have developed a broad variety of creative summative projects, and will likely continue to do so. Though it msy not be the same as seeing it live in a classroom, whatever was produced previously can be shown over a video link.
Resources for Additional Learning
Articles & Books
- Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. Barkley, Elizabeth F., Cross, K. Patricia, & Major, Clair Howell. (2005).
- Examples of Final Projects, Dickinson College Library, http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20391/library/2583/the_library_and_first-year_seminars/7
Websites
- Vanderbilt Center for Teaching
- Vanderbilt Center for Teaching - Beyond the Essay
- Digital History at Agnes Scott