Learning, Teaching, and Educational Transformation~ UMass Boston
Arrangement for Written Paper Capstone
* This option for the capstone project is an opportunity for students to integrate into their professional lives the ideas and theory, skills and strategies, experiences and collaborations from their studies and associated activities.   For this project students combine an essay with "exhibits" from their work during the program. The exhibits can take a variety of forms, such as original curriculum materials, a professional development workshop series, a video case study, a practitioner's portfolio, an implemented teacher inquiry project, other excerpts from coursework, or a proposal for action research. The essay is expected to locate the exhibits in relation to what others have written and done in the relevant area as well as to integrate the student’s reflections on their own professional practice, changes while studying in the program, and future directions. The form and length of the essay will depend on the particular nature of the project. For example, if the exhibit were a 2-4 page action research proposal, an extended essay (20-40 pages) that reviews and critiques literatures appropriate to the research questions would be expected to accompany it; a shorter essay (10-20 pages) would be appropriate to accompany a video case study.
    * Students wishing to pursue the option of a written paper with oral presentation for their capstone project are advised to enroll in a course designed for intensive research and writing appropriate to the forms of the project (e.g., EDCG 689, 690, CrCrTh692, 694). The course instructor and an LTET faculty member then serve as readers (i.e., graders) for the project.  Note: The paper that fulfills the course requirements should be thought of as an exhibit; as described above, an additional essay, even if quite short, is needed to locate this and any other exhibits.  The arrangement for undertaking the capstone project (within a course or outside of it) and the form of the project must be established and approved by the LTET coordinator before the start of the semester in which it is undertaken. Approval will be contingent on a) the proposal showing that the student recognizes the requirements above (as formalized in the rubric for evaluation of these capstones) and b) the student having made good progress on the capstone beyond what the course requires by the time the comp. exam is to be sent out.  (Students not making enough progress at that point will be asked to shift to the comp. exam.) Oral presentations before the readers and peers are arranged toward the end of that semester. (Students who do not complete the requirements or who do not pass by the times grades are due must take the comp. exam the following semester.)

Student Name: _______________________________________________________________________
Working Title: _______________________________________________________________________
Week for Oral Presentation (exact date & time TBA): ________________________________________
Attach description of Written Paper (This may evolve during the semester, but must meet the specifications above) 
Signatures & date signed (prior to start of capstone semester):
First reader = Course instructor (or LTET-approved Advisor if written outside of a course): 
__________________________________________________________________________________
LTET reader 2 (specify TBA if OK for LTET Coordinator to arrange this):  _______________________
LTET Coordinator Approval:  ___________________________________________________________

 Learning, Teaching, and Educational Transformation (Non-licensure) M. Ed. track
Rubric for Capstone Paper Project
Your project will be evaluated by your two readers using this rubric.  Each bulleted item will be rated ** for "fulfilled very well" or OK for "did an OK job, but room for more development/attention" or -  for "this was not a strength in this project and its preparation." 
Evaluations will be emailed to you by the date that grades have to be submitted.
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Content of essay & exhibits & oral presentation
The capstone project [i.e., the combination of essay, exhibits, and oral presentation] demonstrates explicitly how students have integrated into their professional lives the 
	• ideas and theory, 
	• skills and strategies, 
	• experiences and collaborations
from their studies and associated activities.

Students combine the essay with 
• "exhibits" from their work during the program. (Exhibits can take a variety of forms, including a major paper for a course; see guidelines.  If no exhibits or no essay are included, no stars are given for this item and the next item.)

The essay and oral presentation
• locate the exhibits in relation to what others have written and done in the relevant area
and, possibly supplemented by the exhibits, integrate students' reflections on
	• their own professional practice, 
	• changes while studying in the program, and 
	• future directions.

• Form and length and form of the essay are appropriate to the particular nature of the project [i.e., the combination of essay, exhibits, and oral presentation]  (see guidelines).

Development and presentation of the work (these items count half of the items above)
	• Project proposal agreed to by advisors and approved by LTET coordinator before semester starts
	• Project [i.e., the combination of essay, exhibits, and oral presentation] innovative
• Development/preparation/writing well planned and carried out with considerable initiative
Written work (essays & exhibits):
• Essay & written exhibits clear and well structured
• Ideas connected appropriately
• Relevant terminology used accurately
• Appropriate examples used
• Appropriate focus sustained throughout
• Accompanied by a works cited or reference list of sources consulted
• APA or MLA style guidelines evident and consistently applied
• Sub-headings and other formatting used to mark clearly the components and flow of the essay
• No or very few technical errors (grammar, spelling, punctuation) made

• Exhibits neatly presented and labeled
• Oral presentation given in front of both readers

Conversion to points and grade
2 points for **, 1 point for OK
Total points = Points for Content of essay & exhibits + (Points for Development and written presentation of the work)/2
Taking the average for the two readers, the minimum number of points for Pass with Distinction is 27; for Pass, 20; for Low Pass, 16.  Less than 16 points: Needs to be revised.  (If ratings differ by 10 or more points, a third reader is arranged; the two closest ratings count.)