A Comparison of Three Capstones: Survey Results from Sociology Alumni

Abstract

Undergraduate capstone courses in sociology are designed to integrate students’ knowledge in the discipline and to culminate the classroom experience with field application. Are capstones achieving these goals in a durable way? Although the short-term outcomes of capstone courses have been researched, fewer studies have documented the long-term outcomes of capstone courses. We conducted a survey of sociology capstone alumni to understand the long-term outcomes of the sociology capstone by asking sociology alumni about their capstone experience. Our research revealed that all capstones produced long-term outcomes as measured in the alumni survey. Second, alumni of the community-based research capstone experienced a more profound and longer reaching effect than those who participated in the internship or traditional capstone seminar format. Alumni reported the development of professional skills, application of sociological concepts and research skills, and a sense of being part of a community.

Teaching Team Science: The Key to Addressing 21st Century Global Challenges

“…The survey was part of a larger, prior study (Love & MacIlroy, 2021), from which 5 of a total of 18 Likert-scaled questions on a 5-point scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree were analyzed in the present study. In addition, open-ended questions were analyzed to understand how alumni adopted knowledge from previous courses to their capstone courses and from their capstone courses into their life.…”

“…Measures. The survey was part of a larger, prior study (Love & MacIlroy, 2021), from which 5 of a total of 18 Likert-scaled questions on a 5-point scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree were analyzed in the present study.…”

“…Currently, most studies on learning outcomes ask students immediately after the intervention, "what did you learn" (Love & MacIlroy, 2021). By using both a social network analysis approach and administering an alumni survey, we were able to obtain a deeper understanding about teaching team science.…”

Effectively Engaging First-Generation Rural Students in Higher Education: New Opportunities for Sociology

“…Recent research on capstone courses found that community-based capstone projects provide more meaningful and longer-reaching effects on students compared with more traditional capstone projects and internships (Love and Macallory 2021). With the strong level of hometown attachment that rural students often hold (Foster and Main 2018; Gabriel 2006; Petrin et al 2014), activities and assignments that help maintain and foster critical connections with their hometowns can keep them informed and interested but with a new sociological lens.…”

“…Community-based research experiences at the undergraduate level are becoming increasingly popular (Kozimer-King and Price 2018). They have been found to provide meaningful and longer-lasting impacts on students in terms of applying key sociological concepts, developing research skills, reflecting on lived experiences, and improving self-efficacy (Dean and Kelly 2020; Greenberg, London, and McKay 2020; Love and Macallory 2021; Mayer et al 2019). However, such experiences should be mindful of the ethical challenges that may be unique to rural people and places.…”