SECONDARY SCHOOL SENIOR CAPSTONE PROJECTS:
A DESCRIPTIVE AND INTERPRETIVE CASE STUDY
ON POST-SECONDARY STUDENTS’
PERSPECTIVES OF LEARNING TRANSFER
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY
OF HAWAI'I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
EDUCATION
MAY 2017
By
Vanessa Applbaum Yasuda
Dissertation Committee:
Tara O’Neill, Chairperson
Paul D. Deering
Charlotte Frambaugh-Kritzer
Frank Walton
Michael Salzman
Keywords: project based learning, learning transfer, high school capstone projects,
college and career readiness, experiential learning, higher education
brought to you by COREView metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk
provided by ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa
ii
©
Copyright
2017
By
Vanessa Applbaum Yasuda
iii
Dedication
For my son August,
I truly appreciate your sacrifice for my selfish pursuit.
Your resilience and optimism always amazes me, may those dispositions remain
with you for all of your years.
iv
Abstract
This descriptive and interpretive case study investigates how 12 undergraduate college
students perceived participation in their high school Senior Capstone Project (SCP) impacted
their college academic experience. Learning transfer was explored from the learner’s
perspective. Data was collected using qualitative methods in three sequential phases in the spring
and summer of 2016. Triangulated data sources include: online questionnaires, focus groups,
artifacts, artifact-based interviews, participant reflective journals, and final interviews.
For this study, SCP is defined as a culminating project based learning (PjBL) experience
students elect to take part in their senior year of high school. Participation in the SCP
encompasses experiential techniques of self-direction, authentic problem solving, mentor
collaboration, and reflection to complete a research paper, fieldwork, a portfolio, and a
presentation. Data analysis produced four key themes: (1) acquisition of skills, abilities, and
dispositions took place following two dynamic relationships: concurrently with interdisciplinary
content and simultaneously while learning and using, (2) participants described how their SCP
acquired content knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions were later applied in the far
transfer setting of college, (3) examination of three embedded case studies surfaced career and
college preparation connections, and (4) participants perceived self-efficacy resulting from their
SCP experience provided confidence for their college work. Throughout all four themes learning
transfer was found to cross boundaries and contexts, from the acquisition setting of the high
school SCP to the far transfer setting of the college academic experience.
Participation in the high school SCP was found to positively impact students later in
college. This study added to the available literature on the SCP, PjBL and learning transfer. The
evidence of the positive impact of PjBL activities provided by the voices of the participants of
v
this research should be considered when decisions are made regarding allocating limited
classroom time.
vi
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction 1-14
Overview ………………………………………………………………………... 1-6
Senior Capstone Project background ……………………………………….. 2-5
Senior Capstone Project in Hawai‘i…………………………………………. 5-6
History of Senior Capstone Projects in Hawai‘i ………………………... 5-6
Hawai‘i’s Senior Capstone Project requirements ………………………. 6
Purpose of the Study ……………………………………………………………. 7
Research Question ………………………………………………………………. 7-8
Significance of the Study ……………………………………………………….. 8-11
Definition of Terms ……………………………………………………………... 11-13
Chapter Summary ……………………………………………………………….. 13
Notes ……………………………………………………………...…………….. 14
Chapter 2 - Conceptual Framework 15-52
Senior Capstone Project …………………………………………………………. 15-26
Intended purpose and outcomes of the Senior Capstone Project …………… 16-19
Hawai’i purpose and learning outcome for the Senior Capstone Project 19-20
Existing Senior Capstone Project studies …………………………………... 20-23
Project based learning ………………………………………………………. 23-26
What is project based learning? ………………………………………… 24-26
Instructional methods for project based learning …………………….…. 26
Learning Transfer ……………………………………………………………….. 26-43
Traditional learning transfer perspective …………………………………… 27-28
Alternative learning transfer perspectives ………………………………….. 28-35
Actor-oriented perspective ……………………………………………… 30-31
Preparation for Future Learning ………………………………………... 32
Application of alternative learning transfer perspectives …………….… 33-35
Learning transfer and project based learning or problem based learning …... 35-37
Indicators of college readiness ……………………………………………... 37-43
Self-efficacy …………………………………………………………………….. 43-50
Self-efficacy theory …………………………………………………………. 43-47
Self-efficacy and project based learning or the Senior Capstone Project ….. 47-49
Chapter Summary ……………………………………………………………….. 50
Chapter 3 - Methods 51-101
Context of Study ………………………………………………………………… 51-52
Research question …………………………………………………………… 51
Research approach ………………………………………………………….. 51-52
Description of the Case …………………………………………………………. 52-60
Description of participants ………………………………………………….. 53-56
Description of place ………………………………………………………… 56-58
Description of time …………………………………………………………. 58
Description of researcher …………………………………………………… 58-60
Pilot Test ………………………………………………………………………... 60-62
vii
Pilot test data collection …………………………………………………….. 60-61
Pilot test data analysis ………………………………………………………. 61-62
Data Collection …………………………………………………………………. 64-80
Interview guides and interview questions ………………………………….. 64-67
Interview phases ……………………………………………………………. 67-76
Phase 1, online questionnaires and focus group interviews ……………. 68-71
Phase 2, college work artifacts and artifact-based interviews ……….…. 71-74
Phase 3, reflective journals and final interviews ……………………….. 74-76
Research journal ……………………………………………………………. 76-79
Audit trail ……………………………………………………………….. 76-77
Reflective journal ……………………………………………………….. 77-79
Recording and transcribing …………………………………………………. 79
Member checks …………………………………………………………...… 79-80
Peer reviews ……………………………………………………………...…. 80
Data Analysis ……………………………………………………………..……. 81-93
Process of thematic coding ……………………………………………...….. 83-84
Phase 1, online questionnaires and focus group interviews ………………… 84-89
Phase 2, college work artifacts and artifact-based interviews ……………… 89-90
Phase 3, reflective journals and final interviews ……………………………. 90
Comprehensive analysis and interpretation …………………………………. 90-93
Human Subjects …………………………………………………………………. 93-94
Credibility and Dependability …………………………………………………… 94-100
Credibility …………………………………………………………………… 95-97
Transferability ……………………………………………………………….. 98-99
Dependability ………………………………………………………………... 100
Confirmability ……………………………………………………………….. 100
Chapter Summary ……………………………………………………………….. 100-101
Chapter 4 – Findings 102-179
Chapter Introduction …………………………………………………………….. 102-103
Theme 1: Participation in the Senior Capstone Project Experience Led to 103-120
the Acquisition of Skills, Abilities, and Dispositions
Takeaways from the Senior Capstone Project experience 103-106
Interpretation of findings: Two dynamic relationships 106-119
Skills …………………………………………………………….…….. 109-115
Abilities ………………………………………………………….…….. 115-118
Dispositions …………………………………………………….……… 118-119
Summary: Theme 1 …………………………………………………….….. 119-120
Theme 2: Transference of the Senior Capstone Experience to the College 120-138
Academic Experience
Transference of abilities and dispositions ………………………………….. 121-128
Transference of production skills needed to complete research papers, …… 128-137
fieldwork, portfolios, and presentations
Summary: Theme 2 …………………………………………………..…….. 137-138
viii
Theme 3: The Senior Capstone Project Experience Directly Prepared the Case 138-163
Studies through Experiential Learning that Transferred to their
College Academic Experience
Parker’s Senior Capstone Project led him to discover his love for ………… 140-146
engineering
Emily’s Senior Capstone Project allowed her to discover that she really 146-152
could teach
Dereck’s Senior Capstone Project fieldwork provided lasting experience 152-157
for his dream career, journalism
Connections across the Case Studies ………………………………………. 158-163
The career connection …………………………………………………… 158-160
The college preparation connection ……………………………………... 160-163
Summary: Theme 3 ………………………………………………………….. 163
Theme 4: The Emergence of Self-efficacy ……………………………………… 163-177
Increased comfort level to complete work similar to Senior Capstone …….. 165-171
Project in college
Increased comfort level toward applying skills, abilities, and dispositions 171-176
General beliefs in self attributed to the Senior Capstone Project experience 176-177
described as transferable to life situations
Summary: Theme 4 ………………………………………………………….. 177
Chapter Summary ……………………………………………………………….. 178-179
Chapter 5 – Discussion and Conclusions 180-198
Chapter Introduction …………………………………………………………….. 180-181
Review and Discussion of Findings …………………………………………….. 181-191
Theme 1 ……………………………………………………………………... 181-182
Theme 2 ……………………………………………………………………... 183-184
Theme 3 ……………………………………………………………………... 184-189
Theme 4 ……………………………………………………………………... 189-190
Summary of review and discussion of findings …………………………….. 190-191
Recommendations for Future Study …………………………………………….. 191-195
Overarching Implications ……………………………………………………….. 195-198
References 199-212
Appendices 213-221
Appendix A: Pre-Interview Demographic Questionnaire ………………………. 213
Appendix B: Online Questionnaire ……………………………………………… 214
Appendix C: Focus Group Interview Guide …………………………………….. 215
Appendix D: Information Sheet and Guide for Artifact-based Interview …….... 216
Appendix E: Final Interview Guide …………………………………………….. 217
Appendix F: Information Sheet for Reflective Journal ………………………… 218
Appendix G: Member Check Templet …………………………………………. 219
Appendix H: Consent to Participate in Research Project ………………………. 220-221
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List of Tables
Table 1: Senior Project Center’s: Attitudes, Skills & Knowledge ……………………… 18
Table 2: Participants’ Demographics ……………………………………………………. 55
Table 3: Timeline of Data Collection …………………………………………………… 68
Table 4: Focus Groups …………………………………………………………………... 70
Table 5: Participants’ Self-selected College Work Samples ……………………………. 72
Table 6: Timeline of Data Analysis ……………………………………………………... 82
Table 7: Skills, Abilities, and Dispositions Used during the Senior ……………………. 104
Capstone Project
Table 8: Skills, Abilities, and, Dispositions Learned during the Senior ………………… 105
Capstone Project
Table 9: Learned about Self during Senior Capstone Project …………………………… 106
Table 10: Skills, Abilities, and Dispositions Needed for College Success ……………… 121
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List of Figures
Figure 1: Data Collection Sequence …………………………………………………….. 64
Figure 2: Participants’ Reflective Journal Format ………………………………………. 75
Figure 3: Dependability Audit …………………………………………………………... 78
Figure 4: Confirmability Audit ………………………………………………………….. 78
Figure 5: Participant Sheet Analysis Matrix ……………………………………….……. 86
Figure 6: Cross-case Analysis Matrix …………………………………………………… 88
Figure 7: Comprehensive Analysis Matrix ……………………………………………… 92
1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Overview
As a high school business teacher in the state of Hawai‘i between 2006 and 2011, I found
project based learning incredibly beneficial to my students. When my accounting students
applied ethical decision making approaches within authentic case study scenarios, they were
highly engaged and motivated throughout the project. Students’ boisterously participated in
round table discussions on topics ranging including embezzlement of company funds, donations
to non-profit charities, and even dilemmas involving being asked to misreport company profits in
exchange for a bonus or promotion; they drew upon their lived experiences and readily applied
learned accounting knowledge to resolve ethical predicaments. Their newfound interests in these
learning activities were so high that they eagerly committed extra time to their research and
collaborative discussions. The teacher-assisted, student-led project approach appeared to permit
students to take risks and build their confidence in purposeful and practical ways. My students
grew well beyond how they performed on a pen and paper assessment and learned more than the
required content (i.e., complex thinking, self-direction, and communication). The senior capstone
project (SCP), an interdisciplinary culminating experience completed during the high school
senior year, was one such learning activity that drew upon previously learned skills (such as
communication and critical thinking) and content knowledge gained during K-12 education
(Egelson, Harman, & Bond, 2002; Summers, 1989).
SCPs were a match for my Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes due to their
real-world, hands-on approach. Some of my most memorable teaching experiences involved
advising a handful of students throughout their SCP experience. As part of the SCP, students
developed their own year-long learning plan and project. The year progressed as my advisory
2
students chose their business related topic, developed their thesis, planned their inquiry,
researched their topic, spent 20 hours with a community mentor, managed their time and
progress, wrote a research paper, and presented their work to a panel of community members. It
was fascinating to witness my students’ struggles and breakthroughs, how they took interest in
the content, and sought to become agents of their own learning. The autonomy of topic selection
and project management gave my students the drive to proceed through the interdisciplinary
requirements. The experience of SCP appeared impactful as if it were building knowledge, skills,
and dispositions that would prove useful for a student’s future. Yet, I wondered about its actual
long-term impacts and to what extent did that learning transfer to collegiate study.
Senior Capstone Project background. SCP is described as an opportunity for high
school seniors to select purposeful lines of inquiry, embark on experiences of their own choice,
develop individual learning plans, and prepare for desired outcomes (Shaunessy, 2004). It is a
culminating experience of a student’s K-12 education and is intended to develop planning,
research, time management, writing, presentation, and interpersonal skills needed for college or
career readiness (Egelson et al., 2002). Due to the autonomy of project type and topic, each SCP
is unique to the student’s design.
Student choices are prevalent for SCPs, beginning with three main project types: (1)
career learning, (2) service learning, and (3) performance based (Harada, Kirio, & Yamamoto,
2008; Wee, 2000). Career learning projects provide students an extended learning experience
where they associate the academic with the vocational to expand their knowledge and skills in
both areas (Ancess, Darling-Hammond, & Einbender, 1993; Darling-Hammond, Ancess, & Ort,
2002). For example, a student may research dental careers and serve as a protégé under the
tutelage of an orthodontist. Service learning projects take the form of community service events
3
or information campaigns and allow students to gain hands-on experience while they apply
previous learned skills to real-world situations (Berman, 2006; Wheeler & McCausland, 2003).
A student conducting a service learning project may research ecology of nearby streams and in
turn, work with environmentalists to develop and implement a protection awareness program in
elementary schools. Performance based projects permit students to develop and demonstrate a
skill, ability, or talent that has an impact on the community (Hawai‘i State Department of
Education, 2010). For example, a student may research the culture and history behind Japanese
taiko drums, train with a temple to learn to play, and perform at a bon dance. All three project
types are inquiry-based, allowing students to determine a problem and develop possible solutions
(Berman, 2006).
While Hawai‘i does not require students to participate in SCPs, some school districts
across the United States require them for graduation. For example, Weymouth Public Schools in
Massachusetts requires an academy pathway-related Capstone Project for graduation, which
must include significant planning, preparation, and implementation (Weymouth Public Schools,
n.d.). Idaho’s Ada School District’s Senior Project is a separate assessment required for
graduation, where students are evaluated on knowledge and application of skills from state
standards yet not assessed on the Idaho Standards and Achievement Test; they must demonstrate
mastery of research, writing, and oral presentation skills (West Ada School District, 2002-2015).
The School District of Philadelphia requires its graduates to complete a Multidisciplinary Project
or a Service Learning Project where students demonstrate communication, problem solving,
school-to-career, citizenship, or multicultural competencies (The School District of Philadelphia,
n.d.). Rhode Island’s statewide diploma system requires two performance assessments for
graduation, exhibitions, and portfolios (Rhode Island Department of Education, 2015).
4
SCPs, at the secondary level, are not just unique to the United States; some are organized
for international implementation. The Advanced Placement (AP) Capstone is designed to foster
academic rigor and college readiness through critical, creative thinking, and research (The
College Board, 2014); CTE projects, presentations, and portfolios emphasize real-world
experiential learning through participation in Career and Technical Student Organizations
(Association for Career and Technical Education, 2011; National Academy Foundation, 2012);
and the International Baccalaureate Programme’s (IB) culminating project applies in-depth
research and interdisciplinary methods to create an extended essay and presentation
(International Baccalaureate Organization, 2005-2014).
High school level culminating project based learning experiences were implemented
similarly but were referred to differently: Graduation Project (Houston & Tharin, 1997);
Graduation by Exhibition (Ancess et al., 1993; Barnett, 2000; Fisk, Dunlop, & Sills-Briegel,
1997; Meier, 1995); Exit Exhibition (Cushman, 1990); Exhibition of Mastery (Sizer, 2004);
WISE Individualized Senior Experience Project (WISE Services, 2014); High School Senior
Capstone Projects (Skeldon, 2012); Senior High School Culminating Project (Erickson, 2007);
Rite of Passage Experience (Cushman, 1990); Mentor/Community-Service Project (Cox & Firpo,
1993); Senior Exit Project (Troutman & Pawlowski, 1997); and Senior Project (a proprietary
term for the Partnership for Dynamic Learning, P4DL, 2008; Summers, 1989). Although studies
referred to the project by different names, the participation experience followed the same general
premise. The varying SCPs were completed in the senior year of high school, followed a project
or problem based learning design with an interdisciplinary focus, required a career or community
collaboration with a mentor, contained a college level writing component, and required a
presentation to a panel of judges.
5
For the purpose of the study’s investigation, I selected the term Senior Capstone Project
(SCP) to refer to the culminating, interdisciplinary, senior year of high school learning
experience. In addition, since this work comprised graduates from the Hawai‘i Public School
System, I based my interpretation and discussion of the SCP upon the HIDOE’s (2010) project
requirements, where students (1) choose their own project, (2) develop their own essential
question and thesis, (3) reflect upon a learning stretch, and (4) demonstrate proficiency in the
four main components: research paper, field work (collaboration with a community member),
portfolio, and presentation.
Senior Capstone Projects in Hawai‘i. History of Senior Capstone Projects in Hawai‘i.
Lahainaluna High School, the first in Hawai‘i to implement a SCP program and create an
extensive senior project guideline packet, later became the model for the current Statewide
guidelines (Goff, Granillo, Seino, & Nakano, 2008). The HIDOE provided SCP guidelines for
statewide implementation during the 2008-2009 school year (HIDOE, 2010). Hawai‘i Board
Policy 4550, titled High School Graduation Requirements and Commencement, was revised in
March 2008 to require completion of a SCP for students to earn a Board of Recognition
Diploma
1
, beginning in the school year 2009-2010 (HIDOE, 2010). It was compulsory that all
students engage in an SCP to fulfill Hawai’i’s participation requirement in the American
Diploma Project
2
. At that time, the HIDOE Strategic Plan (HIDOE, 2008) described the SCP as a
vital learning experience and projected that by 2018 all graduates in the state of Hawai‘i would
have completed one.
In 2012, a newly appointed State of Hawai‘i Board of Education (HIBOE, 2012)
discontinued the Board of Recognition Diploma after the 2014-2015 school year, and in its place
they created honors certificates beginning with the Class of 2016. Due to this policy shift, the
6
SCP was no longer part of a graduation requirement; the HIBOE left its continuation to be
determined by individual high schools. Starting in the 2015-2016 school year, students could opt
to complete a SCP as one of the six elective credits required to graduate (HIDOE, 1995-2013a).
To receive Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education honors, a STEM
Capstone or STEM Senior Project is required. Projects are also required for CTE honors.
Depending on school policy and project requirements, these honors projects may also be
considered as a SCP.
Hawai’i’s Senior Capstone Project requirements. For the HIDOE SCP, students must
submit a proposed project type (i.e., career) and topic (i.e., the legal responsibilities of a
pharmacist) for approval before developing their own thesis and design (Lahainaluna, 2008).
Students have the ability to choose their project type among three options: (1) Community
Service Project, (2) Self-Development Project, or (3) Career Project (HIDOE, 2010). Proficiency
in four main components of the Senior Project is required: (1) research paper, (2) field work
(project collaboration with a community member), (3) portfolio, and (4) presentation. Research
papers are to be written according to college level expectations and must address the student’s
essential question and thesis. Fifteen to 25 hours of field work, alongside a community mentor,
constitutes the students hands-on experience and learning in the topic. The portfolio component
is a compilation of the SCP requirements and provides evidence of the student’s learning and
project development. The final component, the oral presentation, showcases a student’s
communicative proficiency in the area of study. It is assessed by a three member judicial panel
comprised of volunteer community members selected by the school. The intention of the senior
project is to help prepare students to be college and career ready.
7
Purpose of the Study
In order to examine how the SCP may have transferability and retention from one
learning situation to the next, I investigated college students’ perceptions of what they learned
during their past high school SCP learning experience and what, if any, of those dispositions,
skills, and content knowledge were still currently being used in college. Twelve current
undergraduate students at a university in the Pacific region of the United States participated in
this research study. Participants completed an online survey and participated in a series of focus
group sessions. Varied perspectives were sought by selecting participants who had attended
different Hawai‘i public high schools, selected diverse SCP topics, pursued varying college
majors, and represented multiple genders and ethnicities.
My research aimed to discover participants’ perceptions about the extent that content
knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions learned from their SCP’s transferred to their college
academic experience. This study provides insight as to what students felt they gained from a
project based learning experience, including the abilities and production skills deemed necessary
to complete work such as research papers, fieldwork, portfolios, and presentations. The study’s
results add to the extant literature, informing educators and policy makers about the significant
benefits of the SCP experience and the long-term impacts students perceived during their
collegiate experience.
Research Question
The following research question guided my study—How do students in a four year post-
secondary institution perceive participation in their high school Senior Capstone Project has
impacted their current college academic experience?
8
Qualitative research methods were used to conduct a descriptive and interpretive case
study. Each individual participant was studied as a multiple case within the main bounded case.
Snowball sampling (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007) was used to obtain referrals for
participants from teacher friends and peers within the College of Education. Twelve participants
were purposefully selected (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009) to provide maximum variation based
upon meeting the following specified criteria: attended various Hawai’i public high schools; had
different SCP topics, attended Island University (IU), pursued diverse college majors, and
represented multiple genders and ethnicities. The participants took part in an initial online
questionnaire, one in-person focus group, and two in-person individual interviews; additionally,
they submitted two college work artifacts, a reflective journal, three member checks of their
interview transcripts, and answered follow-up questions via Electronic-mail, as needed.
Data was analyzed through thematic coding (Patton, 2002), resulting in the creation of a
categorical organization of the narrative interview data. Each participant was treated as a smaller
individual case of the larger case study. First within-case analyses took place before an ensuing
cross-case comparison analysis examined any consistencies or differences between the cases
(Patton, 2002). The comparison of smaller cases helped provide triangulation. A final
comprehensive stage of analysis looked at data from the cross-case analysis and the within-case
analyses. The final interpretations served to address the research question and to contribute to the
available literature on SCPs and project based learning.
Significance of the Study
After an exhaustive review of literature on high school SCPs, it was discovered that those
research-based studies merely consisted of limited and focused investigations with findings that
were not widely transferrable (Brandenburg, 2005; Duff, 2006; Erickson, 2007; Pennacchia,
9
2010; Skeldon, 2012). Some research existed describing the extent the SCP provided students an
opportunity to develop planning, research, time management, interpersonal, presentation, and
writing skills needed for college or career (Egelson et al., 2002; HIDOE, 2010; P4DL, 2008;
Shaunessy, 2004). Dissertation and thesis studies had varied scopes of investigation including:
SCP as a combatant of senioritis (Blanchard, 2012; Duff, 2006); judges’ perceptions of rigor
(Skeldon, 2012); a principal’s perspective of planning and development (Mercurio, 2007);
interaction of students’ epistemological assumptions and their behavior during a SCP course
(Urman, 2008), and SCP design focus on rigor, relevance, and relationships (Brandenburg,
2005). I also found studies that examined SCPs from different approaches: data review
(Brandenburg, 2005); surveys of high school students (Duff, 2006); interviews of high schools
students, parents, and teachers (Erickson, 2007); surveys and interviews of recent high school
graduates (Pennacchia, 2010); and surveys and focus groups of judges (Skeldon, 2012).
Existing studies expressed the need for additional research on SCPs and included
recommendations for future studies to be conducted (Brandenburg, 2005; Duff, 2006; Erickson,
2007; Pennacchia, 2010; Skeldon, 2012). Brandenburg (2005) suggested follow-up studies of
SCP students after high school graduation. Erickson (2007) specified studies of their post-
secondary achievement, while Duff (2006) further detailed that future research should address
questions regarding how the SCP writing requirements enhances students’ preparation for
college writing, and the extent to which it contributes to the development of dispositions and
skills associated with self-directed learners. Pennacchia (2010) suggested researching even
further into self-direction with studies on how the SCP may develop a student’s self-efficacy.
Throughout my search, I could only locate two studies (i.e., Egelson et al., 2002;
Pennacchia, 2010) that investigated whether SCP participation had any lasting impact once
10
students graduated from high school. Because my study expanded upon their research, an
overview of their findings is presented in this chapter. Pennacchia (2010) investigated to see if
the SCP’s intention of college and career preparation was met. Following a two-phase mixed
methods explanatory design, 147 graduates of a Rhode Island high school who completed a SCP
completed a questionnaire. After quantitative analysis, six were purposefully selected to be
interviewed. Pennacchia found that 89% of the graduates who participated in the study:
…viewed the senior project components in written communication, oral communication,
research skills, and time management/study skills as valid indicators for college and work
readiness. They believed they exhibited these skills during senior project and that they are
confident that they use these skills in a college or work environment. (p. 106)
She also found that 82% of the respondents had a positive SCP learning experience. SCP was
also deemed to have cultivated perceptions of self-efficacy to the Pennacchia’s surprise.
A paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research
Association (AERA) by Egelson et al.’s (2002) included findings of their longitudinal mixed
methods research study of 12
th
grade high school students (N = 422), graduates (n = 163
surveyed with approximately half serving as a control group and the others participated in SCP),
parents (~ 260), and teachers (n = 436) from four senior project schools and four control non-
project schools in rural or small towns of North Carolina. The study also included qualitative
interviews, focus groups, and document analysis of writing assessments. Responses of surveyed
graduates were compared between the senior project and control (non-senior project) schools.
About 75% of their participants who had graduated and completed a senior project responded
that they agreed or strongly agreed that they developed or improved the following skills during
their SCP experience: public speaking, interviewing, interpersonal, writing, research, planning,
11
organization, and other work-related skills. Graduates of who partook in senior projects reflected
that they had learned more of the surveyed skills than graduates who had not participated in
SCPs. Both groups of graduates reported they were required to use all of the skills surveyed to
some degree since high school. Upon analysis of the participants’ perceived experiences with
SCPs, the authors concluded:
The effects of the Senior Project experience are not necessarily evident in the short-run.
The real value of Senior Project is not likely to be realized until students are out of high
school and called upon to use their Senior Project – related knowledge and skills in a
real-world setting, such as their workplace or an institution of higher education. (p. 22)
Building from Egelson et al.’s conclusion, my dissertation served to investigate the
perceived lasting effects of SCPs as students continued their education at an institution of higher
education. I examined transference of the SCP experience to the college academic experience, in
part to see its ability to prepare students for future academic and career contexts. For it is the
focus of our nation’s schools (Cowan & Carter, 1994), including the HIDOE (2010), to offer
learning activities that prepare students for their future roles in society such as post-secondary
education or the workplace. Influenced by Egelson et al. and Pennacchia’s findings, my study
sought to discover if study participants had similar perspectives to those in North Carolina and
Rhode Island, if the SCP prepared them for college, and more specifically, if what they had
learned while participating in their SCP transferred to their college academic experience.
Definition of Terms
There are five terms used frequently in this study that warrant further attention and
clarification: learning transfer, project based learning, senior capstone project, senior capstone
project experience, and college academic experience. Learning transfer, project based learning,
12
senior capstone project, and college academic experience are defined very differently in the
literature. Senior capstone project experience is not contained in the literature at all. Therefore,
details as to how these terms are to be understood for the purposes of this study are provided.
Learning Transfer—a theoretical approach to learning (Carraher & Schliemann, 2002)
used to explain how new learning was influenced by prior knowledge, learning, and experience.
Situated (Greeno,1998; Lave, 1988) to capture evidence with broad qualitative methods
(Carraher & Schliemann, 2002; Lobato, 2003) to elicit participants’ perspectives (Lobato, 2003)
of how their prior learning (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999) was adapted and applied to another
setting (Barnett & Cici, 2002) comprised of new context and content (Royer, Mestre, &
Dufresne, 2005; Tuomi-Gröhn & Engeström, 2003).
Project Based Learning (PjBL)—a student led, teacher assisted instructional method
where complex projects are “based on challenging questions or problems, that involve students
in design, problem-solving, decision making, or investigative activities; give students the
opportunity to work relatively autonomously over extended periods of time; and culminate in
realistic products or presentations” (Thomas, 2000, p. 1).
Senior Capstone Project (SCP)—a culminating project of the high school students’ K-
12 academic experience, completed in their senior year, drawing upon multidisciplinary content
as well as skills, abilities, and dispositions. The SCP is intended to provide opportunities for
students to gain a firsthand understanding of a career, provide a service to the community, or to
develop a personal interest while experiencing college level research, writing, and
communication (HIDOE, 2010). Proficiency in four main components of the Senior Project is
required: (1) research paper, (2) field work (project collaboration with a community member),
13
(3) portfolio, and (4) presentation. Where students demonstrate a breadth of knowledge and
attainment of learner outcomes including: self-direction, complex thinking, and communication.
Senior Capstone Project Experience—holistic participation in the SCP including using
and learning skills, abilities, and dispositions as well as the interdisciplinary content knowledge
to complete the required SCP components (research paper, field work, portfolio and
presentation). The SCP experience also encompasses participation in PjBL experiential
techniques of self-direction, authentic problems and activities, mentor or teacher collaboration
and feedback, and reflection.
College Academic Experience—all aspects of participation in collegiate courses and
assignments including but not limited to: fieldwork, laboratory reports, classroom activities,
essays, presentations, artwork, projects, and exams. The college work itself and the creation
process to arrive at the culminating product including using previously acquired and transferred
content knowledge alongside newly acquired skills, abilities, and dispositions.
Chapter Summary
Chapter 1 presented background information on SCPs and the need for additional
research that resulted in the premise for this study. It included my interest in the topic as the
researcher as well as the educational significance and purpose of the study. The literature review
in Chapter 2 presents the conceptual framework of the study, which is guided by two essential
lenses: SCP and learning transfer. Chapter 3 describes the methods by which research was
conducted, including descriptions of using a bounded case, sampling procedures, participant
selection, data collection, and data analysis. In Chapter 4 findings are presented before being
elaborated upon in Chapter 5, where conclusions and implications are discussed.
14
Chapter Notes
1
Board of Recognition Diploma: A high school diploma choice with additional
requirements created by the State of Hawai’i Board of Education (HIBOE, 2011) in an effort to
promote more rigorous learning and meet college entrance requirements. The SCP was one of
the extra requirements needed to earn a Board of Recognition Diploma. The Board of
Recognition Diploma began with the Class of 2007 and ended with the Class of 2015. The Board
of Recognition Diploma with Honors began with the Class of 2010 and ended with the Class of
2015. The HIBOE replaced the Board of Recognition Diploma choices with a single diploma
choice and various honors recognition certificates beginning with the Class of 2016 (HIDOE,
1995-2013a).
2
American Diploma Project: A project created in 2005 by Achieve (2012), a nonprofit
organization with the goal of preparing students for postsecondary education, work and
citizenship, and a network of state governors, education officials, and business executives. As
part of the education movement to improve college and career readiness among high school
graduates, the network of 35 states gained attention when it initiated the movement to develop
common core state standards and graduation requirements for high school students to complete
college and career ready curriculum, including a SCP. The network was committed to improving
student achievement and created provisions to increase graduation requirements.
15
Chapter 2
Conceptual Framework
This study examining college students’ perceptions regarding the impact of previous high
school Senior Capstone Project (SCP) learning on their current college academic experience was
framed by three essential bodies of literature: SCP, learning transfer, and self-efficacy. In this
chapter, I will describe how existing literature framed my study. First, the field of SCP laid a
foundation of what constitutes project work and what students were expected to attain from the
experience. Within the SCP lens, the topic of project based learning (PjBL) helped construct a
description of the teaching and learning method that informs the SCP. Next, the field of learning
transfer framed my study with information pertaining how to examine the manner which
knowledge acquired in one setting was later applied in another. Within the learning transfer lens,
the topic of college readiness was included to help specify types of knowledge that were under
this study’s examination, particularly what students were expected to do in college. Third,
literature on self-efficacy framed my study with foundational knowledge on how one’s belief in
self impacts behavior. Studies of self-efficacy involvement with PjBL were of focus.
Senior Capstone Project
Existing literature about SCPs was used as a conceptual lens to help guide my research
study. The SCP literature was useful in understanding what students were expected to learn
through the SCP experience and how it was intended to be helpful for a student’s future college
academic experience or career. This section begins with an overview of articles describing SCPs
and intended student outcomes from the PjBL method. Next, knowledge, skills, and dispositions
that are expected to be gained during SCP completion are presented. Then, information regarding
16
the expected learning outcomes of Hawai’i’s SCPs is included. The section ends with a review of
SCP studies, and descriptions of how they framed the proposed research.
Intended purpose and outcomes of the Senior Capstone Project. In the articles under
review, the SCP was seen to develop students’ skills, abilities, and dispositions through self-
directed long-term project work. The purpose of SCPs was described as promoting college and
work readiness.
In their article, Cowan and Carter (1994) described how the push for culminating projects
and student proficiencies in focus came out of a report by the Task Force 2000’s The U.S.
Department of Labor’s Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS, 1991).
In the early 1990s, the task force examined what work was required of schools by asking
employers about their workforce requirements and then asking schools if those requirements
were incorporated into their school curricula. The goal was to reshape the curriculum by the year
2000. SCANS Task Force 2000 focused on the question:
What do students need to know to be successful?…They need to know how to ask
questions and find answers, how to gather and analyze information, how to apply their
knowledge to projects of their own creation while remaining realistic about limitations of
time, money, resources, and support. They need to be able to use relevant technology.
They need to be able to write and speak, clearly and concisely, about what they have
learned. (Cowan & Carter, 1994, p. 58)
The skills SCANS reported such as communication, technology, self-direction, and writing were
used in high school but also viewed as useful for their future, whether they pursued post-
secondary education or a career immediately following graduation. According to Cowan and
Carter (1994), the SCANS (1991) reports led to educational reform that included more cross-
17
curricular, hands-on learning experiences such as the SCP. Reflecting on my own SCP teaching
experience, I believe that SCPs meet the new curricular needs as described by Cowan and Carter
(1994) because they require students to go out into the community, learn through active
participation, provide the opportunity to use the skills they learned previously in high school, and
“understand that school is not just preparation for life. It is life” (Cowan & Carter, 1994, p. 58).
The HIDOE views the SCP as an addition to overall curriculum that has the intention to
prepare graduates for their future role in society; upon completion of a SCP students are to have
demonstrated skills and knowledge to be effective, competent, and appropriate post-secondary
students or members of the workforce (HIDOE, 2010). Through their work on the four main
project components (research paper, field work, portfolio, and presentation), high school seniors
have the opportunity to use previous learned skills as well as demonstrate proficiency in newly
developed skills needed for college and/or career (HIDOE, 2010; P4DL, 2008). Shaunessy
(2004) further detailed skills built through the SCP experience to “offer students the opportunity
to identify purposeful lines of inquiry and to approach them with the appropriate level of
difficulty for their abilities as students develop learning plans, desired outcomes, and embark on
experiences of their own choice” (p. 40). I considered the learning outcomes when examining
any connections or transference participants may or may not have had to their current college
work.
Acquiring a full inventory of student abilities is the objective of the SCP program
developed by The Senior Project Center under auspice of the non-profit school consulting firm,
The Partnership for Dynamic Learning (P4DL, 2008). They offer project management, research,
and assessment tools aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The Senior Project Center
partnered in the development of Hawai’i’s SCP with the HIDOE (HIDOE, 2010). They
18
described that senior projects assess skills that are not usually demonstrated through required
standards-based assessments. The center’s 20+ years of SCP development and implementation
experience led to the compilation of “attitudes, skills and knowledge” students are to attain from
completion of a SCP (see Table 1).
Table 1
Senior Project Center’s Citizens of the 21
st
Century: Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge
Basic Skills and Knowledge
Self-Direction and Collaboration
Deep Independent Thinking and Sophisticated
Problem Solving
Mental Flexibility
Fluency of Ideas and Proficiency in Processes
Reflective, Creative and Original Thinking
Risk Taker
Communication Skills in Text, Video
and Audio Modes
Technology
High Productivity and Quality Production
Personal Characteristics Reflecting Work Ethic
Source: P4DL, 2008.
Several scholarly articles (Cowan & Carter, 1994; Rickey & Moss, 2004, Shaunessy,
2004; Summers, 1989; Wheeler & McCausland, 2003) supported and added to discourse around
similar knowledge, skills, and dispositions introduced by The Senior Project Center. The articles
described a SCP as a beneficial student learning experience that helped prepare students for their
future. The long-term project was seen as a way to enhance existing curriculum while preparing
senior year high school students with skills, dispositions, and abilities needed for college. SCPs
were seen as a venue for students to apply previously learned knowledge and develop new
knowledge while further developing their critical thinking, research, collaboration,
communication, planning, and time management abilities (Cowan & Carter, 1994; Rickey &
Moss, 2004, Shaunessy, 2004; Summers, 1989; Wheeler & McCausland, 2003).
The PjBL method was seen to increase students’ opportunity to use inquiry and
investigation while applying interdisciplinary knowledge and content to address authentic
19
problems or questions (Blumenfeld, Soloway, Marx, Krajcik, Guzdial, & Palincsar, 1991;
Darling-Hammond et al., 2002; Harada et al., 2008; Pearlman, 2010). These studies influenced
the scope of this study as they also sought to discover what students learned from a PjBL
experience. However, these research investigated were constructed on the premise of what
students were expected to learn from the SCP; in contrast, my study uses a novel approach of
assessing what college students perceive to have actually experienced during their SCP
experiences and documented views of transference of SCP learning to the college academic
setting.
Hawai’i purpose and learning outcome for the Senior Capstone Project. This sub-
section of the SCP conceptual framework helped to provide background on the relationship
between project completion to its overall impact. According to the HIDOE (2010) guidelines the
participants of my study should have gained abilities and college preparation through
participation in the SCP. Hawai’i’s SCP was designed to support one of HIDOE’s main
initiatives—college readiness (HIDOE, 1995-2013c). It was also designed to help fulfill the
HIDOE (2010) vision for their high school graduate: “[graduates] possess the attitudes,
knowledge and skills necessary to contribute positively and compete in a global society”
(HIDOE, 1995-2013c). In its SCP guidelines, the HIDOE (2010) detailed that the SCP is
intended to provide opportunities for students to gain a firsthand understanding of a career,
provide a service to the community, or develop a personal interest while experiencing college
level research, writing, and communication.
Guidelines for the HIDOE (2010) SCP specified that “Successful completion of the
Senior Project provides the student with the opportunity to demonstrate advanced proficiency in
the attainment of the General Learner Outcomes (GLOs), career and life skills demonstrating
20
workplace readiness” (HIDOE, 2010, p. 1). The GLOs were initially developed to meet the
accreditation requirements set by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
The GLOs, a set of overarching learning goals that students should have acquired by the time of
their graduation, include: Self-Directed Learner; Community Contributor; Complex Thinker;
Quality Producer; Effective Communicator; and Effective and Ethical Users of Technology
(HIDOE, 1995-2013b). SCP completers were described as 21
st
century learners who, through the
culminating experience of demonstrating the GLOs, became “college, career and citizenship
ready in reading, writing, speaking, listening and language” (HIDOE, 2010, Attachment D). Both
the vision and outcomes of the HIDOE are intended to develop the student for their future
workplace or post-secondary education and are skills, abilities, or dispositions observable in a
student’s SCP work.
The HIDOE (2010) guidelines also detail that students must reflect upon and present a
“learning stretch,” evidence of breadth of learning, that they “push himself/herself to go above
and beyond what he/she already knows or what he/she thinks he/she can do, and a culmination of
knowledge and skills from many different disciplines and life experiences” (HIDOE, 2010, p. 6).
This breadth of learning requirement is designed to help fulfill the HIDOE’s vision—to help
students prepare to be productive 21
st
century citizens. According to the HIDOE (2010), the SCP
will help high school graduates become equipped for their future societal and industry endeavors
including citizenship, post-secondary education, and their career.
Existing Senior Capstone Project studies. Existing research on the SCP at the
secondary level explored the perceived effectiveness in implementation and perceptions of
intended outcomes (Blanchard, 2012; Brandenburg, 2005; Carolan, 2008; Duff, 2006; Egelson et
al., 2002; Erickson, 2007; Skeldon, 2012). All but two of the existing studies described views on
21
SCP implementation had different types of people under examination and did not specify the
project completers’ experiences following their high school graduation. However, despite their
differences from the proposed study’s focus, they still are of value to inform through rich
description and their findings of what encompasses SCPs.
Overall, the existing studies tended to agree that the SCP is a worthwhile learning
experience that met intentions of college and work readiness through developing and building
upon previously learned knowledge, skills, and dispositions; more specifically the SCP showed
student development in planning, research, time management, interpersonal, presentation, and
writing (Brandenburg, 2005; Duff, 2006; Egelson et al., 2002; Erickson, 2007; Skeldon, 2012).
The studies examined SCPs using eclectic methods including a data review of high school
students (Brandenburg, 2005); surveys of high school students (Duff, 2006); interviews and
examination of personal documents of high school students (Carolan, 2008); surveys and
interviews of high schools students, parents, and teachers (Egelson et al., 2002; Erickson, 2007);
surveys, interviews, and focus groups of students, teachers and administrators (Blanchard, 2012);
surveys and focus groups of judges (Skeldon, 2012); and a principal’s perspective of planning
and development (Mercurio, 2007). However, this group of studies was only able to indirectly
inform my dissertation because they investigated participants who were high school students and
did not look at transference after completion of the SCP. My study investigated college students,
who had completed the SCP while in high school and their perceptions of any lasting effects
experienced during their collegiate studies.
My research expanded upon the findings of two particular studies, Egelson et al. (2002)
and Pennacchia (2010). These articles directly informed my research their premise was to
unearth what happened to SCP completers once they had graduated from high school. A paper
22
presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) by
Egelson et al. (2002) included findings of their longitudinal mixed methods research study of
12
th
grade high school graduates as well as their parents and teachers in rural or small towns of
North Carolina. About 75% of their participants who had graduated and completed a senior
project responded that they agreed or strongly agreed that they developed or improved the
following skills during their SCP experience: public speaking, interviewing, interpersonal,
writing, research, planning, organization, and other work-related skills. Egelson et al. (2002) also
found that, “Senior Project coordinators and parents’ degree of agreement was even higher –
over 80 percent” (p. 3). They found that students built several skills throughout their SCP
experience: “public speaking, research, [research] writing, presentation, interviewing, time
management, planning, organization, interpersonal, and work-related skills, the skills embodied
in the Senior Project” (p. 22). Graduates of senior project schools reflected that they had learned
more of the skills surveyed while in high school than control group participants. Most graduates
reported they were required to use all of the skills surveyed to some degree since high school.
Pennacchia (2010) investigated if the SCP’s intended outcomes of college and career
preparation were beneficial to participatory high school students. She found that 89% of the
graduates who participated in the study:
Viewed the senior project components in written communication, oral communication,
research skills, and time management/study skills as valid indicators for college and work
readiness. They believed they exhibited these skills during senior project and that they are
confident that they use these skills in a college or work environment. (Pennacchia, 2010,
p. 106)
23
Eighty-two percent of the respondents claimed the senior project was a positive learning
experience overall.
The work of Egelson et al. (2002) and Pennacchia (2010) helped to frame my study
because they also included examination of current college students who completed a SCP while
in high school. However, Egelson et al. (2002) and Pennacchia (2010) were specifically designed
to evaluate their respective SCP program and contained a priori items suitable for program
evaluation. Rather than describe or interpret, my study further examines the SCP with qualitative
interpretation of participants’ perspectives of how their high school experience later impacted
their college academic experience.
Project based learning. Cowan and Carter’s (1994) description (see pp. 16-17 of this
chapter) of the early 1990s movement toward reshaping curriculum to include interdisciplinary
project experiences where students gain knowledge, skills and dispositions for their future,
described a form of project based learning (PjBL). This type of cross-curricular, real-world,
hands-on project learning experience is referred to as PjBL (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Harada et
al., 2008; Markham, Larmer, & Ravitz, 2003; Newell, 2002; Thomas, 2000). This sub-section of
the SCP lens contains a brief overview of PjBL, which helped underpin the philosophical and
methodical SCP design. The PjBL overview helped to further define the SCP experience, and
therefore assisted with understanding my participants’ perspectives of how it benefited their
future learning.
What is project based learning? The idea of educating students through a project
experience is not new. In his article, The Project Method (1918), Kilpatrick wrote about the
benefits of projects that had a real purpose. He described how new learning resulted by allowing
students to identify, through their own ability, which skills to call upon and new ideas to generate
24
based on a situation of “purposeful activity.” He explained that learning was strongest when
projects originated intrinsically (child chosen) and not extrinsically (teacher assigned).
Kilpatrick’s (1918) description of self-directed learning through working on purposeful projects
was later described by Dewey (1938) as experiential learning, where students acquired
knowledge from what they did and experienced. He saw learning as a continuous process
grounded in experience.
Kolb (1984) continued to conceptualize experiential learning as a process where
knowledge was curated through a transformation of experience. Learning is seen as a holistic
process of human adaptation to the world, where process and experience create knowledge.
Kolb’s learning cycle involves learners moving through concrete experience, reflective
observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Learning is an active
process in which students take responsibility for their own edification. In the 1980s, just as in
Dewey’s time, Kolb’s experiential learning theory was viewed as counter-cultural to mainstream
transmission-oriented techniques. The SCP echoes these early views of experiential learning
through projects; knowing and doing were integrated during SCP work, and students chose their
own topic and project type.
Based on the work of Dewey (1938) and Kolb (1984), I classify SCP as a form of PjBL.
PjBL is defined in part by its broad interdisciplinary focus (Harada et al., 2008; Newell, 2002).
Definitions of PjBL do not reflect solely on core curriculum but often contain the development
of various knowledge and characteristics (skills, abilities, or dispositions) but are not limited to
problem solving and higher-level cognitive development (Markham et al., 2003; Wurdinger,
Haar, Hugg, & Bezon, 2007); student led planning (Markham et al., 2003; Newell, 2002);
student influenced inquiry and investigative activities (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Markham et al.,
25
2003); and communication (Markham et al., 2003). The characteristics from the aforementioned
authors helped describe what PjBL work entails; however, Thomas (2000) compiled the most
comprehensive definition that best reflects my research on SCPs, saying that complex projects
are “based on challenging questions or problems, that involve students in design, problem-
solving, decision making, or investigative activities; give students the opportunity to work
relatively autonomously over extended periods of time; and culminate in realistic products or
presentations” (p. 1).
Blumenfeld et al.’s (1991) article detailed two essentials needed for comprehensive PjBL:
(1) a problem or question that drives activities; and (2) the activities that result in a series of
artifacts culminating in a final product. The authors described how factors in project design,
teacher implementation, and technology support student motivation and cognition. The two
essentials were seen to provide even greater potential for motivated learning with sustained
thought when students were responsible for the creation of authentic real-world questions and
activities. Projects were described to improve competence in thinking through practice with
planning, progress monitoring, and evaluation. Blumenfeld et al. (1991) also indicated
interdisciplinary projects were effective in engaging students in the active learning process
towards meaningful content knowledge acquisition.
The development and implementation of the Hawai’i SCP (HIDOE, 2010) follows the
descriptors in this review of PjBL literature, and as Hawai’i is the location of investigation for
my study, I consider the SCP to be a form of PjBL. Particularly, the HIDOE (2010) guidelines
for the SCP contain Blumenfeld et al.’s (1991) essentials of a driving question (thesis statement)
and a final product (presentation or research paper). The HIDOE SCP is also representative of
Thomas’ (2000) PjBL definition containing complex tasks that involve students in design,
26
problem-solving, decision making, or investigative activities over an extended period of time.
PjBL is designed to provide lasting effects gained from experiential interdisciplinary learning.
The HIDOE (2010) SCP requirements also mirror the design suggested by the following PjBL
instructional models.
Instructional methods for project based learning. Krajcik, Blumenfeld, Marx, and
Soloway (1994) provide direction for cross-curricular, hands-on learning experiences specifying
that PjBL include a collaborative model for teacher implementation. After reviewing several case
studies that implemented project based instruction methods in science classrooms, the authors
introduced their Framework of Project-based Science that contained five fundamental features:
(1) a driving question or authentic problem used to organize concepts; (2) a main product or
series of artifacts; (3) investigation around a driving question or essential problem; (4)
collaboration with community members; and (5) the use of cognitive tools during the inquiry
process or the development of artifacts. Each of the features was seen to follow aspects of
constructivist learning. The five fundamental features Krajcik et al. (1994) detailed are included
in SCP guidelines (HIDOE, 2010) and were intended to develop learning experiences with
expected outcomes that prepare students for future learning.
Learning Transfer
Learning transfer was used as a conceptual lens for my study which examined college
students’ perspectives of their transference of previously acquired knowledge from their high
school SCP for their current college academic experience. To study learning transfer,
performance on a task can be examined for the degree to which it influences the performance on
a subsequent task (Ellis, 1965); or how prior learning affects new learning or performance
(Marini & Genereux, 1995). It is important to note the field’s wide ranging and often divided
27
perspectives and contradictory viewpoints (Anderson, Redder, & Simon, 1996; Greeno, 1997;
Lobato, 2006; Tuomi-Gröhn & Engeström, 2003) on this topic. In my literature review of the
topic, I approached this spectrum of perspectives by first offering a brief overview of traditional
transfer. Then, the focus shifted to alternative perspectives, primarily the actor-oriented
perspective (Lobato, 2003), which sought understanding transfer from the learner’s viewpoint;
meanwhile, the preparation for future learning perspective (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999)
emphasized that a student’s ability to learn was due to their past experiences. These alternative
perspectives are included in this section due to their broad description of learning transfer as the
ability to apply past knowledge to a new problem or setting, mirroring Royer, Mestre, and
Dufresne’s (2005) multidisciplinary viewpoint that transfer takes place over multiple contexts.
Explanations are also provided regarding my rationale for seeking alternative perspectives to
traditional learning transfer; particularly in relation to the qualitative nature of my study and its
investigation to determine if and how learning transferred from my participants’ high school SCP
experience to their current collegiate experiences.
Traditional learning transfer perspectives. In his seminal book, Principles of
Teaching, Based on Psychology (1906), Thorndike explained his transfer theory as the
application of knowledge from one situation to another. He described the use of quantitative
transfer tests to examine perceived benefits of various learning experiences. Thorndike supposed
that in order to study transfer, identical elements in each case needed to be present and the
specific content of one situation directly applied to the next. Often participants received
instruction on a sequence of learning tasks and were compared to a control group who did not
receive the instruction, and then both groups performed a final task that was used as the basis of
28
measurement. Positive transfer was said to have occurred if the participants who received the
learning tasks performed better than the control group.
Judd (1936) saw transfer differently; he thought Thorndike’s (1906) identical elements
methods only studied learning as a reflex, without effort or mindful thought. Judd (1936) defined
learning as reflection, calling upon a higher mental process. He believed that teachers should
actively teach for transfer and that learners should actively seek to learn for transfer. He found
that the understanding of a task’s central principles transferred to other similar tasks.
Disagreements and tension between cognitive constructivists like Thorndike and situated
cognition theorists like Judd predicated over notions of measuring learning transfer (Tuomi-
Gröhn & Engeström, 2003). Cognitivists viewed situated cognition theorists’ work as inferior
due to their use of unscientific measures. Situated cognition theorists viewed cognitive
constructivists’ work as invalid due to narrow and inequitable viewpoints (Tuomi-Gröhn &
Engeström, 2003). For the purpose of my qualitative study, I followed the situated cognition
theorists views and investigated following alternative learning transfer perspectives described in
the next section.
Alternative learning transfer perspectives. In the 1990s, new considerations for
transference became issues of discussion for scholars in the field (Anderson et al., 1996; Greeno,
1997; Lobato, 2006; Tuomi-Gröhn & Engeström, 2003). Debates based on differing viewpoints
of what needed to be present to constitute transfer became common. The concept of
polycontextuality emerged as a method to provide proper measurement of transfer of participants
engaged in multiple simultaneous tasks over numerous communities of practice (Tuomi-Gröhn
& Engeström, 2003). Barnett and Cici (2002) later explained another topic of much debate—far
transfer. Near transfer was seen to occur when previous knowledge was applied to new but
29
similar situations, and far transfer referred to dissimilar situations. They supported far transfer
was possible and focused on its degree of occurrence. Barnett and Cici (2002) proposed a
framework of nine relevant dimensions to study far transfer across varied contextual and content
dimensions.
Aspects such as motivation, engagement, and participation were seen to influence
transfer. Perkins and Salomon (2012) described a motivational and dispositional view of transfer
that included studying participants as they proceeded through a sequence of three steps: detecting
a potential connection to prior learning, electing to pursue it, and connecting it to a model. The
authors described that a combination of personal characteristics such as persistence and
willingness to take risks disposed students to advance themselves through the steps and transfer
knowledge. Perkins and Salomon suggested that educators would need to explicitly teach critical
thinking and creativity in the classroom to build character as well as cognition. Other learning
transfer studies found that engagement (Carraher & Schliemann, 2002), motivation, and
achievement goals (Belenky & Nokes-Malach, 2012) also enhanced future learning. When
individuals were engaged and motivated, they reconstructed their understanding of initial
learning to improve their knowledge transference to a new setting (Belenky & Nokes-Malach,
2012; Carraher & Schliemann, 2002). Greeno (1998) described how situated transfer included
patterns of participation—how understanding content knowledge and the level of participation
influenced student learning in the current situation and ability to participate in the next situation.
He recognized that patterns of participation, not just task knowledge, transferred across
situations.
These represented scholars described varying alternative perspectives to traditional
transfer study. Commonalities of their approaches included the concept of polycontextuality and
30
methods beyond a quantitative examination of identical elements. Royer et al. (2005) described
alternative approaches as multidisciplinary, applying past knowledge to a new problem or
setting. This approach was applied to my study, in part, because the like elements needed for
traditional transfer study did not exist for my research due to the multiple contexts that were the
subject of investigation. My study examined dissimilar situations of far transfer (Barnett & Cici,
2002) and followed the concept of polycontextuality (Tuomi-Gröhn & Engeström, 2003);
participants’ engagement over in multiple contexts (the high school SCP requirements and
college work samples) over several communities of practice (from the high school SCP to
college academic setting).
The remainder of this section on learning transfer will provide full descriptions of two
broader perspectives that enabled study of learning transfer without the need for identical
elements and quantitative measurement as Thorndike (1906) suggested. From the varying
alternative approaches, I selected the actor-oriented perspective (Lobato, 2003) and the
preparation for future learning (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999) amongst many available. The
founders of these approaches sought enhanced descriptions of a phenomenon often excluded
through traditional examinations of transfer. The actor-oriented perspective described studying
transfer through the participants’ viewpoint and the preparation for future learning described
looking beyond identical elements in the same time-sensitive case. The broader qualitative
methods of these alternative perspectives informed my study by providing approaches to gain the
participants’ viewpoints on how and what, if at all, they transferred learning from a previous
setting (high school SCP experience) to a new setting (college academic experience).
Actor-oriented perspective. In her review of design features of alternative perspectives on
the transfer of learning, Lobato (2003) included her own actor-oriented perspective. She defined
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transfer as the personal construction of the generalization of learning, where the influence of the
learners’ prior activities impacted their activity in a new situation. She proposed studying
transfer broadly through qualitative observations and eliciting the participants’ perspective. The
actor-oriented framework advocated for a shift from the observer’s to the actor’s viewpoint. The
observer sought to understand the processes by which learners (actors) generate their own
relations of similarity rather than by quantitative measures (Lobato, 2003). The actor-oriented
perspective evolved from Lobato and Siebert’s (2002) study, where they performed two
methodologically different analyses on a single case study. After implementing a teaching
experiment, they compared results from the traditional transfer perspective, using quantitative
methods, with the actor-oriented perspective, using ethnographic interview methods. They found
failure of transfer with the traditional results; however with the alternative method, they
documented several ways that the transfer situation was influenced by prior learning experiences.
Lobato and Siebert (2002) concluded that the classical transfer perspective did not capture all the
nuances of transfer, but recommended that learning be viewed more broadly through the actor’s
viewpoint to divulge multiple aspects of transfer.
The actor-oriented transfer perspective’s foundation, to examine transfer of past
knowledge broadly from the learner’s viewpoint, is relevant to inform my research as it also
sought to understand any transference of learning from its participants’ perspectives. The actor
oriented perspective further suggested its usefulness to my study by its application of the
qualitative interview method. Furthermore, the actor-oriented perspective was seen as a
multidisciplinary approach (Royer et al., 2005) used to study the ability to apply past knowledge
to a new problem or setting.
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Preparation for future learning. Bransford and Schwartz (1999) reviewed existing
research and proposed a novel approach to thinking about learning transfer for educational
practice and research. The authors described a pessimistic view of transfer evidence due to the
more traditional perspective of measuring a direct application of knowledge by what they
described as sequestered problem solving—where the subject was unable to seek help, receive
feedback, or have an opportunity to revise. Bransford and Schwartz (1999) broadened traditional
transfer with an alternative perspective of its effects on new learning in varied settings. They
proposed the Preparation for Future Learning (PFL) framework which emphasized that a
student’s ability to learn is heavily influenced by their past experiences. The PFL approach
posited that it is not until a student has an opportunity to learn by applying new information, or
utilizing new processes, was he/she able to realize the usefulness of prior knowledge (Bransford
& Schwartz, 1999). Their framework was intended to be used to study a wide variety of learning
experiences in environments that may be adapted to fit previously acquired knowledge. In
opposition of the identical elements required by traditional transfer, the authors believed that
active transfer could be examined when past understandings were adapted to new situations,
settings, and goals (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999).
The PFL approach was selected to inform my research due to its importance for
understanding that the usefulness of prior knowledge may only be fully realized at a later time
when it was applied to new and different settings. Earlier in this chapter (see p. 20), Egelson et
al.’s (2002) conclusions indicated the effects of the SCP may not be realized until students have
graduated high school and are in a setting such as an institution of higher education where they
are required to use their project related skills and knowledge. My study used the PFL approach to
examine college students’ perspectives about previous learning that was utilized in a new setting.
33
Application of alternative learning transfer perspectives. With a focus on extended
learning, Bransford and Schwartz (1999) suggested applying the PFL framework to document
how students demonstrated uses of prior knowledge in new situations. Measurements were made
on the students’ abilities to solve problems, and then students were followed to see how that
learning was transferred to novel and varied situations. The authors also described how
knowledge-rich environments enhanced learning and transfer. Knowledge-rich environments
were defined as those providing students with “opportunities to demonstrate their abilities to
learn to solve new problems by seeking help from other resources such as texts or colleagues or
by trying things out, receiving feedback, and getting opportunities to revise” (Bransford &
Schwartz, 1999, p. 68).
More recently, Nordine, Krajcik, and Fortus (2011) applied the PFL perspective to a
PjBL case study and researched student transfer of knowledge from one grade level to the next.
They studied students in a small Midwestern independent middle and high school. They taught
an eight week project-based energy unit to an eighth-grade science class and then followed the
students’ progress in successive science courses. All of the students took pre and post tests for
the energy unit and completed multiple questionnaires. Several of the students were interviewed.
Nordine et al. (2011) found that students who participated in an eighth-grade energy unit seemed
better prepared than nonparticipants in their ninth-grade biology course. Incorporating the
qualitative interview method expanded their understanding of how learning was applied to a new
situation. The PjBL method was seen to motivate and engage students as well as enhance current
and future learning. Nordine et al. (2011) found that learning resulted when students developed
integrated understandings, not disconnected ideas, and that the integrated knowledge was more
readily applied to new situations. Nordine et al. concluded that project based pedagogy designed
34
with integrated learning opportunities promoted student PFL—a type of prior knowledge that
could be used to learn productively in information rich environments in addition to simply
gaining content knowledge.
Alternative qualitative learning transfer perspectives appeared to have been suited to
study the SCP and any lasting effects that it may have for the participant who completed it in
high school and advanced to post-secondary education. HIDOE (2010) guidelines for the SCP
require student learning to take place in the knowledge-rich environments described as necessary
for PFL (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999). SCPs require critical investigations of a driving question
in order to demonstrate and communicate understanding through products while relying on
knowledge-rich environments and therefore were well-matched for study and informed by the
PFL framework (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999). Flexible transfer was seen as occurring more
readily by knowledge that was acquired through multiple contexts versus knowledge taught in a
single context (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). The SCP applies cross-curricular content
and requires a breadth of knowledge acquisition (HIDOE, 2010).
Both the actor-oriented (Lobato, 2003) and preparation for future learning (Bransford &
Schwartz, 1999) perspectives entail what Bransford and Schwartz (1999) described as dynamic
environments to gain an understanding of learning transference. My study also contained a
dynamic environment that was in stark contrast to the static environment of traditional
quantitative transfer research. The unit of analysis of my study was also of the dynamic
perspective; the setting of this investigation examined far learning transfer that took place in
college a few years after the initial learning occurred in high school. The environment was
changed and college work was of different contexts than the previous high school SCP;
35
polycontextuality was based upon the current demands of each of my participants’ unique
college work.
Determining a link between the SCP and college learning may be difficult, as Carraher
and Schliemann (2002) described a dilemma to studying transfer that included how former
knowledge and experience contributed to new learning in subtle ways and that it was difficult to
identify one particular prior situation as a basis for new learning. However, for my study, the
intention is to gather participant perspectives (Lobato, 2003) in order to understand what they
perceived prepared them for future learning (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999) and for completing
their college work. Any transference of the SCP is expressed from the participants’ viewpoints.
Through a review of the literature, I developed the following working definition of
learning transference to frame my study—a theoretical approach to learning, to explain how new
learning was influenced by prior knowledge, learning, and experience. My study was designed to
capture evidence via broad qualitative methods and to elicit participants’ perspectives of how
their prior learning was adapted and applied to a far setting comprised of new context and
content (Barnett & Cici, 2002; Bransford & Schwartz, 1999; Carraher & Schliemann, 2002;
Greeno, 1998; Lave, 1988; Lobato, 2003; Royer, Mestre, & Dufresne, 2005; Tuomi-Gröhn &
Engeström, 2003).
Learning transfer and project based learning or problem based learning. Furman and
Sibthorp’s (2013) described leveraging experiential learning techniques for transfer. They
explained how experiential learning techniques such as problem based learning (PBL), PjBL,
service learning, and cooperative learning can maximize learning transfer. Furman and Sibthorp
(2013) looked at adult education programs and found several techniques helpful for transfer:
reflection, discovery learning, active learning, content relevance, analogical thinking, and
36
instructor or mentor support, modeling, and feedback plus remediation. They concluded that
experiential learning techniques fostered deep and conceptual learning important towards
enhancing learning transfer for adult students.
Hung (2013) described how PjBL was designed as a learning environment that increased
learning transfer. He defined learning transfer as “applying previously learned knowledge with
various degrees of adaptation or modification of that knowledge in completing a task or solving
problems” (p. 27). Depending on the degree of the need to adapt or modify the knowledge, Hung
(2013) noted learning transfer to occur on three levels: knowledge application, knowledge near
transfer, and knowledge far transfer. He also identified obstacles or factors that caused students’
learning transfer to fail.
Upon determining the strengths of PBL, Hung (2013) further identified five
characteristics of PBL that facilitated learning transfer. First, problem-driven instruction
provided learning processes embedded in the problem-solving process. Students’ acquired
problem-solving skills or situational knowledge that could later be applied for near and far
transfer. Second, ill-structured and authentic problems, which had the complexity to encourage
students to learn to deal with uncertainty of real-world settings became useful for future
problems. Third, PBL followed problem or case structured curriculum where the content
knowledge was interdisciplinary and organized around a problem. This promoted various types
of knowledge (theoretical and factual, contextual information, situational, problem solving and
reason processing, solutions and how they are all tied together) stored as a unit in the students’
knowledge base that was drawn upon in novel future settings. Fourth, self-directed learning was
initiated by the students with the teacher available to offer support and guidance. Students
assumed responsibility, developing the ability to self-direct reasoning and research which
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enhanced far transfer. Five, reflective learning taught students to monitor and integrate their
understanding, then adjust strategies for effective learning and problem solving. The
metacognitive process included reflecting upon the problem-solving process, self-directed
learning process, and knowledge gained. Hung (2013) suggested instructional design guidelines
based upon the characteristics, and concluded that if the PBL technique was followed, it provides
an effective learning environment to enhance learning transfer.
Indicators of college readiness. Although, the ability of the SCP to prepare students for
college was not the focus of my study’s investigation, information on college readiness
indicators was useful to solidify a depth of knowledge on the processes participants’ described.
College readiness was also considered to be part of the learning transfer conceptual framework
for my study because HIDOE’s (2010) SCP’s expected outcomes include providing students
with the opportunity to utilize and develop skills needed for college and career.
Literature describes that a student’s college readiness can be attributed to predictors of
college success and retention (Bean, 1985; Byrd & MacDonald, 2005; Le, Casillas, Robbins, &
Langley, 2005; Robbins, Lauver, Le, Davis, Langley, & Carlstrom, 2004; Roderick, Nagaoka, &
Coco, 2009; Tinto, 1975). There is a significant corpus of research regarding non-academic
skills, attitudes, dispositions, or traits deemed to be valuable predictors of college success. This
information is used in my study to interpret participants’ perspectives on the skills, abilities, and
dispositions acquired during SCP completion and how they may have been applied during their
college academic experience.
Robbins et al. (2004) conducted a meta-analysis of 109 studies on how psychological and
study skill factors may predict college outcomes. They identified and studied nine broad
constructs from educational persistence and motivational models or frameworks of college
38
success. Robbins et al. (2004) controlled for the traditional GPA, test scores, and socioeconomic
status predictors to identify primary criteria for college success, academic performance, and
persistence. Academic achievement motivation, self-efficacy and academic goals were found to
predict academic performance. Persistence was attributed to academic self-efficacy, academic
goals, academic related skills, institutional commitment, social involvement, and social support.
Overall, the best predictors of both college success criteria were found to be academic goals and
self-efficacy. Dispositional characteristics were also noted to be key indicators of college
success, expressed as self-efficacy (Robbins et al., 2004) and emotional control (Le et al., 2005).
Le et al. (2005) constructed a Student Readiness Inventory by using a rational-empirical
approach of a previous meta-analysis of how psychological and study skill factors may predict
college outcomes. A total of 5,970 first-year college students and high school seniors were
questioned to determine the psychological and academic related skills structure of their Student
Readiness Inventory. They defined skills as proficiencies to perform well academically and
found the academic related skills of problem solving, communication, and emotional control to
be key indicators of college success.
Le et al. (2005) as well as Byrd and MacDonald’s (2005) similarly found that problem
solving and communication were excellent predictors of college success. Byrd and MacDonald’s
(2005) study looked at the perspectives of first-generation college students to develop a
definition of college readiness. They used an in-depth phenomenological interview method to
study eight participants from an undergraduate liberal arts program of a Northwestern urban
university. After academic skills, participants indicated that ability to apply and advocate for
oneself as a learner was essential for college readiness. Perspectives also included time-
management, goal creation, and application. The authors concluded that participants’ skills in
39
time management and the ability to focus on a goal emerged as even more important than
academic skills in reading, writing, and math.
Byrd and MacDonald (2005) and Roderick et al. (2009) agreed on the importance of time
management and self-direction. They saw these abilities to outweigh core academic skills when
considering top indicators of college success. After reviewing literature and research for their
article, Roderick et al. (2009) examined different ways to assess college readiness. They
discovered the common indicators that colleges assessed applicants were achievement test
scores, grade point averages, and coursework required for college admission. Roderick et al.
went beyond these common indicators and identified four critical areas of skill development
required for college readiness: core academic skills, content knowledge and basic skills, non-
cognitive skills, and college knowledge. Core academic skills (non-subject specific reading,
writing, and analytical thinking) and content knowledge were attained by students through high
school instruction. Basic skills and content knowledge were needed to develop core academic
skills. Non-cognitive skills determined educational achievement but were not measurable by
standardized tests. Non-cognitive skills (such as behaviors and characteristics of self-monitoring,
time management, help-seeking behavior, and coping skills) were seen as the most important
critical area. Finally, college knowledge included understanding the college application process,
norms, and cultures.
In earlier studies, Tinto (1975) and Bean (1985) based indicators for college readiness on
certain traits (skills, attitudes, and dispositions) a student needed in order to persist to graduate
college. Tinto’s (1975) and Bean’s (1985) findings exemplify, that in order to be successful with
their college academic experience, students must enter college with certain traits that they would
have developed previously in high school and then be able to apply those traits in college. Tinto
40
(1975), in his synthesis of research, presented his interactionalist theory of student departure that
assumed persistence or withdrawal behavior from college was determined by the core concepts
of academic and social integration. He used his seminal attrition research as the basis of his
model for his investigation as to why students persisted or withdrew from college. Students were
seen to have a set of traits when they entered college. Entry traits included family background
comprised of socioeconomic status, high school achievement and experience, ethnicity, and
parental encouragement. These traits were seen to influence students’ goal commitment towards
graduation and their institutional commitment to their college or university. These commitments,
along with the entry traits, in turn influenced how they integrated academically and socially. The
traits, commitments, and interactions further influenced the students’ goal and institutional
commitments and whether or not they persisted with their goal to graduate.
Bean (1985) also studied interactionist effects on student attrition. He used quantitative
methods to measure dropout syndrome. He analyzed data from a questionnaire returned from
1,781 undergraduate students in a Midwestern university. His conceptual model of student
dropout was empirically estimated looking at theoretical relationships of the variables of college
grades, institutional interaction, and institutional fit. He found support from students’ peers was
more important for socialization than support from faculty members. Academic integration was
found to increase a student’s sense of fit and learning experience and in turn, promote a sense of
accomplishment rather than frustration; this sense of accomplishment was also seen to encourage
retention. Bean’s (1985) findings were consistent with those of Tinto (1975); academic
engagement along with perceived social support, social involvement, and institutional
commitment were predictive college retention criterion. Their findings exemplify participation in
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collaborative work provides support and socialization that builds persistence needed for
everyday assignments and ultimately, graduation.
Ample research on college readiness (Bean, 1985; Byrd & MacDonald, 2005; Le et al.,
2005; Robbins et al., 2004, Roderick et al., 2009; Tinto, 1975) involve a host of factors related to
academic performance, academic management, academic achievement, motivation, problem
solving, goal focus, and emotional management. These commonalities helped frame how I
understood my participants’ perspectives of their SCP experience, especially since the HIDOE
(2010) expects the SCP to help prepare students for college through activities that demand
students to demonstrate critical thinking/problem solving, self-direction/project management,
and communication through the completion of their PjBL experience.
Wagner (2008) and Conley (2007) present two additional viewpoints on college
readiness, although they are not grounded in scholarly research, these are included due to their
extensive and varied informal research and popular recognition by educators. Wagner (2008) and
Conley (2007) describe similar knowledge for college success as the scholars (Bean, 1985; Byrd
& MacDonald, 2005; Le et al., 2005; Robbins et al., 2004; Roderick et al., 2009; Tinto, 1975) in
the preceding paragraphs.
Wagner (2008) described knowledge sets that students needed preparation in for their
future. His recent interviews of over 80 industry leaders of Fortune 500 companies and over 100
classroom observations led to the publishing of Seven Survival Skills that high school students
must possess for future success:
critical thinking and problem solving
collaboration across networks and leading by influence
agility and adaptability
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initiative and entrepreneurialism
effective oral and written communication
accessing and analyzing information, and
curiosity and imagination. (Wagner, 2008, p. 8)
Wagner (2008) explained, “In today’s world, it’s no longer how much you know that matters;
it’s what you can do with what you know” (p. 111).
Conley (2007) and The Education Policy and Improvement Center (EPIC, 2012), whose
mission is to improve educational practices in order to promote student college and career
readiness, in collaboration with the University of Oregon’s Center for Education Policy and
Research (CEPR) helped shift the paradigm of determining college readiness from course titles
and grade point averages to skills sets. EPIC organized skill sets into The Four Keys to College
and Career Readiness, which included Key Cognitive Strategies; Key Content Knowledge; Key
Learning Skills and Techniques; and Key Transition Knowledge and Skills (EPIC, 2012, p. 2).
The various “keys” provided details for college readiness skills such as problem formulation,
research, interpretation, communication, progress monitoring, time management, technical
knowledge, and self-efficacy as well as several other skill sets.
Both Conley’s (2007) Four Keys to College and Career Readiness and Wagner’s (2008)
Seven Survival Skills mirrored the indicators of college readiness presented by the scholarly
research in the previous paragraphs (Bean, 1985; Byrd & MacDonald, 2005; Le et al., 2005;
Robbins et al., 2004; Roderick et al., 2009; Tinto, 1975) including the areas of critical thinking,
self-direction, and communication. According to the HIDOE (2010) guidelines, students are to
have demonstrated these skills and knowledge sets to complete their SCP. Students were
expected to have developed the college success indicators prior to matriculating and transferred
43
their use in college (Byrd & MacDonald, 2005; Le et al., 2005; Robbins et al., 2004). These
indicators of college readiness were useful to interpret my study’s participants’ reflections of the
skills, attitudes, and dispositions they learned or used during their SCP experience and any
continued use for their college academic experience.
Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy is the third body of literature in this conceptual framework that informed
my research investigation. Understanding self-efficacious behavior helped me to interpret what
my participants reported about how the confidence they developed from their SCP experience
continued into their college academic experience. This section begins with viewpoints of
prominent self-efficacy theorists before discussing studies that examine the connections between
self-efficacy and either PjBL or SCP.
Self-efficacy theory. Bandura (1977), a social cognitive theorist, presented an integrative
self-efficacy theoretical framework that detailed how four principal sources (psychological
states, performance accomplishment, verbal persuasion, and vicarious experience) were
predictors of self-efficacy. An individual’s sense of personal mastery was described as self-
efficacy. Bandura (1977) found that when the four sources were more dependent upon each
other, they led to a greater perception of the individual’s self-efficacy. He believed that a
relationship existed between perceived self-efficacy and behavioral changes. After an increase or
decrease in one’s perception of self-efficacy, behavior patterns self-corrected to match the new
perception (Bandura, 1977). Changes in efficacy expectations and changes in behavior were
positively correlated. Bandura contrasted self-efficacy with expectancies of outcomes, describing
that an individual’s belief in their ability to perform actions would produce predicted or expected
outcomes (self-efficacy expectancy), and if they had doubts of whether they could perform, those
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doubts would influence their behavior to undertake or complete a task (outcome expectancy).
Bandura described self-efficacy as influencing decisions of individuals to reach their personal
goals.
In a later book, Bandura (1986) defined self-efficacy as a type of personal expectancy
where “People’s judgments of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action
required to attain designated types of performances” (p. 391). Initial self-efficacy varied based
on prior experiences, attitudes, skills, and abilities. He believed self-efficacy influenced a
student’s choice of activities, effort, and persistence and as a result, it was construed as a key
predictor of academic achievement. Individuals who believed they were capable remained
motivated to persist longer and work harder when difficulties arose when compared to others
who did not believe they were capable (Bandura, 1986). Initial self-efficacy varied based on prior
experiences, attitudes, skills, and abilities. Over time, successes increased self-efficacy and
failures decreased it. Once an individual built self-efficacy over time, a single failure would not
hinder their confidence or motivation. Later, Bandura (1997) reported self-efficacious students
participated more readily, worked harder, persisted longer, and had fewer adverse emotional
reactions when they encountered failures than those students who doubted their capabilities.
Maddux, Sherer, and Rodgers (1982) studied the relationship and effects on behavior
regarding two components of Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy theory: self-efficacy expectancy
and outcome expectancy. Self-efficacy expectancy is the belief that one is capable or not capable
of performing a certain task or behavior. Outcome expectancy is the belief in the likelihood that
a behavior will have a specific outcome. Maddux, Sherer, and Rodgers’ (1982) experiment
included 95 college students who read essays and then completed questionnaires to assess their
levels of efficacy. Maddux, Sherer, and Rodgers (1982) found that increments in outcome
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expectancy caused increases in intentions to perform the behavior, increments in self-efficacy
expectancy did not cause significant increases in intentions, and that outcome expectancy
influenced perceptions of self-efficacy. Maddux, Sherer, and Rodgers realized that their verbal
persuasion research differed from that of Bandura’s (1977) and others; they attributed this to the
influencing intentions of the essays that had not focused on risk avoidant behaviors. They
concluded that the greater the risk, the greater the self-efficacy expectancy. Maddux, Sherer, and
Rodgers’ research supported Bandura’s (1986) belief that self-efficacy influenced a student’s
choice to undertake and persistence toward future activities.
Like Bandura (1986/1997), Schunk (1991) realized there was a connection between self-
efficacy and student motivation. In his research on self-efficacy and academic motivation,
Schunk (1991) summarized the usefulness of self-efficacy theory to predict motivational
outcomes. He defined self-efficacy as “an individual’s judgments of his or her capabilities to
perform given actions” (Schunk, 1991, p. 207). Self-efficacy was seen to be a precursor for
academic motivation. Motivation was enhanced when students felt they were progressing with
their learning. This motivation enhanced engagement, which was followed by knowledge
acquisition and resulted in maintained or increased self-efficacy. Schunk found that self-efficacy
was not the only influence on motivation and behavior; that prerequisite skills were also needed
for academic achievement.
Zimmerman (2000) conducted a metacognitive analysis of existing research and theory
with a focus of self-efficacy as a motivator for learning. He found when self-efficacy was used as
a performance-based measure of perceived capability, it differed from motivational outcomes
such as outcome expectancies because they were studied with close correspondence to
performance tasks. He also found that when self-efficacy was used as a mediating variable in
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training studies that self-efficacy was proven to improve students’ methods of learning and
predictive of achievement outcomes. Zimmerman’s (2000) research expanded upon the works of
Bandura (1977/1997) and Dweck (1975); he found that students with self-efficacious behavior
were more likely to achieve because of their perceived capability to perform.
Dweck’s (1975) study revealed expectations of success gauged persistence. Twelve
children, aged eight-13, from two Connecticut elementary schools were identified for their
learned helplessness. Learned helplessness referred to the perception of independence between
one’s behavior and effort. The helpless children were compared to a persistent child in their same
classroom. Performance on mathematical problem-solving situations was measured before the
introduction of two separate mind training interventions and post tests were conducted. She
found that persistence was determined by one’s view toward failure. A child’s belief that failure
was due either to her lack of ability or external factors, resulted in low persistence and low effort.
A child’s belief that failure resulted from lack of motivation produced increased persistence and
effort. Dweck (2006) later used the term mindset to describe self-efficacious behavior. A mindset
described one’s view and how it impacted conscious and unconscious decisions. A person with a
fixed mindset viewed basic qualities, such as intelligence, character, and personality, as
determined and unchangeable. One with a growth mindset believed basic qualities were
cultivated through efforts. Those with a growth mindset were likely to persist and achieve.
When Dweck (2006) renamed her original (1975) finding as a growth mindset, she
explained to a greater audience what several scholars (Bandura 1977/1986/1997; Maddux,
Sherer, & Rodgers, 1982; Schunk, 1991; Zimmerman, 2000) in the field had supported—that
self-efficacious behavior helps a student to achieve. Belief in self was seen to enable a student to
make the choice to undertake a task with the assumption they cannot complete it but ultimately,
47
complete the task successfully (Bandura 1977/1986/1997; Dweck 1975/2006; Maddux, Sherer &
Rodgers, 1982; Schunk, 1991; Zimmerman, 2000). Students were seen to be motivated by their
positive views of their capability; this motivation enhanced engagement and persistence.
Self-efficacy and project based learning or the Senior Capstone Project. The research
on self-efficacy and PjBL or the SCP included several commonalities. Blumenfeld et al. (1991)
and Skunk (1991) thought prerequisite knowledge and skills must accompany self-efficacy to
remain motivated and accomplish the task. Dunlap’s (2005) study supported Bandura’s (1977)
belief that performance accomplishments were the most influential source of self-efficacy.
Blumenfeld et al. (1991) agreed with Skunk (1991) that students must possess sufficient
skills and content knowledge to effectively examine and understand information related to
central questions of PjBL. Blumenfeld et al. found that without the prerequisite knowledge and
skills, students’ cognitive confidence and motivation may decline causing self-efficacy to wither.
When achieved competence falls below perceived confidence, motivation may decline. This
often occurs when errors are experienced (Blumenfeld et al., 1991). Errors can have a negative
effect on student motivation if seen as a failure to learn; they should be perceived as positive
attempts toward finding information and exploring essential questions. Errors were desirable in
PjBL when viewed as part of the learning process, as attempts to find meaning or problem solve.
For high levels of self-efficacy to remain throughout the duration of a project, a positive
approach toward errors and failures is needed to help students avoid loss of motivation and
confidence (Blumenfeld et al., 1991).
Dunlap (2005) examined how students’ self-efficacy changed in a PBL environment. She
followed 31 purposefully sampled undergraduate students in a software engineering capstone
course. In a 16-week semester the students had to design a web-based project planning
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application for a construction company. In this nonexperimental, single group research design to
describe student experiences, participants completed a pre-reflection and completed the general
perceived self-efficacy scale. Throughout Dunlap’s (2005) study, participants kept guided
reflective journals and completed a post general perceived self-efficacy scale. Results included
dramatic increases in the participants’ self-efficacy scale scores. Her results were aligned with
Bandura’s (1977) belief that performance accomplishments were the most influential source of
self-efficacy. She found that instructional strategies used in PBL were the catalyst for students’
improved self-efficacy, particularity in the techniques of authentic problems, collaboration, and
reflection (Dunlap, 2005).
Bilgin, Karakuyu, and Ay’s (2015) results were similar to that of Dunlap’s (2005); that
the PBL technique enhanced a student’s self-efficacy. Bilgin et al. (2015) found positive effects
of PBL on achievement and self-efficacy. They studied beliefs about science teaching and
opinions about PBL. Their sample was two randomly chosen undergraduate classrooms of a
primary science teaching course; one was a treatment group instructed with a PBL method, and
the other was the control group. They conducted a mixed-methods study including qualitative
interviews and pre- and post-quantitative measures of a science and technology teaching
achievement test and a self-efficacy belief scale. Bilgin et al. (2015) found that students in the
PBL group performed better on the post measures. Participants increased self-efficacy beliefs
about science learning and teaching, and expressed mainly positive opinions of the PBL method.
A commonality in the research on self-efficacy and PjBL is the finding that that the
instructional strategies used in PBL or PjBL have a positive influence on improving students’
self-efficacy. Blumenfeld et al. (1991) described that errors were a desirable part of the PjBL
learning process. Dunlap (2005) found that instructional strategies used in PBL were the catalyst
49
for students’ improved self-efficacy; particularity in the techniques of authentic problems,
collaboration, and reflection. Furthermore, Bilgin et al. (2015) found that students who used the
PBL method had higher increases of self-efficacy than those who were instructed with traditional
methods.
In addition to the aforementioned scholarly articles, I include the following two
dissertation projects in this review, since they considered self-efficacy as resulting from the SCP
experience. Blanchard’s (2012) research focused on student perceptions of senioritis,
engagement, and efficacy during their SCP. She sought voluntary participation of subjects from a
Southeastern Massachusetts high school that had just finished implementing its first SCP.
Blanchard surveyed 30 students, six teachers, and two school administrators. Focus group
interviews took place with 26 students and six teachers. The two administrators were
interviewed. Results of Blanchard’s (2012) study suggested that the engaging SCP learning
experiences were effective for avoidance of early onset senioritis and contributed to perceptions
of self-efficacy for pursuits after high school.
Blanchard’s (2012) conclusions were supported by Pennacchia’s (2010) findings that
expected outcomes of the SCP influence college and career preparation. All six of her interview
participants responded that their SCP helped them beyond academics, specifically that they had
gained self-confidence or a sense of accomplishment. Pennacchia (2010) concluded that her
participants had experienced gains in self-efficacy and recommended it as an area of future
research. Both Blanchard (2012) and Pennacchia’s (2010) found the SCP experience to be one
where students developed perceptions of self-efficacy that could be drawn upon for their future
endeavors.
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Chapter Summary
Presented in this chapter was the conceptual framework of my study, as guided by three
essential bodies of literature: the SCP, learning transfer, and self-efficacy. The field of SCP
framed my study’s investigation into transference of previously gained knowledge to future
learning. PjBL was described within the SCP lens, as the teaching and learning method
informing the SCP. The second essential framework, learning transfer, laid the foundation for my
examination into how knowledge gained in one setting was later applied in another. Within the
learning transfer lens, college readiness indicators were detailed as examples of the type of
knowledge applicable to transfer under my study’s examination. My review of the self-efficacy
lens included prominent theory and studies that examined self-efficacy connections to either
PjBL or the SCP. Understanding self-efficacious behavior helped me to interpret what my
participants reported about how the confidence they developed from their SCP experience
continued to have been drawn upon for their college academic experience. This review of
literature described how my conceptual lenses of the SCP, learning transfer, and self-efficacy
framed my dissertation.
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Chapter 3
Methods
Context of Study
Based on my personal experience, I viewed SCP as a valuable learning experience, where
my students were interested and engaged in PjBL. They seemed to readily apply self-direction,
communication, and critical thinking to learn interdisciplinary content. Seeing the impact SCP
had on my high school students’ participatory practices in my classroom led me to conjure its
potential long-term benefits. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent can
learning transfer from a high school SCP experience to a college academic experience. It
examined college students’ perceptions of lasting effects of their high school SCP experience
towards collegiate assignments and projects.
Research question. My study explores the following research question:
How do students in a four year post-secondary institution perceive participation in their high
school Senior Capstone Project has impacted their current college academic experience?
Research approach. As a constructivist researcher, I employed qualitative methods to
seek understanding of multiple meanings or interpretations participants have constructed of a
single event (Creswell, 2007; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007; Merriam, 1998/2009). “The goal of
[Social Constructivism] research, then, is to rely as much as possible on the participant’s views
of the situation” (Creswell, 2007, p. 20). I gained understanding of the research question by
interpreting my participants’ descriptive perspectives regarding their previous high school SCP
experience and their perceptions of any continuing effects they experienced during their current
college academic experience. Specifically, a case study approach was chosen as best fit for its
thorough in-depth inquiry to describe an individual’s experiences in order to understand the
52
study’s research phenomena (Creswell, 2007; Merriam, 2009; Yin, 1993). My study was
reflective of both descriptive and interpretive approaches to case study analysis.
The overall perspective of my study was influenced by Yin’s (1993) work, who
articulated how a descriptive case study offers a complete account of the phenomenon within its
context. Merriam’s (1998) six advantages of descriptive case studies supported my choice of
method; case studies: 1) share differing opinions and contributing factors of a particular issue; 2)
provide descriptions of the complexities; 3) show the influence of the passage of time; 4) include
the influence of the individual participant personalities; 5) include vivid data; and 6) obtain
information from a variety of participants adding depth and breadth to the data analysis. As the
study’s participants shared their perspectives, I saw the advantages of their narratives in their
experiences. Vivid data surfaced from artifact and journal descriptions that included reflections
from the past high school setting to the current college setting.
In addition to describing data, my case study also intended to interpret data to suggest
relationships among the multiple participants’ perspectives (Merriam, 1998). Components of
interpretative case studies involve a guiding research question that provides structure to the
investigation, a conceptual framework for data interpretation, and lens for data analysis to add
credibility to descriptive data. The case study’s line of inquiry followed the previously
established research question and drew upon the conceptual framework (see Chapter 2) in the
design of the research question, construction of data collection tools, and analysis of data.
Description of the Case
In the next four sections, I describe the case and its limitation to the boundaries of those
in examination (participants were current undergraduate college students who completed a SCP
while in high school), place (the State of Hawai‘i) and time (data was collected in the Spring and
53
Summer of 2016) (Creswell, 2003; Yin, 1993). These boundaries of people in examination,
place, and time determined the case’s unit of analysis (Yin, 1993). Additionally, a description of
the researcher is included, as my role also helped to define the case.
Description of participants. An initial group of 12 participants were purposefully
selected, targeted in a non-random manner, for their presumed ability to provide rich information
on their high school SCP experience and any lasting effects they felt in their current college
academic experience (Patton, 2002). I recognized that some natural attrition could occur and set
a minimum target of six participants to remain throughout the entire data collection process. Two
of the 12 participants elected to discontinue their participation in Phase 1 (see pp. 63-64 for a
description of the study’s phases), one after the online questionnaire and one after the focus
group interview. One participant was not able to complete the final interview. Therefore, nine of
the original 12 participants remained throughout all phases of the study, satisfying my goal of at
least six.
Snowball sampling, a form of non-random selection where participants are referred to the
study, was employed (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007). Referrals of potential participants
were either snowballed from an existing participant (one participant), a fellow student at the
College of Education (one participant), teacher friends (four participants), or college counselors
friends (three participants) from HIDOE high schools (see Table 2). Other participants were
directly recruited by the researcher while on campus (two participants) or in the community (one
participant).
Purposeful selection techniques involved only searching for participants whose
perspectives provided information for the study’s research questions (Teddlie & Tashakkori,
2009). Selection criteria required participants to be a current undergraduate college students at
54
Island University, who previously completed a SCP at a public high school in the state of
Hawai‘i. To add depth to the study, participants were in their sophomore, junior, or senior year
of their undergraduate studies so they had time to build their college academic experience.
Participants needed to spend a length of time in the scene to thoroughly report their experience
(Spradley, 1979). Therefore, freshmen students were not selected due to their limited time in
post-secondary education, as they may have limited perspectives. I sought for a variety of
participants who attended different high schools within the state of Hawai‘i, had varied SCP
topics, were engaged in different college majors, and represented different genders and
ethnicities. This maximum variation in the participant sample provided different viewpoints and
promoted credibility of the study (Merriam, 2009).
Participants were asked to complete a pre-interview demographic questionnaire on a
Google Form via Electronic-mail (E-mail) (refer to Appendix A). These questions initially were
used to ensure varied participant selection and later were referenced in the analysis of interview
data. Table 2, Participants’ Demographics, provides the breakdown of each participant’s
demographic profile. Participants chose their own words to self-report demographic information
on their pre-interview demographic questionnaire. To ensure confidentiality pseudonyms were
used to refer to participants and schools.
55
Table 2
Participants’ Demographics
Participant
How Sampled
Senior Project Topic
Type of
Project
College Major
High
School
Ethnicity/ Race
Gender
Age
Year in
College
Derek
Recommended
by Counselor
Journalism
Product /
Performance
Journalism
Neighbor
Small
Island
Filipino (Asian)
German (White)
Male
20
Sophomore
Emily
College of
Education
Technology with Music for
Elementary School
Career
Elementary
Education
Central
Okinawan
Cherokee
Others
Female
22
Senior
Jackie
Recommended
by Another
Participant
How Oral Health Affects Other
Body Health Systems
Career
Molecular and
Cell Biology
Neighbor
Big Island
Japanese
Female
21
Junior
Jemma
Recommended
by Counselor
Pediatrics
Career
Psychology
West
Filipino
Female
20
Junior
Jesse
Recruited by
Researcher
How Fishing Relates to the
Pharmacy
Career
Kinesiology
East
Asian
Male
22
Junior
Kate
Recruited by
Researcher
Building Awareness for Juvenile
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Community
Service
Psychology
West
Suburb
Asian
Female
21
Junior
Mackenzie
Recommended
by Teacher
Assisting at Retirement Center
Community
Service
Biology
East
Suburb
Chinese
Female
20
Junior
Maddie
Recommended
by Teacher
Decrease Negative Environmental
Impact
Community
Service
Electrical
Engineering
North
Japanese
Korean
Female
20
Junior
Mary
Recommended
by Teacher
Religious Tolerance in High School
Product /
Performance
Political Science
& Religion
Central
Suburb
Caucasian
Female
22
Senior
Matt
Recruited by
Researcher
Civil Engineering
Career
Kinesiology
Leeward
Filipino,
Pacific Islander/
Asian
Male
23
Senior
Parker
Recommended
by Counselor
Electrical Engineering
Career
Civil Engineering
West
Filipino
Chinese
Male
20
Junior
Shawn
Recommended
by Teacher
Promoting Neighborhood Kindness
through Humor
Product /
Performance
Computer
Engineering
Central
Suburb
Filipino
Male
21
Senior
Note: Demographic information was self-reported by participants and is presented in their words. Pseudonyms were used to refer to participants and schools.
56
Maximum variation was sought for each of the demographic characteristics and criteria
for qualified participation. Participants self-selected to partake in the SCP and self-selected their
SCP topics which varied from a Career Project in civil engineering to a Community Service
Project to build awareness for Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis to a Product / Performance Project
of a video promoting neighborhood kindness. Participants were engaged in 11 diverse college
majors including: psychology; molecular and cell biology; political science; journalism; and
electrical engineering. Ten different public Hawai‘i high schools were represented by the 12
participants. Two were from neighbor island schools; 10 were from schools on the highest
populated Island of O‘ahu. The O‘ahu high schools represented were diverse in socio-economic
status as well as their location on the island. Students self-reported identifying with 10 different
ethnicities or races. Seven females and five males participated in the study. The undergraduate
college student participants’ ages ranged between 20-23 years old. There was one sophomore,
seven juniors, and four seniors. This breakdown of participants satisfied the study’s goal of
maximum variation. However, even with this maximum variation, eight of the 12 participants
were honors level students attaining the Board of Education Recognition diploma (HIBOE,
2011). Since completion of the SCP was required for the BOE diploma, this may have influenced
students’ self-selection to participate in the SCP. Varied academic level was not a criterion for
participant selection and this shared academic achievement level was uncovered throughout data
collection. However, it may have led to participant bias due to this similarity producing
homogenous viewpoints.
Description of place. Since participants were currently in attendance at Island University
(IU) and were graduates of a Hawai‘i public high school, the bounded place for the study was the
State of Hawai‘i. The following demographics of IU are provided as general information
57
regarding where participants attended college. Founded in 1907, the public research university is
located in the State of Hawai‘i on the island of O‘ahu (IU, Catalog Office, n.d.). Both on campus
as well as distance learning courses are available. IU offers 93 fields of study for bachelor’s
degrees, 84 for master’s degrees and 51 for doctorate’s degrees. With an enrollment just above
20,000 students, undergraduate students composed 71.7% of the student body. Undergraduate
registered students for the Spring 2011 semester included: 1,761 Freshmen, 2,154 Sophomores,
3,465 Juniors, and 5,567 Seniors (IU, Institutional Research and Analysis Office, 2011).
Seventy-three percent of students attended full-time and over 55% were women (IU, Catalog
Office, n.d.). The student body is ethnically diverse and included the following student
backgrounds: 42.4 % Asian; 25.3% Caucasians; 16.3% Hawai‘ian or Pacific Islander; 12%
Mixed-Race; 2% Hispanic; 1.4% Black; and 0.5% Native American or Alaskan Native (IU,
Institutional Research and Analysis Office, 2011). This study’s participants (see Table 2)
included varied ethnic backgrounds representative of the student populations at both IU and high
schools in the HIDOE.
The following demographics of the HIDOE are provided as a basic overview on the place
this study’s participants attended high school. The HIDOE, the only statewide school district in
the United States, had about 52,000 secondary students enrolled in 41 high schools across seven
islands (HIDOE, 2013, May). Tenth grade Hawai‘i State Assessment (HSA) data showed 71%
students to be proficient in reading and 47% in mathematics for the 2011-2012 school year. 49%
of Hawai‘i’s schools met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Statewide demographics hold a
median family income of $77,385 (US Census Bureau, 2013) and 29.6% of adults have attained
a four year college degree or higher (US Census Bureau, 2012). According to the HIDOE official
enrollment count for the school year 2013-2014, Hawai‘i’s student body was ethnically diverse
58
and includes the following backgrounds: 26.3% Hawai‘ian, 22.2% Filipino, 16.6% White, 9.2%
Japanese, 4% Micronesian, 3.8% Spanish, 3.5% Samoan, 3.2% Chinese, 2.9% Black, 1.6%
Portuguese, 1.2% Korean, 1.5% Multiple, 1.2% Indo-Chinese, and 2.8% other (T. Saka, personal
communication, April 9, 2014).
The purposefully selected participants are similar to the diverse student body of both the
school district and university that make up the context of my study. As seen in Table 2,
Demographics of Participants, participants self-reported the race or ethnicity with which they
identified, and were not limited to just one identifier. Participants reported identifying with the
following: (5) Filipino, (4) Asian, (2) Japanese, (2) Chinese, (2) Caucasian/white, (1) Pacific
Islander, (1) Korean, (1) German, (1) Okinawan, (1) Cherokee, and (1) other.
Study participants attended high school in the State of Hawai‘i; which is where their SCP
experience was formed. The study took place on the campus of Island University; it was where
the participants’ college academic experience occurred. Artifact-based and individual interviews
were conducted in-person and on campus, creating a conducive environment for sharing their
perspectives.
Description of time. The data collection and data analysis for this study occurred
sequentially; it took part over multiple phases (Creswell, 2003). Data was collected during the
Spring and Summer of 2016. The specific details of data collection and data analysis are
described in following sections of this chapter. For a visual overview, see Table 3, Timeline of
Data Collection, on page 68 and Table 6, the Timeline of Data Analysis, on page 82.
Description of researcher. As a high school business teacher in the state of Hawai‘i
between 2006 and 2011, I found PjBL to greatly benefit my students. In my classroom, I saw the
SCP process firsthand, facilitating and mentoring students through project implementation. I
59
observed my students’ interest and engagement levels surge as they readily applied self-
direction, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration to learn interdisciplinary content. I
wondered the value of PjBL, in the form of a SCP, beyond my classroom; I also wanted to know
if what my students had experienced was unique. Furthermore, my interest to explore the SCP in
depth included looking into how it may have transferability and retention from one learning
situation to the next. This potential connection to future college learning was one I was never
able to witness firsthand.
As a constructivist researcher, I employed qualitative methods to seek understanding of
multiple meanings or interpretations participants have constructed of a single event; namely how
participation in the SCP is perceived by participants to impact their college academic experience
(Creswell, 2007; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007; Merriam, 1998/2009). I hold an emic, or insider,
viewpoint (Merriam, 2009) toward this study’s SCP topic due to my previous experience as a
secondary teacher advising students through the SCP process. I was also a member of my
school’s Senior Project Committee. Through these experiences, I developed strong personal
beliefs regarding the value of a SCP. I held the predictive working theory that college students
would describe their SCP as a worthy experience, one where they developed or fine-tuned skills,
abilities, and dispositions that they currently use in college. My closeness to the topic could have
provided an advantage to understand the SCP process. However, this same closeness may have
contributed to researcher bias and become disadvantageous during interview probes and follow
up questions. In contradiction to the emic view that I held to the high school SCP experience, my
views of the participants’ perspectives on their current college experience was etic, or from the
outside (Merriam, 2009). I was never offered nor completed a SCP in high school and therefore,
60
I was not able to take that experience to college. I also had no prior knowledge or connection to
my participants’ high school or college experiences.
As a researcher who was aware of my biases, I made the effort to control for them when
conducting data collection and analysis. As the sole interviewer for this study’s data collection, I
made every effort to understand the research phenomenon from the participants’ perspectives
and not my own. Participants were asked to provide member checks of their transcripts to help
ensure their accuracy. I also sought peer review of my transcription and interpretation.
Pilot Test
Pilot interviews were important to help ensure Phase 1’s online questionnaire and Phase
2’s artifact-based interview guide questions were formulated with clarity and so that each
participant would understand the question in the same way (Silverman, 1993).
Pilot test data collection (February 2 - 6, 2016). Pilot tests were conducted in order to
test the effectiveness of questions and determine which questions needed to be refined (Creswell,
2007). The pilot test of the online questionnaire and a separate test of the artifact-based interview
were conducted in the Spring 2016 Semester. Since the Phase 1 focus group and Phase 3 final
interviews’ lines of questioning needed to be informed by earlier phases and were developed
after analysis of previously collected data, these interviews were not piloted. Proper piloting of
the interview led to the identification and elimination of any leading questions (Cohen et al.,
2007). Bias was reduced when questions were re-worded without assumptions of how the
participant would respond or influence the response. The pilot test improved the credibility and
dependability of the data collection (Merriam, 2009).
Two current college students, who met the criteria of having completed a SCP while at a
Hawai‘i public high school, were selected to individually pilot the online questionnaire and
61
artifact-based interview guide. Pilot interviews were scheduled at a time and place of the pilot
participants’ choosing via E-mail and Short Message Service texts (SMS-texts). Pilot participants
were not permitted to participate in the study. Data from the pilot test was not included with any
data analysis of the study’s 12 participants. For the pilot, the entire interview protocol was
followed in order to determine the effectiveness of the questions to collect rich descriptive data.
Pilot participants provided input of the feasibility of the online interview instrument, the length
of time to complete the questionnaire, and the readability and comprehensible nature of the
questions. They self-selected a college work sample to bring to their in-person pilot artifact-
based interview. Pilot participants were asked to provide comments as to the extent they
understood the questions, and the questions’ wording and sequence. They also commented on the
clarity of the consent form and artifact-based interview instruction sheet. Pilot participants
received thank you notes via E-mail or SMS-texts and gift cards for their appreciation.
Pilot test data analysis. The analysis of the pilot test data was conducted prior to starting
Phase 1 of the study. I first conducted with-in case analyses of the online questionnaire data. The
pilot gave provided practice opportunities of retrieving data from Google Forms and setting up
Microsoft (MS) Excel matrices. After extrapolating data from Google Forms onto an MS Excel
workbook, I read and reread each online questionnaire individually and derived a system to
highlight potential codes and take notes. The pilot test experience provided me with knowledge
to plan ahead for the future cross-case analysis of the study; I set up a preliminary MS Excel
workbook for the study as a result.
After the pilot artifact based interviews, I began transcribing. The pilot permitted me to
test out the transcription and voice recognition software. Unfortunately, the software was unable
to recognize speech fast enough, so I learned that I would need to transcribe myself. I listened to
62
the audio files and typed the participants’ responses as well as my words into MS Word. I tried
using two headsets, but soon discovered I preferred to use a speaker. I also learned how time
consuming transcription is and how additional time needed to be allocated for this process during
the interview phases. From the pilot test, I discovered that I needed a more quiet space to
conduct the interviews so that the audio file would be clear and free of background noise. As a
result, I reserved rooms at the College of Education to conduct my group and individual
interviews. I performed with-in case analysis on each of the interviews, listening again to the
audio files while reading and highlighting on the transcripts. I also gained practice in handling
and reviewing the artifacts and making notes about college work samples. For the pilot cross-
case analysis of the artifact-based interviews, I created an MS Excel workbook to view the
participants’ responses simultaneously. I learned that I would need to create the workbook by
emerging codes rather than by interview questions.
Data Collection
Data was gathered sequentially over three phases. Sequential collection and analysis
allowed data from earlier phases of the study to determine the line of inquiry for remaining
phases (Creswell, 2007). Multiple data collection sources provided triangulation of data
(Merriam, 2009) due to the ability to compare rich description from multiple and varied sources
(Patton, 2002; Yin, 1993). Each participant was asked to complete varied measures in order to
tell their story and confirm information that they shared. Instruments for data collection included:
an online questionnaire, an in-person focus group, two in-person interviews, two college work
artifacts (see pp. 73-76), member checks of their three interview transcripts (see p. 83), a
reflective journal (see pp. 76-79), and as needed, follow-up questions via E-mail.
63
Interviews of participants took place over three sequential phases (see Figure 1, Data
Collection Sequence, for a visual representation). The first phase of data collection required
participants to complete an online questionnaire and participate in a group interview. The online
questionnaire was designed to gain details of their SCP and their current college experiences (see
Appendix B for sample of the questionnaire). The focus group interview followed a semi-
structured guide that was informed by emergent themes from the online questionnaire data.
Participants later provided a member check of their focus group transcripts. For the second
phase, participants were asked to bring two artifacts representative of their college work to an in-
person interview. The artifact-based interview included a semi-structured line of questioning
designed to obtain information on their processes of artifact creation and any connections it may
or may not have had to the participants’ prior SCP experience. Participants chose the date and
time of their individual interviews and later provided a member check of their transcript. In the
third phase, participants kept a journal of their current college academic experiences and took
part in a final in-person follow-up interview. They later provided a member check of their final
interviews. A nominal gift (a $25 gift card) was used to thank participants for their time upon
completion of each phase of the study.
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Figure 1
Data Collection Sequence
Caption: Figure 1 is a graphic representation of the three data collection phases of this study.
Interview guides and interview questions. Patton’s (2002) interview guide approach was
followed, which “provides a framework within which the interviewer would develop questions,
sequence those questions, and make decisions about which information to peruse in greater
depth” (p. 344). The interview guide approach was selected based on several advantages: it
allowed for continuity between interviews; aided with systematic data collection and
comparability of data during analysis; and ensured that the basic line of inquiry was maintained
while permitting spontaneously wording of questions (Patton, 2002). This interview guide
approach was also referred to as a semi-structured interview method (Creswell, 2007; Merriam,
2009). For the first phase of data collection, the focus group interview guide (see Appendix C)
was developed based on themes that emerged during analysis of participants’ responses to the
Phase 1: Online Questionnaires and Focus Group Interviews
Survey – Online Questionnaire
Focus Group Interview – In-person, semi-structured
Phase 2: College Work Artifacts and Artifact-based Interviews
Data Sample – College work artifacts
Artifact-based Interview – In-person, semi-structured
Phase 3: Reflective Journals and Final Interviews
Data Sample – Reflective journals
Final Interview – In-person, semi-structured
65
online questionnaire. For Phase 2, the artifact-based interview guide (see Appendix D) was
designed to elicit information about processes of creating college work sample artifacts and if
there were any similarities to the processes of the SCP. The final interview guide (see Appendix
E) for Phase 3 had five semi-structured questions and had an individualized section with any
follow-up questions from any of the data collection stages.
The inductive approach of questioning was intended to provide rich description of the
participant’s SCP experience and any lasting effects they currently felt in college. The line of
inquiry was designed as open-ended in an effort to gain a full and vivid description of the
participants’ perceptions (Creswell, 2007; Merriam, 2009; Patton 2002). For instance, the
following is an example of an open-ended question used to gather a descriptive response on self-
direction and was included for the focus group interviews: “Can you please describe any time-
management, self-management, and project-management that you did for your senior project? If
there was none, who directed you?” The question is open ended because it directs the participant
to “describe” which is intended to provide rich description. It also gives them the opportunity to
make a contrary response and provide a full description of it as well.
The interview guide approach permitted me to decide the exact sequence and wording of
the questions during the interview (Patton, 2002). This freedom to select sequence and wording
allowed my interviews to remain conversational. I was able to link guide topics to the
participants’ responses to maintain the flow of rich description. Well-placed questioning abetted
with the consistency, dependability, and credibility of interview responses (Cohen et al., 2007).
Background, experience, and knowledge questions developed context and brought what was
learned (schema representations) back to the conscious mind (Patton, 2002). Sequencing
background context first enabled participants to later respond better to opinion types of
66
questions. The sequence of inquiry I followed first gained insight on the participants’ high school
SCP experiences and opinions. For example a beginning question was, “What did you like best
about working on your SCP? Why? and What did you like least about working on your SCP?
Why?” Then, the questioning turned to the participants’ college experiences and opinions. For
instance, I asked “What process did you go through to create your college work sample.” Finally,
participants’ were asked to explore any possible connections between the two. For example, “Do
you feel that your SCP experience helped to prepare you for college? If yes, in what ways? If no,
why not?” was a question aimed to explore lasting effects of the SCP.
As needed throughout the interviews, clarifying, detail, and explanation probes were used
to gather more insight on a particular topic (Patton, 1990). Follow-up questions were a particular
focus of the artifact-based interview. I referenced the interview guide and probed for further
details on topics needing more information that were initially brought up in the participant’s
description of their college work artifact creation. Issue-oriented sub-questions examined the
phenomenon of the research question and broke it down into subtopics (Creswell, 2007). Issue-
oriented probing topics listed on the artifact-based interview guide included: self-direction, time
management, planning, interdisciplinary content or specific course content, motivation, choice,
critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and research. An example of my use of issue-
oriented probing question to find out more specific information on complex thinking took place
after a participant had explained their college work sample during an artifact-based interview, I
followed up with the issue-oriented probing question, “How did you apply thinking or a thought
process to creating the lab report?” Information gathering topical sub-questions specifically
addressed the research question and were designed to collect descriptive data directly relating to
lasting effects of the SCP. For example, a question used to find out more about collaboration
67
was, “You mentioned that you spoke with a professor to discuss your work sample, can you
describe any similarities or differences that had with time you spent with your SCP community
mentor?”
I remained attentive to weaknesses of the interview guide approach (Patton, 2002). First,
I was careful not to omit certain topics due to the flexibility in sequencing of posing questions.
For example, I used the interview guide as a checklist to verify all topics (self-direction, time
management, planning, interdisciplinary content or specific course content, motivation, choice,
critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and research) were covered before the artifact-
based interview finished. Proper management of time and probing efforts were also needed to
ensure all of the topics on the guide received responses. Second, varied sequencing and wording
of questions elicited responses from different perspectives. Although Patton (2002) saw this as a
weakness, gathering responses from different perspectives was an advantage for this descriptive
and interpretive case study. It was the unique perspective of each participant that was sought in
this study, and the purpose of qualitative interviewing was to capture “individual perceptions and
experiences” (Patton, 2002, p. 348).
Interview phases. The methods for my data collection were framed around three
sequential data collection phases: 1) Online questionnaires and focus group interviews; 2)
college work artifacts and artifact-based interviews; and 3) reflective journals and final
interviews. Refer to Table 3, Timeline of Data Collection for a visual detail of the timing of the
interview phases.
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Table 3
Timeline of Data Collection
Pilot Test
Survey - Online Questionnaire
Data Sample – College work artifacts
Artifact-based Interview
February 2-6, 2016
Phase 1: Online Questionnaires and Focus Group Interviews
Survey - Online Questionnaire
Development of Interview Guide for Focus Group Interview
1
st
Interview: Focus Group
In-person, semi-structured, follow-up of online questionnaire
March 19-29, 2016
April 7-14, 2016
Phase 2: College Work Artifacts and Artifact-based Interviews
Data Sample – College work artifacts
2
nd
Interview: Artifact-based Interview
In-person, semi-structured, artifact-based
April 19-29, 2016
April 19-29, 2016
Phase 3: Reflective Journals and Final Interviews
Data Sample - Reflective journals
Development of Interview Guide for Follow-up Interview
3
rd
Interview: Final Interview
In-person, semi-structured, follow-up of reflective journal
May 2-31, 2016
May 3-16, 2016
Phase 1, online questionnaires and focus group interviews (March 19 - April 14, 2016).
An online questionnaire was the first component of Phase 1. This survey instrument was
designed to gain basic details of the participants’ SCP and perspectives of any lasting effects
they may have experienced while in college. The questionnaire took approximately 60 minutes to
complete and contained two to three sentences (short answer), and one paragraph responses (long
69
answer extended responses). For example, a short answer question was, “Did your SCP influence
what you decided to study in college? If yes, how? If no, why not?” An example of an extended
response question was, “Do you draw upon what you learned during your high school Senior
Project experience for your current college work? If yes, in what ways? If no, why not?”
Additional questions can be seen on the Online Questionnaire located in Appendix B. For the
online survey instrument, Google Forms was used to create and administer the questionnaire as
well as collect the data.
Participants were E-mailed the link to the online questionnaire and were requested to
complete it within two weeks. As needed, follow-up E-mails or SMS-texts were used to remind
participants to complete the questionnaire, thank them for their participation, and inform them of
the next phases of the study. Analysis and interpretation of the first phase data was conducted
immediately in order to keep the study’s participants’ interest and involvement in the duration of
the study. The emergent themes from analyzing the online questionnaire informed the semi-
structured guide for the focus group interview. Data collected from each phase was further
analyzed during the final comprehensive analysis.
The second component of Phase 1, a focus group interview, took place after the analysis
of the online questionnaire. A focus group allowed data to be socially constructed from different
viewpoints during group interaction of individuals who had knowledge on the topic (Patton,
2002). Participants responded based upon hearing other participants’ comments, each having the
ability to share their knowledge of a specific topic (Kruger & Casey, 2000; Merton, Fiske, &
Kendall, 1956). Expanding upon the views of others tended to produce high quality descriptive
data. The synergy and dynamism generated by the focus groups produced powerful interpretive
insights (Kamerelis & Dimitriadis, 2005). The focus groups provided multiple meanings and
70
perspectives with social interactional dynamics, and went beyond the boundaries of any one
individual to stimulate memories and positions. For instance, one participant mentioned that
deadlines were one of the most challenging aspects of their SCP; this comment had all the
participants in the room moaning in agreement. They each shared how deadlines were handled at
their school; how they disliked the pressure; and had developed time management abilities and
became self-directed through the process nonetheless.
The first interview, the focus group, was in-person and was approximately 45 minutes in
length. The focus groups were conducted on campus, at a location and time agreed to by all
participants and were audiotaped. Interviews were scheduled over E-mail or SMS-texts. To
ensure attendance, participants were sent E-mails the day before and SMS-texts the day of their
focus group interviews. Eleven of the initial 12 participants remained in the study to take part in
the focus group interview. The breakdown of the groups was based upon their perceived value of
their SCP experience in relation to their college academic experience. Participants were divided
homogeneously to participate in one of the three focus groups, based upon their relative overall
positive or negative SCP experience on their online questionnaire responses. Table 4, Focus
Groups, represents visually how the participants were grouped.
Table 4
Focus Groups
Group 1
Positive Experiences
Group 2
Positive Experiences
Group 3
Negative Experiences
Emily, Jackie, and Kate
Derek, Matt, Maddie, and
Jesse
Parker, Jemma, Mary, and
Shawn
There were two positive experience groups (Group 1: Emily, Jackie, and Kate; Group 2: Derek,
Matt, Maddie, and Jesse) and one negative experience group (Group 3: Parker, Jemma, Mary,
71
and Shawn). The focus group interview guide (See Appendix C) contained questions built from
the themes that emerged from the cross-case analysis of the online questionnaire. Participants
were asked to expand on common themes found when examining all cases, and questioned
regarding responses gathered from a few participants that need input from all. For example,
inquiry included questions to gain perspectives on how the work they completed for their SCP
requirements was similar or different to research papers, fieldwork, portfolios, or presentations
they completed in college. Seven of the 11 focus group participants returned their member check
of their focus group interview transcript. At the end of the focus group, participants scheduled
their next interviews and were given instructions for selecting their college work artifacts for the
next data collection phase. They were also sent individual thank you notes via E-mail.
Phase 2, college work artifacts and artifact-based interviews (April 19 - 29, 2016).
Artifact-based interviews followed lines of inquiry to determine similarities and differences
between current college work and previous SCP work. The individual artifact-based interviews
were in-person (at a location and time of the participants’ agreement) and were approximately 45
minutes in length. All interviews were conducted on campus and were audiotaped. Interviews
were scheduled over E-mail or SMS-texts. To remind participants of their interview times,
participants were sent E-mails the day before and SMS-texts the day of their artifact-based
interviews. Ten of the study’s initial 12 participants remained in the study and took part in the
second interview.
At the end of the first interview, the focus group, participants were provided an
information sheet with the details for selecting their college work sample and what to expect
during an artifact-based interview (see Appendix D). They were requested to self-select two
long-term or project assignments (research papers, presentations, portfolios, or products),
72
representative of their college academic work and bring them to their artifact-based interview.
The types of college work sample artifacts differed greatly (see Table 5).
Table 5
Artifacts: Participants’ Self-selected College Work Samples
Participant
Work Sample 1
Work Sample 2
Derek
Video piece: Journalism class, major
related - Topic: Hula haulau
Video piece: for student online media,
major related - Topic: Kumuhina and
what it means to be mahu in the
Hawaiian culture
Emily
Portfolio: Graduation requirement,
major related - Topic: Assessment 5,
lesson plan templet on economics,
needs and wants
Portfolio: Graduation requirement, major
related - Topic: Assessment 5 Unit Plan -
Student work samples from lesson plan
Jackie
Lab report: Biology class, major
related - Topic: Starfish and
earthworm
Lab report: Cellular and molecular
biology class, major related - Topic:
Ecolyte bacteria
Jemma
Research paper and presentation:
Psychology class, major related -
Topic: College student stress and
happiness levels
Paper: English class - Topic: Should SAT
and ACT scores be necessary for college
admission
Jesse
Paper: Linguistics class - Topic:
Cherokee language, how to keep
venerable languages from extinction
Paper: English class - Topic: How a
literature character related to himself
Kate
Poster presentation, research paper
and final presentation: Psychology
class, major related - Topic:
Background music and personality
influence on cognitive performance
Final project: Ceramics class - Topic:
Teapot
Mary
Final Paper: Honors seminar, major
related - Topic: Transgender film and
violence
Paper: Religion class, major related -
Topic: Islamic poetry
Matt
Excel project and presentation:
Physics class - Topic: Wavelengths
and spectrum shifts
PowerPoint presentation and pamphlet:
KRS Disabilities class, major related -
Topic: Asthma in children's sports
Parker
Lab report: Environmental class,
major related - Topic: Suspended
solids
Mini-project and paper: Engineering
class, major related - Topic: Water-level
logger
Shawn
Research paper and presentation:
Computer architect class, major
related - Topic: Microprocessor
Final paper: Computer science class,
major related - Topic: Coding secure
hash standard
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Self-selection provided a variety of artifacts: 10 work samples of papers, four products
(two videos, an MS Excel computer program, and an art piece), three lab reports, two examples
of fieldwork in the form of a portfolio, and one MS PowerPoint presentation. Additionally, a
pamphlet connected to a presentation and two additional presentations as part of assignments
connected to papers were described in the artifact-based interview without artifacts provided. I
kept and secured copies of the artifacts (i.e., pictures of products, photocopies, or electronic
documents of research papers) as they were an additional form of data for the study.
The artifact-based interview followed an interview guide (See Appendix D), but was
conversational in order to elicit details of the participant’s artifact and how it was created.
Personal documents (such as this study’s college work artifacts) alone were not representative of
actual occurrences but they were invaluable to qualitative research because they reflect
participants’ perspectives (Merriam, 2009). Having the artifact’s creator available to interpret
and reflect upon it, gave an emic interpretation which provided greater value and meaning to the
artifact (Hodder, 1994). My study’s artifact-based interview guide used probing questions to
elicit details on artifact development and any connections the participants felt were similar or
different to their previous SCP experience. For example, a probing question was, “You
mentioned the peer review of your paper. Do you remember any collaboration with your Senior
Project?” The artifact-based interviews provided the opportunity to gain thick, rich description
from participants regarding the creation of their college work and their perceived relationship to
previous SCP work. After analysis of the artifact-based interviews, clarification or additional
information was requested as needed on an individual participant basis via E-mail or during the
final interview. Seven of the 10 participants who took part in the second interview provided a
member check of their artifact-based interview transcript. At the end of the second interview,
74
participants were provided instructions for keeping their reflective journal (see Appendix F) as
part of the third data collection phase and scheduled their final interview. They also received a
gift card of appreciation for completing the previous phase. Thank you notes and reminders of
the next phase of the study were sent individually to each participant via E-mail.
Phase 3, reflective journals and final interviews (May 2 - 31, 2016). The third data
collection phase centered on participants’ reflective journals. Journals provided descriptions of
the participants’ experiences (Merriam, 2009). Documents like these “prove valuable not only
because of what can be learned directly from them but also as stimulus for paths of inquiry”
(Patton, 2002, p. 294). Participants were requested to keep a journal over a two week time period
detailing their current college academic experience and any connections it may or may not have
had to their previous SCP experience. The 10 participants who remained in the study kept and
returned their reflective journals.
At the end of the second interview, students received printed and E-mailed copies of
instructions for keeping their reflective journals and an E-mailed copy of the MS Word template
(refer to Appendix F). The instruction sheet contained directions for keeping the journal in MS
Word, however participants were advised they could adapt the instructions and choose their own
journaling method (via computer software, handwritten, or digitally recorded with voice or
video); all participants chose to use the MS Word template that I provided and returned the
journal via E-mail. Three journal entries each week were requested for a minimum of six total
journal entries from each participant. Each entry was to take approximately five minutes to
complete. E-mail or SMS-text reminders (based upon the participant’s preference) were sent to
encourage journaling of their college experiences.
75
The journal template’s front page also contained the instructions for participants to
reference for making their entries. Journal pages were set up in a three column format in order to
provide clarity at the time of entry and later during data analysis. Figure 2, Participants’
Reflective Journal Format shows the heading of the journal pages.
Figure 2
Participants’ Reflective Journal Format
Current College Work or
Thought: Provide details
Past High School Senior Project:
What do you recall doing or
happening during your Senior
Project that was similar to your
current work
Connection to Senior Project:
How or why do you find your
current work or thought
similar to your past Senior
Project experience
Caption: Figure 2 is an example of the three column heading for the participants’ journals.
The first, left, column was designed to gather details of the current college academic
experience; the second and third columns were designed to elicit reflective thought regarding the
past SCP experience. The left column contained the heading “Current College Work or Thought:
Provide details.” The middle column followed the heading “Past High School Senior Project:
What do you recall doing or happening during your Senior Project that was similar to your
current work?” And the right column had the heading “Connection to Senior Project: How or
why do you find your current work or thought similar to your past Senior Project? (If no
connection, type “no connection” and explain why).” After the two week period, I reminded
participants to return their journal via E-mail. A thank you E-mail was sent upon receipt of a
participant’s reflective journal. Reflective journal analyses informed individual participant’s
interview guides for the final interviews.
Participants were offered to have their third interview either in-person (at a location and
time of their agreement), over the phone, or online via Skype. The interviews were
76
approximately 20 minutes in length. Interviews were scheduled over E-mail or SMS-texts. All
chose to meet in-person on campus. Nine of the original 12 participants took part in the final
interview. To encourage attendance, participants were sent E-mails the day before and SMS-texts
the day of their final interviews.
The final follow-up interview was informed by themes that emerged from preliminary
with-in case and cross-case analyses of data from Phases 1 and 2, and a with-in case analysis of
the participants’ reflective journals. The final interview guide contained two sections (see
Appendix E). First, a semi-structured interview guide was used for all participants; it contained
five questions and was crafted from recurrent themes from all of the interview stages.
Participants were asked to expand on recurrent emergent themes found from preliminary data
analysis examining all participant cases. Second, the remainder of the final interview guide was
customized to follow-up with each participant; they were questioned for clarification or more
details regarding their individual comments or work for any of the previous data collection points
(online questionnaires, focus groups, college work sample artifacts, artifact-based interviews,
and participant reflective journal entries). Participants were sent thank you E-mails and received
their final gift cards either via mail or in-person once their member checks were returned.
Research journal. I kept a research journal to record all data collection and analysis
proceedings. MS Excel software was used to electronically record in a two-part journal—an
audit trail and a reflective journal. With such purpose, it was not simply a manner to document
and measure data accuracy but the reflective portion the research journal became one of this
study’s forms of data collection.
Audit trail. An audit trail provided comprehensive documentation of the details of how
the study was conducted and how data were analyzed in order to ensure the study obtained
77
reliable and consistent findings (Merriam, 2009). The audit trail began with the pilot test and
continued through data collection and analysis. It was documented in the form of a running log:
how, when, and where interaction with participants or data took place. Dates, times, and places
of any communication with participants (including E-mails, SMS-texts, interviews, or member
checks) as well as results of member checks were recorded. My interactions with data during
analysis were also logged. Communications with colleagues or advisors as well as results of peer
reviewers were also logged as part of the audit trail.
Reflective journal. The second part of the research journal, the reflective journal helped
to enhance the entire trustworthiness of the study, including credibility, transferability,
dependability, and conformability (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). The reflective journal began with the
pilot test in Phase 1 of the interview process and continued through data collection and analysis.
My reflective journal contained my questions, ideas, tentative interpretations as well as
dependability and confirmability audits. Observations made during interviews were reflected
upon, including researcher’s reflexivity, reflections regarding bias (Merriam, 2009). Emerging
interpretations were journaled for future reference. Learnings from communication with
colleagues or advisors as well as results of peer reviewers were also included. Journal entries
recorded: participatory observation notes of the interviews, how categories were derived during
the coding process, comments on peer examination, any rival explanations that surfaced, and
how decisions were made throughout data collection and analysis. The reflective journal
contained dependability audits, ongoing reviews of the audit trail, reflective journal, and a line of
inquiry against the study’s research protocol (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Figure 3, Dependability
Audit, contains an example of a dependability audit assessing the extent to which the interview
guide was followed for the focus groups.
78
Figure 3
Dependability Audit
Date
Dependability Audit
Thoughts
Oct. 21,
2016
Re: Peer Review of Focus Group Interview Guide
against Transcripts and Audio File
I received comments back from WL, a doctoral
student, regarding her review of my Focus Group 1
transcript against the audio file and the interview
guide. She commented that the transcript was
accurate and contained the entire dialog from the
interview. She also determined that I had followed
the interview guide (with minimal word or
questioning order changes). She found follow-up
questions were to be without noticeable bias.
I was very grateful for my
peer reviewer to spend time
to listen and comment on my
work. It was nice to have
confirmation that I had
followed the guide and
appeared to not be biased in
my questioning.
Caption: Figure 3 is an example of a dependability audit. This audit assesses the extent the
interview guide was followed for the focus groups.
Finally, the reflective journal contained confirmability audits to assess the product of
inquiry. The appropriateness of interpretations of the transcripts was audited to see if they were
in line with the data collected. Peer reviews, personal reviews of the reflexive journal, and
reviews of substantive significance were included as part of the ongoing confirmability audit.
Figure 4, Confirmability Audit, contains an example of a confirmability audit assessing the
extent to which the findings were confirmable against the data collected.
Figure 4
Confirmability Audit
Date
Confirmability Audit
Thoughts
Feb. 16,
2017
Re: Chapter 4 Findings, Theme 3
During my meeting with my doctoral chair today we
had a lengthy discussion regarding ensuring the
findings statements were supported by the data. Data
needs to support the argument, not the argument
describes or restates the data.
I need to better explain what
the data means. I need to
deconstruct the data into
meanings, interpret more,
making points regarding the
finding.
Caption: Figure 4 is an example of a confirmability audit. This audit assess the extent the
findings were confirmable against the data.
79
Observations from each dependability and conformability audit helped to guide future data
collection and analysis back to protocol or maintain its appropriate expectation while enhancing
the study’s dependability and confirmability (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
Recording and transcribing. A digital audio recorder recorded the individual interviews
in each interview phase. Narrative responses were transcribed in their entirety and recorded
manually into computer files. Manual transcription and a manual review of electronically
transcribed data helped to ensure the accuracy of the transcripts (Cohen et al., 2007). Within one
week of each interview, I roughly transcribed each digital recording of each interview into an
MS Word document. Timeliness was particularly important because for some of the study’s
phases, analysis informed the inquiry guide for the next phase. Later, I returned to the audio files
repeatedly to ensure transcription of each word had taken place. The process was slow as I found
it difficult to just type the verbiage without concentrating on the content the participant shared.
The process was taxing for the focus groups because it was often difficult to determine from just
the audio files which participant was speaking without video verification. I listened to the audio
tapes additional times to verify accuracy and fill in names of participants who spoke during the
focus groups. Neutral peer reviewers who were fellow doctoral students reviewed random
interview transcripts to ensure the interview guide was followed.
Member Checks. Member checks obtained the participant’s review and comments on
data collected from the focus group and individual interviews. The member checks promoted the
proposed study’s credibility and minimized inherent bias (Merriam, 2009). Member checks were
conducted during the Summer and Fall of 2016. The remaining 10 study participants were sent
their three interview transcripts in a member check templet; seven participants returned them.
Over individual E-mails, the participants were asked to conduct a separate member check of each
80
of their transcripts. Participants were asked to review the transcript and provide comments.
Transcripts were provided on a templet in MS Word (see Appendix G). The templet contained
their transcript, a column along each page for participants to comment as needed, and three
questions to help guide their review and maintain consistency between respondents: (1) Does
your response seem accurate? Please correct any inaccuracies; (2) Did you explain in enough
detail? Please provide additional details as needed; and (3) In retrospect, would you explain
anything differently? Please explain as needed. Participants received E-mails and SMS-texts to
remind them to complete their member checks. As member checks were returned, thank you
notes were sent via E-mail. Upon receipt of their last member check, participants received gift
cards of appreciation (either in-person or through the mail) for the last phase of the study.
Peer reviews. Discussions with my advisor and fellow doctoral students helped to reduce
bias and enhance overall credibility and dependability of the study (McNiff, Lomax, &
Whitehead, 1996). A peer examiner and my dissertation chair provided input as to the strength of
the support between final recommendations and findings, further enhancing the credibility of the
study (Merriam, 2009). All processes of the data collection and analysis were proposed to my
committee members. A group of fellow College of Education doctoral students agreed to be my
neutral peer reviewers. Their role was to review interview transcripts to ensure interview and
transcribing protocol was followed to control for potential bias. They also reviewed
recommendations to ensure they were supported by the findings. My dissertation chair provided
an additional examination to confirm interpretations were based on data collected. Reviews and
advisement from peer examiners were recorded as part of the dependability and confirmability
audits in the research journal.
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Data Analysis
The qualitative analysis of this study transformed data into findings (Patton, 2002). Each
individual participant case was examined as a separate smaller case within the main bounded
case; this structure is referred to as “multiple bounded systems” (Creswell, 2007). Comparison of
smaller cases provided triangulation (Merriam, 2009) due to the multiple perspectives gained
from varied data sources. For each phase of the study, the participant cases were examined
sequentially; first individually by within-case analyses and then compared by a cross-case
analysis (Heck, 2006; Patton, 2002). Within-case data analyses examined each of the smaller
cases independently (Creswell, 2007; Patton, 2002). The within-case analysis was conducted first
since variations of participant experiences were a focus (Heck, 2006; Patton, 2002). After the
within-case analyses, a cross-case comparison analysis offered a thorough comparison of the
multiple cases examining any consistencies or differences between the cases. Since the within-
case analyses were conducted first to establish the reliability and integrity of the individual cases,
the comparisons across cases produced more compelling evidence (Heck, 2006). The comparison
of smaller cases also provided triangulation (Merriam, 2009). A final comprehensive stage of
analysis simultaneously examined data from the within-case analyses and the cross-case analysis.
Table 6, Timeline of Data Analysis, provides a visual timeline and details of how data analysis
was conducted for each of the three data collection phases.
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Table 6
Timeline of Data Analysis
Pilot Test
Within-case analyses:
Online Questionnaire, College Work Artifact and Artifact-based
Interview
Cross-case analysis:
Online Questionnaire, College Work Artifact and Artifact-based
Interview
February 2016
Phase 1: Online Questionnaires and Focus Group Interviews
Survey - Online Questionnaire
Data pull from Google Forms
Within-case analyses
Cross-case analysis
1
st
Interview: Focus Group
In-person, semi-structured, follow-up of online questionnaire
Transcription
Within-case analyses
Cross-case analysis
March - April 2016
April - September 2016
Phase 2: College Work Artifacts and Artifact-based Interviews
Data Sample – College Work Artifacts
Collected at 2
nd
interview
Within-case analyses
Cross-case analysis
2
nd
Interview: Artifact-based
In-person, semi-structured
Transcription
Within-case analyses
Cross-case analysis
April - May 2016
April - September 2016
Phase 3: Reflective Journals and Final Interviews
Data Sample - Reflective Journals
Data Pull from reflective journals (prior to 3
rd
interview)
Within-case analyses
3
rd
Interview: Final
In-person, semi-structured, follow-up of reflective journal
Transcription
Within-case analyses
Cross-case analysis
May 2016
May - September 2016
Comprehensive Analysis and Interpretation
Data Merging and Interpretation
Conclusions and Recommendations
October 2016 - February 2017
March 2017
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I recognized that the initial timeline had the potential to elongate due to participants’
availability or time needed to analyze sequential data. The final data analysis timeline contained
extensions from the initial proposal; particularly more time was required for transcription of the
interviews, interpretation of the data, and writing of the findings chapter. This study’s data was
analyzed sequentially and was conducted after each of the proposed study’s interview phases;
details of the analysis are provided in the following sections.
Process of thematic coding. Content analysis was conducted to reduce the volume of
qualitative data and attempt to identify core meanings (Patton, 2002). During the inductive
thematic analysis, a process of thematic coding (interpretive coding) was applied to the
qualitative data in a manner to interpret its meaning and address the research questions (Teddlie
& Tashakkori, 2009). The goal of the mechanical thematic analysis of coding data was to
recognize patterns and organize those patterns into themes (Patton, 2002). The term pattern
(code) referred to a particular descriptive finding and the term theme referred to categorical
representations of the patterns (collective codes) (Patton, 2002).
First a unitizing process divided the narrative interview data into units (codes), and then a
categorizing process brought together codes into categorical groupings (themes/collective codes)
(Cohen et al., 2007; Creswell, 2007; Patton, 2002; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009). A coding
classification schematic was developed to help with data organization (Patton, 2002). Coding
records of with-in case and cross case analyses were kept in MS Excel workbooks. The first
reading of the data started to identify codes and the classification scheme. Multiple readings of
the data or hearings of the audio recordings advanced pattern recognition. Patterns of occurrence
led to convergence of recurring patterns and then divergence into themes.
84
After mechanical categorization, logical analysis was used to find new insights by further
examining the classification scheme (Patton, 2002). Transcripts and audio files were repeatedly
reexamined. Cross-classification matrices or other visual representations were developed in MS
Excel to interpret and present the data’s patterns. Interpretations went beyond the descriptive
data and were discovered through examination of the analytical evidence (Patton, 2002).
Qualitative meanings were labeled interpretations, particularly when searching for a relationship
between the participants’ perspectives of their past SCP and their current college experience.
Coding of my study’s data was conducted manually. Manual coding ensured themes were not
overlooked, which often occurs when using software that simply relies upon commonly repeated
words (Patton, 2002).
Phase 1, online questionnaires and focus group interviews. In Phase 1, two data points
were analyzed: online questionnaires and the focus group interviews. The with-in case and cross-
case analyses of the online questionnaire informed the line of questioning for the focus group
interviews on the participants’ SCP and current college experiences. For focus group analysis, I
created a matrix for the with-in case analysis of the online interview data. I pulled data from
Google Forms into an MS Excel workbook and created a separate worksheet for each of the
participant cases. On the second read I began the thematic coding process, highlighting any
potential codes or interesting comments on the MS Excel sheet. I created a color scheme for the
codes, so that I would highlight the same code with the same color for each of the analyses. For
example, first I noted the bigger picture; I used purple to highlight codes for skills, abilities, and
dispositions and light blue for research papers, fieldwork, portfolios, and presentations. In
subsequent readings of data, the highlighting was more detailed with more colors for specific
85
codes. After a third read of the participant’s responses, I made an entry on their individual
participant sheet. Figure 5 contains an example of a Participant Sheet Analysis Matrix.
The Participant Sheet Analysis Matrix was created as a separate MS Excel workbook that
contained an individual worksheet assigned to each of the participant cases. These participant
sheets were comprised of the participant’s demographic profile and summaries of researcher
thoughts and observations after reviewing each participant’s responses and observational notes
for each point in the data collection (online questionnaire, focus group, artifact-based interviews,
artifacts, reflective journals, and final interviews). Key quotes of comments for each of the data
collection points were also included in the columns below the summary.
86
Figure 5
Participant Sheet Analysis Matrix
Emily:
Demographic
Information
SCP topic:
Technology
Integration with
Music at the
Elementary level.
College Major:
Major:
Elementary
Education, Minor:
Music Education
Year: Senior
Project type:
career
Reason for SCP:
BOE diploma,
honors chord at
graduation
Online
Questionnaire
Focus Group
Artifact
Artifact-based
Interview
Reflective Journal
Final Interview
EB appeared to be
very thorough in her
OQ responses. She
linked her education
major directly to her
SCP experience…
EB seemed to feel
comfortable in the
FG-1 and openly
shared information.
She recalled several
links between her
SCP and what she is
doing now in
college. EB
described time
management…
Work Sample 1:
Assessment 5 unit
plan. EB was very
proud of her
artifact; it was a
culminating piece of
the unit she had
taught she had spent
a lot of time
working on. Upon
examination: from
the look of its scope
and size it appeared
to have been a big
project…
EB shared her
Assessment 5 for
the COE.
Describing her
lesson plan work
sample, she clearly
demonstrated an
understanding of
creating and
evaluating a lesson
plan. Her college
work is directly tied
to her SCP…
Ember seemed to
use her journal as an
outlet to document
her feeling of her
student teaching
coming to an end. It
was the end of the
semester, her
sadness of having to
separate from her
students and her
student teaching
experience was
clear…
EB found her SCP
to be a valuable way
to try out a teaching
career; her SCP
practice/project in
the classroom had
similarities to her
college student
teaching. EB again
stressed the
importance of…
self-direction…
Caption: Figure 5 is an example of an Excel worksheet depicting a participant sheet. It is representative of the participant sheets
created for this study.
Note: The entire participant sheet is not included in this example. There are several rows below of quotes for each of the data
collection points, and the demographic information extends beyond the columns shown.
87
After completing within-case analyses for each of the participants’ online questionnaires,
I created a separate MS Excel workbook for the cross case analysis. An example of a Cross-case
Analysis Matrix: Online Questionnaire can be seen in Figure 6. The cross case analysis
workbook contained a separate spreadsheet for each of the main questions of the online
questionnaire. The first column contained the participant’s name, the second column I copied
and pasted their response to the particular question, the third column contained codes from the
participant’s response, and the fourth column contained collective codes (emergent themes)
aggregated from all of the study’s participants. I cut and pasted quotes from each of the
individual participant case transcriptions onto the corresponding worksheets. I read and reread
each of the worksheets reviewing the compiled participant quotes for similarities, differences, or
rival explanations. Additional codes or collective codes were assigned as needed. After
completing the cross case analysis, I used the data to help inform the focus group interview
guide.
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Figure 6
Cross-case Analysis Matrix: Online Questionnaire
Did you learn anything about yourself from completing your Senior Project? If yes, what?
Participant
Response
Codes
Collective
Codes
Mackenzie
I learned that the more I am around people, the
more happy I become. The months that I have
helped at the retirement center made me realize
that I truly love human interaction… and also
made me realize that being in the health field is
what I want to do.
Aided in
career choice
Likes being
with people
Wants to help
others
Maddie
I learned that I was capable of finishing high
level work. At the same time, I also saw that I
have a lot to learn, especially about time and
project management. It really showed me that I
prefer to work with ideas, strategies, and new
things versus menial, every-day manual labor.
Because of that, I also saw that I need to work on
becoming a better teammate, as I tended to avoid
daily work in favor of brainstorming.
Self-efficacy
for college
Need
improvement
in project &
time
management,
Need
improvement
collaboration
Jackie
I learned how to be self-directed, senior project
was the first time that we were given an entire
year to budget our own time… taught me that I
was capable of talking to professionals in our
community and asking them for advice.
Self-direction
Time
management
Collaboration
confidence
Collaboration
Time
management
Confidence /
Self-efficacy
Shawn
I learned that I was very dedicated to completing
this project…
Dedication
Emily
I believe that the most important thing I learned
about myself was that I could teach. I was
extremely nervous about being in front of a
classroom and having to instruct students, yet I
did well and this helped to build my confidence
in my role as a teacher.
Self-efficacy
for career
confidence in
career
skills & career
choice
Aided in
career choice
Derek
Working with my mentor allowed me to put my
media skills to use and I discovered that media is
where I belong.
Aided in
career choice
Career skills
Collaboration
Career skills
Caption: Figure 6 is an example of an Excel worksheet for a particular response to the online
questionnaire. It is representative of the cross-case analyses matrices of this study.
Note: Only six rows (not all participant responses) are included in this example.
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The focus groups were second data collection point of Phase 1 to be analyzed. Analysis
began with transcription; as ideas arose when I listened to the audio tapes, I added comments to
my interview notes or research journal. For the with-in case analysis, I read and reread the
interview transcripts (often listening simultaneously to the audio files). I followed the thematic
coding and documentation process established for the online questionnaire. For the interviews, I
highlighted directly on the transcriptions following the color scheme established during the
online questionnaire analysis and adding colors for new codes. I summarized each individual
participant’s responses in an entry on their participant sheet’s focus group column. Then, for the
cross case analysis, I followed the process I developed for the online questionnaire analysis;
creating a separate MS Excel workbook for the focus group interviews.
Phase 2, college work artifacts and artifact-based interviews. In Phase 2, analysis
contained two data points: artifact-based interviews and the participants’ work sample artifacts.
Transcriptions of the second interview, the artifact-based interview, was analyzed by with-in
case and cross-case examinations. I transcribed and conducted with-in case analyses and a cross-
case analysis following the process established for the online questionnaire and focus group in
Phase 1. I created a separate MS Excel workbook for the artifact-based interviews, and included
worksheets for each of the artifact-based interview collective codes (i.e., time management,
research, presentations, or collaboration).
I analyzed the artifacts that I had collected at the artifact-based interview. My with-in
case analysis of the college work samples consisted of examining the artifact and entering a
summary on the individual participant case’s participant sheet. For my cross case analysis of the
artifacts, I created a table to document what types of college work samples each participant
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submitted. I also noted similarities and differences among the artifact types (papers, portfolios,
products, and presentations) in my researcher’s reflective journal.
Phase 3, reflective journals and final interviews. Phase 3 analysis contained two data
points: participants’ reflective journals and the final interviews. As the reflective journals were
received from participants, I began analyzing the data for timeliness and to expedite the creation
of each participant’s individualized final interview guide. For each with-in case analysis, I
followed the thematic coding process established for Theme 1. Initially a cross-case analysis of
the journals was scheduled before creating the final interview guides. However, concerns of
timing as the end of the semester loomed, and upon consulting with my doctoral chair, it was
decided to go forward with the final interviews without a cross-case analysis of the participants’
reflective journals. Also, the final interviews of some participants began prior to all participants’
submission of their journals. I first conducted with-in case analyses of the final interviews and
then completed a cross case analysis. The processes for the with-in case and cross case analyses
of the final interviews were identical to that detailed for Phase 1.
Comprehensive analysis and interpretation. A final comprehensive stage of analysis
simultaneously examined data from the within-case analyses and the cross-case analyses from all
phases of the study. This simultaneous reexamination of data and analyses from all three stages
helped to determine the final interpretations and findings of the study. In order to examine
information from every data collection point (online questionnaire, focus group, artifact-based
interviews, artifacts, participants’ reflective journals, and final interviews) simultaneously, I
created a new MS Excel workbook to bring information contained on the workbooks from the
individual data collection points into a comprehensive workbook for a collective code.
Comprehensive analysis workbooks were organized with a separate worksheet for each data
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collection point. Within the worksheet, columns were created for quotes to be entered as a
college or SCP experience. Additional columns were allocated for the participant who provided
the quote and for additional codes. An example of a Comprehensive Analysis Matrix for a
collective code can be seen in Figure 7.
Merging of data permitted cross checks of the collective codes that had emerged in
previous cross case analyses and to determine if any new codes emerged. These new matrices
were for specific collective codes and were used to examine consistency in the previous cross-
case analyses, or to further investigate a specific emergent collective code. For example, as the
collective code of self-efficacy emerged, a new workbook was created for its analysis.
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Figure 7
Comprehensive Analysis Matrix
Caption: Figure 7 is a screen shot of an Excel workbook of a Comprehensive Analysis Matrix. It is an example of the self-efficacy collective code, and is opened to the focus
group worksheet.
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According to Patton (2002), a qualitative study does not have to end with the presentation
of data and comparisons. The research also helps to explain the phenomenon with interpretations
that attach significance to the findings. The final interpretation themes of this study addressed the
research question and informed the study’s conclusions and recommendations. Embedded case
studies were selected to present one of the findings themes more richly. Conclusions and
recommendations were written after interpretations and findings were completed. The holistic
design and overall thoroughness of reporting, analyzing, and interpreting the study aimed to
extend extant literature on SCPs.
Human Subjects
Approval for conducting human subjects’ research was obtained for this study from
Island University’s Human Studies Program’s Internal Review Board (IRB). Since the research
is on educational practices and the data collection interviews were of participants who are not
part of a vulnerable population, an exempt status for human subjects’ research was obtained
(Howe & Dougherty, 1993; IU Human Studies Program, 2012). I conducted a research protocol
as submitted to the IU Human Studies Program and followed the information learned in required
human subjects training courses while conducting my study.
Two pilot participants and 12 study participants provided voluntary and informed consent
(Herr & Anderson, 2005). With informed consent, participants were fully aware of the objectives
of the study (McNiff et al., 1996). Participants declared their initial consent to participate in
writing by signing consent forms (see Appendix H) prior to beginning the study and were
reminded at every data collection point of their rights to withdraw from the study at any time
(National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral
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Research, 1979; Patton, 2002). Participants were E-mailed copies of the consent form, which
they signed and returned either via E-mail or SMS-text.
Data was secured and kept confidential (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative,
2012; Patton, 2002). Multiple back-up copies of data (audio recordings, artifacts, transcripts, and
member checks) was and is safeguarded in a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, Compact Discs
(CDs), a computer hard drive, and an E-mail server under locked or password only access. Any
paperwork not retained was or will be shredded. Furthermore, the identity of all participants was
and will be kept confidential. Pseudonyms or initials were assigned and used for any written or
verbal referrals to participants. Pseudonyms were also assigned to places to ensure
confidentiality.
Credibility and Dependability
I use the following qualitative terminology for data quality or trustworthiness to describe
my study: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (Creswell & Plano Clark,
2007; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Measuring credibility, or the study’s internal validity, ensured that
I was capturing what I intended to (a representation of participants’ multiple perspectives of their
high school SCP experience and how it may or may not have a lasting impact on their current
college academic experience) rather than something else. Transferability, or the study’s external
validity, assessed the extent to which specific inferences from this study can provide context to
another setting. The measurement of dependability ensured my measurement (process of inquiry)
was consistent and accurate. Confirmability assessed the extent to which the findings of the
inquiry were confirmable against the data collected. Verifying positive answers to data quality
provided a confirmation that the methods utilized for this study were conducted accurately for
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their intended purposes. The following sections provide information on how this study’s
credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability were measured and examined.
Credibility. Credibility considered the rigorous methods of the study’s data collection and
analysis (Patton, 2002). To ensure the integrity of the data, this study used several triangulation
techniques including specifying the unit of analysis, member checks, inclusion of rival
explanations, peer reviews, and researcher’s reflexivity.
Triangulation of sources was provided by using multiple measures of different data
sources. This study followed Yin’s (1993) concept to develop construct validity through multiple
measures. Each individual participant case enhanced credibility. The cases applied data to the
research question by offering a different reality based upon their high school’s SCP
implementation process, their past SCP topic, the high school they attended, their college major,
their current college coursework, and their unique perspective. The diverse criteria for
purposefully selecting participants helped to provide maximum variation of the cases.
Examination within the same method for consistency of different data sources provided
triangulation (Patton, 2002). This study offered triangulation of sources in the form of three
varied interview phases to investigate the multiple participant cases: an online questionnaire and
focus group interview (Phase 1); an in-person artifact-based interview to discuss college work
samples (Phase 2); and an in-person follow-up interview to discuss a reflective journal (Phase 3).
The sequential interviews were designed to obtain a rich description of the participants’
perspective of lasting effects of the SCP on a variety of levels including their artifacts of college
work and journal of college experiences. The artifact-based interview in Phase 2 of data
collection and the journal in Phase 3 helped to provide support and further document what the
participants expressed during the online interview and focus group in Phase 1. Triangulation of
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sources increased the accuracy of this study by attaining perspectives from differing participant
cases through a variety of sources (individual and group interviews, artifacts, and journals).
Specific units of analysis defined the research setting and enhanced this study’s
credibility and transferability (Yin, 1993). The unit of analysis determined the boundaries of the
case. This case was bounded by time, place, and participant perspectives (see pp. 52-58). Having
a specified and unchanging unit of analysis provided direction for proper data collection,
information gathering based on the study’s intention, and consistent data analysis. The findings
of this research study were based upon its boundaries. Other researchers would need to
determine if the unit of analysis of their case is similar enough to consider the findings of this
research transferable.
Member checks were a triangulation technique intended to enhance the study’s credibility
(Patton, 2002). Member checks obtained the participants’ reviews and comments of the interview
data in order to verify its integrity (Merriam, 2009). Member checks helped to control for bias
and promote credibility of collected data. All of the participants of this study were requested to
review and comment on their interview transcripts for all three phases of the study (see p. 79-80).
Credibility was achieved through preserving integrity during data analysis; this included
examining rival explanations and their assessment in analysis (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007).
Any rival explanations that surfaced during the coding process of this study were documented in
the research journal (see pp. 76-79). They were further investigated during multi-case
comparisons and the Phase 3 follow-up interviews.
Using peer reviews to discuss and review all processes of the data collection and analysis
minimized bias and enhanced the credibility and dependability of the study (McNiff et al., 1996).
Peer review provided input to ensure interview transcripts were accurate, interview guides were
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followed, biases were controlled during interviews and as a result, data supported the findings
and final recommendations. A group of fellow College of Education doctoral students served as
my neutral peer reviewers (see p. 80). I proposed the entire study, including plans for data
collection and analysis, to my committee members for their approval before beginning data
collection. My doctoral chair provided guidance in review findings and cross-checking them
against data collected, thus ensuring that conclusions were based on findings.
My methodological competence and professional ethics were of highest importance
(Patton, 2002). Researcher reflexivity to explain any biases and assumptions added to the study’s
integrity (Merriam, 2009). As the solitary researcher for this study, I completely disclosed any
biases and assumptions, including my past experience as a high school teacher and exposure to
SCPs. I also made every attempt to control for bias when conducting interviews as well as
throughout analysis of the data and interpretation of the findings. Additionally, precautionary
measures were taken to ensure the findings of this study were credible and consistent with
preserving the integrity of the research. Researcher reflexivity, self-questioning, and seeking
self-understanding (Patton, 2002) ensued throughout the study and were documented in the
research journal.
As part of researcher reflexivity, I made a conscious effort to be aware of the interviewer
effect, or unconsciously bringing background experiences into the research setting (Scheurich,
1995). I built structures in my research to attend to my biases (i.e., positive view of SCPs and
PjBL due to being a past teacher who successfully implemented projects and advised students).
To aid the data collection’s credibility and dependability, I followed interview guides (see pp.
64-67) and kept a research journal (see pp. 76-79).
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Transferability. Transferability considered the extent my study could extend specific
inferences to other contexts (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Thick
detailed descriptions of participant responses were selected for maximum variation (Merriam,
2009), alongside a defined research setting will allow others to make their own judgements
regarding the extent to which these findings can be applied to other contexts (Lincoln & Guba,
1985). To enhance transferability, a detailed description of my findings was presented by quoting
participants’ interviews and the details that emerge from college artifact and reflective journals.
However, caution is advised toward transferability due to the study’s limited number of
participants and specific boundaries (Guba & Lincoln, 1989; Shadish, 1995).
Maximum variation of the participant sample was used to enhance both credibility and
transferability (Merriam, 2009). Through purposeful sampling, I sought a variety of participants
with different backgrounds in the following areas: high school of graduation, SCP topic, college
major, gender, and ethnicity. Selecting participants with maximum variation from one another,
led to different perspectives to surface in interviews, varied college artifacts, and distinct
reflective journals.
Dependability. This study followed a systematic process to enhance dependability (Guba
& Lincoln, 1989). To ensure the methodological integrity, trustworthiness, and rigor of the
research process, this study used several dependability techniques: pilot test, interview guide,
detailed transcriptions, interpretive thematic coding, procedural integrity, and a dependability
audit.
Prior to starting data collection, a pilot test (see pp. 60-62) was conducted on the
Phase 1 online questionnaire and the Phase 2 artifact-based interview guide’s questions’
effectiveness to attain descriptive responses. The pilot was used to test if participants had the
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opportunity to express themselves and ensured that questions on the interview guide provided
responses that were useful to answer my research question (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009).
Utilizing an interview guide for the semi-structured interview process enhanced
dependability (Creswell, 2007; Patton, 2002). Following the interview guide (see pp. 67-76)
ensured my process of inquiry was consistent and accurate between participant cases. Detailed
transcriptions and interpretive thematic coding was used for this study. To dependably document
the qualitative data, detailed interview transcripts were based on audiotaped recordings.
Transcribing this study’s individual and group interviews in their entirety helped to avoid
transcriber selectivity and uphold dependability. Materials were safeguarded under lock or
password (Patton, 2002). Confidentiality was protected with the use of pseudonyms. The
interpretive, thematic coding process (see pp. 83-84) was utilized to enhance the dependability of
the qualitative data analysis (Teddlie & Tahakkori, 2009). The study adhered to standards of
thematic coding including unitizing and categorizing as described in the data analysis section.
Procedural integrity continued during data collection and interpretation. Case study
protocols were developed and followed for reliability (Yin, 1993). I conducted this study’s
research protocol as submitted to the Island University’s IRB. While conducting my research
study, I followed federal regulations, institutional policies as well as any IRB guidelines.
Dependability audits assessed the appropriateness of inquiry decisions throughout the study
(Lincoln & Guba, 1985). This study’s dependability audits were recorded as part of the
electronic research journal (see pp. 76-79). Researcher’s reflexivity, peer reviews, and my review
of the audit trail against the study’s research protocol were part of the ongoing dependability
audit.
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Confirmability. Confirmability tested the extent to which the findings of the inquiry are
meaningful (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Substantive significance,
whether observed effects were meaningful and relied on the researcher’s judgment, was
documented in confirmability audits in the research journal to help confirm the study’s
qualitative findings (Patton, 2002). To provide confirmability to the study, I kept a strong sense
of the importance of researcher’s judgment to rely on my abilities; I followed the thematic
coding process, honored my participants’ descriptive responses, recorded and reviewed details in
my research journal, and sought wise counsel from peer examiners to review interpretations and
findings. As a qualitative researcher, I was responsible to discover what was significant and
meaningful in the data to deepen the understanding of the phenomenon (Patton, 2002), which for
this study was the SCP experience and any lasting effects participants perceived it may have had
on their college academic experience. Conscious attention was also made in an effort to not lose
the richness of description during the coding and categorizing process (Cohen et al., 2007).
These efforts enhanced my study’s dependability as well (Patton, 2002). Peer reviews, a review
of the reflexive portion of the audit trail, and reviews of substantive significance were part of the
ongoing confirmability audit.
Chapter Summary
This chapter included the specific features of my study’s research question, description of
the case (participants, place, time, and researcher), data collection, data analysis, consideration
for human subjects, and credibility and dependability of the research and researcher. The
qualitative methods of this descriptive and interpretive case study were described in detail. The
methods outlined how my study was to achieve its purpose and add to the extant literature by
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obtaining college students’ perspectives of their previous high school SCP experience and to
more closely understand how SCP impacts the college academic experience.
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Chapter 4
Findings
Chapter Introduction
College students’ perceptions of how lessons learned from their high school Senior
Capstone Project (SCP) experience impacted their collegiate academic experience serve as the
predominant focus of this chapter. Findings depict transference of learnings from the first setting,
the participants’ high school SCP experience, to the next setting of their college academic
experience. Data analysis included consideration of the requirements of the HIDOE (2010) SCP
(research paper, fieldwork, portfolio, and presentation) as the “SCP work.” Skills, abilities, and
dispositions used or learned during the SCP in addition to the SCP work constitute the “SCP
experience.” College work samples as part of participants’ artifact-based interviews, other
assignments, and fieldwork from multiple data points throughout the study are classified as
“college work.” I define the “college academic experience” as the skills, abilities, and
dispositions needed to complete the college work along with the college work itself. In an effort
to fully realize the extent of transference, connections between the participants’ previous high
school SCP experience are made to their current college academic experience.
Participants’ words and voices, from the study’s data collection points (online
questionnaires, focus groups, artifact-based interviews, participants’ reflective journals and final
interviews), are interwoven together and triangulated to address my research question: How do
students in a four year post-secondary institution perceive participation in their high school
Senior Capstone Project has impacted their current college academic experience? Four major
themes emerged from exhaustive data analysis: (1) the SCP experience—what participants
perceived they acquired from participation in the SCP, (2) the college experience—general
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connections of transference of the SCP experience to the college academic experience, (3) direct
connections of transference to a college major, and (4) gains in self-efficacy applicable to college
and career success.
Theme 1: Participation in the Senior Capstone Project Experience Led to the Acquisition
of Skills, Abilities, and Dispositions
For this theme, I draw upon the viewpoints of all 12 of my study’s participants to
describe what they learned from participation in their SCP experience. Their profiles can be
found in Chapter 3 (see page 57). I have divided Theme 1 into two sections: (1) Takeaways from
the Senior Capstone Project experience; (2) discussion of findings across the three tables, which
includes arguments for two dynamic relationships (the interdisciplinary aspect of the SCP to
concurrently learn skills, abilities, and dispositions with content from multiple academic
subjects; and simultaneous using and learning skills throughout the SCP experience) and
interpretations evidenced by participants’ descriptions of the skills, abilities and dispositions they
used or learned for during their SCP experience. In later themes this background will help with
interpretation of transference.
Takeaways from the Senior Capstone Project experience. To understand extent of
transference of the SCP experience to the college academic experience, it was imperative to
determine first what participants learned or used during participation in their SCP. To identify
participant perceptions, I create a scale from the online questionnaire (see Appendix B), coding
responses into three categories: skills, attitudes, and dispositions. Notwithstanding, these terms
cannot be absolutely defined and may have overlapping meanings and connotations in some
contexts. Still, for the purpose of this study, the following operational definitions were applied:
skills—related to the production of tasks (i.e., computer, writing); abilities—work ethics (i.e.,
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collaboration, time management); and dispositions—attitudes or personal characteristics (i.e.,
persistence, self-direction). In many cases verbatim statements from the participants are reflected
in the tables, and in other cases, I used generalized terms to represent their perspectives. For
example, a participant wrote “disciplined about all of your deadlines” was coded as “time
management.” The following three tables serve to illustrate the skills, abilities, and dispositions
participants recalled using during their SCP experience (see Table 7); their claims of what they
learned during their SCP experience (see Table 8); and participants’ perspectives on what they
learned about themselves (see Table 9).
Participants’ revealed what the SCP required of them, in response to the online closed-
ended question: “Please list any skills and abilities you feel you used during your Senior
Project.” Table 7, Skills, Abilities, and Dispositions Used during the Senior Capstone Project, is
a compilation of what participants included on their individual lists.
Table 7
Skills, Abilities, and Dispositions Used during the Senior Capstone Project
Skills
Abilities
Dispositions
Computer or Technology
Event Planning
Public Speaking
Research
Writing
Collaboration
Communication
Conflict Resolution
Organization
Networking
Problem Solving
Producing Quality Work
Time Management
Confidence
Creativity
Fast-paced Learning
Patience
Persistence
Punctuality
Responsibility
Self-direction
Note: Organized in alphabetical order.
The online questionnaire was also used to gather data on what participants claimed they
had learned through the SCP experience. Two questions were posed related to what they learned
in general from completing the SCP, and what they learned about themselves from the
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experience. Table 8, Skills, Abilities, and Dispositions Learned during the Senior Capstone
Project, presents participants’ answers to the question: “Describe three main things you learned
while completing your Senior Project?”
Table 8
Skills, Abilities, and Dispositions Learned during the Senior Capstone Project
Skills
Abilities
Dispositions
Computer or Technology
Content Specific
Documentation
Portfolio Production
Presentation Production
Public Speaking
Reflection
Research
Writing
Collaboration
Communication
Project Management
Time Management
Attention to Detail
Handle Life Situations
Interest in a Career
Patience
Persistence
Professionalism
Self Confidence
Self-direction
Note: Organized in alphabetical order.
To attain information on what participants claimed they learned about themselves, the
following open-ended question was posed: “Did you learn anything about yourself from
completing your Senior Project? If yes, what?” Participants’ responses are presented in Table 9,
Learned about Self during Senior Capstone Project.
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Table 9
Learned about Self during Senior Capstone Project
Likes and Dislikes
Areas Needing
Improvement
Self-efficacy
Dispositions
Disliked Public Speaking
Interest in a Career
Interest in Helping Others
Liked Collaboration
Liked Research
Collaboration
Project Management
Time Management
Confidence in Career Skills
Confidence to Collaborate
Confidence for Public
Speaking
Self-efficacy for College
Work
Self-efficacy for Future
Career
Persistence
Self-direction
Note: Organized in alphabetical order.
Interpretation of findings: Two dynamic relationships. Participants’ responses were
interpreted in the aforementioned tables. What follows is a discussion of two dynamic
relationships: (1) learning skills, attitudes, and dispositions concurrently while completing
interdisciplinary project work, and (2) using and learning skills, attitudes, and dispositions
simultaneously. Then, interpretations of the skills, abilities, and dispositions are featured from
those most frequently reported, along with corresponding descriptions of how they were used or
learned during the SCP experience.
When participants were asked to list skills, abilities, and dispositions they used for their
SCP (see Table 7), the most common responses were linked to the four project requirements.
They described learning research and writing skills for their research paper; communication, and
collaboration skills for their fieldwork; organizational abilities for their portfolio; and public
speaking skills for their presentation. When asked to limit their responses to only three learnings,
participants described many of the skills, abilities, and dispositions that they had previously
listed for their SCP (see Table 7). The recurrence of responses provides the connections that
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exemplify the first dynamic relationship—a constant interplay of using and learning multiple
skills, abilities, and dispositions concurrently exists with content area knowledge during
interdisciplinary project work.
In fact, learning skills, abilities, and dispositions alongside content knowledge during
project work is expected in PjBL (Egelson et al., 2002; Thomas, 2000), as its broad
interdisciplinary focus is well documented (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Harada et al., 2008; Newell,
2002). These outcomes stemmed from learning opportunities that were not defined by synthetic
lines of academic discipline; instead, focus remained on knowledge acquisition in multiple facets
with the same learning activity. Egelson et al.’s (2002) research described that the SCP provided
students an interdisciplinary opportunity to develop planning, research, time management,
interpersonal, presentation, and writing skills needed for college and career success. The PjBL
interdisciplinary technique allows students to acquire content knowledge as well as a wide range
of skills, abilities, and dispositions though real-world applications of completing project
requirements.
SCP study participants repeatedly reported having learned not only the explicitly defined
constructs of how to write a research paper, but also benefitted indirectly by enhancing their
proficiencies (skills, abilities, and dispositions) through the entire project experience. This is
attributed to the dynamic relationship between interdisciplinary practice and skill acquisition. For
instance, while working on their research papers, participants described learning topical content,
applying previously acquired knowledge from earlier classes about writing techniques or
concepts to understand their research, while gleaning organizational and time management skills.
Moreover, the simultaneous development of various skills, abilities, and dispositions was
recognized. When asked to narrow down to only three learnings (see Table 8), participants
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described many of the skills, abilities, and dispositions that they had previously listed as having
used for their SCP, attributing the SCP as the origin of their development. Many of their
responses regarding what they learned mirrored their responses in Table 7 about what skills and
abilities they used, similar responses included: computer, public speaking and research skills;
collaboration, communication and time management abilities; and persistence and self-directed
dispositions.
This connection between using and learning skills, attitudes, and dispositions
simultaneously while completing inquiry or work tasks is expected in PjBL, as students learn
through their actions and experiences (CTGV, 1990; Dewey, 1938; Kilpatrick, 1918; Markham,
2011). With that expectation of the PjBL experience, it would be anticipated that participants in
my SCP study would report having used and learned the same skills, abilities, and dispositions
throughout their project process. For example, at the start of the project a student may have
started using a schedule to track deadlines for the project requirements, and throughout the
progression of the long-term project, the student would have learned the importance and the
ability manage one’s time.
Perhaps more illuminating were participant descriptions about their personal growth from
having embarked on the long-term SCP experience; the perspectives revealed that each
experience was unique and memorable. When responding to what they learned about themselves
(see Table 9), rather than what they learned in general, the participants became reflective of the
importance of dispositions required to complete their SCP. Once again, participants’ responses
were linked to the interdisciplinary project requirements, yet this time they were phrased in likes,
dislikes, or described as developing self-confidence or needing improvement in the specific
skills, abilities, or dispositions. The variation in responses exemplified that the SCP was a
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personal and unique experience for participants; each applied different combinations of skills,
abilities, and dispositions in distinct but simultaneous paths of content knowledge acquisition.
In the following three sections: skills, abilities, and dispositions, I continue to interpret
what participants reported they acquired from participation in their SCP. I present participants’
perspectives of how they used or learned skills, abilities, and dispositions during their SCP
experience and offer auxiliary elucidation as to how those descriptions indicate two dynamic
relationships.
Skills. Content learning is the first area I will explore to build a background of what skills
participants’ experienced from their SCP. As expected with PjBL, participants expressed
learning content specific to their topics, for example, Kate wrote on her online questionnaire,
“Since my topic was juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, I learned much about the disease and certain
causes and symptoms of it.” In another example, Maddie demonstrated the dynamic relationship
of learning multiple content areas and acquiring skills while conducting project work. Maddie’s
content learning encompassed her entire community service project. During her online interview,
she detailed:
I learned more than I can describe about environmentalism, fundraising, working with the
community, and working with the government…I was often planning something that
involved all four…senior project was the first time I was expected to be in charge of
everything, from research to planning to execution.
For Maddie to complete her SCP, she had to learn beyond more than simply the topic of
environmentalism, she also had to develop skills in fundraising, community outreach, and
governmental partnerships. She had to combine public speaking skills with content knowledge to
successfully contribute to community outreach events. Similarly, when working with the
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government, Maddie learned the ability of conveying her environmental knowledge in
collaborative settings.
The SCP required participants to use or learn computer skills such as Microsoft Word and
PowerPoint as well as topic or career specific technology in order to complete their SCP. This
interdisciplinary application of computer skills was described by all 12 participants; they
incorporated computer and other technology use for their SCP. The extent technology was used
varied by participant. For some technology was a focus of their project, for others the computer
was a tool used to access informational resources and report their findings. On his online
questionnaire, Matt explained he used the computer for his project requirements, “My computer,
I used it for almost everything such as typing my research paper, putting together my
PowerPoint, and communicating through E-mail.” Matt incorporated communication with
technology when he emailed his mentors. He also described using his computer to write papers
and create presentations used for public speaking engagements.
On her online questionnaire, Maddie also provided details on using technology as a tool,
“I used laptops and computers constantly for research and word processing. We also managed a
website for our events and projects. I also used cameras and a green screen for a small portion of
the project.” Maddie explained how she integrated topical content while updating a website as
part of her SCP to promote community awareness and reduce negative impacts on the
environment. For Maddie and Matt using the computer was an interdisciplinary skill used to
complete the different project requirements for their SCP.
For other participants, technology use was a planned and necessary component for their
performance project. For example, Derek had incorporated technology for his SCP. On his online
questionnaire, he briefly explained his methods of journalistic inquiry:
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Since it was a project on media, I used my schools digital cameras to record and film. I
utilized editing software, premier pro, to finalize my video that I used for my
presentation, and PowerPoint to put it all together. Also, Microsoft Word to type my
paperwork.
Derek’s SCP also exemplified the interdisciplinary use of technology while working on English
content (research paper) as well as media content (video product).
For the portfolio requirement of the SCP, participants had to compile and document all of
their SCP work into a single collection they could share with community members, teachers, and
fellow students. Participants provided background on what it was like to develop their portfolios.
Part of the SCP portfolio included project documentation, such as mentor communication and
work logs. For some participants, like Maddie, this documentation process was new, as she
stated, “I learned a lot about project documentation…I remember having the worst time
documenting what I did because it often did not occur to me until afterwards to do so.” Derek
denoted how he selected information: “What it's like is to reflect on a near nine month long
process. Looking back for the presentation and final binder, you pull what is the most important
through the months you've been working with your mentor.” Derek learned the process of
reviewing and reflecting upon his multiple project requirements. Derek appreciated the reflection
process he completed for his journalism SCP, explaining, “The process that it takes to get to the
final product and being able to reflect on it and present it and say, ‘this is my work and this is
what I learned’ was a very valuable and educational experience.” For Derek, reflecting on his
project and process was a memorable PjBL experience, in part because he took the time to
review the skills, attitudes, and dispositions he learned to complete the interdisciplinary SCP
requirements.
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Another component to help understand the participants’ SCP background is the way they
simultaneously learned public speaking and presentation development skills through the
construction process of their required SCP presentation. In his reflective journal, Parker
described the final step of his SCP experience, “The biggest part of the senior project was the
presentation. We were to present in front of a panel of judges to show them what we learned and
how we can apply what we learned to the real world.” Parker had learned to communicate to a
judging panel comprised of unknown community members and for the first time, experienced
what is was like to receive feedback about his work from public constituents.
Other participants described their own preparation for their SCP presentation. Jackie
wrote in a reflective journal entry, “[For] my presentation for senior project, I had to have a
PowerPoint…I wrote out a script word for word.” Matt explained how he developed presentation
skills to more clearly articulate his ideas, “[SCP] prepared me on how to make a presentation
(PowerPoint & speaking in front of a panel), and the importance of communication.” Both Jackie
and Matt incorporated technology to create a visual aid to help express their content and other
knowledge for their presentations.
For several participants, learning presentation skills included in class practice sessions,
on her online questionnaire Kate described, “We would also practice our presentations in front of
the class so that we could receive feedback on what to improve.” The presentations contributed
to the development of collaborative abilities as well by giving and receiving feedback on one
another’s presentations. Students were simultaneously drawing upon multiple skills while
discussing content and using their public speaking skills.
Parker also described the basic research requirement, a key component of the SCP, in his
reflective journal. “I recall that our senior project required us to do a research paper on the topic
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of our interest. We were to do research and read articles about our field of study.” Shawn
explained in his reflective journal how he learned to find research from the extant literature to
support his theory: “My senior project involved me researching on the net and library for sources
supporting my theory if media and humor is correlated to a community’s consideration towards
each other.” Shawn further described the research process he learned during his SCP on his
online questionnaire:
How the whole research process goes . . . you have a proposal, you execute that plan,
gather data for analysis in a research paper, then present your findings. If the evidence
was not valid proof or uncorrelated, then that's why the paper would be constantly
rejected.
As with others, the SCP was Shawn’s first time he had to conduct research for a thesis project.
Another participant, Mary, stated on her online questionnaire, “I learned how to conduct
empirical research.” The SCP provided an opportunity for Mary to learn how to further develop,
refine, and conduct applied research:
The one new thing I learned was how to design a survey and how to create workshops for
students. Both were critical parts of my project and learning how to do them as well as
make them interesting/challenging for my peers was important.
For Shawn and Mary, learning the research process included focusing on supporting their thesis,
which included an initial goal of designing a research study and the end goal of determining how
they would present their findings to the community.
Descriptions of applying prior learning to complete the SCP research requirements were
provided. Emily stated on her online questionnaire, “I feel that I was able to apply the research
and writing skills gained from previous AP courses to the work I needed to complete for my
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project.” Maddie had a similar experience. She described how she drew upon what she had
learned in multiple courses to complete her SCP:
I had previously learned how to write a research paper in my U.S. history class, and I
heavily relied upon that experience to form my senior project paper. I also learned a few
applicable ideas from my biology classes. I ended up citing some of those ideas in my
project.
Maddie explained the interdisciplinary nature of her research, as she used prior content
knowledge to write her SCP paper and cite sources.
Writing skills are another component to consider regarding what participants perceived to
learn from their SCP. Participants described their revision process. In her online questionnaire,
Kate recalled editing the reflective and final research papers: “In class, I think we either peer
edited or had our teacher edit our papers.” Collaborative writing in class served as a window to
the iterative nature of writing, allowing her to more fully understand the necessity of revising
drafts towards the final product.
Participants learned to organize their materials and thoughts simultaneously in order to
write. For example, Jackie explained how organization was crucial for her writing; at her artifact-
based interview she provided the following details:
Senior project had an outline...had a lot information and there were a lot of parts that
where it could be broken up into. So just to organize it and to have main points rather
than writing whatever came to mind, I think that was really important.
Jackie learned how to create an outline to organize her emergent content knowledge and
prevailing ideas.
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How participants applied critical thinking abilities to draw conclusions and present their
conclusions was another aspect of the simultaneous skill development within the SCP writing
requirement. For example, Kate wrote in her reflective journal, “[It] required me to think
critically about very different topics in different ways.” Parker furthered, “[The SCP] paper
required students to present their understanding.” Kate and Parker expressed how the SCP
required them to concurrently apply critical thinking toward content knowledge to produce their
written papers.
Abilities. Participants’ collaboration with off-campus community members was another
component of the SCP experience. Developing the ability to collaborate was viewed as a
valuable experience for Jackie; she wrote on her online questionnaire, “The most useful thing
that I learned is how to schedule time to work on a project with my mentors and how to ask for
their input.” The mentorship experience provided Jackie with the opportunity to learn how to
collaborate and merge her time management, topic content, and communicative abilities.
Jackie continued to describe her relationship with her community mentor and her on-
campus mentor at focus group interview:
For collaboration with mentors, we had a mentor who was at our high school. Mine was
my AP English teacher and they were supposed to help us with the research paper, the
writing of it. I had my mentor from out of school from the community. That was the
dentist that I shadowed and he was supposed to give me ideas about [my SCP topic].
Jackie valued working with her mentors. That particular mentor scaffolded her content learning
that she needed to complete her research paper. Jackie further explained the positive results of
her collaboration, “[My SCP] also made me get out of my comfort zone and taught me that I was
capable of talking to professionals in our community and asking them for advice.”
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Collaboration with teachers or other students is another background component of the
SCP experience. Shawn received similar guidance from collaborating with his school librarian,
explaining:
I remember my research paper being tedious to the point I didn’t think they were going to
pass me. I did get through [SCP research paper] after consulting with the librarians
because they knew exactly what was required and how to achieve it.
Shawn sought support as needed to complete his project requirements. At her focus group, Kate
described how fellow students provided her support during her SCP:
I was in the senior project class, so seeing where other people were in regards to their
projects pressured me and made me want to stay more on top of things and keeping track
of things that were due…We had a lot of support from our teacher for that class and peers
in that class, too.
Kate’s SCP experience included building a support group of peers who collaborated on project
requirements and time-management while working on the same project.
Developing communication abilities is another element of what participants described
they learned from their SCP. For example, Matt explained on his online questionnaire:
I learned that I was not great with being an effective communicator. I noticed that I was
really shy and did not ask much questions when I have some that arise…The senior
project mainly helped us with our skills like communication…Being in the engineering
field, it benefits with the idea of training me to be a better communicator.
Matt had believed his SCP helped him become aware of the communicative abilities he would
need for his future career. Another participant, Mackenzie, described on her online questionnaire
how community service provided an opportunity to “learn skills in how to communicate better
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with all different group ages.” Mackenzie’s fieldwork at a retirement center provided a venue to
develop communication skills with senior citizens. In her reflective journal, Jackie explained
how she used E-mail to “make plans with my mentors to meet…I had to constantly Email my
mentors and other people helping me with my senior project about questions that I had and
finding the best time to meet.” Matt, Mackenzie, and Jackie learned how to effectively
communicate with a bevy of stakeholders through face to face and online avenues. These
proficiencies afforded opportunities to engage in fieldwork, communicating with patients,
gaining information, and scheduling.
Mary utilized communicative skills to teach others about her SCP topic; she created and
conducted workshops to teach her classmates about religious tolerance:
My favorite part of working on my project were the workshops I held. I was able to
encourage my classmates of different grades to participate in my workshops after school
and then give them surveys at the end of the series about how much they learned and
what I did well and what could be improved.
She described her newfound ability to merge her methods of communication with topic content
knowledge.
Parker indicated on his online questionnaire how “the project required the student to
understand time management.” Jesse, on the other hand, who completed a career SCP on
pharmacy, explained how he had to “make all of the time to handle the senior project as well as
understanding what we needed to do.” Jesse iterated that SCP required the students to apply self-
direction to determine what was needed to complete the project requirements while
simultaneously managing their time. Kate implemented a planning process in her reflective
journal: “Throughout senior project it was necessary to follow some type of schedule so that I
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could finish everything that was required by the deadline.” Through the process of identifying
what work needed to be completed and scheduling the time to do so, Jesse and Kate learned how
to handle the demands of time management.
Another participant, Jackie, described on her online questionnaire how she learned to
handle a long-term project:
I learned how to be self-directed, senior project was the first time that we were given an
entire year to budget our own time and had to have a paper, video, project, and
presentation done at the end. Before that I was a procrastinator but this forced me to start
early because I had no idea how long future steps would take.
Jackie further described in her reflective journal how she handled the long-term project process:
“I was creating a time plan to complete all parts of my senior project before the end of the year
and before the presentation.” Jackie demonstrated the SCP served as a vehicle for learning about
what was needed for completion of a long-term project.
Dispositions. The SCP also reinforced the notion that participants had to be persistent in
order to be successful in a long-term project. For example, in a reflective journal entry Mary
explained, “I remember many late nights working on all of the drafts of my project…My
weekends were spent working on this project and I sacrificed a lot of time with my family in
order to work on it.” For Mary, it was not just a question of managing her time; she had to
remain dedicated to the long-term project process.
The disposition of persistence was one that Jackie also learned:
To stay motivated I reminded myself that it had to get done one way or another…I think
the skill that I use the most that I learned from senior project is to be able to keep
working on a project even though I don’t feel like it.
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Jackie expressed gaining an understanding of the necessity of this distinct disposition for long-
term project work.
Self-direction is another part of what participants learned from their SCP. Participants
described how they also felt they were in control of their project and had to take initiative. One
said, “I learned how to be self-directed. Senior project was the first time that we were given an
entire year to budget our own time and had to have a paper, video, project, and presentation done
at the end.” Jackie described that for her to be self-directed she had to use the abilities of time
and project management simultaneously to complete the interdisciplinary project requirements.
The freedom of self-direction Jackie described was similar to what Maddie experienced. Maddie
wrote:
I did feel a lot more in control of managing almost all aspects of my project. I was free to
research how and what I wanted, plan how I wanted, and execute what I wanted. I was
limited only by the direction of my adviser, who often had her own ideas of what to plan
and how to execute it. However, those ideas weren't bad and did guide me to success.
What Maddie described is typical in PjBL, where the learning is student-directed and the process
is teacher-assisted. Perhaps, Mackenzie summed up the self-directed SCP best: “The senior
project allowed me to go beyond my spectrum of knowledge and the skills I had as a high school
student. It allowed me to learn to take care of my responsibilities.”
Summary: Theme 1. In the first section of Theme 1, I presented the SCP experience,
participants’ perceptions of what they did during their SCP experience. I selected three
categories to organize students’ questionnaire responses: skills, attitudes, and dispositions. From
their participation in their SCP, participants used and learned: skills built in research and writing;
abilities to collaborate and manage their time; and dispositions of persistence and self-direction.
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Perhaps more illuminating was what students described they had learned about themselves from
having embarked on the long-term SCP experience, revealing that each experience was unique
and memorable. In the second section of Theme 1, I described two dynamic relationships which
explained the means by which participants learned through participation in the SCP experience:
(1) skills, attitudes, and dispositions were learned concurrently with content knowledge while
completing interdisciplinary project work; and (2) using and learning of skills, attitudes, and
dispositions took place simultaneously. In the next themes, I will apply these findings to better
understand the participants’ SCP experience and explore its transference to their college
academic experience.
Theme 2: Transference of the Senior Capstone Experience to the College Academic
Experience
Theme 2 draws upon study participants’ viewpoints about how, if at all, the SCP
experience has transferred to their college academic experience. Specific examples of
connections participants made between what they learned when completing their SCP
requirements and how it was applicable to their college academic experience are provided. In
Theme 2, evidence from all 12 participants is provided from all data collection points of my
study.
I have organized this theme into two sections to depict the transfer from the past high
school SCP experience to the current college academic experience: (1) transference regarding
participants’ most frequently described abilities and dispositions needed for college
(collaboration, creative or critical thinking, persistence, planning and organization, and time
management); and (2) transference participants made regarding production skills related to
completing the SCP requirements (research paper, fieldwork, portfolio and presentation).
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Transference of abilities and dispositions. In order to determine which abilities and
dispositions for which to focus my analysis, I directed myself to participants’ responses
regarding what they deemed as important for their college academic experience. I inquired about
the skills, attitudes, and dispositions needed for college in two different data collection phases
during focus group and final interviews. Participants were asked, “What skills, attributes, or
dispositions do you think someone needs most for college?” Table 10. Skills, Abilities, and
Dispositions Needed for College Success presents a compilation of participants’ responses from
their focus group and final interviews.
Table 10
Skills, Abilities, and Dispositions Needed for College Success
Adaptability
Collaboration
Creative or Critical Thinking
Persistence
Planning and Organization
Reflection
Responsibility
Self-direction
Strong Work Ethic
Time Management
Note: Organized in alphabetical order.
Of the skills, abilities, and dispositions compiled in Table 11, participants most
frequently responded that collaboration, creative or critical thinking, persistence, planning and
organization, and time management were needed for college success. Also, throughout multiple
data collection phases, I found participants described a similar transference between their SCP
and college academic experience for these particular abilities and dispositions. Therefore, I
decided to focus on these abilities and dispositions for this theme’s findings regarding
participants’ viewpoints of transference. In the following paragraphs of this section, I explore the
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perspectives of my study’s participants’ regarding how collaboration, creative or critical
thinking, persistence, planning and organization, and time management transferred from their
SCP experience to their college academic experience.
Participants expressed having the ability to collaborate was necessary for college success.
For example, Kate, is a psychology major, explained in her final interview:
The senior project required me to reach out to people in the community for my
mentorship. That’s where it started because prior to that, I don’t think I had to reach out
like that…I had to be responsible to find my own mentor and schedule the time I would
spend with her.
In college, Kate also had to locate and initiate research and healthcare volunteer work
opportunities alongside other graduate students in her psychology department or community
members. She attributed her high school SCP experience as where she learned to collaborate. On
her online questionnaire, Kate also explained how she continued the same collaboration process
from her SCP in college:
I do draw upon my [SCP] experience in finding a mentor and completing mentorship
hours in my current college work. A lot of what I think college is about is making
connections and reaching out to people for opportunities and just general information.
She continued to describe her SCP mentorship as a benchmark for the ones she pursued college.
In her words, “Since my [SCP] mentorship experience was so great, I am always hopeful that the
opportunities I seek (i.e., research projects, volunteer opportunities) will have the same reward,
so that helps me want to reach out to others.”
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As part of the SCP fieldwork requirement, students had to locate, initiate contact and
enlist the help of a community mentor. In his reflective journal, Derek compared the process of
recruiting help for his SCP to what he did when writing a story for his college journalism class:
Current College Work
or Thought: Provide
details
Past High School Senior
Project: What do you recall
doing or happening during
your Senior Project that was
similar to your current work
Connection to Senior Project:
How or why do you find your
current work or thought
similar to your past Senior
Project experience
Searched for sources for
my final Journalism 320
story. This required
references and searching
online for credible and
relevant sources to the
story.
This is something I had to do
during my senior project to
find helpful, knowledgeable
mentors and guides throughout
the process.
It was important to be able to
evaluate a source for relevancy
to the topic. This was required
while finding sources and
mentors in the senior project
process.
Derek likened the challenge of finding relevant sources for his news story to finding a
knowledgeable mentor for his SCP. His high school collaboration process transferred to college,
but it was put to use for a slightly different purpose.
When asked during his final interview, Parker, a civil engineering major in his junior
year, considered what it took to be successful in college, “Thinking creatively because a solution
is not always going to be in front of you.” He described how he applied creativity for his SCP:
“Creativity [for my SCP] was…with the research paper because you're presenting information,
but being able to write it out and put it on paper, so that the peers and different audience can
understand it. That’s the creative aspect.” Parker’s artifact-based interview contained many
technical descriptions of how he critically deliberated and creatively thought to complete his
college work. For example, this explanation of his college work artifact had many similarities to
the self-directed critically thinking required for his SCP:
So, you would design your own project and you would design it how you would want it
to calculate all these certain parameters in order to determine something and you would
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compare the cost, you would compare the efficiency, and everything…You had to
critically think about, when you’re doing the research like, ‘Okay, they’re using this. Let
me figure out how it works on my own.’ You kind of have to research everything on your
own and understand it on your own.
Parker later applied the same critical and creative thinking that he described using for his SCP
research paper for his college engineering coursework.
Kate also provided critical thinking connections between her SCP and college academic
experiences Her journal included the following:
Current College Work
or Thought: Provide
details
Past High School Senior
Project: What do you recall
doing or happening during
your Senior Project that was
similar to your current work
Connection to Senior Project:
How or why do you find your
current work or thought
similar to your past Senior
Project experience
I am currently working
on my last paper for my
American Studies
Asian America class,
which is a paper that
relates a major theme of
the course to the latest
memoir we were
required to read.
Writing my final paper for my
senior project is similar to this
one just because it's the same task
of writing a paper. They both
require me to think critically
about very different topics in
different ways. My current work
is about ethical societal issues,
whereas my senior project was
health based, therefore I need to
utilize a different type of critical
thinking.
My current work is similar to
my past senior project
experience because there were
multiple steps to getting to
being able to write the paper
(i.e., learning material in class,
reading the book, drawing
conclusions, writing the paper).
The difference between the two
was that my senior project was
more self-directed whereas my
professor assigned my current
paper and provided us with the
material we needed throughout
the semester.
Kate described having transferred critical thinking, writing, and organizational skills from her
SCP research paper to the one she was writing in college. She described the necessity to use
these skills simultaneously to complete both her SCP and college paper. For both her SCP and
college papers, she had to critically think. The difference lied in how she had to apply thinking in
different ways to complete the various types of assignments.
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Persistence was yet another disposition participants described as crucial for college
success. For example, Shawn explained, in his final interview, what he believed was needed to
be successful in college: “Persistence because there has to be a reason why you decided to do
something, so you have to keep reminding yourself of that end goal and persevering.” On his
online questionnaire, Shawn described why persisting to complete his SCP experience was
important:
I learned that I was very dedicated to completing [my SCP]. A lot of people gave up half
way and after the first quarter. When I realized I wouldn't be Valedictorian anymore, [I
decided] that I would finish this project regardless of what honor I might receive. It was
something that I wanted to prove to myself.
For Shawn, he persisted to prove to himself that by completing his SCP he would be capable of
college level research. In his final interview, Shawn spoke about how the “[SCP] prepared me
for the kind of research I would be doing [in college].”
Descriptions on a holistic level of the entire long-term project experience helped reveal
how participants perceived their SCP work was connected to their college work. For example, in
a focus group, Mary expressed that from her SCP she learned to “sustain a project for that
amount of time. I’m working on my [college] senior thesis and it’s been the same timeline, just
more difficult. I think having the [high school] senior project prepared me for this.” Jackie had a
similar experience to Mary, exclaiming:
I think the skill that I use the most [in college] that I learned from senior project is to be
able to keep working on a project even though I do not feel like it and I think that this is
an important trait that helps me complete my school work and tedious assignments.
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Jackie provided some humor as she detailed transference of the unpleasantness of persisting with
project work even when it is no longer enjoyable. Maddie also described the disposition of
persistence in her online interview: “If there's anything I use [from my SCP] in college now, it's
the realization that...determination will carry you through basically anything.” It appeared that
understandings gained from the completion of the SCP helped participants face similar long-term
project challenges in college.
Planning and organization were other abilities that participants described were needed for
collegiate success. In the following dialog from a final interview, Derek described transferring
the planning process he used for his journalism SCP to his college projects:
VY: You mentioned needing self-drive, planning, and knowing what you need to do
[for college]; did you do that for your senior project?
Derek: [The SCP] planning stage, from initial: ‘Alright, it’s senior project time. What are
you going to do?’ You have to think about what interests you, what are the
relevancies…‘What direction do I want this project to go? How am I going to
achieve it?’ It was a lot of pre-planning before actually doing it…You have to
adapt to those [to college], it’s kind of how I used those in my senior project;
from pre-planning to executing, adjusting, and then reflection, overall.
Derek went on to express that he thought that the planning process he acquired from his SCP
experience had “definitely” transferred to his college projects. He indicated that he adapted and
transferred what he learned during his high school SCP to his college work.
Mary detailed organization skills were a crucial ability for college when responding to a
final interview question regarding if what she learned during her SCP carried over to college:
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Staying organized, because there’s so many forms you have to fill out for senior project.
It’s ridiculous how many little acknowledgements and agreements and little summaries
you have to turn in…In terms of dealing with Island University administration and
turning in little forms, I would say it ties into that. Holding yourself accountable so things
can get done in a timely manner for other people, no matter how frustrating they are, is
something you have to learn.
Mary described how this attention to detail transferred not simply to completing assignments in a
timely manner but specifically to submitting forms for purposes regarding university life.
Time management was another ability described as necessary for college success. During a final
interview, Jackie described how she drew upon her SCP experience for her college writing
assignments:
We had the whole quarter to do the [SCP] paper. It wasn’t that bad, work on it a little
every day. In college, the first paper I had it was like, ‘I can do it.’ But, in a week before
I’d rush to finish it. After a while, I would think about senior project because it was the
last big paper I had to do. I realized that if I started earlier, I’d have time to review…I
think that senior project helped me after I realized the skills that I had learned in senior
project.
After a transition period of not allotting enough time to work college papers, Jackie began to
apply the time management processes she had learned previously for her SCP. She demonstrated
transferal of the time management ability that she had acquired during SCP research paper to the
papers she writes now in college. Jackie provided a holistic statement in her final interview:
“[from my SCP] time management helped me [in college]...It was helpful to have an idea of how
long it takes me to do a paper. How long it takes me to create a presentation and practice.” Just
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gaining the basic ability to know how much time to allot for a certain task while working on her
SCP was of value to Jackie in college.
Jemma learned about deadlines and organization while completing her SCP, describing
how she used her time management skills in college:
I think it [SCP] did help because of the organization and time management. That’s a big
part to being successful in college…[SCP] was the first experience I had with having a
hard deadline for everything, it made the transition to college a lot easier, in a way
because I had that experience, now [in college], I’m able to get the feel of having to meet
certain deadlines and that there are no excuses for reasons why I can’t make something or
if I can’t finish it. It just made the transition easier.
Jemma not only transferred the time management and organization skills she acquired from her
SCP experience to college, but she also claimed the SCP experience helped her handle the
requirements of college academic experience much easier.
Transference of production skills needed to complete research papers, fieldwork,
portfolios, and presentations. In this section, I present examples of how participants’
production skills for creating their SCP work transferred to their college work. As noted in the
previous theme, I defined skills related to the production of tasks. As detailed by the HIDOE
(2010) guidelines, the SCP required tasks include writing a research paper, participating in
fieldwork, creating a portfolio, and conducting a presentation. The HIDOE (2010) SCP’s
required experiential tasks provided the venue for participants to use cognitive tools for inquiry
or artifact creation that Krajcik et al. (1994) found as fundamental for PjBL. Krajcik et al.’s
(1994) PjBL framework required students to complete five fundamental features: (1) a driving
question or authentic problem; (2) a main product or series of artifacts; (3) an investigation
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around the problem; (4) collaboration with community members; and (5) the use of cognitive
tools during the inquiry process or the development of artifacts.
In the following paragraphs, I explore participants’ perceptions of how the production
skills they learned during their SCP transferred to collegiate requirements. To provide a structure
to examine the transference of production skills, I used the same categories (research paper,
fieldwork, portfolio, and presentation) to view college work as those that were previously
required for their SCP.
According to the HIDOE (2010), SCP research papers were to be written at a college
level and address the student’s essential question and thesis. Participants provided recollections
of their SCP research paper and comparisons to their college research and papers. For example,
Maddie commented on the relationship between the writing processes used for her SCP to that of
college: “The research paper was similar because expectations for both were not that different.
The projects were similar because I had to use resource managing for both.” Maddie described
the actual assignments she completed in college to be the same level as what she had experienced
for her SCP, providing evidence of transference in brainstorming, finding informational
resources, and completing the overall writing process.
Parker also provided a description of transferring writing skills; he wrote the following in
a reflective journal entry:
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Current College Work
or Thought: Provide
details
Past High School Senior
Project: What do you recall
doing or happening during
your Senior Project that was
similar to your current work
Connection to Senior Project:
How or why do you find your
current work or thought
similar to your past Senior
Project experience
For today, I am working
on a research essay that I
am doing for my
linguistics class. This
essay requires me to do
research on an endangered
language in order to state
facts on how it is
endangered and what can
be done.
Like a previous entry, our
senior project required a paper
during submission. This paper
required students to present
their understanding onto an
essay.
I feel as these two assignments
relate because it trains the
student to be a good writer. Not
only that, but it helps the
student present their
understanding in a way so that
the reader of the essay can also
see their understanding. Being
able to present important
information is a good skill for
both.
At a focus group interview, Parker further described how his high school SCP research and
writing experiences were foundational to his college writing requirements:
My freshmen year [at college] was about presenting information, being able to write
multiple pages, being able to gather research data from different resources. A lot of it was
not something I wasn’t going to learn [without completing the SCP] and I’m glad I
learned it in high school.
Parker expressed how his SCP research paper had prepared him for college; what he learned
from writing his SCP research paper had indeed transferred to the research he conducted and
papers he wrote in college.
Mary was required to complete many writing intensive courses for her majors; during a
focus group interview, the following dialog took place:
VY: How was your senior project paper similar or different from papers you write in
college?
Mary: Very similar. It’s just that I think I have better writing skills. I have a very specific
format of the way I approach a paper and doing my senior project paper helped
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me build that. Now, I can do a four-page paper in four hours and I’ve grown
better at doing papers under pressure because of senior project.
Mary expressed that the approach she used for her college papers had been already developed
through writing her SCP paper. She also explained having that foundation equipped her to write
more efficiently. The SCP experience also helped her manage the pressures associated with
writing papers. At Mary’s final interview, she provided another consideration of how what she
learned during her SCP has been useful in college: “I think overall, [the SCP research paper] was
helpful in terms of time management, organization, being able to write a 10-page paper…I think
already having done that helped a lot…Overall, the [SCP] is helpful.” Mary described not only
transferring the writing techniques that she had learned creating her SCP paper, but also that she
needed to simultaneously use the abilities of time management and organization to successfully
write her papers.
The HIDOE (2010) SCP requirements for fieldwork included 15-25 hours with a
community mentor to provide the student hands-on experience and learning in their topic.
Participants provided many connections between their SCP and college fieldwork experiences.
For example, Matt described his SCP fieldwork on his online questionnaire: “I liked the
experience of having the chance to go out and interact with people in my field of interest.” He
believed the “[SCP] would help prepare me for college…because I knew that [SCP] was going to
be difficult and was looking forward to the challenge…I was motivated because I wanted to
complete the project.” He had the goal for his SCP to prepare him for college; successfully
completing his SCP fieldwork transferred to fieldwork he would later undertake in college.
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Emily compared her current field work as an elementary school student teacher with what
she did previously for her SCP on integrating music with technology at the elementary level. At
a focus group interview, she shared:
I work with [my college mentor] and I take responsibility for the class…and I take
control of certain subjects or for the whole day. It’s fun. It’s more than I did for senior
project, because for senior project, I was working with the technology coordinator and it
was a resource class. Now, I’m in the classroom and I do every subject every day. I like
it.
Emily described her current fieldwork in college to be more extensive than what she did in her
SCP during high school. Her student teaching required more hours and greater independence
than she experienced for her SCP. Parker also explained how his college work was of a higher
caliber. In the focus group he compared his SCP job shadow in electrical engineering with his
college internship in civil engineering:
The job I work with now, it’s a lot different [from my SCP fieldwork]. When you shadow
somebody, you don’t have a lot of responsibilities and you don’t have a say in what’s
going on. But, when you’re in the [college] field work, you’re involved in a lot of
aspects. Like making deadlines and communicating with others instead of watching other
people doing it in front of you.
For Parker, in college he was completing more work himself compared to his prior SCP
fieldwork where he mainly shadowed an engineer. Derek expressed the same connection as
Emily and Peter that his college work required more from him than what he did for his SCP. He
provided the following details at a focus group:
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Senior project fieldwork is more sheltered and structured. You have to log your hours and
your mentor is there. Fieldwork in [college] journalism . . . I find that it’s very
independent and you have to do it on your own. It’s more job-like [college] compared to
mentor-like [SCP].
Emily, Parker, and Derek’s SCP fieldwork experiences served as a foundation upon which they
built for their college fieldwork. They expressed their college academic experience to be more
independent than the high school SCP experience, which seemed appropriate since college is
considered to be higher education and advanced study. Moreover, college often requires
internships for longer durations of time. Emily, Parker, and Derek expressed that aspects of
collaborating with mentors, scheduling time, and learning content had also transferred from their
SCP to their college fieldwork experience.
The SCP portfolio component is a compilation of the requirements and provides evidence
of the student’s learning breadth in communication and project development (HIDOE, 2010).
Participants commented upon completing various required paperwork (consent forms, work hour
logs, reflection logs) for their SCP portfolio. For example, Jackie made a connection between
documenting work hours for her SCP job shadow and her current college volunteer work. She
made the following entry in her reflective journal:
Current College Work
or Thought: Provide
details
Past High School Senior
Project: What do you recall
doing or happening during
your Senior Project that was
similar to your current work
Connection to Senior
Project: How or why do you
find your current work or
thought similar to your past
Senior Project experience
For my scholarship I
have to log the hours I
volunteered
This is similar to the logs I had
to track time spent with my
mentors
In both of these I had to keep
track of time spent on a
project and make sure that I
was keeping up with my logs
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Derek was the only participant who brought his SCP portfolio to his artifact-based
interview. He thoughtfully paged through it, explaining the documentation of his project work
and describing how the SCP was the commencement for a career in journalism. Derek wrote on
his online questionnaire that he learned to reflect on a long-term SCP: “Looking back for the
presentation and final binder, you pull what is the most important through the months you've
been working.” He kept a portfolio for his college major. At a focus group interview, he
explained portfolios were “common in journalism. We’re always building our portfolios, which
are called clips. Our instructors tell us that our clips will help us get jobs.” He believed the
quality of his SCP video product was high enough to be included in his professional portfolio.
At his focus group, Parker also spoke about creating his SCP portfolio: “a lot of our
portfolio was…figuring things out yourself. It was a little challenging because of that.” Parker
appreciated developing his SCP portfolio for the self-directed aspect of gathering his work and
reflecting on his progress through a long-term project. He continued and described his college
engineering portfolio, expressing that “a lot of what we do is resumes saying which projects we
were on.” Parker echoed similar thoughts regarding a similar portfolio development process used
in his SCP to those required in college.
Another aspect of the SCP portfolio was reflection on practice or progress on one’s
project. When describing her college student teaching assessment, Emily, an elementary
education major, shared:
When I did reflect for my senior project, it was more reflection on the students’ work
versus now, I’m reflecting more on what can I do or what did I do that the students
needed and how do I make sure to keep doing that. It’s more conscientious of what I’m
doing.
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Emily explained how her reflections evolved from the time of her SCP. She took it to the next
level for her college fieldwork, critiquing her abilities as a teacher rather just her students’ work.
The required SCP presentation is formal and assessed by a three member judging panel
comprised of volunteer community members selected by the school (HIDOE, 2010). Students
were required to present their SCP experience and subsequent research findings. Participants
made connections between the skills, processes, and dispositions needed to develop their SCP
presentation with those in college. For example, Matt chose two projects with presentation
components as his college work samples. At an artifact-based interview, Matt recalled his first
work sample which had a Microsoft Excel component: “I did it kind of like [SCP] where the
planning process was I just do the research, [and] compile everything I need.” He also described
another connection, saying “the similar parts where it was open questions at the end…[were]
kind of like the senior project—they asked a lot of questions since they were community
members.” His second work sample was a Microsoft PowerPoint and a pamphlet he developed
for a presentation. Matt explained that creating his PowerPoint in college was comparable to the
one he had done for his SCP: “[I was focused on] just putting the pictures and making the
PowerPoint nice with all the transitions.” Matt’s comments about a connection between his SCP
and college presentations led to a follow-up question requesting more details, resulting in the
following dialog:
VY: Interesting. Do you think your senior project presentation, developing the
presentation skills helped you at all for this [college] presentation?
Matt: Oh yeah, it did! You can see how…[spoke with confidence and pride] My [SCP]
advisor taught us to not put a lot of wording on it. That’s [SCP’s] where I learned
it. This [college] one was just was statistics, so that’s why it’s a lot. But other than
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that, it was just bullet points. To explain these, it kind of explained through our
fact sheet [pamphlet].
The details Matt provided were more about the aesthetics of his PowerPoint, but it was with
much enthusiasm that he exclaimed how his SCP learning had transferred to his college
presentation.
During his final interview, Parker expressed that the experience of creating and
conducting a formal presentation to convey his research and ideas to community members was
the one high school speaking assignment that he “took the most into college because at least it
wasn't the first time I spoke in front of a crowd.” In his reflective journal, Parker provided a
comparison of specific college presentation he completed in college with his previous SCP one:
Current College Work
or Thought: Provide
details
Past High School Senior
Project: What do you recall
doing or happening during
your Senior Project that was
similar to your current work
Connection to Senior Project:
How or why do you find your
current work or thought
similar to your past Senior
Project experience
I am currently working on
a mini project for my
environmental class. This
mini project is a
presentation on a project
that is assigned to us…
The biggest part of the senior
project was the presentation.
We were to present in front of a
panel of judges in order to show
them what we learned and how
we can apply what we learned
to the real world.
These two assignments are very
related. First, in both scenarios,
we had to present... Not only
will we be graded on content,
but we will be graded on
presentation on our
performance when speaking.
Parker’s journal entry contained basic connections of being graded on content and presentation
skills. He described transference of his SCP presentation experience as creating and conducting a
presentation to depict what he learned to the intended audience.
Shawn also described how in college he had built upon the knowledge he had acquired
from his previous SCP presentation. He wrote on his online questionnaire:
In my [college] class, I did a descriptive presentation on how one can have better sleep.
This was a bit different from my senior project presentation because it was more formal;
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when I had to present in front of various faculty members in HS I could recall just telling
them the issue, how I addressed it, and the results; my [college] class required us to have
supporting evidence and credibility.
Shawn described how he advanced his presentation skills since the days of his SCP to meet the
more rigorous and increasingly complex demands of college. In a reflective journal entry
regarding a different college presentation, he wrote:
Current College Work
or Thought: Provide
details
Past High School Senior
Project: What do you recall
doing or happening during
your Senior Project that was
similar to your current
work
Connection to Senior Project:
How or why do you find your
current work or thought similar
to your past Senior Project
experience
My final presentation for
my micro robotics project.
We had to go over what
we planned to do this
semester, what we actually
did, the results and things
that have changed over the
course.
This brings me back to the
stresses of practicing nonstop
then presenting in front of an
audience…. But during my
senior project presentation, I
was really prepared and had
my PowerPoint to remind me
of what to say.
The presentation aspects for both
are very similar because they ask
you what you did, how you came
about it, as in why this path
instead of another, and your
results and analysis. For my
senior project, I was asked what I
would have done differently and
the same mindset occurred for my
final project presentation.
Shawn’s SCP presentation experience was applicable to his college presentation assignments; he
described how both presentations required him to explain his methods of data analysis and
results. Shawn recalled he overcame his nervousness for SCP by being thoroughly prepared; in
turn, he used similar thorough preparatory methods for his college presentation. Reflecting on
what he might have done differently for his projects was another aspect of how his SCP
presentation experience laid a foundation for a process he repeated in college.
Summary: Theme 2. In Theme 2, I explored how participants perceived the skills,
abilities, and dispositions they developed from participation in their SCP experience transferred
to their college academic experience. The theme was organized into two sections to depict
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transfer between the high school SCP experience and the current college academic experience:
(1) connections regarding participants’ most frequently described abilities and dispositions
needed for college (collaboration, creative or critical thinking, persistence, planning and
organization, and time management); and (2) connections participants made regarding
production skills related to completing the SCP requirements (research paper, fieldwork,
portfolio and presentation). Participants described using abilities and dispositions similarly for
their SCP and college academic experiences. They transferred collaboration, creative or critical
thinking, persistence, planning and organization, and time management they had learned during
their SCP to college. Participants’ perceived transference of production skills related to
completing the SCP requirements. The skills they acquired for their SCP research paper,
fieldwork, portfolio, and presentation skills became a foundation for similar work they
completed in college.
Theme 3: The Senior Capstone Project Experience Directly Prepared the Case Studies
through Experiential Learning that Transferred to their College Academic Experience
Theme 3 focuses on three embedded case studies to illustrate direct connections between
the SCP and college academic experiences. In this theme, I will first describe each of the three
case studies’ individual experiences and then offer commonalities across the case studies. The
previous theme detailed general connections (regarding skills, abilities, dispositions, and the SCP
required research paper, fieldwork, portfolio and presentation) participants made between their
SCP experience and their college academic experience. When I considered general connections, I
looked for any evidence of transference between the SCP experience and the college academic
experience. For the explicit connections in this theme, I focused on connections the case studies
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made to confirm interest in a career or their ability to develop skills, abilities, and dispositions
that transferred to the specific needs of their college major.
For the case studies, I selected three of the study’s 12 participants (Parker, Emily, and
Derek) who described substantial direct connections between their SCP and college major. The
first case study participant, Parker, was selected for his perceptions of studying engineering. His
SCP directed him to his college major and provided experience from which he drew for his
coursework and internship. The second case study, Emily, was selected for the direct connections
she provided between her career type SCP and her college student teaching. During her SCP she
gained confidence in her ability to teach and practice in resourcing mentors that was applicable
to her college student teaching. Finally, Derek, the third case study, was selected for his rich
description of transference of media and production skills from his SCP experience to his college
academic experience. Participation in the SCP reconfirmed his interest to major in journalism.
The other nine participants expressed general connections in various academic areas, but their
connections were not as direct or consistent to their college majors.
Parker, Emily, and Derek described in detail that experiential learning had taken place
during their SCP experiences. Building upon Dewey’s (1938) theory of experience and
constructivist learning theories, Kolb (1984) defined experiential learning as “the process
whereby knowledge is created though the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from
the combination of grasping and transforming experience” (p. 41). Experiential learning
techniques were seen to enhance learning transfer (Furman & Sibthorp, 2013). Techniques such
as PjBL were described to be well suited to provide authentic learning experiences. Hung (2013)
believed that PBL provided a learning environment that offered “authentic, complex, ill-
140
structured problems to help students make connections between theory and real-world
application” (p. 32).
In this theme, I provide descriptions from Parker, Emily, and Derek about their
experiential learning through participation in the SCP and examples of how that learning
transferred to their college academic experiences. Below, the case studies will be presented
individually in three sub-sections, one for each of the case studies. After the individual accounts,
I offer emergent trends and commonalities across the three case studies.
Parker’s Senior Capstone Project led him to discover his love for engineering.
During his interviews, Parker sat confidently and replied with a steady voice; he held a positive
attitude as he talked about his current college work and prospects of his future career. He was a
23-year-old Filipino American in his junior year majoring in civil engineering. At the time of the
study, Parker explained, “I work for a construction management company as a junior project
engineer.” His job also fulfilled his college internship requirement. Parker was enthusiastic that
he was gaining more experience in his engineering career interest. After one of his interviews,
Parker expressed his excitement and overall sense of pride that he was on pace with his
coursework in a manner to graduate in four or five years. He recognized his SCP for the
experience he needed to attain his current part-time job in engineering and for paving the way to
begin his career.
Parker initially set out to complete his SCP in order to meet requirements for the BOE
diploma and his Achievement Via Individual Determination (AVID) college preparation class.
Upon reflection, he realized that participation in the SCP experience provided him the
opportunity to learn about a potential career. Parker explained, “I was able to use the senior
project to shadow engineers at the electric company…Looking back now, I am glad I did it
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because of the knowledge I gained from the professionals.” He began the SCP under the
impression it was just another graduation requirement but soon better understood its purpose and
in turn, valued the knowledge he gained by participating in the fieldwork experience.
During his senior year at an island high school focused on college preparation, Parker
self-selected a career type SCP with electrical engineering as the topic. When asked to explain
his SCP at a focus group, Parker stated, “My senior project topic was on electrical substations
with shadowing at the electric company.” Parker provided more details of SCP fieldwork on his
online questionnaire, writing, “I liked being able to see different things that engineers do.
Because shadowing a professional (engineer), I was able to see the different tasks an engineer
did on the job.”
For his SCP fieldwork requirement he had to obtain a professional mentor with whom he
could learn about a career of interest. Parker valued the time he spent with his four SCP mentors:
1) his official on-campus mentor was the high school teacher who handled his implementation
course; 2) he enlisted the help of another high school teacher who was familiar with engineering
and provided a classroom for his workshops; 3) he job shadowed an electrical engineer at the
local electric company; and 4) for his thesis topic on electrical substations he mentored with a
professor at Island University.
He fondly reminisced about his SCP job shadow experience in a focus group discussion.
Parker recollected, “When you do senior project and when I shadowed engineer, it was a lot
different than the things you do in class than when you’re out in the field. It was a lot more
hands-on than the other [high school] classes I took.” For Parker, the SCP was the first authentic
experience that he had outside the classroom. Taking part in the long-term PjBL opportunity
provided him real-world learning that he would later transfer to his college engineering projects
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and his college internship. Parker further described this hands-on learning on his online
questionnaire:
I learned what it was like to work in an engineering office. When it came to the senior
project, it gave me a chance to step into the working field, rather than just learn off a
whiteboard. I was able to gain knowledge from the experiences of those who have gone
through it. Not only has it [SCP] helped me with my current occupation/internship, it has
given me a fighting chance against other engineering students trying to get into a
company; I have insight on what it is like to work in the field.
Due to his SCP experience, Parker was able to see firsthand what it was like to be an engineer.
Parker believed that the experiential aspect of his SCP fieldwork was much more valuable to his
college major than the teacher-centered whiteboard lectures he had previously experienced in
high school. He believed that the professionals in the field evaluating college interns found value
in his SCP experience.
Parker described in a focus group how his college internship differed from his SCP
fieldwork:
When you shadow somebody [like I did for the SCP], you don’t have a lot of
responsibilities and you don’t have a say in what’s going on. But, when you’re in the
[college internship] fieldwork, you’re involved in a lot of aspects. Like making deadlines
and communicating with others instead of watching other people doing it in front of you.
In college, Parker experienced additional independence and needed to apply more self-direction,
as he no longer just watched others but he actively partook in the engineering process. For
example, during his high school SCP fieldwork, Parker mainly shadowed or observed an
engineer. His college internship experience was at a higher level. He described how he was
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required to take responsibility to draw upon his time management and collaboration abilities to
meet deadlines and communicate with others; skills that he had previously initially developed
during his SCP experience. Parker expressed again, this time in his artifact-based interview, how
more self-direction was needed in college than during his SCP. He explained, “Being able to do
it on your own and using your own knowledge to design it rather than a [SCP] project that you
get information [from others].” For his college internship, Parker contributed to the actual
engineering projects; he provided input, particularity in design.
The collaboration Parker described with engineers for his college internship built upon
the knowledge he gained from his previous SCP mentors. For example, Parker attributed his SCP
as providing a platform to develop the ability to collaboratively work with others. He resourced
his SCP mentors frequently, as they were crucial for him to understand engineering concepts.
During his artifact-based interview, he provided details on how his mentors aided him with his
SCP research process, “[For my SCP] I would research on my own, but in a general sense, and
then when I went to my mentor, he explained it more, which helped me research it more because
I understood it more.” In high school, the information he was learning about engineering was
new to him, so Parker relied heavily on his SCP engineering mentors to explain the research
materials. He learned the importance of obtaining the expert assistance from those in the field.
Parker described that during his SCP, he built a foundation for collaboration and sourcing
information from others.
The collaboration abilities Parker developed from his SCP carried over to the
relationships he established with his college mentors. For example, while explaining the self-
created design concept of his college work sample at his artifact-based interview, Parker
described how he recently collaborated in an environmental lab class, “I had to work with
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different groups of people. I had to work with a professional engineer. I also had to talk to a
construction project team that the engineer I worked with was a part of.”
Parker’s choice of an engineering career topic and working with mentors in the field
provided him some of the greatest benefits of his SCP experience. His SCP helped him to
determine what he did not want to study in college:
[SCP] was a chance for me to get a taste of what it was like to work in that field when I
shadowed the engineers…I was able to understand I do love engineering. I just found a
more specific field I like…I used it [SCP] to determine that I no longer wanted to become
an electrical engineer.
Parker thought his SCP experience had been beneficial to gaining an understanding of the
engineering industry. The SCP fieldwork that he completed in electrical engineering helped him
decide that he was no longer interested in pursuing it as a career. Through his SCP research and
after speaking with his mentors, he discovered that civil engineering better suited him for a
college major and career. He liked the aspect of working on or designing projects that would
solve problems or impact a community.
Parker provided more details about his current college academic experience and his work
for the engineering firm, “I have completed many tasks in college. I have completed research
papers, speeches, project proposals, concrete sidewalk pours, lab reports, class presentations, as
well as other field and office work for the company I work for now.” From this quote it is clear
that in his college career, Parker has had access to numerous rich experiences that prepared him
for his professional life. What is particularly interesting is that several of the tasks Parker named
as experiences in college were similar to those required for his SCP—writing research papers,
giving presentations, and engaging in fieldwork most notably.
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Parker explained that he felt his SCP preparation had both strengths and weaknesses:
The senior project mainly helped us with our skills like communication, and writing. [My
SCP] did not really emphasize technical skills like computers…it did not really help me
become a better technical thinking and applying my skills in math and science. . .what I
needed to do [in college].
Parker has had access to many SCP experiences that prepared him for college, but he also wished
that he would have preferred to gain more skills related to his college major. For example, the
college work sample he presented at his artifact-based interviews required him to design a
product applying engineering related math and science skills. On his online questionnaire, he
explained the difference between the two experiences, “Senior project was tough but it seems
like a scratch compared to what real college classes do to you.”
Parker recalled another vivid acknowledgement of how his SCP equipped him for college
academics and his engineering major during a focus group discussion:
When you do senior project and when I shadowed engineer, it was a lot different than the
things you do in class than when you’re out in the field. It was a lot of hands-on than the
other classes I took [in high school].
He felt participation in the SCP had been a unique experience, as it was the only hands-on,
career-based opportunity that he had during high school. SCP was an experience that aided in his
college fieldwork, which was an important component of his major. On his online questionnaire,
Parker detailed that he believed his SCP experience was timely in high school:
[My SCP] gave me a sense of what I would have to do many times in college. I feel as
though if I, or any other student, could not do senior project, there would be no way I, or
that student, could handle what college throws at you.
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Parker respected his SCP experience for learning what was necessary and expected for college
level work and more specifically, built a foundational understanding related to his major.
Participation in the SCP helped him transition into the college academic experience.
Parker described a positive holistic aspect of his SCP opportunity:
I learned, at the time, what it was like to go through a project…being able to do the
project itself [was helpful for college] because a lot of what we did in high school was
from the textbook. [SCP] was more of picking a topic, doing what you want to do, and
presenting it.
Having experienced the uniqueness of the PjBL process, or what Parker described as ‘going
through a project,” he felt that the holistic nature of the SCP was beneficial prior to college.
From Parker’s collective comments (including those contained in Theme 2), he expressed
that through his SCP experience, he learned how to research, write, reflect, and present. Further,
he credited it for helping him become increasingly versed in communication, self-direction, and
time management skills—all abilities he depicted as transferring to his college needs. The SCP
job shadowing experience gave him an authentic in the field observation of a career that directly
transferred to his college major. One final comment from Parker seemed to not only sum up his
thoughts on his SCP but also expressed a sentiment of gratitude: “For me, [SCP] was a
worthwhile experience. It is because I am able to apply what I learned for college.”
Emily’s Senior Capstone Project allowed her to discover that she really could teach.
Emily had a bubbly personality; she was energetic and exhibited a matter of fact sense of agency.
She was a 22-year-old female of Okinawan and Cherokee decent in her senior year at Island
University. Emily had excelled at a suburban high school, completing several Advanced
Placement courses and explaining at her final interview that, “I technically could have graduated
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as a junior. I just stayed because I wanted the honors diploma and I wanted to stay in marching
band.” On her online questionnaire, Emily explained that she had completed her SCP in order to
graduate with honors, earn the BOE recognition diploma, and she “wanted to get the cord at
graduation.”
Regardless of being compelled to complete the SCP for a diploma requirement, Emily
later valued the SCP experience as an opportunity to learn about her prospective career. She
wrote on her online questionnaire, “[I learned] everything about my topic. There were no courses
offered at my school which provided any professional experiences or knowledge.” For Emily,
her SCP was the only time she took what she learned beyond the confines of the classroom;
participation enabled her to gain an authentic hands-on experience.
Emily chose to complete a career type SCP and topic that combined her interests of
teaching and music: technology integration with music at the elementary level. She spoke fondly
of her SCP experience. Emily job shadowed grade-level elementary teachers, created a unit plan,
and taught her lessons over a two week period, “with the technology coordinator [for] a resource
class.” In her focus group Emily said with a gleam of excitement in her voice that “I never had a
mentor before,” and later at her final interview, she reflected, “I got really lucky, in the sense, I
had teachers at the elementary school that I went to who were willing to take me on for the
senior project.”
At the time of the study, Emily was a college senior set to graduate right after her final
interview took place, with a major in elementary education. In the College of Education, Emily
successfully completed her teacher credential requirements. She took pride that she
accomplished goals beyond just completing the minimum requirements of her major; Emily
minored in music and was part of the university marching band. Emily recognized her SCP
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experience as the precedent for being a self-advocate and persisting to attain her goals and
degrees. In her final interview she stated with conviction, “If you want something, go after that
because if you’re passionate about it and you can do something about it and if you find a way,
then that’s great.”
Emily expressed that she had loved teaching the music and technology unit for her SCP,
as it prepared her for a future college major and career. At her focus group Emily detailed,
“When I designed my [SCP] project, it was specifically preparation for getting into the college. I
did the videotaping, the presentations, the PowerPoints because I knew I was going to do it [in
college].” Emily had planned her high school SCP to meet her future needs and after consulting
with her mentor, she designed it to include what would prepare her for Island University’s
College of Education. In her online questionnaire, Emily described participation in her SCP
experience:
I was intrinsically motivated throughout the project. I have always wanted to be a teacher,
since I can remember. Since this was the focus experience of my project, I wanted to
work hard and succeed. I wanted to be sure that this is what I could do as a career and
show those who did not support my choice that this was a good choice for me.
Emily pointed out that her aspiration for a teaching career was what motivated her throughout
her SCP. She knew that she wanted to become a teacher and used her career type SCP to gain
experience and confirm that becoming an educator was the right path for her.
In her online questionnaire, Emily described the main connections between her SCP and
college work: “the similarities are the general expectations of fieldwork, lesson plans, and a
portfolio.” She continued to describe these connections further during a focus group interview:
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For [my SCP], it’s very similar to what student-teaching is. I have to turn in a sign in
sheet every week, I have to give my evaluations every now and then. I have to give
lesson plans and evidence and student examples. That’s everything I did for my senior
project and everything I’m doing now. College is harder though.
Emily’s participation in her SCP prepared her for similar work in college. She had transferred
what she learned from her SCP to college work at a more advanced level. Emily expressed this
further in a reflective journal entry, as she wrote, “Senior Project was short, and not as detailed
an experience as the [college] Assessment 5…[which was] similar to but much harder than a
Senior Project.” It would be expected that the breadth of teaching methods and the specific
requirements of her college assessment portfolio would be at a higher level than what she had
completed in high school.
Beyond the transference of the general expectations of her fieldwork, lesson planning,
and portfolio creation abilities, Emily also described having connected working with mentors
and becoming self-directed when discussing her SCP and college academic experiences. Emily
provided examples of how communication and collaboration with her mentors were important
for her SCP experience and essential for college as well. In her online questionnaire, Emily
explained how during her SCP:
I was in constant contact with my two community [SCP] mentors. I really only had an
idea of what I wanted to do, and they helped to structure and plan the details of my
project. They helped out with every question I had and supported me in the classroom.
In high school, Emily relied heavily on guidance from her mentors to design her project and to
complete her SCP fieldwork. She further explained, “My greatest challenge with my project was
lesson planning. I had no prior experience with this and also had no idea how it should be done. I
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overcame this with help from my mentors and their resources.” At an artifact-based interview,
Emily described her lesson planning process for her college work sample, “It was similar [to my
SCP] in the sense that I went to my mentor and was like ‘This is my idea! What do you think?’
and they gave feedback and I had to do a lesson plan.” Emily described how her SCP and college
project were connected—for both experiences she collaborated with her mentors, communicated
her ideas, and gained their input for her projects.
Emily smiled and spoke with an air of contentment as she went on to explain how in
college she began to resource her mentor less and took the lead:
For my senior project, it was more of ‘I don’t know what I’m doing’ and the mentor sat
with me and we filled it out together and she broke it down. Whereas now, it’s I have to
do it by myself and then I send it in and they approve or disapprove of it. So it’s just like
a step up. Less dependency.
Emily described a transition; she explained how in college she became less dependent on her
mentor and more self-directed in her teaching responsibilities. The time and task management
processes Emily learned from her SCP mentor transferred to college. In college Emily took on
more responsibility toward lesson planning and during her student teaching, she was solely in
control of her mentor’s classroom. At a focus group, she stated, “I take responsibility for the
class on the days I’m there and I take control of certain subjects or for the whole day.” In
college, Emily had progressed to where she was fully self-directed.
Through her confident description of her work samples and reappearing smile at an
artifact-based interview, Emily expressed a sense of pride toward her accomplishment of
becoming independent with her teaching responsibilities:
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Creative thinking is the whole thing, I make [lesson plans] by myself. Critical thinking is
knowing the students’ needs; their accommodations; knowing how to differentiate for the
whole class at one time; who works well together; who has social needs; who has
learning needs and putting it in a way that I can present to the kids in 45 minutes.
This statement describes how Emily believed that she had become more independent in critical
and creative thinking for her student teaching role; she was quite pleased with her progress. Due
to guidance from the mentors she had in high school, Emily began to understand lesson planning
during her SCP fieldwork and continued to apply what she had learned for her college fieldwork
where she became independent with the process.
At a final interview, Emily made another connection about what she had learned during
her SCP and continued for her college fieldwork:
That ability to connect with the students and to develop a rapport with the students, I got
to practice that as a [high school] senior in a teacher role versus a volunteer role. I got to
take on all the responsibilities and I do that now…It’s one of the strengths that my
[college] professors write about, that I have a good rapport with students.
Emily detailed how the skill of building rapport with her students transferred from her SCP
fieldwork experience to her current college experience.
Perhaps one of the most reflective statements in the participants’ journals came from
Emily. She considered the following regarding the breadth of her learning from the time of her
SCP to her college student teaching fieldwork:
My [high school] senior project, while very musical, expressive, and creative for the
students, was not as strong as it could have been with [college] training…I wonder what I
could’ve done if I had had [my college] experiences before or during my senior project?
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Emily reflected about how she continued to consider her SCP fieldwork while in college. In her
interesting reflection, she believed that what she had learned during her current college fieldwork
could have benefited her prior high school fieldwork. Perhaps her required SCP reflections for
her portfolio, or those she completed for her SCP lesson plans, provided her with a foundation of
introspective examination that has had a lasting effect for her teaching practice.
Through her collective statements, Emily expressed how in college she built upon the
skills, abilities, and dispositions that she initially developed during her SCP fieldwork experience
transferring them to what she described as the general fieldwork and lesson planning
expectations of her college student teaching. In her reflective journal, Emily looked back fondly
on her SCP as her first teaching experience, stating: “I was excited to leave behind my Senior
Project, grateful for the memories and experience, but I didn’t realize how lucky I had been to try
out something I loved.” Emily advised high school students to follow her example and use the
SCP to explore a career. In her focus group she recommended the SCP to others, stating, “I
would say it’s a great experience and it let me test out being a teacher before I committed to
being a teacher.” In her online questionnaire, she offered a statement regarding how her SCP had
helped to form her future, “I believe that the most important thing I learned about myself
[through completing my SCP] was that I could teach…[My SCP] solidified the idea of pursuing
Elementary Education as my major.” Through Emily’s dedicated participation on her SCP, she
learned that becoming an educator was indeed the right career path for her.
Derek’s Senior Capstone Project fieldwork provided lasting experience for his
dream career, journalism. Extremely outgoing, Derek was both jovial and confident in his
persona. He was a 21-year-old college sophomore of Filipino and German descent. Derek
graduated from a neighbor island high school where he claimed to have been a lazy but above-
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average high school student. Participating in his high school’s Arts and Communication
Pathway was where he was first introduced to journalism and media production. In college, he
majored in journalism and was on staff at Island University’s student newspaper. He was
passionate about telling cultural stories and the media production process. Derek’s strong interest
in his major motivated him to perform well in his college classes. As the study was closing,
Derek had attained a part-time job at a local news station after having a successful summer
internship experience. He credited his SCP experience for the foundational knowledge needed to
attain his internship and employment.
Derek chose to complete a performance based SCP, which was described as “the
importance of broadcast journalism; exploring how the media has developed and the importance
of it in modern day society…I chose this because this is what I wanted to study in college and go
into as a long-term career.” In his online questionnaire, Derek wrote why he wanted to complete
a SCP:
Initially I had intended on achieving the BOE recognition diploma. Although I didn't
have enough math credits to get the special recognition diploma, I stuck with senior
project as a way to expand on my career interest and gain special insights and further my
learning.
Like others in the study, the motivational reward of the BOE recognition initially inspired Derek
to participate in the SCP experience. At his final interview, he provided additional details as to
why he continued with his SCP even when he found out he would not attain the more stringent
diploma: “I did it because I thought it was a great way to get my work out there [by] getting a
community mentor. It’s good to network and be exposed.” The authentic learning experience
motivated Derek to persist and eventually complete his SCP. “I was self-motivated. I knew this
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was for a bigger meaning than just a grade. This was my first real-world experience in the media
community, and so I was just naturally inspired to get work done.” He also included that his SCP
was an opportunity for him to learn “real world work experience. What it’s like to be responsible
for community media production.”
Derek answered an online questionnaire inquiry regarding what he had learned during his
SCP with an extensive list, “media skills which include camera operations, reporting, on camera
stand ups, story presentation, and audio monitoring. Interviewing/communication skills.” He also
stated that he used basic media production and camera operations for his SCP that he had learned
in previous courses taken in his high school’s Arts and Communication Pathway such as, “digital
story telling…proper framing of shots and camera lighting.” Derek’s descriptions depicted
having learned a career-specific skill set.
Derek illustrated how the planning and media production processes he acquired from his
high school SCP transferred to his college academic experience:
Through the journalism major, I have completed video projects and news stories very
similar to that of my senior project. These projects require similar scripting, writing,
filming and editing techniques that I used prior [for my SCP]. The evolution and quality
of my work since senior project has greatly improved.
Derek felt that he transferred processes learned from his SCP and notably had improved upon his
abilities and quality of work in college. Derek expressed that he enjoyed the media process, and
how it enabled him to tell stories that people wanted to hear.
For Derek, self-direction and project management were extremely important for his
journalism work. At his final interview, he described what he viewed was necessary for the self-
directed planning process for the SCP:
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Independent drive to get work done; learning how to be responsible about your own
work; and knowing what you’re doing. [SCP is] the time to learn, but at the same time,
you need to know where you’re going with things. You have to have a good sense of
what the finished product will be…You gotta know how to take the steps to achieve a
finished product and know where to go with it.
Derek expressed needing self-direction to accomplish his SCP. He had to design what his final
product would be and then plan what it would take to achieve his goal.
At his final interview, he expanded upon what he had learned during his SCP experience,
“I think, skill-wise…it was great to work with a community mentor and produce a community
project.” Derek viewed participation in his SCP provided him with the opportunity to collaborate
with mentors and learn media skills first hand. Communication and collaboration were important
for both Derek’s SCP and college academic experiences. When asked what aspects of his SCP
transferred to college, Derek replied: “Being comfortable with working with outside
organizations.” During his SCP, he had practiced approaching community members as sources
for help and information; this was an ability he continued for his college media projects. He
understood his mentors and community members were resources to contact as needed to
complete his work.
During an artifact-based interview, I posed a follow-up question to Derek, asking him to
further describe how he collaborated with mentors and community members. He explained that
for both SCP and college, he had to work with his mentors to “approve [my news story] with my
teacher and my instructor. Then, go ahead and contact your sources.” Connections between his
high school and college process for communication on his projects “also required contacting
local sources, local public community figures…[to] say ‘Hey, I’m doing a story. I would like to
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feature you. Would you guys be willing? Can we set up a meeting time?’” Derek’s SCP provided
the opportunity to develop abilities in communication by practicing contacting sources—a
practice he continues to this day in college. The conversation turned to the relationship he had
with his SCP mentor:
Definitely a collaboration with my [SCP] mentor. That was very similar [to college]…
well, actually it was similar in the sense of collaboration, but responsibility wise…it was
on a lesser level because I had just one task to do at a time [SCP] compared to multiple
[college]. [SCP] was a lot of learning, but at the same time [my mentor] knew that I knew
how to produce and knew how to deliver what I had to. He trusted me with that a lot, my
mentor.
The gratifying experience of having his SCP mentor recognize his capacity to complete
independent work transferred to college.
The collaborative aspect of Derek’s SCP fieldwork experience was the foundation for his
college fieldwork. He provided details as to how his SCP and college fieldwork differed:
Senior project fieldwork is more sheltered and structured. You have to log your hours and
your mentor is there. Fieldwork in journalism here, I find that it’s very independent and
you have to do it on your own. It’s more job-like [college] compared to mentor-like
[SCP], here in college.
It is understandable that his high school work was more novel compared to what he
accomplished in college, after having more experience and specific coursework in his major.
During an artifact-based interview, he explained that his SCP had been a starting point for what
he did for his college projects. For example, he expressed that his college work was more self-
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directed, “Here’s your assignment, figure out how to do it. With the senior project, it was very
guided…It’s just more in depth here in college.”
He went on to describe how his previous SCP experience helped him with creating
quality work in college, “The skills that I learned from senior project…[such as] learning how to
reflect on the process and learning how to put together a final, polished piece.” Reflection was
something Derek did with ease at his artifact-based interview. His SCP requirement to reflect
gave him the ability to understand what was needed to produce quality new stories that others
wanted to read or view. In his online questionnaire, he fondly summed up his SCP:
The lessons learned and practical skills applied made the [SCP] experience very
worthwhile. In the process that it takes to get to the final product and being able to reflect
on it and present it and say, ‘this is my work and this is what I learned’ was a very
valuable and educational experience.
Derek’s participation in his SCP provided a treasured product; he had created his first
professional level media pieces, resulting in memories and abilities that would last a lifetime.
During a focus group, Derek declared that having had an authentic journalism career SCP
experience provided, “a reaffirmation of what I wanted to do. I’m in the right place and on the
right track. It was a confirmation that I was doing the right thing.” Derek placed value in his SCP
for it permitted him to explore his chosen career path as well as gain industry knowledge and
confidence in abilities which he transferred to his college academic experience. At a final
interview, he exclaimed that he would “absolutely” recommend the project to students in their
junior year of high school. Derek’s SCP experience made a positive impact on his future; he
wanted others to experience the same.
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Connections across the case studies. Parker, Emily, and Derek provided rich
descriptions of how they had transferred what they had learned from participation in their SCP
experience to their current college experience. I found many similarities between Parker, Emily,
and Derek’s SCP and college academic experiences. I believe these connections were due to how
all of their high school projects were structured around a career experience that resulted in
learning transfer to assignments or fieldwork for their college majors. I have chosen two main
commonalities to describe what Parker, Emily, and Derek’s perspectives: (1) the SCP was
influential in determining a career path, and (2) the SCP helped to prepare them for their college
major.
The career connection. Parker, Emily, and Derek shared one strong connection between
their SCP and their current college work—a career connection. Their SCP had helped them
determine or confirm their college major and career interest. What I found most to be
inextricably linked between Parker, Emily, and Derek was that they all valued their SCP and
designing their project to explore a potential career. They described that the SCP experience
provided the opportunity to get out of the classroom to investigate and gain knowledge about a
career that they later transferred to their college academic experience. Parker, Emily, and Derek
credited their SCP experience as confirming their interest in a career and for helping decide
which college major to pursue. For example, Parker established his interest to become a civil
engineer. Parker found his SCP fieldwork to be valuable to compare a large engineering
company to a smaller local firm, acknowledging how his SCP confirmed his “love of
engineering.” In his online questionnaire, Parker wrote, “[SCP] was a chance for me to get a
taste of what it was like to work in that field…I was able to understand I do love engineering, I
just found a more specific field I like.” Through his SCP experience, Parker discovered electrical
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engineering was not his exact match and that civil engineering better suited him. Due to his
authentic high school SCP experience, Parker knew exactly which engineering major he wanted
to pursue in college.
Both Derek and Emily decided to follow the exact career path they had researched as
their SCP topic. Emily explained in her online questionnaire how she benefited from her SCP
experience:
One of the main things I learned while doing my senior project was that I really enjoyed
teaching and working with kids. It was what I wanted to do for a career, so I was pleased
to find that I enjoyed it in practice.
She expressed gratitude for her real-world high school SCP opportunity to investigate her career
interest. Derek also was grateful for his SCP to experience his prospective career. When asked at
his final interview if he would recommend the SCP to a high school junior, Derek explained:
Absolutely. It’s an opportunity for them to get a small taste of the career that they’re
interested in. It’s a great opportunity for them to test the waters while they can before
they start paying tuition at college only to find out they want to change your major
halfway through.
Derek appreciated his SCP because he felt it allowed him to confirm his college major in high
school. Derek was grateful to have started college knowing he was on the correct learning path
and would not accrue added time or cost to decide upon a major.
Parker, Emily, and Derek shared a career connection in that the SCP had directly shaped
what they wanted to pursue in college as well as their career ambitions. They accredited their
real-world, authentic SCP experience for giving them confidence in their abilities and described
that helped them to determine their college major. It is important to note that this career
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connection finding is not unique to the embedded case studies. In response to the particular
question about what they learned about themselves (see Table 9), five of the 12 participants
included that the SCP experience helped them to determine what career path they wanted.
Furthermore, throughout all data collection points of the study, all but one participant shared how
their SCP experience helped to determine a career or college major interest. It was the strength of
the connections for which Parker, Emily, and Derek were selected as the embedded case studies,
though not that their perspectives were unique. Perhaps, Parker, Emily, and Derek’s connections
were more vivid than other participants because they were at a point in their collegiate education
that they had just participated in their fieldwork requirements.
The college preparation connection. Parker, Emily, and Derek also shared a preparation
connection; participation in their high school SCP project helped to prepare them for their
college major. They saw the skills, abilities, and dispositions they developed or used during their
SCP transfer and continue to improve during their college practice. For Parker, Emily, and Derek
the preparation gained from their SCP experience went well beyond learning to write, research
and present at the collegiate level. The SCP enhanced the understanding of what was needed for
their college major; they felt able to approach their college fieldwork, equipped with information
and skills they had previously gleaned from their high school experiences.
Parker, Emily, and Derek had college projects or internships that paralleled their SCP
fieldwork requirement. What they learned during their SCP experience became a foundation for
their college major. For example, when participating in their SCP, Parker built awareness in the
field of engineering; Emily acquired the abilities to lesson plan and build student rapport; and
Derek developed media production and planning skills. The content specific knowledge they
gained from their SCP experience was repeatedly used for courses in their major and their
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required fieldwork. Parker, Emily, and Derek also shared that their SCP provided an opportunity
for them to gain skills, abilities, and dispositions (as detailed in Theme 2) that they would need
to complete their college major.
For example, Emily had described that her college professors favorably remarked about
her comfort level in the classroom and the rapport she established quickly with her students. She
attributed gaining these abilities during her SCP experience. In her previous statements, Emily
explained how planning the unit she conducted for her SCP provided her with knowledge she
then used to complete the lesson plans in her College of Education courses. Parker perceived that
during his SCP he gained a basic understanding of what it was like to work in an engineering
office. In a previous statement, Parker described that he felt his professors and the engineers for
whom he interned believed his SCP experience to have provided him with necessary background
knowledge for his courses and internship.
Derek felt his SCP had provided him with skills, abilities and dispositions that permitted
him to complete quality projects in college. He explained in his online questionnaire:
[SCP] helped in getting me familiar with what is expected at the ‘next level.’ It improved
my work ethic as well as my ability to produce quality work to be able to present to
community members. I practiced meeting strict deadlines and going out into the
community to gather all the materials needed to finish a large project. Something regular
high school classes don't teach.
In his statement, Derek uncovered he had learned skills, abilities, and dispositions while
participating in his SCP that prepared him for what he would encounter at the “next level” in
college. Parker, Emily and Derek had all expressed the same perspective; they believed their
college fieldwork and projects were similar to but at a more advanced level than what they
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experienced during their SCP. They described their SCP as a foundational learning experience
for what they would later encounter in college.
Parker, Emily, and Derek’s collaboration with their SCP mentors was of importance to
their future college major. Parker researched his thesis topic on electrical substations while
following up with his university SCP mentor for clarification and observing his electric company
SCP mentor to experience the knowledge first hand. Emily learned the process of creating lesson
plans and to develop a unit on music and technology from her SCP mentors. She had the
opportunity to implement the unit herself to a second grade class. Derek was able to apply media
and productions skills that he had learned from his community SCP mentor and consecutive high
school courses to create his media project.
Parker, Emily, and Derek place value in the experience of working with their SCP
mentors. For one, Derek recalled, “Working with my mentor allowed me to put my media skills
to use and I discovered that media is where I belong.” The SCP had been the first time they
partnered with anyone in the community regarding their career interest or for an authentic, real-
world school project. They relied on their mentors for more than just job shadowing, specifically
in the cases of the Emily and the Derek, their SCP included a product portion that they had to
complete specific work beyond their SCP required research papers and portfolios. Their SCP
mentor relationships guided them through their first teaching and reporting experiences, where
they created unit plans and media stories.
The connections to working closely with mentors continued when Parker, Emily, and
Derek arrived in college. Their SCP mentor experience was a foundation drawn upon for their
college mentor relationships. In college, Parker (the engineer) contributed to projects alongside
civil engineers; Emily (the teacher) completed her student teaching requirements with the
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guidance of licensed teachers; and Derek (the journalist) continued relying on his professors to
learn media processes and approve news stories. Parker, Emily, and Derek transferred the
processes they had started in high school; they built relationships with mentors in the community
or at the university to source information or to validate their ideas. Parker, Emily, and Derek also
expressed the same perspective of becoming more independent with their college work—that as
they became more prepared, they transitioned away from their mentors and became more self-
directed. Their SCP mentor experience was a foundational learning experience that had
transferred to their college setting.
Summary: Theme 3. In this third findings theme, descriptions provided by Parker,
Emily, and Derek detailed explicit connections between their SCP and college major. In this
theme, I first described their individual experiences and then I offered comparisons of
commonalities across the case studies. Parker, Emily, and Derek exemplified that experiential
learning had taken place during their SCP experiences, preparing them for future collegiate
fieldwork. I organized their perspectives into two main direct connections: the career connection
and the college preparation connection. Unlike some of the other participants in the study,
Parker, Emily, and Derek investigated a career interest for their SCP and developed specific
content knowledge and related skills, abilities, and dispositions that transferred to career-based
assignments and fieldwork for their college majors. They acquired skills, abilities, and
dispositions related to their career interest that they continued to draw upon for assignments in
their college major. Parker, Emily, and Derek’s experience with their SCP mentors provided a
foundation for the collaboration they took part in for their college fieldwork.
Theme 4: The Emergence of Self-efficacy
My fourth findings theme includes perspectives of how participation in the SCP brought
participants a sense of confidence to repeat the work or skills, abilities, and dispositions. Nine of
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the 12 participants used terminology such as built confidence or became comfortable when
describing the completion of at least one of their project components. The remaining three
participants described confidence toward certain SCP components; however, they never used
terminology such as built confidence or became comfortable. Having a sense of confidence
attributed to their SCP experience encouraged participants to believe that transference of skills,
abilities, or dispositions would occur; participants perceived themselves as being successful for
similar college academic experiences.
This sense of personal ability is known as self-efficacy, or an individual’s judgment of
his or her capabilities to perform given actions (Schunk, 1991). Self-efficacy theory proposes
that behavioral change occurs through the changing one’s expectations of personal mastery and
success (Bandura, 1977). More specifically, self-efficacy includes expectancy, or the belief that
one can successfully perform a certain task or behavior (Maddux, Sherer, & Rodgers, 1982).
Self-efficacy expectancy is what emerged during the analysis of participants’ descriptions of
outcomes from their SCP experience. Study participants expressed belief in their ability to
achieve or perform certain college academic tasks due to the self-efficacy they developed from
their previous SCP experience.
For this theme, I use descriptions from all 12 of the study’s participants to explore how
they developed self-efficacy from their SCP experience and expected transference to their
college academic or other future experiences. I developed the following three main categories to
present participants’ accounts of how self-efficacy attributed to their SCP was perceived to
impact their future: (1) increased comfort level to complete work similar to SCP in college,
including the requirements of the SCP (research paper, fieldwork, portfolio, and presentation);
(2) increased comfort level toward certain skills, abilities, and dispositions (time-management,
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production of quality work, communication and collaboration); and (3) general beliefs in self
transferrable to life situations.
Increased comfort level to complete work similar to Senior Capstone Project in
college. The first category of the self-efficacy theme contains participants’ views as to how the
achievement of their past SCP requirements provided self-efficacy for completing their college
work. Each participant’s experience was unique, as were the areas some expressed to have
developed self-efficacy. In this category, I have selected participants’ comments to demonstrate
how self-confidence was built or levels of comfort were increased from completing the following
SCP requirements: research paper, fieldwork, portfolio, and presentation. That confidence
produced a belief in participants that they could begin and successfully complete college
academic work.
The SCP requirement of writing a college level research paper provided an outcome of
self-efficacy. For example, through her SCP writing process, Jemma developed a sense of
accomplishment that carried over into a belief that she could achieve the same in college. At her
artifact-based interview, she expressed:
With my [college] research paper and in correlation with the senior project, knowing that
I did it [for my SCP]…knowing that I did and I passed. It just made me feel a lot better;
encouraged me that I can do it [again]…I guess, honestly writing my [college] research
paper was a lot easier than the senior project paper because I’m used to doing it already.
The senior project was hard because it was new to me.
Having had the experience to write a research paper for the SCP provided Jemma a sense of
belief in her ability to complete her college writing assignments. At her final interview, she
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reiterated, “It’s not as difficult anymore because I know what to expect.” Self-efficacy toward
writing papers was also described by Mary at a final interview:
In high school, over 10 pages it's like ‘Wow. How do I do that?’ I'm writing my [college]
honor thesis paper and the minimum is 25 pages, but I know I can do it…I think
completing that hurdle early [during SCP] helped a lot.
In this statement, Mary expressed how her SCP writing requirement provided a foundation for
her college writing success. Through her SCP experience, Mary developed a self-efficacious
attitude toward higher level writing that transferred to college.
Participants shared a similar sense of how the SCP experience increased their comfort
level to accomplish fieldwork. Increased self-confidence attributed to the SCP fieldwork
experience latter supported the participants’ college fieldwork. For example, Emily, who was
pursuing an education degree, recalled in her online questionnaire:
I believe that the most important thing I learned about myself [from the SCP] was
that I could teach. I was extremely nervous about being in front of a classroom
and having to instruct students, yet I did well and this helped to build my
confidence in my role as a teacher.
The confidence Emily developed from her SCP experience renewed her interest in a future
teaching career.
Throughout the interview stages, Derek, a sophomore majoring in journalism, described
connections between his past SCP and current college fieldwork. In responding to a question
regarding what aspects of his SCP experience transferred to college, Derek said “[My SCP] gave
me confidence behind and in front of the camera…and, being comfortable with working with
outside organizations.” Derek developed confidence in camera skills and collaboration. Derek
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expressed at his artifact-based interview that communicating was initially a challenge during his
SCP, “I used to hate calling people on the phone but it’s easier now.” He also described how the
comfort gained during his SCP for communicating transferred to self-assuredness to complete his
college fieldwork, as he was constantly contacting community sources for news stories. For
Emily and Derek their SCP fieldwork experiences had been the venue where they developed the
expectancy for successfully performing college fieldwork.
Kate accredited her SCP for increasing her comfort level to collaborate with mentors and
graduate students during the fieldwork and research as part of her psychology major, writing:
I do draw upon my [SCP] experience in finding a mentor and completing mentorship
hours in my current college work. A lot of what I think college is about is making
connections and reaching out to people for opportunities and just general information. I
think I got more comfortable with reaching out to people because of my senior project.
Kate recalled the way her SCP experience built a comfort level in reaching out to people that she
currently transfers to her college setting. The importance of the confidence she gained during her
SCP experience is helpful for her college capstone required research. Kate described how the
self-efficacious attitude she developed during her SCP had transferred to college:
I think it [SCP] ties over my schooling to my [college] research class or capstone
requirement. We have to work a lot with the grad students in that department. Feeling
confident enough to ask to be a part of it. It’s still having my [SCP] mentor as a person I
can reach out to if I wanted to. I’d be comfortable enough to do that, too. In collaborating
with her, it made me see all of the resources that are in the community, too, that I could
possibly reach out to if I wanted to.
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Kate described how her SCP allowed her to feel capable, as an undergraduate student, to work
with graduate students. Communicating with her SCP mentor made her comfortable to
communicate with others. These depictions of self-confidence, shaped by her SCP, provided a
background for Kate to enter college instilled with the belief that she could communicate and
handle academic projects.
Due to participation in the SCP, participants described having gained a sense of comfort
in their ability to create a portfolio. For example, Jemma seemed to understand the process and
purpose of creating a portfolio, and at her final interview she stated:
It’s good to experience that by yourself and it’s all of your work and the experience of
making a [SCP] portfolio. I haven’t made a portfolio in college yet, but knowing that I’ve
done it before [for SCP] I have an idea of how to do it.
Jemma’s comments show a strong sense of self-efficacy that she could repeat the same portfolio
process in college as she had learned in high school.
The SCP component participants credited the strongest increases in confidence to the
presentation requirement. Ten of the 12 participants believed their SCP presentation helped them
with their public speaking skills. They gained a sense of self-efficacy for public speaking and
described its transference to college. Participants also explained an increased level of comfort for
developing a presentation.
For example, during a focus group interview, Parker explained how he developed
confidence during his SCP presentation experience that he later transferred to college:
Emotion-wise, I feel like I was more nervous in high school because of [lack of]
experience. Being able to experience that nervousness when you roll into college is not as
bad because you’ve done it before [for SCP]. You’ll still feel nervous, [but] I never feel
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as nervous as I did back then because that was the first time I was presenting [for
community members]. Now, you can put anybody in front of me and I won’t feel too
scared.
Parker expressed how he gained a strong belief in his capability to present to others, and how his
SCP experience taught him to deal with the nervousness associated with public speaking. He
stated, “When you roll into college is not as bad because you’ve done it before.” This quote
depicts how he built upon his confidence in public speaking skills first established during the
SCP experience, allowing him to develop a self-efficacious belief in his ability to successfully
conduct his college presentations.
Participants expressed overcoming the fear of public speaking in their online
questionnaire was one of their biggest SCP challenges. For example, Jemma conveyed how
gaining confidence in presentation skills was the most important aspect of her SCP. During her
focus group, the following dialog took place:
VY: Do you find that it [SCP] help you develop self-confidence and for what
situations?
Jemma: For me, it’s speaking in front of an audience that is one of my biggest fears. It
gives me anxiety knowing that I have to speak in front of a whole bunch of
people. I’m not the best speaker and I acknowledged that when I started to
practice for my senior project. I actually cried before having to give my
presentation because I was so afraid of sounding stupid. When I did practice and
when I actually did the presentation, I thought to myself about why I was so
afraid. It was a lot easier that I thought it was going to be. What I was afraid of
was just in my head. I try to take that back with me whenever I’m presenting for
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college. I think that’s what helped.
Jemma provided an in-depth answer with great sincerity. Her advancement in her public
speaking ability exemplifies how the SCP experience provided an opportunity for her to
overcome a fear and develop a confidence that helped prepare her for subsequent collegiate
presentations. From participation in her SCP, she developed a self-efficacious viewpoint toward
her college presentations. She elaborated on how self-efficacy gained from her SCP presentation
experience carried over into her college experience during her artifact-based interview: “Because
I did [the SCP presentation] once already, it was a long time ago, but knowing that I’d done it
before, I think I can do it again.”
A SCP as a whole and not simply certain required components seemed to have fostered
participants’ self-efficacy. Participants expressed a sense of pride, originating from the
conclusion of their SCP. In turn, this established a self-efficacious disposition, promoting
transference to their future college academic settings. For example, in the focus group exchange
below, Parker explained how the entirety of the SCP experience increased his confidence for
project work:
VY: Do you find that it [SCP] helped you develop self-confidence
and for what situations? Why or why not?
Parker: I think being able to do the project itself because a lot of what we
did in high school was from the textbook. That was more of
picking a topic, doing what you want to do, and presenting it.
Parker acknowledged gaining self-confidence from his SCP experience. Kate similarly expressed
the uniqueness of her SCP experience when compared to her high school classes:
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The feeling after completing senior project was so satisfying too. I was able to see my
hard work progress towards a final product and that felt great. Senior project was
different than any other class I took because I was in total control of what I learned and
what direction I would go, so it was worthwhile to learn the skills needed to make
decisions like that.
Due to her self-directed SCP experience, Kate gained a sense of accomplishment that she would
carry forward into her future. Both Parker and Kate explained gaining self-confidence from their
SCP accomplishment, which in turn became self-efficacy that proved quintessential for more
rigorous and long-term collegiate assignments.
Mary gave what might be the strongest statement of self-efficacy expectancy. She
explained how gaining a boost in self-confidence from her SCP was later applicable to her
college senior thesis, saying, “If I didn't do senior project, I don't think I would be as willing to
go the extra step in college; to do my senior thesis or even keep my GPA.” A statement such as
this demonstrates that through her high school SCP experience, Mary developed a belief in self
to successfully achieve her college academic endeavors; her self-efficacious expectations
contributed to earning a high GPA and successfully complete an honors thesis.
Increased comfort level toward applying skills, abilities, and dispositions. The second
category to describe participants’ accounts of self-efficacy depicts an increased comfort level
toward utilizing skills, abilities, or dispositions. Participants expressed developing self-efficacy
for the skills, abilities, and dispositions they learned while participating in their SCP and self-
efficacy (including expectancy) to transfer them to their college academic experience.
Participants recognized their SCP experience as where they gained confidence in their capability
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to manage their time, produce quality work, communicate effectively with others, and
collaborate with peers and experts in the community.
During a focus group interview, Mary spoke about organization and time-management:
“Your confidence in your own abilities is really important…Being organized is also very
important. Without organization, you can’t be disciplined or have good time management skills.”
She continued to explain, connecting her SCP and college academic experiences:
I think what I do is the same [for SCP and college]. I still have the same system of doing
things [in college as I did for my SCP]. But, there’s greater stakes now because this is
leading into my career. I think having that [SCP] experience helped me develop a system
to keep myself organized.
Mary’s statement described how she practiced time management skills during her SCP
experience and how they transferred to college. She explained that she continued to adhere to the
same time management system in college that she developed for her SCP. Later in the study,
during her final interview, she mentioned how time management and organization were
necessities to be successful in college: “I think overall, it [SCP] was helpful in terms of time
management, organization…I think already having done that [for my SCP] helped a lot.” Mary’s
self-development of a time management and organization system for her SCP provided positive
judgments of her capabilities to perform similar actions in college.
Another participant explained how he had gained confidence in the ability to organize
and manage his time. Matt, a civil engineering major, expressed at his artifact-based interview:
It was from my senior project where I learned to organize better. I always go plan. I came
into college with that plan. Instead of finishing it all in one night, I do half this day, half
that day. That’s how I’ve been doing my [college] work and my projects.
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The confidence in time management Matt developed during his SCP transferred to college; he
implemented the same process he had learned in high school later for his college projects.
At his final interview, Derek expressed the ability to identify and produce quality work as
some of the most important characteristics needed for college. As part of his online
questionnaire, Derek wrote about the need to produce quality for his college journalism projects,
“[My SCP] helped me in the overall learning experience. It's just like adding experience to a
resume. It helped me get more comfortable in producing quality work.” Derek expressed gaining
self-efficacy for identifying and creating quality work, explaining:
I think the biggest thing I walked away from senior project with was a boost in self-
confidence. I was one of the few people to get a perfect score on both my binder and
presentation, and that was a reminder that I am able to produce high quality work. I felt
great after completing it and being recognized for the hard work I put in was a major
confidence booster.
The acknowledgement he received confirming the quality of his SCP work helped to develop
Derek’s self-efficacious attitude. He had gained confidence and experience from participation in
the SCP. He concluded, “[My SCP] helped in getting me familiar with what is expected at the
‘next level.’ It improved my work ethic as well as my ability to produce quality work.” His
motivation for his college assignments carried over from his successful SCP experience; he also
wrote, “My [college professors] are telling me that I am operating and producing quality work at
the next level.” He transferred the same quality work to his college assignments and received the
same positive feedback, which helped him to sustain and grow his self-efficacious attitude.
Participants credited their SCP experience for comfort gained in communication and
collaboration. For example, Emily believed the art of communication was necessary for her
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college major in elementary education and her future career. During her focus group interview,
Emily and I engaged in the following dialog:
VY: Do you think your senior project helped with collaboration or communication?
Why or why not?
Emily: I would say yes…[for my SCP there was] constant communication and
collaboration. [Now in college,] I feel comfortable in asking them [cohort or
mentor] questions, even if it’s a stupid question.
The collaboration experience during Emily’s SCP enabled her to later become comfortable
sourcing information from professionals in college. She continued to explain:
In college, I felt way more comfortable, [speaking with my mentors]. Even though the
questions I asked were obvious or stupid, I wasn’t scared because I needed answers and I
wasn’t scared anymore to ask for help or advice and how to handle the kids.
In order for Emily to grow as a teacher, it was imperative for her to work closely with her
mentors. The SCP provided the opportunity for her to become confident in communication and
collaboration. Emily gained self-efficacy in resourcing her mentors for information or questions
as needed to expand her teaching skills.
Perhaps the most interesting description of gaining confidence in the ability to collaborate
was from a shy participant. Shawn described how he continuously approached his college
professors for help. His shy and quiet behavior led me to pose a follow-up question at his
artifact-based interview that helped explain how he developed the ability to collaborate with
others in college:
VY: With your senior project, were you comfortable going to approach people? When
did you develop that ability? You seem comfortable in college…
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Shawn: Yes, I think senior project definitely helped me with that. I would usually rely on
myself. That didn’t get me very far.
Shawn built confidence to communicate and collaborate during his SCP. For his SCP, Shawn
completed his fieldwork by enlisting his apartment manager as a mentor, which was the first time
he worked with anyone in the community. His collaboration with his SCP mentor permitted him
to become more comfortable to conduct his SCP research. “I would go to the manager first, for
clearances...to ask if there’s any mean neighbors I don’t have to talk to…I would ask my
neighbors, who are friends to me first and tell them to watch my video or project and to also take
my survey.” Shawn’s SCP research experience gave him practice in approaching people. The
trust and interactions Shawn developed with his SCP manager increased his comfort level to
communicate with professors in college. “I found out I could [approach] and depend a lot on my
professors.” Shawn’s SCP helped him develop self-efficacy for approaching others in his
community, which later transferred to collaboration with his college professors.
Jackie may have shown perhaps the most visible transference of self-efficacy. She came
to Island University from a neighbor island. At her final interview she credited her SCP for
confidence in communication:
Even though I’m from [a neighbor island], not a lot of people from my high school came
to school with me. [My SCP] made me comfortable branching out and meeting new
people because before that I’d known the same people from kindergarten.
Jackie applied what she had learned during her SCP to her overall communication needs for
college. In her online questionnaire Jackie wrote, “[My SCP] also made me get out of my
comfort zone and taught me that I was capable of talking to professionals in our community and
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asking them for advice.” Jackie’s past SCP experience developed self-efficacy in her ability to
communicate with new people that she later applied to her college setting.
General beliefs in self attributed to the Senior Capstone Project experience
described as transferable to life situations. The third category that I use to describe my
findings of participants’ accounts of self-efficacy is general beliefs in self generating from the
completion of the SCP that were transferable to life situations. For example, in her online
questionnaire, Maddie described, “I'd say that the most lasting effect [of the SCP] was giving me
the confidence to face similar challenges…I learned that I was capable of finishing high level
work.” Maddie explained how the SCP experience provided an occasion to cultivate self-efficacy
to accomplish future challenges. Her SCP experience resulted in a behavioral change; she gained
the belief that she could expect to have similar successes in her future when faced with similar
challenges.
Another participant, Kate, depicted how her SCP led to a self-efficacious attitude toward
knowing she could make a difference in the lives of others. Kate stated on her online
questionnaire that her SCP taught her the “importance of stepping out of my comfort zone in
order to reach my goals.” As part of her community service SCP, she conducted information
sessions on her topic:
For a portion of mine [SCP], we had to present in front of the community on what we
learned while doing our research…They were trying to find out more information so I
gained confidence that I could make a difference in their lives.
Kate described confidence that originated from her SCP and self-efficacy toward the continuance
of making a difference in others’ lives.
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Mackenzie may have expressed the most evident example of how self-efficacy attributed
to SCP was believed to be applicable to life situations, on her online questionnaire she detailed
how her fieldwork allowed her to grow in many areas:
Everything I learned [from SCP] is what I apply in my daily life. I am able to better
communicate with my peers, professors, and other faculty members. I am also more
confident in myself when it comes to speaking in public…Human interaction has still
followed me until this day. Allowing me to be confident in what I am doing.
Mackenzie explained how her self-confidence expanded throughout her SCP experience in that
she became better prepared for college and daily life in general. She further credited her SCP for
developing “a better understanding of how to handle situations in life…This [SCP] project
allowed me to be more comfortable and more confident in myself and the things that I do.”
Summary: Theme 4. In this fourth theme of the findings chapter, I organized
participants’ descriptions of self-efficacy into three main categories. First, participants explained
how completion of the SCP led them to believe that they could take on collegiate work similar to
that of the SCP requirements. Overall, participants described increased comfort in their skills to
write research papers, complete fieldwork, create portfolios, and conduct presentations. Second,
participants expressed an increased comfort level in skills, abilities, and dispositions (such as
time-management, production of quality work, communication, and collaboration), which built
self-efficacy and led to a belief that transference to future college work was attainable. Third,
they credited having developed self-efficacy to their SCP experience which in turn was
applicable to general areas of their lives. It was seen, that once instilled, self-efficacy transferred
from high school to college and career success.
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Chapter Summary
In Chapter 4, I explored college students’ perceptions of how what they learned during
their high school SCP experience impacted their college academic experience. Findings
suggested learning transferred from the first setting of the participants’ high school SCP
experience to the far setting of their college academic experience. In the chapter, four major
themes were explained and supported.
First, in Theme 1, perspectives of all 12 of the study’s participants’ illustrated what they
perceived they learned from their SCP experience. From participation in their SCP, participants
used and learned: skills built in research and writing; abilities developed in collaboration and
time management; and dispositions of persistence and self-direction. Two dynamic relationships
regarding using and learning skills, attitudes, and dispositions during SCP work were explored:
(1) skills, attitudes, and dispositions were learned concurrently with content knowledge while
completing interdisciplinary project work; and (2) using and learning of skills, attitudes, and
dispositions took place simultaneously. Then in Theme 2, perspectives from all 12 participants
were used to describe transference of the SCP experience to the college academic experience. I
illustrated transference between the high school SCP experience and the current college
academic experience as: (1) connections regarding participants’ most frequently described
abilities and dispositions needed for college (collaboration, creative or critical thinking,
persistence, planning and organization, and time management); and (2) connections participants
made regarding production skills related to completing the SCP requirements (research paper,
fieldwork, portfolio, and presentation). In Theme 3, three participants were selected as embedded
case studies to explore transference of the SCP experience to a college major. A smaller number
of case studies were used to represent a more intimate look at the individuals’ experiences. Case
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studies shared two main direct connections related to career and college preparatory. Finally, in
Theme 4, I investigated perspectives of gains in self-efficacy from all 12 of my study’s
participants. Self-efficacy attributed to the SCP experience was found to impact the participants’
belief in their abilities to complete college work. They gained confidence in the skills, abilities,
and dispositions developed during their SCP experience which built self-efficacy for their future
undertakings. The four themes depicted that participants transferred what they had acquired
during their SCP to their college academic experience.
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Chapter 5
Discussion and Conclusions
Chapter Introduction
My interest to study the SCP developed when I was a high school teacher advising my
students through their project process. I was surprised to learn how they expressed that the SCP
had been their first high school learning experience where they wrote a rigorous research paper,
created or conducted a formal presentation, and consistently drew upon self-direction. My
students perceived their SCP experience to have been valuable college preparation and expected
they would draw upon what they learned in the SCP for college success. My students’ perception
spurred my initial interest in investigating the long-term impacts of the SCP—whether the skills,
abilities, and dispositions learned from participation in the SCP were actually retained and
transferred to future college learning experiences. This interest led me to the purpose of my
study—to discover how the SCP may have transferability from one learning situation to the next.
I studied college students’ perceptions of what they learned during their high school SCP PjBL
experience and uncovered its lasting impact on collegiate study. I drew upon two main
conceptual frames, PjBL and learning transfer, to inform my research. To guide my
investigation, I pursued the following research question: How do students in a four year post-
secondary institution perceive participation in their high school Senior Capstone Project has
impacted their current college academic experience?
In this chapter, conclusions and recommendations are provided that materialized out of
my research. First, I summarize my four findings themes, providing discussion as to how they
relate to existing research and answer my research question. Then, I suggest several aspects of
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the SCP in need of future research. Finally, I offer potential implications of my work and
conclusions as to how my study should be viewed.
Review and Discussion of Findings
Four main themes surfaced upon analysis of my study’s data from its triangulated
collection points (online questionnaire, focus groups, artifact-based interviews, artifact,
participant reflective journals, and final interviews). Themes that emerged from this investigation
include: (1) participation in the SCP experience provided the venue for this study’s participants
to acquire skills, abilities, and dispositions; (2) the skills, abilities, and dispositions acquired
from the SCP experience were transferred to the college academic experience; (3) the SCP
experience was seen to directly prepare three embedded case studies for their college major; and
(4) a sense of self-efficacy was gained from participation in the SCP experience. In the following
paragraphs these findings will be explored, signifying how my participants perceived that
participation in their SCP impacted their college academic experience.
Theme 1. In Theme 1, it was noted that participation in the SCP experience provided an
academic opportunity for my study’s participants to acquire skills, abilities, and dispositions. I
found two dynamic relationships existed regarding their acquisition. First, the interdisciplinary
design of the SCP was foundational to students’ acquisition of skills, abilities, and dispositions
concurrently with learning content from multiple academic disciplines. Second, acquisition took
place by simultaneously applying skills, abilities, and dispositions while they were being both
used and learned throughout the SCP experience.
These two dynamic relationships contributed to the acquisition of skills, abilities, and
dispositions and closely resemble elements expressed by scholars in the field of experiential
learning such as interdisciplinary design, authentic activities, and experiential techniques
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(Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Dewey, 1938; Harada et al., 2008; Kilpatrick, 1918; Kolb, 1984;
Krajcik et al., 1994; Markham, 2011; Newell, 2002). I believe the interdisciplinary nature of the
PjBL technique (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Harada et al., 2008; Newell, 2002), which informed the
design of the SCP, provided authentic learning opportunities related to the concurrent learning of
skills, abilities, and dispositions with content. I think that learning was enhanced through the
participation in authentic activities required for PjBL such as the investigation of an essential
problem, cognitive creation of a series of products, and collaboration with community members
(Krajcik et al., 1994). Participants’ learning and transfer benefited from the overall project design
structured so participants could use previous knowledge and learn new multiple skills, abilities,
and dispositions simultaneously, where they learned as they experienced (Dewey, 1938;
Kilpatrick, 1918; Kolb, 1984; Markham, 2011). Participation in their high school SCP impacted
participants with both skill building and content knowledge acquisition upon which they could
draw for their future college academic experience.
The Theme 1 findings support those of Egelson et al. (2002) that SCP helped high school
students prepare for college. They found that “about 75% graduates reported developing specific
skills through their senior projects. These skills include public speaking, research, writing,
presentation, interviewing, time management, planning, organization, interpersonal, and other
work-related skills, the skills that embodied the Senior Project” (p. 22). Although my study
utilized qualitative methods, it supported Egelson et al.’s findings, as my participants’ also
described having used or learned “public speaking, interviewing, interpersonal, writing, research,
planning, organization, and other work-related skills” (Egelson et al., 2002) during their SCP
experience.
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Theme 2. As described in Theme 2 of the findings chapter, sufficient evidence was found
that the skills, abilities, and dispositions acquired from the SCP experience were transferred to
the college academic experience. By examining transference following the actor-oriented
perspective (Lobato, 2003), I interpreted my participant’s perspectives of how their prior
activities impacted them in a new situation, finding that transfer took place in two areas. First, I
discovered transference occurred in participants’ abilities and dispositions (collaboration,
creative or critical thinking, planning and organization, persistence, and time management) they
acquired during their SCP experience. Second, production skills related to completing the SCP
requirements (research paper, fieldwork, portfolio, and presentation) were perceived to transfer
to the collegiate setting. This finding suggests that the SCP high school learning experience
prepared the study’s participants for success in their college academic work.
The literature on college readiness (Bean, 1985; Byrd & MacDonald, 2005; Le, Casillas,
Robbins & Langley, 2005; Robbins, Lauver, Le, Davis, Langley, & Carlstrom, 2004; Roderick,
Nagaoka & Coco, 2009; Tinto, 1975) included the following predictive indicators that were also
found in my participants’ responses of what they believed was integral to college success:
collaboration, creative or critical thinking, planning and organization, persistence, and time
management. These scholars indicated college success could be predicted, and that students
possessing certain non-academic attitudes and dispositions were expected to be more successful
in college than those who did not. My participants described learning these abilities and
dispositions (collaboration, creative or critical thinking, planning and organization, persistence,
and time management) during their SCP experience and transferring them to their college
academic experience.
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My study also reinforced the findings of Pennacchia (2010) who found that students
applied the skills, abilities, and dispositions they had previously acquired from participation in
their SCP experience to their college academic experience. Pennacchia found that 89% of the
graduates who participated in her study:
…viewed the senior project components in written communication, oral communication,
research skills, and time management/study skills as valid indicators for college and work
readiness. They believed they exhibited these skills during senior project and that they are
confident that they use these skills in a college or work environment. (p. 106)
Consistent with Pennacchia’s (2010) study, my participants’ perspectives also detailed having
used or learned “written communication, oral communication, research skills, and time
management/study skills” during participation in their SCP which later transferred to college.
Theme 3. In Theme 3, the SCP was seen as well suited to provide authentic learning
experiences that were transferable to the far setting of college. The three embedded case studies
examined in this theme, Parker, Emily, and Derek (see pp. 140-157), strengthened my beliefs
that the SCP is an essential curricular component of high school. These three transitioned into
their major related projects and fieldwork in college with ease due to their SCP experience. Their
experiences echo Hung’s (2013) findings that experiential PBL techniques enhance both near
and far learning transfer.
Experiential learning, defined as knowledge resulting from the combination of learning
and transforming experience (Kolb, 1984), appeared to enhance the transference (Furman &
Sibthorp, 2013). Parker, Emily, and Derek’s transference was inextricably linked to the SCP
implementation of following the PjBL technique. Hung (2013) proposed that problem based
learning (PBL) could result in both near (across more similar and less numerous variables) and
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far transfer (knowledge would be modified across less familiar and increased numbers of
variables). Just as Parker, Emily, and Derek transferred what they learned in the SCP, Hung
believed knowledge acquisition could be reapplied simultaneously for near and far transfer in
authentic learning environments.
To further discuss the similarities Parker, Emily, and Derek had in transference of their
SCP experience to their college academic experience, my interpretation is framed by Hung’s
(2013) PBL principles that enhance learning transfer: (1) learning environments designed to
acquire and store knowledge for application for near and far transfer; (2) real-life or authentic
problems; (3) learning experiences structured for students to store information for the future; (4)
student-directed problems with the ability to ask effective questions; and (5) an importance
placed on reflection.
First, Hung (2013) saw the learning environment as a crucial component for acquiring
knowledge. Parker, Emily, and Derek all expressed learning as they were simultaneously
working on their SCP in near transfer setting. The SCP provided a learning environment where
in the same acquisition stage knowledge learned from their research or time spent with mentors
was immediately applied to the near transfer setting of their SCP fieldwork. In turn, the near
transfer SCP fieldwork set a foundation for novel application to occur in the far transfer setting
of college.
Parker, Emily, and Derek particularly described similarities of their SCP fieldwork as an
environment conducive for learning. They described that the SCP experience provided the
opportunity to get out of the classroom to investigate and gain knowledge. Parker, Emily, and
Derek had college projects or internships that paralleled their SCP fieldwork requirement. The
SCP enhanced the understanding of their college work; they attributed increased levels of
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success in college fieldwork, and the relative ease of applying their content knowledge and skill
sets to the high school SCP experience. Parker, Emily, and Derek also described feeling that they
were more prepared than their classmates who were enrolled in their major areas of study. They
attributed their preparation to having experienced learning outside the walls of the classroom for
their SCP fieldwork. Learning in the natural environment of a place-based setting for the SCP
enhanced future transfer to the far setting of college.
Second, Parker, Emily, and Derek’s self-selected topics and theses as part of the SCP
were authentic in scope. Parker researched his thesis topic on electrical substations while
following up with his university mentor for clarification and observing his mentor in action to
appreciate the applied sciences. Emily learned the process of creating lesson plans and
developing an instructional unit on music and technology from her mentors before teaching the
unit to a second grade class. Derek applied media and production skills that he had learned from
his community mentor and consecutive courses to create his media project. Parker, Emily, and
Derek self-selected a career to investigate for their SCP and a thesis to share their findings. For
Parker, his work stopped there as it was a career project. However, Emily and Derek chose a
product type project and went on to engage in authentic work for their prospective career. Emily
created and implemented a unit plan and Derek developed and produced a news story.
The third principle of experiential PBL techniques that Hung (2013) believed to facilitate
learning transfer was that students must gain and store information for the future as part of the
overall project design. Parker, Emily, and Derek readily described reapplication of their
previously stored SCP knowledge to novel college projects. They transferred stored content
knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions they developed or used during their SCP to their
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college practice. They further anticipated that this transference would continue in their future, as
they planned to follow the same career path.
Fourth, Parker, Emily, and Derek’s SCP experience was student-directed with the ability
to ask impactful questions throughout the process. Parker and Emily described their SCP
experience as having more autonomy than Derek noted. However, all developed a self-direction
disposition that transferred to their future college academic experience. Hung (2013) stated self-
direction develops students’ capacity of far transfer due to gains of analytic reasoning abilities.
Parker, Emily, and Derek exemplified applying past knowledge to new settings.
Much of the self-direction Parker, Emily, and Derek developed from their SCP was due
to scaffolding of learning and responsibilities achieved through mentor collaboration. Their SCP
was filled with near transfer activities, where in college they applied greater independence for far
transfer to occur. They expressed how what they were presently doing in college was much more
sophisticated than their SCP experience, and how they understood the responsibility rests
squarely on their shoulders. Parker, Emily, and Derek described how their encounters with
mentors became less frequent as their personal autonomy and agency developed over time.
Increasingly, they required less collaboration with their mentors and drew from previously
learned self-direction acquired during their SCP experience and earlier college academic
experiences. They became even more self-directed in the far setting of college, and began to
work on their college projects independently.
Hung’s (2013) fifth principle of experiential PBL techniques is reflection as a main
process of a student’s current and past work. The SCP portfolio included at least four reflective
papers on the process and outcome of the project. Perhaps the reflective portion of Parker, Emily,
and Derek’s SCP provided an avenue to cement learning to the actual environment and activity
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where the knowledge acquisition occurred. Hung (2013) stated that reflection was a crucial
component, providing an outlet for students to refine their learning and knowledge base.
Parker, Emily, and Derek repeated reflective activities in college similar to what they had
done for their prior SCP. Parker had described reflecting on project process or for applying
engineering concepts to create his designs. He recalled reflecting to learn from mistakes to
redesign projects. Emily engaged in reflection to refine her teaching abilities, critiquing her
practice and results towards in enhanced future lessons. Emily’s described how her SCP portfolio
provided a foundation for the reflections she later wrote for her college major graduation
requirement. Derek evaluated his planning, execution, and quality of final media stories to learn
from mistakes and create better products in the future. In college Derek kept a portfolio of his
news for ongoing review and reflection in an effort to learn from and improve his story craft. The
metacognitive process of reflecting (Hung, 2013) for the SCP enhanced learning transfer not just
for the repeated use of the reflection process but also for solidifying knowledge for subsequent
use in college.
The SCP experiential learning techniques were found to impact Parker, Emily, and Derek
through enhanced learning transfer. The PjBL technique, in the form of a high school SCP, was
seen to be well suited to provide authentic learning experiences that were transferable to the far
setting of college. What they acquired during their SCP experience was stored and retrieved
more readily due to the authentic and self-directed learning technique. For Parker, Emily, and
Derek, their SCP was their first real-world learning activity where they had the opportunity to
experience a career or to collaborate with the community. Their realistic SCP fieldwork had a
tremendous impact on their future learning. Parker, Emily, and Derek exemplified how stored
knowledge gained from SCP learning environments could be reused in other settings and
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subsequent times. They described how their college academic work was impacted by the transfer
of previously stored SCP knowledge, leading them to believe they could outperform their college
peers as a result of their SCP experience. Learning in a real-world SCP environment and
collaborating with mentors provided Parker, Emily, and clarity towards a career path after high
school. The SCP PjBL techniques of student-directed problems and reflection on process and
learning equipped Parker, Emily, and Derek with self-direction to manage the demands of long-
term projects and time commitments that they later transferred to their college projects. The
content knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions they developed from the SCP experience
impacted their college academic experience, as they had described being prepared to take on
their college academic projects and fieldwork.
Theme 4. Theme 4 described a sense of self-efficacy that emerged during the data
analysis of my study. Participants’ expressed how participation in the SCP brought them a sense
of confidence to repeat the work they accomplished or apply the abilities they had acquired in the
future. I expected that participants would have gained content knowledge, skills, abilities, and
dispositions, as it is the intention of the HIDOE (2010) SCP. The emergence of self-efficacy was
not entirely unexpected as Pennacchia (2010) also found that participation in the SCP enhanced
perceptions of non-academic dispositions including confidence and sense of accomplishment.
What was revealing were the number of participants in my study that developed self-efficacy; all
12 had described gains in self-confidence and ease in applying skills, abilities, and dispositions
to fulfill the SCP requirements.
Participants developed self-efficacy in three categories. First, they experienced increased
confidence to repeat work comparable to the SCP requirements (research paper, fieldwork,
portfolio, and presentation). SCP completion impacted participants’ beliefs in their capability to
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accomplish similar work in college. Second, participants gained increased comfort levels in
skills, abilities, and dispositions (particularly time management, production of quality work,
communication, and collaboration). Having already partook in a similar project, albeit less
sophisticated, the students felt confident in their abilities to be successful in similar tasks.
Finally, I found participants had perceived general beliefs in self that were transferrable to life
situations. The self-efficacy gained from participation in their SCP was seen to have potential to
impact not only the participants’ college academic experience but also other general areas of
their life. Participants described possessing self-efficacious beliefs to repeat similar work and
practices they had completed for the SCP in their college or other situations in their future.
My findings on self-efficacy emanating from SCP participation support those of
Blanchard (2012). Her dissertation research focused on student perceptions of senioritis,
engagement, and efficacy in connection to their SCPs. Results of her study suggested that
engaging learning experiences such as the SCP were found to have increased perceptions of self-
efficacy for pursuits after high school. My study’s participants also perceived that participation
in their SCP had provided them a sense of self-efficacy.
My study also aligned with Blumenfeld et al.’s (1991) research on self-efficacy and PjBL
that the instructional strategies used in PBL or PjBL had a positive influence on improving
students’ self-efficacy. Dunlap (2005) found that instructional strategies used in PBL were the
catalyst for students’ improved self-efficacy; particularity the techniques of authentic problems,
collaboration, and reflection. My study also found that participants perceived increases in self-
efficacious beliefs due to their participation in PjBL in the form of the SCP.
Summary of review and discussion of findings. In this review, I addressed the research
question across four themes. Participants were impacted by their SCP experience in the
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following ways: (1) participation in the SCP experience provided the venue for this study’s
participants to acquire skills, abilities, and dispositions; (2) the skills, abilities, and dispositions
acquired from the SCP experience were transferred to the college academic experience; (3) the
SCP experience was seen to directly prepare three embedded case studies through experiential
learning techniques that transferred to projects and fieldwork for their college major; and (4) a
sense of self-efficacy was gained from participation in the SCP experience. In response to my
research question, findings suggest that participants were positively impacted by their SCP
experience. Many descriptions of perceived transference between the participants SCP and
college academic experiences were documented. Participants retained and applied what they
learned from their SCP experience and later transferred that knowledge to novel experiences in
their college academic setting.
Recommendations for Future Study
As I move forward beyond my dissertation work, I will continue to contemplate future
directions to expand upon this important line of research. As with any study, the time, place, and
people of my study were limited. Also, some of what my participants reported throughout the
course of this research proved enlightening, but was not further investigated due to the explicit
focus and design of this study. These revelations led me to contemplate what future examinations
of the SCP could look like. In this section, I suggest several future research opportunities.
Through the course of study I discovered that participants had a commonality that may
have influenced the variation in perspectives. Although an equity lens was not the focus of the
study, I would have preferred more academic diversity amongst my participants in order to have
reduced the risk of participant bias. I discovered that all but one participant were high achievers.
While in high school, most had taken Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and eight of the 12 had
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earned the more rigorous Board of Education Recognition Diploma (HIBOE, 2011), requiring a
high grade point average. Many continued charting this rigorous path in college. Perhaps if the
study’s participants were not exemplary in high school, they would have had a different SCP
experience and their views on its transference to their college experience could have had greater
variance. It would also be interesting to select a less competitive university for the place of study
for future research. A different university could provide more academically diverse participants
in comparison to this study’s context, which was the most competitive public university in the
state. Participant selection could also focus on mid-level achievers versus the high achievers in
this study. Comparisons could be also made between participants based upon their level of
achievement in high school. It would be interesting to see if or how results would differ for
students at a different high school achievement level. For instance, would they perceive higher
levels of college preparation from participation in the SCP, or perhaps would they experience
greater transference to the college setting?
Follow participants longitudinally over a few years might also prove invaluable to
examining the transfer of learning from SCP to college and career contexts. The initial design of
this research project included examining senior level high school students who were participating
in their SCP; unfortunately attaining access to study in the state’s school district at the time was
impermissible. A longitudinal study, beginning in the participants’ senior year of high school,
could provide rich data of what skills, attitudes, and dispositions they use or develop through
participation in the SCP. Pre- and post-test measures could be used to determine the extent of
mastery students perceived of certain skills, attitudes, and dispositions both prior to and after
completing the SCP. The study could then continue into the participants’ years at college to see
if or how near and far transfer take place. Students could be interviewed every semester over two
193
school years to see what SCP acquired skills, attitudes, and dispositions transferred to college
work sample artifacts. I believe a longitudinal study such as this would advance what is known
about lasting effects of SCP and its importance to college and career readiness.
Another study option could be examining the effect the Advanced Placement (AP)
Capstone or the International Baccalaureate (IB) capstone has on a student’s college major of
study. Upon examination of the embedded case studies, I learned that transference was high
when participants pursued the same college major as their SCP topic. Parker, Emily, and Derek
made a great transition into work for their college major as they continued to draw upon their
previously acquired SCP content knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions. The AP Capstone
or the IB capstone, which are gaining popularity in high schools across the nation, are designed
with much attention placed upon students self-designing and self-directing their projects. In this
suggested research, participants would be high achieving high school students. The study could
investigate the students as they went to multiple private and public post-secondary institutions to
add depth to the place of study. Comparisons could be made between students following a major
similar to their SCP topic and those who were not, perhaps measuring the extent of transference
of particular learnings of the participants’ capstone experience.
Future research into how topic choice impacts SCP learning could also prove valuable.
My study’s participants overwhelmingly felt responsibility for the choices they were afforded by
their SCP. They self-selected their topic, thesis, and designed their project. If chosen wisely, it
appeared that they were motivated by their topic; descriptions of learning seemed higher as were
those regarding transference. Most participants in my study expressed how having chosen a topic
they were interested in kept their motivation and quality of work high for their SCP. One
participant of this study described the opposite that he felt he just went through the motions of
194
the PjBL process because he had selected a topic in which he had no interest. However, since
topic choice was not the focus of my study, this data was not investigated further. So for future
SCP study on topic choice and how it affects engagement, learning, and future transference could
prove beneficial. Participants could be surveyed while in high school regarding their interest in
their SCP topic and the skills, attitudes, and dispositions they had acquired during participation.
Then, they could be divided into two groups based upon reporting a high or low interest in their
topic, and later interviewed in college to compare the extent of transference. It would be
intriguing to see if or how topic choice impacts learning and transference.
Perhaps future studies on the SCP could be designed with attention to equity, possibly to
suggest a PjBL assessment using a rubric or quantitative construct. Inequity of SCP
implementation processes concerned the participants in my study. Even though this was not the
focus of my study, participants reported inequities while participating in their SCP: the varied
degree of dedication of teachers at their school to guide the process; how the deadlines and
requirements were handled within their school; and how they felt other schools’ deadlines and
requirements were more lenient. Since most participants were working toward earning honors
recognition at the time, they were displeased with this perceived inequity. Future study into
successful and unsuccessful implementation of SCP would be noteworthy and could provide
direction for more equity. An investigation into ways to implement a PjBL assessment in a more
quantitative manner could prove useful. A quantitative assessment could be designed to meet
accountability measurements and provide a more equitable platform for evaluation and in turn,
permit decision or policy makers to bring more PjBL or SCP opportunities back into the schools.
The prospective studies suggested in this section would be beneficial to further the
conversation regarding the SCP’s role to impact students beyond high school. Perhaps future
195
findings of these recommended studies would provide additional answers to how participation in
the high school SCP experience would transfer to the college academic experience. Furthermore,
other future studies could help determine what high school academic opportunities facilitate the
most transference of learning. It was found that the PjBL experiential learning design of the SCP
was seen to enhance learning transfer in this study. Academic activities should be designed for
effective transfer to students’ future societal roles of post-secondary education or the workplace.
Other studies to determine which high school academic activities and which designs or processes
(beyond the SCP and PjBL) help facilitate transfer would be useful to teachers and decision
makers regarding how to best use classroom time.
Overarching Implications
Having found that participation in the SCP positively impacted my participants’ college
academic experience, subsequent studies will reveal how the PjBL technique, in the form of the
SCP, provides valuable learning experiences. The participants of my study acquired skills,
abilities, and dispositions during their SCP experience that were seen to transfer to the far setting
of college. Their SCP had a lasting effect in that participants were able to draw upon their
previously acquired knowledge in novel learning experiences comprised of varied settings and
contexts.
One of the intentions of my study was to add a conceptual lens of learning transfer and
PjBL to the corpus of literature. My findings support the approach of studying learning transfer
with alternative perspectives. This qualitative investigation sought to understand far transfer
(Barnett & Cici, 2002), examining transference across varied contextual and content dimensions.
The study also supported the concept of polycontextuality (Royer, Mestre & Dufresne, 2005),
finding that transfer occurred as participants, engaged in multiple simultaneous tasks over
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multiple communities of practice, apply past knowledge to a new problem or setting. Also, my
research supported the alternative transfer actor-oriented perspective (Lobato, 2003), as I
examined transference through the eyes of the participant, eliciting their perspective during
qualitative interviews. Earlier in this chapter, I reviewed how my Theme 3 findings demonstrated
Hung’s (2013) five characteristics of PBL that facilitated learning transfer. Experiential PjBL
techniques in conjunction with the SCP were found to promote learning and encourage
transference from one setting to another.
My study also exemplified Bransford and Schwartz’s (1999) Preparation for Future
Learning (PFL) alternative learning transfer perspective. The PFL approach had been selected to
inform my research due to its importance for understanding that the usefulness of prior
knowledge may only be fully realized at a later time when it was applied to new and different
settings. The participants of my study demonstrated that it was not until they had a novel
opportunity to learn were they able to fully realize the usefulness of prior knowledge.
Participants’ ability to learn in their current college academic setting was in part due to the skills,
abilities, and dispositions they had acquired from participation in their past SCP experience.
One of my study’s goals was to add to the available literature on the SCP. Two studies in
this body of literature directly guided my research, Egelson et al. (2002) and Pennacchia (2010),
due to their focus on what happened to SCP completers once they had graduated from high
school. Earlier in this chapter, I explained how my research supported Egelson et al. (2002) and
Pennacchia’s (2010) findings of the SCP to prepare students for college; similarly participants in
my study reported acquiring skills, abilities, and dispositions that they deemed were necessary
for college success and described how they applied them for their college work. However, my
research also reinforces some of Egelson et al. (2002) and Pennacchia’s (2010) other findings.
197
Pennacchia (2010) found that half of her participants believed that their SCP had led them to
their college major. With my embedded case studies, Parker, Emily, and Derek, as well as with
other participants in my study, I also found that their SCP confirmed an interest in their future
career path and college major.
Egelson et al.’s (2002) conclusions shared a viewpoint that the SCP was PFL (Bransford
& Schwartz, 1999); they expressed that what was learned during the SCP would not be fully
comprehended until it was applied at later date and for a novel setting. They concluded that the
effects of the SCP may not be realized until college where they were required to use their project
related skills and knowledge. My research study supports Egelson et al.’s (2002) PFL claim that
students can apply content knowledge, skills, abilities and dispositions gained during the high
school SCP experience to their college academic experience.
The results from this study add to the extant literature, informing scholars, educators, and
policy makers regarding students’ opinions of their SCP experience and the lasting effects they
perceived transferred to their current college experience. It is anticipated that this academic
discussion will continue to move forward uncovering how PjBL experiences, such as the SCP,
are of value to a student’s current and future learning.
But more importantly, it is my hope that this research will be considered by policy
makers, administrators, and teachers as they make decisions whether or not they should allocate
classroom time to prepare for testing due to looming accountability measures in lieu of providing
PjBL opportunities. Although the SCP may not be designed to help students attain high
standardized test scores for accountability purposes, the findings of my study show that it is
instrumental to equip students towards college and career preparation. As a researcher it was
interesting to hear the perceptions of my participants’ SCP experiences, I feel their voices should
198
be heard by decision makers as well. Their voices were loud and clear that the SCP experience
positively impacted them with fundamentals needed for their college academic experience. Their
perspectives were interpreted in my research study to understand there is inherent value in the
SCP’s of rigor and authenticity, and that SCP learning does transfer to both near and far settings.
In closing, I found that the SCP had a positive impact on the college students under study.
My participants drew upon their SCP related skills, abilities, and dispositions for their college
academic experience. Additional research is recommended to propagate this conversation even
further, so that the value of participation in a SCP experience is understood. The full impact of
the SCPs have not yet been realized; SCP experiences have far reaching benefits towards a
student’s future. From dispositions to content learning, SCPs are the essence of holistic and
authentic learning experiences.
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Appendix A
Pre-Interview Demographic Questionnaire
1. What is your first and last name?
2. What high school did you graduate from?
3. What year did you graduate?
4. What was your Senior Project topic? Why did you choose it? (short answer)
5. What type of Senior Project did you complete?
a. Career
b. Community Service
c. Product / Performance
6. Did you complete your Senior Project as part of a class you were registered for?
7. If you completed the Senior Project as part of a course: What was the course name?
8. What year in college are you?
a. Sophomore
b. Junior
c. Senior
9. What is your major?
10. What is your minor?
11. What is your age?
12. What ethnicity and/or race do you identify with? (may choose multiple)
13. What gender do you identify with? (may choose multiple)
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Appendix B
Online Questionnaire
Short answer responses: 2-3 sentences (or more as needed)
Long answer responses: 1 paragraph (more or less as needed)
Questions about Past High School Experiences
1. What is your first and last name?
2. Why did you complete the Senior Project? (short answer)
3. What did you like best about working on your Senior Project? Why? (short answer)
4. What did you like least about working on your Senior Project? Why? (short answer)
5. Did you face any challenges while working on your Senior Project? If yes, what were your biggest
challenges and how did you overcome them? (short answer)
6. Describe three main things you learned while completing your project? (short answer)
7. Did you learn anything about yourself from completing your Senior Project? If yes, what? (short answer)
8. Please list any skills and abilities you feel you used during your Senior Project. (short answer)
9. Did you apply knowledge you learned from previous high school classes when completing your Senior
Project? If yes, please describe what knowledge and how you applied it. If no, please describe why not.
(long answer)
10. Did you learn anything new while working on your Senior Project that you hadn’t already learned in your
required high school classes? If yes, please describe what you learned. If no, please describe why not. (long
answer)
11. Do you feel you were in control of your Senior Project experience? If yes, tell me about how you self-
managed and planned your project? If no, why not? (short answer)
12. Did you ask anyone for help or advice? If yes, who (community mentor, on campus advisor, and/or
someone else) and how did they help you? If no, why not? (short answer)
13. Did you use technology for your Senior Project? If yes, how did you select it? How and when did you use
it? (short answer)
14. Were you motivated throughout your Senior Project experience? What did you do to stay motivated? Who
or what motivated you? (short answer)
Questions about Current College Experiences
15. Did your Senior Project experience influence what you decided to study in college? If yes, how? If no, why
not? (short answer)
16. In general, did you find the Senior Project to be a worthwhile experience? Why or why not? (short answer)
17. Do you plan to complete a college capstone project? If yes, for what program, course or major (what is the
topic)? If no, why not? (short answer)
18. Do you draw upon what you learned during your high school Senior Project experience for your current
college work? If yes, in what ways? If no, why not? (long answer)
19. Please describe work you have completed in college (research papers, presentations, portfolios/projects,
field work). Are there ways this work is similar to your high school Senior Project experience? Please
describe any similarities and differences. (long answer)
20. Do you feel that your Senior Project experience helped to prepare you for college? If yes, in what ways? If
no, why not? (long answer)
21. In general, currently in your daily college life, do you experience any lasting effects from your previous
high school Senior Project experience? Describe any lasting effects.
215
Appendix C
Focus Group Interview Guide
1. What skills, attributes, and dispositions do you think someone needs most for college?
Where did you learn these?
2. Was working on the Senior Project different than what you did for your other high school classes? In
what ways?
3. Did aspects of your Senior Project experience transfer to college? If yes, please describe. If no, why
not?
If yes, probe: Had you learned/developed these solely through your Senior Project experience?
Where else had you used/developed these prior?
4. (Responses to the questionnaire mentioned the Senior Project helped to develop self-confidence.)
Did you find that your SCP helped you develop self-confidence? If yes, for what situations? If no,
why not?
If yes, probe: Please describe any ways that the self-confidence you developed for your high
school Senior Project carried over to college?
5. (Senior Project deadlines were mentioned by participants on their questionnaire.)
Did you use any self-management, time-management, project-management that you did for your
Senior Project? If yes, for what situations? If no, why not?
If yes, probe: Describe/compare that self-direction with what you do in college?
6. (Responses to the questionnaire touched on collaboration (asking questions, finding people to help,
and sourcing information) with teachers, mentors, advisors, peers, parents.)
Did you collaborate for you senior project? If yes, in what ways? If no, why not?
If yes, probe: With whom and how do you currently collaborate in college? Do you think your
Senior Project helped you with collaborating in college?
For Probing/Follow-Up/Conversation Lulls:
Presentation / Paper / Field Work / Portfolio
How was your Senior Project ________________ different from those for your other high
school classes?
How is your Senior Project _________________ similar or different to presentation you’ve
done in college
If time permits:
Would you recommend a current high school junior complete a Senior Project? For what reasons?
What, if anything, did the Senior Project teach you about persistence? How is that similar or different to
persisting in college?
216
Appendix D
Information Sheet and Interview Guide for Artifact-based Interview
Instructions for Selection of College Work Artifact
Your 2
nd
interview of the Senior Project research study is scheduled for ______________________.
What to bring to the interview:
You are required to bring 2 samples of your current college work to the interview. Please select longer term or
project assignments (i.e., research papers, presentations, portfolios or products). The grade you received for your
work is not under investigation; so, pick something representative of your college work. Your selection can be
something you are proud of (or not), but it should be a one that you spent a considerable amount of time, thought
and work to complete.
Work samples can be in written format (printed or displayed by your electronic device), a portfolio, or a product
(i.e., artwork, video).
At the end of the interview you will be asked to provide a copy of your work for the researcher to keep. Printed
copies, electronic/digital copies or photographs are acceptable.
What to expect during the artifact-based interview:
We will meet in-person, at a location of your agreement, to discuss your college work sample. The interview will
take approximately 45 minutes. We’ll discuss each work sample separately; first we’ll talk about one work sample
and after repeat the same questioning for your second work sample. You will have the opportunity to show and tell
me about your work. Then, I will ask you questions regarding your work, the steps that you took to create it and
overall connections it may or may not have to your Senior Project experience.
The guide for the interview follows. It is provided so you know what kind of questions to expect about your college
work sample. If you see no connection between the work you are doing in college and your high school Senior
Project experience, then the interview will focus on that.
If you have any questions prior to the interview, please do not hesitate to contact the researcher:
Vanessa Yasuda – call or text: 375-6086, or E-mail: [email protected]u
Artifact-based Interview Guide
Line of questioning will be conducted 2 times, one for each of the college work artifacts.
Semi-structured questions:
Tell me about your college work sample?
What process did you go through to create your college work sample?
What did you learn from creating your college work sample?
Follow-up questions:
You mentioned ________. Can you recall doing anything similar for your Senior Project? Please explain? (repeat
question as needed based upon participant’s responses to the first three questions).
Probing topics may include but are not limited to:
Self-Direction/Time Management/Planning
Interdisciplinary content or specific course content
Motivation
Choice
Critical Thinking
Communication
Collaboration
Research
217
Appendix E
Final Interview Guide
Individual Questions needing clarity:
(Questions vary by participant: refer to notes on each participant’s excel sheet, transcripts, and
journal)
Online Questionnaire
Artifact-Based Interview
Reflective Journal
Demographic Follow-Up:
In High School:
Did you earn the BOE Diploma?
Did you take AP/IB classes? Which ones?
In College:
What is your current college GPA? (approx. ok)
Final Interview Questions:
(Guide for all participants)
1. Can you describe any aspects of your high school Senior Project that you currently put to use
in college? If yes, please provide details. If no, why not?
2. What 3 skills, dispositions, or characteristics do you find are needed to be successful in
college? Why?
Where did you learn or develop these skills?
Did you use these skills during your Senior Project? Describe how.
3. Do you think that your Senior Project helped prepare you for college? If yes, in what ways?
If no, why not?
4. Would you recommend the Senior Project to a current high school Junior? Why or why not?
5. Is there anything else you could share? Share about your high school Senior Project
experience and how it may or may not have transferred to your current college experience?
218
Appendix F
Information Sheet for Reflective Journal
Your 3
rd
interview of the research study is scheduled for ______________________.
Journal entries are to be made for the next two weeks:
Starting on ___________ and, ending on __________.
The following instructions are based upon journaling in Microsoft Word, however you may adapt them for a
different method of your choosing (ex.: handwritten, digital voice or video).
What you will receive in your email:
An attachment of a Microsoft Word document, set up in a three column journal format, for you to make your daily
journal entries. Save this document to your computer or electronic device so that you are able to access it, type into
it and save it for continued use over the 2 week time period.
How and when to make your journal entries:
A minimum of 3 journal entries a week are requested, however additional entries are welcomed. Basically, working
on an assignment, studying or planning could provide information for a journal entry. The entry should take
approximately 5 minutes to complete and contain 2-3 sentences for each column. For some entries it will be easy to
reflect on connections to your high school Senior Project experience, however, if you see no connection you may
enter “no connection”.
Remember to save the document after each journal entry.
Example of the 3 column journal format:
Current College Work or
Thought: Provide details
Past High School Senior Project:
What do you recall doing or
happening during your Senior
Project that was similar to your
current work
Connection to Senior Project:
How or why do you find your
current work or thought similar to
your past Senior Project
experience
Type what work, thought or process
you just completed here
Type your Senior Project memory
here
Type your reflection here
How and when to return my journal:
Return your journal by _____________________ .
Please send your reflective journal as an E-mail attachment to the researcher at applbau[email protected]
What to expect during the reflective journal follow-up interview:
We will meet in-person, at a location of your agreement, or via skype or have a phone conversation. Interview
questions will focus on experiences described in the journal entries. During this final interview, general questions
may be asked regarding overall connections between your current college work and your high school Senior Project
experience. The interview will take approximately 30 minutes.
If you have any questions regarding keeping your journal or anything else prior to the interview, please do
not hesitate to contact the researcher:
Vanessa Yasuda – call or text: 375-6086, or E-mail: applbaum@hawaii.edu
219
Appendix G
Member Check Templet
Member Check: the participant’s opportunity to read through the interview transcription
and provide comments to validate accuracy of the typed document of the verbal interview.
Please read through your interview located in the left column. Three questions are
provided in the right column to help guide your review. Highlight any inaccuracies in the
left column and provide any typed comments in the right column.
Save the Microsoft Word document to your computer prior to beginning, and make sure to
save any comments before sending the document back as a new attachment in your return
Email.
Please do not hesitate to call, text or Email your researcher, Vanessa Yasuda
([email protected] or 375-6086), with any questions on the process.
Interview:
Participant:
Interview Date:
Member Check completed by: _________________________ Date: _____________________
(1) Does your
response seem
accurate? Please
correct any
inaccuracies.
(2) Did you
explain in enough
detail? Please
provide additional
details as needed.
(3) In retrospect,
would you explain
anything
differently?
Please explain as
needed.
220
Appendix H
Island University
Consent to Participate in Research Project
Secondary Senior Capstone Projects a Descriptive Case Study on
Post-secondary Perspectives’ of Learning Transfer
My name is Vanessa A. Yasuda. I am a graduate student at the Island University (IU), in the College of Education. I
can be reached by phone at (808) 375-6086 or email at applbaum@hawaii.edu. One requirement for earning my
Doctoral degree (PhD) is to do a research project for my dissertation. The purpose of my research project is to
evaluate current college students' perspectives on any lasting effects of their high school Senior Project. I am asking
you to participate in this project because you are a current IU student and completed a Senior Project while you were
in a Hawai’i public high school. If you participate, you will be one of a total of six to twelve college students.
Project Description - Activities and Time Commitment:
Your participation in this project will take a total of 8-10 hours and include the following activities:
Individual interviews will take place at a location and time convenient for you. The date and time of the focus group
interview will be determined by consensus of all participants. The individual and focus group interviews will last for
approximately 60 minutes each and will consist of semi-structured, open ended questions. Transcript review of your
interviews will include reading the transcript and providing comments, as needed, to clarify any previously recorded
responses.
With your consent, I will record the interviews using a digital audio-recorder. I am recording the interviews so I can
later create a transcription (a written record of what we talked about during the interview) and analyze the
information from the interview.
One example of the type of question I will ask is, “Do you feel that your SCP helped to prepare you for college? If
yes, in what ways? If no, why not?” If you would like to preview a copy of all of the questions that I will ask you,
please contact me via the phone number or email address listed on this consent form.
Phase 1: SCP and Current College Experiences
Survey – Online Questionnaire, approx. 60 minutes
Focus Group Interview – In-person, approx. 60 minutes
Transcript Review – via E-mail
Phase 2: College Work Samples
Data Sample – Bring 2 of your college work samples to the interview
Artifact-based Individual Interview – In-person, approx. 45 minutes
Transcript Review– via E-mail
Phase 3: Reflective Journals
Data Sample – Journal entries, over a 2 week time period
Final Individual Interview – In-person, phone or online, approx. 30 minutes
Transcript Review – via E-mail
221
Benefits and Risks: Besides receiving gift cards after each phase of the study in appreciation of your participation, I
believe there is no direct benefit to you for participating in my research project. However, the results of this project
might help me and others learn more about perspectives on the Senior Project as well as college preparation.
I believe there is no direct risk to you for participating in this project. If, however, you are uncomfortable or stressed
by answering any of the interview questions, we will skip the question, take a break, stop the interview, or you may
choose to withdraw from the project altogether.
Confidentiality and Privacy: During and after this research project, I will keep all data from the interviews in a
secure location. Only my Island University advisor and I will have access to the data, although legally authorized
agencies, including the Island University’s Human Studies Program, have the right to review research records. After
I transcribe the interviews, I will erase/destroy the audio-recordings.
Your participation in this research will be kept confidential. When I report the results of my research project, and in
my typed transcripts, I will not use your name or any other personally identifying information. Instead, I will use a
pseudonym (fake name) for your name. If you would like a summary of the findings from my final report, please
contact me via the phone number or e-mail address listed near the end of this consent form.
Voluntary Participation: Participation in this research project is voluntary. You can choose freely to participate or
not to participate. In addition, at any point during this project, you can withdraw your permission without any
penalty of loss of benefits.
Questions: If you have any questions about this project, please contact the researcher, Vanessa A. Yasuda, via
phone at (808) 375-6086 or E-mail at a[email protected] or my College of Education advisor, Dr. Tara O’Neill,
via phone at (808) 956-0415 or E-mail at toneill@hawaii.edu
If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, in this project, you can contact the Island
University, Human Studies Program, by phone at (808) 956-5007 or by E-mail at uhirb@hawaii.edu.
If you agree to participate in this project, please sign the following signature portion of this consent form and return
it to the researcher, Vanessa A. Yasuda.
Please keep the prior portion of this consent form for your records.
------------------------------------------------------------Tear or cut here----------------------------------------------------------
Signature for Consent: I agree to participate in Vanessa A. Yasuda’s research project entitled, Secondary Senior
Capstone Projects a Descriptive Case Study on Post-secondary Perspectives’ of Learning Transfer. I understand
that I can change my mind about participating in this project, at any time, by notifying the researcher.
I have read the consent form and give consent to participate ______ Yes ______ No
(initial) (initial)
I voluntarily and am willing to participate in the study ______ Yes ______ No
(2 individual interviews, 1 focus group interview, 3 transcript checks, (initial) (initial)
1 reflective journal and 2 work samples)
I give my consent to be audio taped ______ Yes ______ No
(initial) (initial)
Your Name (Print): ______________________________________________
Your Signature: _________________________________________________
Date: _____________________
Contact phone number: ________________________ E-mail address: ___________________________
