Elon Statement on Capstone Experiences

From 2018 to 2020, twenty-two scholars participated in the Center for Engaged Learning research seminar on Capstone Experiences, co-led by Caroline Ketcham (Elon University), Jillian Kinzie (Indiana University), and Tony Weaver (Elon University). The seminar fostered international, multi-institutional research on capstone…

As universities were transitioning to distance learning, many of us had to consider how to continue to support our undergraduate research mentees.

Lessons Learned from Mentoring Undergraduate Research this Summer

Salient Practices of Undergraduate Research Mentoring This past March, as universities were transitioning to distance learning, in addition to figuring out how to teach our classes remotely, many of us had to consider how to continue to support our undergraduate…

Higher education has struggled with defining the capstone, understanding the purpose or the desired outcomes of the experience, and agreeing on how to assess characteristics of a successful experience.

Communicating the Goals of Capstones

George Bernard Shaw once said, “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”  Over the next year, as 2018-2020 CEL research seminar participants continue to contemplate the future of the capstone experience, we cannot…

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Inspiring Student Ownership of Capstone

As many of us know in higher education, our lens is constantly changing and therefore our work as a teacher-scholar-mentor is also ever evolving. I am in my 11th year of teaching at Elon University. I have taught multiple capstone…

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‘Capstone’ Experience in Higher Education

defining, characterizing, and assessing as a high impact practice in a multi-institutional research context Capstone experiences are used by institutions and departments across higher education. They are often identified as a high impact culminating experience for student outcomes. But what…

Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler and Student

Mentoring Relationships in Undergraduate Research

In the second summer of the CEL seminar on Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research (UR), participants worked to identify the key characteristics of mentoring relationships in the context of student, faculty and institutional development.  We identified factors that contribute to…