Center for Teaching Innovation
Faculty Teaching Certificate Capstone Project
Worksheet
As you think about a project, consider these questions:
1. Identify
What is it that you want to see change? What course? What course learning outcome would you like students to achieve or what issues would you like to address by implementing a new teaching approach or concept? (e.g. Students will be able to collaborate more effectively in groups to do X. Increase rapport with students.)
2. Implement
What approach(es) or technique(s) will you try? (e.g. Set up groups according to specific criteria and use a peer evaluation form. Have students complete a mid-semester evaluation and fill-out an “about me” form.) What effect do you expect or hope that it will have?
3. Assess
How will you determine the impact on students (and their learning, if applicable) in your class? How will you know the approach or technique had the desired effect? (See reverse for some examples of “Gathering Evidence.”)
When writing up your project, include the relevant questions below:
Summarize
- What did you want to do/change?
- What was the desired effect?
- What new approach or technique did you implement?
- What were the steps you took to implement the approach or technique?
- Why did you take those steps?
- What steps were particularly hard or time-consuming?
- What effect did the new approach or technique have on your teaching?
- What effect did the new approach or technique have on students and (if applicable) their learning?
- Will you keep the new approach or technique in the future? Will you make any changes?
Gathering Evidence
How can you know what effect something had on student learning? Evidence
• Student reports on their own learning (surveys, interviews, focus groups)
• Samples of student work (papers, projects, presentations, journals, performances)
• Evidence how students actually work (think aloud protocols, videos, process journals, skills observations)
• Course exam scores or standardized exam scores
• University data (enrollments, demographics)
• Counts (web requests, office visits)
• Reflective journals or logs
• Classroom observations