Capstone has proven to be a very resilient educational model during the shift to online learning. Throughout our community, the shift to virtual education has worked quite well, even including final presentations. This speaks to the power of capstone.
When it became clear that we needed to send students home, we ran our last round of meetings with this question, “If we had to close school, could you continue with your project”. To a student, the answer was that they could, with surprisingly few modifications. And they have. Emma Willard students are finishing in great form, with most of their original plans intact after a year of work, a month of which was online. All of this will be online by the end of May here.
My colleagues across the country report similar experiences. Capstone students pivoted the best, and they managed to complete their goals in good form. The thought of more work online is daunting, and doable at the same time.
As the economic fallout continues across our country, capstone could become a model that schools can turn to in our current school environment. Activities that are student-centered, independent and flexible work well when everything else is in flux. It could be yet another capstone silver lining.
Jon Calos
Signature program
Emma Willard School
The views of each blog post are the experiences of the individual instructor and school and do not necessarily represent the views of the Consortium