Capstones GoodPracticeGuide

Janis Bailey
Elizabeth van Acker

Jacqui Fyffe
With input from:
Lynda Andrews, Lorelle Frazer,
Erica French, Ray Hibbins,
Johanna Macneil, Jim Psaros,
Jan Turbill, Keithia Wilson,
Leigh Wood and Michael Zanko
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Support for this publication has been provided by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. The views
expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.
CAPSTONE SUBJECTS
IN UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS DEGREES
A Good Practice Guide

Janis Bailey
Elizabeth van Acker
Jacqui Fyffe
With input from:
Lynda Andrews, Lorelle Frazer, Erica French, Ray Hibbins, Johanna Macneil,
Jim Psaros, Jan Turbill, Keithia Wilson, Leigh Wood and Michael Zanko
Project website
www.businesscapstones.edu.au

Support for this publication has been provided by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.
The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Office for
Learning and Teaching.
Project team members:
Janis Bailey and Elizabeth van Acker (Co-leaders); Jacqui Fyffe (Project Officer); Lorelle Frazer,
Ray Hibbins and Keithia Wilson (Griffith University)
Leigh Wood (Macquarie University)
Lynda Andrews and Erica French (Queensland University of Technology)
Johanna Macneil and Jim Psaros (University of Newcastle)
Jan Turbill and Michael Zanko (University of Wollongong)
Cover design and layout:
Meaghan Bailey
Published by Griffith University, Brisbane
The Project Team gratefully thanks those who assisted so generously in this project: the many university teaching staff
and administrators who were interviewed, the students who took part in focus groups, and the alumni who responded
to a survey. We record our grateful appreciation for the contributions of the projects Reference Group members, listed
in Appendix A, and the Evaluator, Mick Healey. Finally, we acknowledge the research and editing expertise of Jannie
Adamsen, Sue Ressia and Maureen Todhunter.
With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and where otherwise noted, all material presented in this
document is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. Under this Licence, users of this
Guide are free to copy, distribute, display and perform the work and to make derivative works.
Details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website (creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/3.0/au/legalcode).
Address requests and inquiries about these rights to:
Office for Learning and Teaching
Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education
GPO Box 9880, Location code N255EL10
Sydney NSW 2001
<learningandteaching@deewr.gov.au>
ISBN 978-1-922125-71-2
2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What is a capstone subject? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Why offer a capstone subject? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Types and prevalence of capstone subjects . . . . . . . . . . .10
What does a capstone subject look like? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Mountaintops versus magnets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Managing the change to capstones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Planning a capstone subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Developing learning goals and objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Learning and teaching activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Dealing with student responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Some parting tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Appendix A: About the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Appendix B: Case Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Single discipline magnet capstones
Accounting Capstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Employment Relations Capstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Finance Capstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Financial Planning Capstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Human Resource Management
and Employment Relations Capstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Information Technology Capstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Marketing Capstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Public Policy Capstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Public Relations Capstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Interdisciplinary mountaintop capstones
Business Integration Capstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Business Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Integrative Business Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Industry Consulting Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Simulation of a Socially Innovative Enterprise . . . . 108
Appendix C: Learning and Teaching Theory . . . . . . . . . .113
Constructivism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Action learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Problem-based learning (PBL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
The case study method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
INTRODUCTION
Diversity marks the landscape of capstone subjects in higher education
in Australia. These subjects have been around for a long time but are now
becoming increasingly popular in Australian business schools, usually
as compulsory subjects offered in students nal year of study. They are
intended to be the culmination of studies in a degree program, and are
designed to give students an opportunity to integrate their knowledge and
skills and to prepare them for their transition to the workplace.
The popularity of capstone subjects
1
is driven by a range of factors, including the need
for universities to demonstrate assurance of learning, that is, to evaluate students
achievements against the goals and objectives of a degree program to satisfy the
requirements of accrediting bodies. These subjects are also regarded as a way of
addressing employers ongoing dissatisfaction with the work readiness of business
graduates (BIHECC, 2007). Hence capstones are often introduced as part of curriculum
renewal projects.
Despite the popularity and potential significance of capstone subjects, however, there is
limited research about how they are best designed and implemented, and few practically
oriented resources to help lecturers develop or improve them.
This Guide aims to address these gaps with information and case studies of existing
capstone subjects (see Appendix B), and guidance and ideas for introducing, designing,
1 We use the term subject, acknowledging that in many universities subjects are called courses or units. Courses
can also, however, refer to a whole degree program so the word subject has been used to avoid any confusion.
Likewise, we use the term business school, acknowledging that in many universities the term faculty is used.
Departments refers to the sub-units within schools.
A Good Practice Guide 2
teaching and assessing these subjects. We developed the Guide as part of a project
that examined good practice in capstone subjects in Australian undergraduate business
degrees.
2
The project was funded by the Australian Government Office for Learning and
Teaching (previously the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd). It involved:
an audit of undergraduate capstone subjects offered by
Australian business schools;
an extensive review of the literature on capstones;
interviews and focus groups with lecturers, students and
associate deans (teaching and learning); and
a survey of alumni in the partner universities.
While the project focused on capstone subjects in undergraduate business degrees,
some of the principles and ideas discussed in this Guide may be applicable to
postgraduate coursework degrees and to other disciplines.
The Guide is most pertinent to those responsible for entire programs of study and to
lecturers responsible for coordinating the design and delivery of capstone subjects. It
may also be relevant to other higher education staff including decision makers within
universities such as deans, associate deans, heads of department and program
directors, as well as staff developers and learning and teaching advisors.
We have deliberately not called this a best practice guide since we expectedand
founda diversity of good practice. So we have based the Guide on the assumption that
good practice can result in varied approaches which depend on many factors. These
include the discipline, the culture and history of schools and departments, the nature of
the student body and the pedagogical strengths and interests of lecturers. Lecturers
professional judgements about what is good for their students and their schools degree
programs are also vitally important.
2 Further details about the project are provided in Appendix A.
3 Capstone Subjects
WHAT IS A CAPSTONE SUBJECT?
A capstone is the top or crowning stone of a wall or other structure, which reduces the
erosion of mortar and preserves the integrity of the wall. In the same way, capstone
subjects are designed to protect what students have learned by integrating coursework
into a climactic experience (Redmond, 1998: 73).
A capstone subject is usually taken in a students last year or semester of study. As
well as providing an opportunity to integrate previously acquired knowledge, skills and
experiential learning, it is designed to prepare students for the next stage in their careers,
whether in the workplace or in further studies.
The term capstone is widely used to describe a course or experience
that provides opportunities for a student to apply the knowledge gained
throughout their undergraduate degree. This involves integrating
graduate capabilities and employability skills, and occurs usually
in the final year of an undergraduate degree. (Holdsworth, Watty &
Davies, 2009: 2)
Capstone subjects therefore have a dual function. Like Janus, the Roman god of
beginnings and endings, they look both backwards and forwards. They look backwards
by bringing together the knowledge and experiences students have gained during
their university studies, by providing opportunities for students to reflect on the degree
program as a whole, and by helping them make connections between the subjects they
have studied. Capstones look forwards by providing a vehicle for students professional
socialisation and the development of professional identity, in order to foster the transition
to employment (Lizzio & Wilson, 2004), and sense of self-efficacy
3
(Dunlap, 2005).
Connecting the aims of looking backwards and forwards, capstones may be used to
confirm that students have mastered what are variously referred to as employability,
graduate or generic skills (van Acker & Bailey, 2011: 69).
3 Defined as an individuals level of confidence and self-judgment regarding their ability to organise and implement
actions needed to perform effectively (Dunlap, 2005: 6667, citing Schunk, 1989).
One definition emphasises the transformative element of capstones:
In the capstone course students disengage (i.e. separate) from the
undergraduate status and existential condition and reemerge (i.e.
incorporate) as graduates prepared to assess critically and act
responsibly in civil society. Thus, the capstone course provides the
liminal threshold at which students change their status. (Durel, 1993:
223)
In practice, our research found varied notions of what capstones are, and considerable
variation in the extent to which these subjects reflect their intended purposes as defined
in the literature. A succinct outline of the defining features of a capstone subject is
therefore useful.
In essence, a capstone subject gives students the opportunity to:
Integrate the knowledge they have gained and to see how it
all fits together.
Consolidate the key skills they will require in their
professional lives, including:
- the ability to collaborate and work effectively in a
team;
- the capacity to communicate effectively; and
- the ability to think critically and to reconcile theory
with practice.
Apply their knowledge in exploring an issue or solving an
authentic problem, in a way that simulates professional
practice.
Reflect on and evaluate their actions and experiences, to
equip them to be reflective practitioners and citizens.
Develop their professional identity and confidence to
participate in the workforce.
5 Capstone Subjects
WHY OFFER A CAPSTONE SUBJECT?
An honours project or dissertation at the end of an undergraduate degree has been
a common capping experience in the United Kingdom for decades, if not centuries.
Capstone experiences were not introduced elsewhere until the 1970s and early 1980s,
in response to criticisms that there was a disjuncture between university education
and the world of work in programs such as sociology (Schroetter & Wendler, 2008,
citing Schmid, 1993; Wagenaar, 1993). Moves were made to introduce various kinds of
capstone experiences, with the aim of helping students make the connection between
what they had learnt over the course of their degree and the outside world of business,
society, culture or further education. Capstones are now found in all fields of study, and
in all disciplines across the field of business. It seems that no discipline is inherently
unsuitable for a capstone.
In Australian business schools, the aim of connecting university study with the world
of work remains a driver for introducing capstone subjects. Other reasons for offering
capstone subjects include:
To better equip students for their transition into the
workplace. The difficulties associated with this transition have
been well researched (e.g. Candy & Crebert, 1991; Wood,
2010). Capstone subjects can help prepare students for work by
exposing them to the kinds of tasks they will be expected to do,
requiring them to work and learn independently, helping them to
develop their professional identity (Lizzio & Wilson, 2004) and
consolidating the generic skills required in the workplace, such
as teamwork and communication skills (van Acker & Bailey,
2011).
For example
The Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) in the Faculty of Business
and Economics at Macquarie University initiated a university-wide strategy
to introduce capstone subjects across all undergraduate degree programs.
Her research into how students transition into the workplace showed that
this transition is often difficult, especially when students are from low-SES
backgrounds and their parents do not hold professional jobs. With evidence
that a capstone experience helps students transition more successfully into
work, she suggested to the Vice-Chancellor that all degrees (including those
in business) should offer students such an experience. Capstones are now a
signature experience for every Macquarie student.
To enhance graduate employability. To develop graduates
capacity to operate successfully in a competitive environment
and to meet other industry demands for work ready graduates,
business schools regularly enhance and renew their programs
and curricula. Capstone subjects are often introduced as part of
this renewal process.
For example
The decision by the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Wollongong
to introduce a new capstone in its Bachelor of Commerce program was
driven partly by the outcomes of a program review. The Faculty had recently
developed its own mission, which focused on socially innovative commerce,
and had also articulated the desired qualities of a commerce graduate.
Capstone subjects were introduced to give students an opportunity to apply the
principles of socially innovative commerce through a live business simulation
or by conducting original research. They also provide a way to ensure that
graduate qualities and students understanding of the principles of socially
innovative commerce are assessed in a meaningful way.
To meet the standards required for international
accreditation. Business schools seeking accreditation with
bodies such as the European Quality Improvement System
(EQUIS) and the US-based Association to Advance Collegiate
7 Capstone Subjects
Schools of Business (AACSB) are required to demonstrate
compliance with Assurance of Learning (AoL) standards.
These standards are used to evaluate how well the school
accomplishes the educational aims at the core of its activities
(AACSB, 2009). While capstones need not be the only site for
AoL, they can (along with other subjects) be one of the sites,
particularly with respect to issues like integrating theory and
practice, and applying generic skills.
To comply with requirements of the Tertiary Education
Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). TEQSA and the
current development of teaching and learning standards aim
to improve the quality of higher education in Australia. All
universities (irrespective of whether they seek international
accreditation) will be required to assure learning of their
graduates. Capstone assessment tasks are one way of
assessing students achievements against the goals and
objectives of a degree program.
For example
The Business School at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has a
complete suite of capstones covering every single student, which is rare in
Australia. Capstones were originally introduced in some departments only,
but the Business School developed an overarching strategy to introduce them
across all departments. The Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) drove
the strategy, building on earlier work by individual lecturers and departments. A
mix of reasons explains this move to universal capstones. While it was relevant
that QUT is accredited with both EQUIS and AACSB, that capstones are widely
regarded as good pedagogy and good for students was a fundamental driver.
To improve the student experience and external assessment
of it. Student experiences and outcomes are now routinely
evaluated by national surveys such as the Course Experience
Questionnaire (CEQ) and the Graduate Destination Survey.
The pressure on business schools to score highly in the CEQ
will intensify now that CEQ data are easily accessible via the
Australian Governments new MyUniversity website. Well-
designed and implemented capstone subjects have the potential
to increase CEQ scores by giving students a satisfying final year
experience.
To enhance students learning. Students learning can be
enhanced when they are given an opportunity, at the end of their
degree program, to integrate knowledge, consolidate key skills,
apply knowledge to authentic problems, reflect, and develop
their professional identity.
Our search for research providing hard evidence of the benefits of capstone subjects
to individual students uncovered only one such study. US researcher Dunlap (2005), in
a study of an information technology capstone, found students self-efficacy improved
after taking a capstone subject that used a problem-based learning approach.
Obviously many variables impact on how well a subject achieves its aims, so finding an
objective measure of effectiveness can be difficult. Acknowledging the lack of empirical
evidence, we gathered anecdotal evidence of the benefits of capstone subjects through
our interviews with lecturers and focus groups with students at five Australian universities.
Lecturers spoke of the positive feedback they continue to receive from students after
graduation. Students talked about the practical skills they gained, how they felt more
confident about their abilities and preparedness for professional work, and how their
capstone subject made them more employable.
My students enjoy it. The evaluations indicate that the challenge is just
what students are looking for.
(Lecturer, financial planning capstone)
Students say its one of the best courses theyve done. They love the
interactive aspect and they love the real world environment.
(Lecturer, marketing capstone)
I have a folder of emails from about 20 students who have entered the
workforce and they say things like, I hated your subject when I did it
and I bagged it in the [student evaluation survey], but now Im working
in an accounting firm and its unbelievable we use what we learnt in
that subject every day.
(Lecturer, accounting capstone)
Before I did this course I was starting to get worried that we were
never going to do a practical course that we were going to go to
work knowing all this theory but not knowing what to do with it. In that
respect, this course is good to top off what weve already learnt.
(Student, employment relations capstone)
9 Capstone Subjects
I liked the assessment In the interviews Ive gone to so far theyve
asked me for examples of my work If I hadnt done this course I
would only have been able to say Ive written essays, but now I can say
that I had this issue and I had to turn it into a cabinet submission. So I
found that going into interviews, I was much better prepared.
(Student, public policy capstone)
I didnt dread any of our assignments because you can see the
relevance of them you dont mind doing it because you know its
something youre going to have to do In this subject, I can remember
something from every week. With other courses, wed know all the
theory, but a week after the exam wed forget it.
(Student, employment relations capstone)
TYPES AND PREVALENCE OF
CAPSTONE SUBJECTS
While capstones are very diverse, US researchers have developed a simple typology:
mountaintop capstonesinterdisciplinary subjects that cross
majors and bring together diverse groups of students;
magnet capstonesdiscipline- or major-specific and, like a
magnet attracting iron filings, they pull together the richness of
content from the discipline; and
mandate capstonessubjects mandated by an external
constituency, such as a practitioner or registration body.
(Rowles, Koch, Hundley & Hamilton, 2004: 13).
The project teams audit of capstone subjects conducted in January 2011 searched
subject descriptions and teaching/learning materials available on university websites.
The results are shown in Table 1. We found that most Australian business schools (34
of 39, or 87 per cent) offered in their undergraduate program at least one subject that
is called a capstone and is a core requirement for completing the program. Just over
half offer magnet capstones in some majors but not in all. Only three universities had a
comprehensive suite of magnet capstones in every business major. Mountaintops were
less prevalent and found in only 11, or just over a quarter of universities. Six universities
offered a mountaintop for all students as well as magnets in some majors.
Our web search did not reveal undergraduate business capstones mandated by outside
professional accreditation bodies. Such bodies tend to specify curriculum content and
outcomes rather than how curriculum will be delivered.
11 Capstone Subjects
Table 1: Capstone offerings in Australian business schools (n=39)
Capstone offerings Number of schools
No capstones 3
No capstones, but capstone-like features in
some subjects
2
Only mountaintop(s) 5
Only magnet capstones in some majors 20
Only magnet capstones in all majors 3
Both mountaintops and magnets in some majors 6
Both mountaintops and magnets in all majors 0
These figures indicate that capstones are now widespread in Australian business
schools, with 36 per cent offering a capstone for all students, and 51 per cent for some
students. National data on all degrees shows that only 2.7 per cent of later year students
in Australasia have a culminating final-year experience of any kind (AUSSE 2010: 25),
suggesting that business schools have been an early adopter of capstones.
We need to make it clear that the capstone subject is only one kind of capstone
experience. Capstone experiences can include other programs and initiatives such as
service learning, cooperative education projects, and work-integrated learning (WIL),
carried out mainly in workplaces. Capstones and WIL experiences share many common
features, including the aims of integrating knowledge and reflecting on experience (e.g.
Coll, Eames, Paku, Lay, Hodges, Bhat, Ram, Ayling, Fleming, Perkins, Wiersma &
Martin, 2009). In the view of some, an effective capstone can be a type of WIL carried
out solely or principally on campus and, conversely, WIL can be a capstone experience.
Capstones can even be thought of as an equal opportunity WIL-type experience, as
many institutions are unable to provide workplace-based WIL for all students.
Capstone experiences may also be part of students earlier years at university, including
their first year, although this is uncommon. Increasingly, they may be offered online, or for
postgraduate students. Most Australian universities offer only semester-long capstones,
and thus the capstone constitutes one-eighth of a students final year subject load. Very
occasionally, schools provide year-long capstones, the equivalent of two subjects or a
quarter of a load. For the purpose of this Guide, we focus on classroom-based capstone
subjects offered in undergraduate students final year, acknowledging that there are
other variants.
WHAT DOES A CAPSTONE SUBJECT
LOOK LIKE?
There is no single model of a capstone subject. As indicated earlier, our research found
very diverse and equally effective kinds of capstones, even within a single business
school. We agree with Rowles et al. (2004: 13) that there should be no overly prescriptive
plan for capstone experiences.
Approaches taken in capstone subjects
Approaches to capstone subjects for business students are diverse. For example,
contemporary issues subjects, while not always named as capstones, can function
as capstones. Strategic management subjects are often described as capstones
(Payne, Whitfield & Flynn, 2002: 69); they may involve simulations in which students run
a virtual or actual, small start-up company (Kachra & Schnietz, 2008; Steiner & Wells,
2000) or carry out a business function like marketing. Other capstones are organised
around case studies (Garvin, 2003; Kachra & Schnietz, 2008) or use a problem-based
approach, drawing on written material that presents authentic workplace issues, or on
problems presented live by practitioners.
In our audit of subject information provided on websites, we identified seven distinctive
approaches in Australian business schools, listed in order of prevalence in Table 2.
Table 2: Approaches to capstone subjects in Australian business schools
Focus
Percentage of capstone
subjects with this focus*
Project briefs or assignments that are
developed by the lecturer and simulate
professional practice
40%
Case studies or problem-based
approaches
29%
Projects for actual external clients 11%
Some other type of research-based
project
9%
Work placements** 9%
Other (including lecture-based subjects
with essays and exams)
9%
Computer-based simulations 5%
*The total percentage exceeds 100 because some subjects involved more than one approach.
**Subjects involving work placements or WIL (work integrated learning) were included only if they were specifically
described as a capstone.
What do students do?
One way to think of the capstone is in terms of what students do in the subject. Effective
capstones are often based on student-centred approaches to teaching and learning,
as opposed to teacher-centred approaches that involve lecturers transmitting large
amounts of information in a lecture format (see e.g. Kember & Gow, 1994). While it can be
argued that lecturers should use a student-centred, facilitative approach in all subjects
to improve learning outcomes, we argue it is critically important to do so in capstone
subjects. Preparing students for professional practice requires that they become
independent learners and active participants in the learning process. A transmissive
approach means lecturers will be delivering yet more content, which runs counter to the
heuristic purpose of a capstone.
As a result, capstones often require more active input from students than other subjects.
Students become active makers of meaning and creators of knowledge, rather than
passive recipients of information. For example, they may complete a project based on an
authentic workplace issue identified for them by the lecturer, or on a topic they choose
themselves. Outside organisations can be directly involved, setting the parameters of
the project, providing data with which students work and/or assessing students work.
Alternatively, students may be required to analyse case studies (Ellet, 2007) or solve
problems similar to ones they can expect to face in professional practice (Hmelo-Silver,
2004). These activities are not mutually exclusive, and students may do more than one
in their capstone.
Not surprisingly, lecturers we interviewed said that students often find a capstone subject
very different from, and more demanding than, other subjects.
I get comments that its really hard and we work much harder than
in other courses I think students should see it as different, because
you have, or should have, a range of objectives that are not common
in other subjects, like getting them to think like a practitioner, to stand
back a bit and interrogate what they have been learning, and to think
about the multiple ways of addressing a particular challenge and the
pros and cons of each.
(Lecturer, employment relations capstone)
What do lecturers do?
We can also think about capstones in terms of what lecturers do, compared to what they
might do in other subjects. The literature suggests that in capstone subjects lecturers
tend to use distinctive approaches, which often involve:
limited introduction of new conceptual/theoretical material;
more time allocated to workshops or tutorials, than to lectures;
students working in teamsboth informally and to complete
summative assessment tasks;
formal and informal contact with practitioners, e.g. as guest
lecturers or research informants;
team teaching, both to model collaborative approaches to
students, and to draw on diverse staff skills; and
fewer or no formal examinations.
(adapted from Bailey, Oliver & Townsend, 2007: 67; and van Acker & Bailey, 2011: 71).
While these approaches are of course used in other subjects, capstones tend to
incorporate more of them, and use them more extensively.
MOUNTAINTOPS VERSUS MAGNETS
A business school wishing to introduce capstones, or to refresh an existing suite of
capstones, will need to decide whether to introduce magnets, or mountaintops, or both.
We were unable to find any comparative studies of the implementation and outcomes
of each type. However, our project team included members who have developed both
mountaintop and magnet capstones. Based on their experiences we identified the
following pros and cons of mountaintops versus magnets.
While mountaintop and magnet capstones both benefit students, mountaintops offer
students some additional benefits, including:
the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team, thus
preparing them for the kind of project-based work they may do
as practitioners;
the chance to develop their identity as a professional in their
field, alongside other types of professionals; and
appreciation of the unique knowledge and skills each type of
practitioner brings to a team.
Mountaintops, however, do not have the disciplinary depth and focus that magnets offer.
For academics, a mountaintop capstone may be a unique opportunity to collaborate with
colleagues from different disciplines. Because the intended learning outcomes are not
specific to any one discipline, the focus is on the generic capabilities students should
develop, and on helping students to understand the business environment and how
different disciplines contribute to complex business challenges.
Nevertheless, developing and implementing a multidisciplinary mountaintop capstone
poses significant challenges. These include:
ownership of the subject and related decisions about who funds
what;
the time and complexity involved in developing the subject with
input from academics in different disciplines;
deciding on contentwhat to include and exclude;
finding academics willing to invest in such a collaborative effort;
and
potentially, coordinating a teaching team comprising staff from
different departments.
Overcoming these obstacles in the mountaintop capstone requires senior executive
commitment and support, and adequate resourcing such as workload provision. It also
requires flexibility, trust and goodwill from all those involved.
Magnet capstones, by comparison, being confined to a single discipline, are likely to be
owned by a single department, and thus be simpler to administer. They also tend to
be easier to teach because lecturers are not required to venture outside their discipline
area.
Despite the challenges associated with mountaintops, the experience of the University of
Wollongongs Faculty of Commerce shows that these challenges are not insurmountable,
and can be well worth the effort to achieve success.
Case study
The University of Wollongongs Faculty of Commerce has recently developed a
suite of mountaintop capstone subjects in its Bachelor of Commerce program.
Students learn how to apply the principles of socially innovative commerce
through a live business simulation or by conducting original research.
A cross-functional, cross-disciplinary and cross-school team ensured that the
graduate qualities and the principles of socially innovative commerce were
woven into the curriculum and assessed in a meaningful way, and is now a
Capstone Sub-Committee of the Facultys Education Committee. The team is
charged with the tasks of ensuring quality teaching, learning and assessment
in the capstone, and managing assessment tasks for assurance of learning.
The Dean has strongly supported this move, allocating staff dedicated
to developing and implementing the simulation. This represents genuine
commitment and a substantial investment by the Faculty. Developing a subject
that does not sit within any one school proved challenging. Decisions had to
be made by someone outside the school structures, which in this case was the
Dean. Support and involvement from the Dean, and support from top faculty
management were critical to the capstones success.
Anecdotal evidence from Wollongong University business staff and students
demonstrates at this early stage that students are making considerable
connections between theory and practice and that the capstone subjects are
achieving their stated learning outcomes.
MANAGING THE CHANGE TO
CAPSTONES
Introducing capstone subjects, or making major improvements to existing ones, involves
significant curriculum changes. These can be problematic, involving political as well as
pedagogical issues. The change process is rarely linear and varies in different contexts.
The five partner business schools in this project have a variety of patterns of capstones.
Each school has managed the change process to incorporate capstones in varied ways
that reflect the schools distinctive contexts and histories. In all cases, ad hoc capstones
had been offered for some timeled by the enthusiasm of individual lecturers and
departments, rather than at school level. Some schools then decided to introduce
capstones across all majors in a more strategic, systematic way, and some decided to
implement or were thinking of introducing a mountaintop subject, while retaining existing
magnets. Others however left the development of capstones more to the individual
departments. In some cases, as part of the change management process, existing
subjects were tweaked to make them capstones.
For example
A degree had a mountaintop capstone that was heavy with new content. As that
content was useful, the subject was retained as core, and an existing subject
in each major was tweaked to become a magnet capstone. For example, an
existing entrepreneurship subject, with a practically oriented student project,
was an ideal candidate. The Head and Deputy Head of Department led this
process, supported by the Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning).
Some capstone subjects are less capstone-like than others. This can be due to lack
of knowledge of what a capstone is, lack of institutional support, or that the subject has
driftedor indeed has been intentionally shiftedaway from its original vision. A number
of staff we interviewed admitted they really did not know what a capstone is. Because
of disciplinary, departmental and personal sensitivitiesand, sometimes, ignorance
implementing true capstones across a school may be difficult. But associate deans
(teaching and learning) can manage this issue by providing professional development
for staff and by encouraging dialogue amongst lecturers teaching capstones in different
disciplines.
The research on organisational change management provides guidance on how to
manage the change to capstone subjects in a way that engages and supports lecturers
and maximises the chances of successfully implementing these subjects. We draw here
on a popular change framework developed by Kotter (1995), while acknowledging there
are other frameworks.
Find a driver or motivator
Kotter suggests that successful change efforts are fuelled by a sense of urgency. This
can be in the form of a crisis or an opportunity. In the case of capstone subjects, a range
of possible motivators may push for change, as discussed above.
For example
One university had collected data from students showing that, while individual
subjects were evaluated positively, the business program as a whole did not
rate highly. Feedback showed that students at times found it difficult to see
how the whole program hangs together. This provided some momentum and
a context for introducing capstone subjects.
For example
At Queensland University of Technology, a focus on evaluating learning
outcomes for accreditation purposes created a culture shift in the organisation,
especially after the first round of evaluated outcomes. In this context, the
Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) encouraged ownership of the
outcomes by the whole faculty. She brought the team together to map out
what they were trying to achieve in their major and to work out how this would
be evaluated. Each capstone was used to measure at least one learning goal.
Provide leadership
Leadership is another key ingredient of successful change. To introduce true capstones
across the board in a school, support from the top is essential, particularly from deans
and associate deans (teaching and learning) or equivalent. Leadership on the ground
may come from a program director with responsibility for curriculum design and
assurance of learning, or from learning advisors. Enthusiastic lecturers also influence
others by modelling good practice and providing peer support for those new to capstone
development and teaching.
Communicate a vision
Communicating a clear and compelling vision of where the change effort will lead is
important for engaging the people involved. A clear vision helps staff understand why
capstones matter and the expected outcomes of successful capstone experiences. Some
groundwork may be needed to enthuse staff. Discussing the drivers for capstones,
mentioned previously, is important. So too is disseminating ideas about why capstones
are good pedagogically, and satisfying to teach.
Motivate and empower those implementing change
For change to be successful, the individuals required to implement it must be empowered
to act, and to try new approaches. Senior staff are largely dependent on the capacity
and willingness of teaching staff to support change implementation (Hegarty, 2008).
Our interviews with lecturers teaching capstone subjects revealed that usually only limited
professional development was provided on how to develop and teach a capstone. Some
generic support may have been available, e.g. from teaching and learning advisors.
Even so, some lecturers clearly struggled, especially if they had been teaching content-
driven subjects and were now expected to teach a subject with little or no new content.
Provide evidence of change
To maintain momentum and prevent a change effort from waning, people need to see
compelling evidence within a year or two that the changes are yielding results. Formal
assurance of learning processes may produce such evidence in a relatively short time
frame. Regular curriculum reviews are now an accepted part of university life, and these
too can provide an impetus to refresh capstones.
PLANNING A CAPSTONE SUBJECT
Once the decision is made to introduce a newor refresh an existingcapstone
subject, what then? Some groundwork is useful for understanding the context of the
subject, the characteristics of students taking it, the skills and knowledge they should
already have, the skills required of professionals in the industry, available resources,
and any potential constraints.
The context
It can be useful to think about the context by asking:
Why is the capstone subject being introduced?
How does it contribute to the goals and learning outcomes of
the degree program and, if relevant, the major in which it is
embedded?
How can the subject reflect broader signature themes in the
institution and/or the school?
If the subject has been offered before, what information is
available from lecturers teaching it previously?
Is there information about the student experience?
Characteristics of the students
The characteristics of students doing the subject can influence how the subject is
planned, what key content from the major or degree is revisited, and the most appropriate
approaches to teaching and learning. Relevant questions to ask include:
How many students will take the subject?
How diverse is the cohort?
What is the nature of the diversity?
What majors/degrees are students undertaking? (We found that
there can be students from as many as 14 majors in mountaintop
capstones.)
I think its important to understand your students. Its different
teaching 60 Aussie students compared to 150 international students.
[My previous university] would provide lecturers with an overview
of the students in their unitwhat course they were studying and
demographic profiling. For example, if I had lots of finance people, Id
know what they hadnt been exposed to.
(Lecturer, human resource management capstone)
Students existing knowledge and skills
Given that integration is a key objective of a capstone subject, it is helpful to find out what
knowledge and skills students have, or should have, when they come to the capstone.
All too often [lecturers] overestimate skills, prior knowledge, and competencies
(Diamond, 2008: 96). Lecturers teaching prerequisite subjects can advise what students
have learnt and the types of assessment they have done. It can also be useful to do
some diagnostic work early in the capstone subject as a way of revealing general
misunderstandings or gaps in knowledge. This can be done as part of a learning activity,
such as a brief quiz, or an active discussion exercise.
It is worth noting that, because of the vagaries of student progression, most universities
do not require students to have completed all or even most of the subjects in the major
or degree before attempting the capstonewhich would clearly be the ideal. This may
create challenges in designing the capstone.
The skills required of professionals in the industry
In each discipline, there is usually a particular set of skills that employers look for in
graduates, in addition to the generic skills that apply across disciplines. Capstone
subjects are an opportunity to develop these skills in students.
Ive spent 25 years in business so I know what kind of graduate skills
are important. Ive trained thousands of managers in business so I take
a hard-nosed approach. If they cant do a presentation, they wont get
a job. Im conscious of giving them skills they can use at work.
Examples of skills emphasised in capstone subjects include the ability to:
write a key message quickly and succinctly;
make decisions in a dynamic, changing environment;
manage data on Excel spreadsheets;
implement metrics to measure the outcomes of organisational
interventions;
write organisational policies; and
use project management tools.
It is useful to keep abreast of the type of work students are doing after they graduate and
which skills they are using.
I look at graduate job ads in my discipline regularly. If students dont
know how to approach some of those tasks, they are in trouble! So
we use those tasks as learning activities and assessment items. I
also regularly talk to employers and new graduates, those out in the
workforce for about a year. You only have to speak to a few each year
to get some great ideas for what graduates need to be able to do.
Resources and constraints
Potential constraints are numerous. Timetabling rules, such as an insistence on two-hour
lectures and one-hour tutorials, large classes and learning spaces that are unsuitable
for facilitative teaching approaches, are just a few examples. Leadership in schools is
very important, particularly deans and associate deans (teaching and learning) who are
approachable and willing to advocate on behalf of staff. At the same time, there are often
useful resources available such as funding to develop classroom activities, and learning
advisors who can help with blended learning technologies and pedagogy generally.
Balancing looking backwards and looking forwards
Planning a capstone subject requires some thinking about how to achieve a balance
between looking backwards and looking forwards. Based on our audit of business
school capstones, it appears most capstones emphasise the looking backwards function
more strongly than the looking forwards function. More than half of subject descriptions
used words and phrases such as drawing on, applying, reviewing, building on and
integrating, while only 10 per cent emphasised the intention to prepare students for the
workplace. Of course, it may be that subject descriptions are sketchy and do not truly
reflect what schools, departments and lecturers actually do. However, other research
has found that capstone subjects tend to focus more on integration, consolidation and
synthesis of learning in the degree program, than on transition to the workplace (Starr-
Glass, 2010).
Ensuring that the capstone helps prepare students for their transition to the workplace
and helps them develop their professional identity requires some planning and thinking
about how these aims can be achieved. Some useful questions to consider include:
What does professional identity mean in the context of my
discipline? (This can be more difficult to answer in disciplines
that do not have a single specific professional exit point, such as
management).
How will my goals, learning and teaching activities, and
assessment contribute to students developing a professional
identity?
How will I balance the cognitive and affective aspects of the
capstone I teach? In other words, alongside intellectual aspects,
how will I address issues like self-confidence and self-efficacy?
As one researcher puts it:
To prepare for the workplace, students must have confidence in their
ability to perform, and believe they can be successful; students are in
a better position to put what they have learned into practice when they
have self-belief. (Dunlap, 2005: 77)
The key question is: how can this be achieved in practice?
Research has found that simulated work situations, exposure to professionals, reflection
on personal philosophy and what it means to be a graduate of a discipline, can help
students adapt to their changing role on the cusp of graduation (Cuseo, 1998; Hovorka,
2009). Reflection is a critical activity in problem-based and experiential learning. Writing
regularly in journals can encourage students to reflect on what they have learnt and
accomplished, the professional skills they have developed (Dunlap, 2005: 80), how
theory is and can be translated into practice (Argyris & Schon, 1974) and how issues
such as ethics and sustainability inform their practice.
For example
A lecturer teaching a capstone subject at Griffith University helps students to
develop a professional identity in three key ways.
The subject outline explicitly foregrounds developing students
professional identity as a primary goal of the subject.
Some of the learning activities are designed particularly to
achieve that goal. For instance, students discuss with and
question guest practitioners about aspects of their work such
as ethical dilemmas.
Assessment is also designed to help develop students
professional identity. For example, students prepare a journal
in which they reflect on issues raised by guest practitioners,
on their experiences of working in a team, and on other issues
associated with their professional development.
Integration in practice
Another challenge in planning a capstone subject is thinking about how to integrate the
theory and knowledge students have already acquired. Clearly it is not possible to revisit
everything they have learnt at university. Lecturers therefore need to decide which key
concepts they will revisit and how. Some lecturers briefly remind students of previously
studied information as it applies to the task at hand and then provide sources where
students can, if necessary, review content for themselves. Capstone lecturers invariably
encourage integration of learning by deliberately designing assessment items in a way
that requires students to draw on what they have previously learnt.
Obviously you cant revisit every single thing, so I just figure you do
well enough to pick a few topics that you yourself think are reasonably
contemporary and interesting and cover issues that are of major
concern in workplaces, and then give them learning activities in class
and, in particular, assessment items so they CANT just apply a few
bits of knowledge to the issue.
I revisit some of the theory covered before, but our focus is on how that
theory is dealt with in practice. We look at it from the firms perspective
but keep it light, referring to two or three concepts from the particular
area that are critical.
Generic skills
The academic debate on generic skills development ranges widely (e.g. Barrie,
2004, 2007; Green, Hammer & Star, 2009)
4
and each university has its own list of
desirable generic skills and terminology (including the related graduate attributes
and employability skills). For simplicity, we use the term generic skills here. Useful
professional development and teaching resources have been provided by others,
including the ALTC Graduate Skills project (Rigby, Wood, Clark-Murphy, Daly, Dixon,
Kavanagh, Leveson, Petocz, Thomas & Vu, 2010; see www.graduateskills.edu.au).
Generic skills can be embedded in, and assessed, using capstone subjects (Holdsworth,
Watty & Davies, 2009; van Acker & Bailey, 2011). Many of the capstone lecturers we
spoke with, however, expected students to have already mastered these skills, or were
unclear how the skills could be taught and assessed in capstones. Others accepted that
they needed to help students further develop their skills. They accepted that students
were at different points along the generic skills continuum and that consolidating
generic skillslike other aspects of the curriculumrequires students to integrate
and repeatedly practice their skills in authentic settings that reflect typical professional
environments.
The following core principles regarding generic skills are relevant to capstone subjects
(adapted from van Acker & Bailey, 2011):
Capstone subjects are particularly useful for embedding generic
skills, as capstones normally encourage students to pursue
experiential, active, authentic approaches that approximate (or
actually are) real-world problems.
4 ALTC/OLT projects which address this issue (reports and other resources to be found at www.olt.gov.au),
include: Facilitating Staff and Student Engagement with Graduate Attribute Development, Assessment and
Standards in Business Faculties; Accounting for the Future: More than Numbers; and Good Practice Report:
Assuring Graduate Outcomes.
Some skills can be developed at university, such as
communication, problem solving, analysis and teamwork. Others
may be best developed in the workplace, e.g. leadership and
entrepreneurial skills, and decision-making (Crebert, Bates,
Bell, Patrick & Cragnolini, 2004). This debate is not settled, so
lecturers will have to make informed choices about which skills
should be developed in their capstone subject.
Subjects that enhance generic skills development make strong
links between what students learn in the classroom and its
practical application in the workplace (Crebert et al., 2004:
158). Given their specific purposes and approaches, capstones
provide rich opportunities to link theory with practice.
Individual lecturers, working independently, cannot be expected
to achieve significant improvements in embedding graduate
skills (de la Harpe, Radloff & Wyber, 2000: 239). Schools and
departments need to discuss how graduate skills are to be
developed collaboratively, across the degree program, before
students reach their capstone, and what students can be
expected to know and do when they reach this closing stage.
DEVELOPING LEARNING GOALS
AND OBJECTIVES
After some basic planning and consideration of broad issues such as integration of
content and generic skills, and balancing the looking backwards with the looking
forwards function, the learning goals and objectives need to be set. They should reflect
the unique nature and intended purposes of capstones and will be influenced by the
nature and requirements of the discipline area. The need for formal assurance of learning
processes may also shape goals and objectives to some extent.
A useful guiding principle when developing learning goals and objectives is to consider
these two looking forwards questions: What would I like the impact of this course to be
on students, two to three years after the course is over? What would distinguish students
who have taken this course from students who have not? (Fink, 2003).
For example
The University of New South Wales has developed an Assessment as Learning
Toolkit (available at www.teaching.unsw.edu.au/assessment-toolkit), which
usefully lists some of the typical learning outcomes of capstone subjects:
extension of analytical and strategic thinking and problem-
solving skills;
application of theory into practice;
development of career networking capabilities;
consolidation of higher-level applied communication skills
(written, oral, interpersonal, professional presentation);
application of employment-related teamwork skills;
demonstration of professional dispositions and ethical stance;
appreciation of complexity and ambiguity;
cross-cultural sensitivity and global awareness;
self-reflexivity as a learner and commitment to further learning
and development;
innovativeness and creativity; and
leadership capabilities.

The case studies of capstone subjects provided in Appendix B also give examples of
specific learning goals and objectives in different discipline areas.
Lecturers recounting their personal experiences with teaching capstones, warn of a
tendency to over achieve, with the consequence that nothing is done well. Capstones
can become overburdened if lecturers attempt to incorporate everything important that
they feel was left out of the major, and/or try to do too many different things.
The author ran into this problem when he tried to review major core
content, integrate the content with [a major body of philosophical
theory]; discuss communication ethicsincluding various philosophical
systems; elaborate on postmodernism; deal with racial, ethnic and
diversity issues; process some current internships and prepare
students for vocations and jobs. Unfortunately, in trying to cover so
many topics, nothing was really done well. (Heinemann, 1997: 10)
Lecturers meet this challenge in different ways, for instance:
Sometimes I find the more I read and learn from people, the more
confused I get; what should I be doing? Too much information, too
many ideas! So I have to keep focussed on what is the most important
thing I can do with these students, this week, that will make them
better, more humane ER practitioners, that also fits with my style as a
teacher and my interests in particular topics?
By definition, it is not the responsibility of lecturers teaching capstone subjects to fill the
gaps, covering key concepts or developing important skills not addressed in previous
subjects. If there are significant gaps, they need to be addressed elsewhere in the
curriculum. This can be done as part of a formal degree (or major) review, but often
informal conversations between staff can be helpful.
I think it would be a useful exercise for everyone teaching in the major
to get together once a year and review whats taught as a group and
how the whole major fits together; and what kinds of assessment items
on what topics we are giving them.
For example
Lecturers we interviewed described how they addressed skill gaps elsewhere
in the degree:
Students had done very few oral presentations before they got to the
capstone, so I asked a lecturer teaching a core second year course to
incorporate a presentation in her assessment. She was only too happy to
do so.
Lecturers also were not afraid to change the approach they used in their
capstone:
I initially tried to take a strategy approach to teaching the capstone, but
in fact students hadnt done much in the way of strategy previously. And
its such a complex issue to do full justice to. So in the end I reoriented
the course around everyday decision-making and activities in workplaces,
rather than about the big picture. In an ideal world it might be good to do
both, but we can only do so much.
Some lecturers highlighted the importance of signalling to students in the brief subject
description on the website, and again as part of the goals or objectives of the capstone,
that capstones provide experiences different from other subjects, highlighting their
challenges and rewards. One even cites in her subjects study outline Durels definition
of a capstone, cited earlier in this Guide, to underline for students the rite of passage
function of the capstone.
LEARNING AND TEACHING
ACTIVITIES
The past decade or two has seen a significant shift in the role lecturers are expected to
play in the learning process, and there is extensive literature on this issue.
5
Traditionally,
academics were regarded as disciplinary experts who imparted knowledge by lecturing
by transmissive rather than facilitative means, as discussed earlier in this Guide. Now,
lecturers are expected to be designers of the learning environment, who apply the best
methods to produce learning and student success (Barr & Tagg, 1995: 24). Research
has indeed shown that the choice of learning activities and the quality of instruction can
make a difference to student outcomes. According to Gardiner, the higher the quality
of instruction, the less relevant to achievement are the entering students abilities
(Gardiner, 1994: 110). In other words, students abilities are important, but good teaching
makes a difference.
Research has also shown which approaches to teaching are most effective. For example,
it has been established that:
6

students learn more effectively when they are actively involved,
as opposed to passively listening and taking notes;
5 ALTC/OLT projects which address this issue, resulting in useful reports and support materials, include Business
Education in the 21
st
Century: Examining the Antecedents and Consequences of Student Team Virtuality (www.
projectvirtuality.com/ALTC/); Good Practice Report: Technology-enhanced Learning and Teaching (www.olt.gov.
au/); Good Practice Report: Blended Learning (www.olt.gov.au/); Engaging Industry: Embedding Professional
Learning in the Business Curriculum (www.olt.gov.au/); Building Academic Staff Capacity for Using Simulations
in Professional Education for Experience Transfer (www.olt.gov.au/); Enhancing Undergraduate Engagement
through Research and Enquiry (www.mq.edu.au/ltc/altc/ug_research/index.htm) and The Academics and Policy-
makers Guides to the Teaching-Research Nexus (www.olt.gov.au/). There are ALTC/OLT reports on areas of
particular interest such as Embedding the Development of Intercultural Competence in Business Education and
Strategies and Approaches to Teaching and Learning Across Cultures (both at: www.olt.gov.au/).
6 These points have been drawn from the work of Gardiner (1994), Angelo (1993) and Chickering, Gamson
& Barsi (1989).
cooperative learning (rather than competitive or individual
learning) leads to greater reasoning ability and higher self-
esteem;
changes in students ability to think critically are significantly and
positively correlated with lecturers overt recognition of genuine
effort, interaction among students and lecturers, and high-level
cognitive responses from other students in class; and
teaching is more effective when the learning activities take
account of the diverse ways in which students learn.
Based on these principles and given the typical goals of capstone subjects, learning
activities should actively engage students and provide opportunities for them to interact
with lecturers and with each other.
I think the hour lecture, two-hour tute is good [as opposed to the
opposite of a two-hour lecture, one-hour tute]. In the lecture, you zone
out sometimes. But in the tute, youre discussing things. Its more
interactive, and better that way.
(Student)
The literature says that tasks and activities should be authentic (that is, approximate,
or be based on, actual scenarios), as a means of preparing students for their transition
to work. This can be challenging for lecturers, especially those accustomed to teaching
content-driven subjects.
In the capstone, you have to focus much more on active learning
strategies, much more on what the students do rather than what you do.
And thats really hard! ... So I do find it very different. But more passive
education is just not going to help our students really understand the
nature of our discipline and what its practice means in the workplace.
Lectures in capstone subjects
The lecture is the traditional mode of delivery of content in higher education. Lectures
given by talented university staff can be interactive and highly stimulating. However,
research has also shown that traditional lectures involving the transmission of large
amounts of information in a relatively short space of time, with little engagement and
interaction between students, is not an effective way of developing the higher order
thinking, communication and interpersonal skills aimed for in a capstone subject.
Although faculty, employers, and government leaders agree
that graduates need critical-thinking, complex problem-solving,
communication, and interpersonal skills, research shows that the
lecture is still the predominant method of instruction in US higher
education. (Diamond, 2008: 7)
Numerous studies of college classrooms reveal that, rather than actively
involving our students in learning, we lecture, even though lectures are
not nearly as effective as other means for developing cognitive skills.
In addition, students may be attending to lectures only about one-half
of their time in class, and retention of information from lectures is low.
(Gardiner, 1996: 7)
This view on shortcomings of lectures was reflected in our interview and survey data on
lecturers, students and alumnis views of capstones.
Traditional lectures, especially if the lecturer is reading off the slides,
are ineffective, and students will either not attend the lectures or not
pay attention to lectures. Little or no benefit will be gained through
traditional lecture teaching methods if they are not interactive and
interesting.
(Alumnus response)
It shouldnt be lecturer-driven delivery. We are trying to prepare
students for work, so they have to step up to take a level of involvement.
Our audit of capstone subjects found the following with respect to their delivery:
Nearly half of the subjects (49 per cent) do not include lectures
at all. Instead, students participate in seminars and workshops,
simulation activities and/or weekly meetings with lecturers and
supervisors to discuss progress on set tasks.
Twenty-one per cent have shortened lectures. Time is then
devoted to seminars and interactive workshops, sometimes
mixed with simulations or weekly meetings with supervisors from
an organisation the student is working for.
Only 30 per cent follow a traditional two-hour lecture and one-
hour tutorial format.
Lectures, where they are used, should be engaging and interactive and should
incorporate appropriate learning activities, to achieve the objectives of a capstone
subject. Examples of activities used by lecturers include:
devoting at least half of the lecture time to workshops and
student-centred activities;
making lectures interactive; e.g. by discussing how topics are
being covered in the media or showing a relevant video, which
students discuss in small groups or as a large class;
I think the social atmosphere of a class is really important; getting
everyone comfortable about talking, about bringing in their own
experiences, and listening to others (as often students think its only
the lecturer who has anything interesting or worthwhile to say).
I try to keep discussion flowing, I work the room, I talk to people
from different areas of the lecture theatre, as students have to feel
comfortable, and that the learning environment is nurturing.
sharing personal work experiences;
inviting guest speakers, who bring relevant material and practical
examples for students to analyse, and also pose open-ended
dilemmas for students to discuss; and
showing mini-documentaries or interviews that the lecturer has
recorded with practitioners or with former students now working.
For example, a lecturer teaching international business recorded
an interview with a businessman from Iraq talking about the
challenges of doing business in a war zone.
We have industry adjuncts come in and they provide a lot of exciting
anecdotes and stories of things theyve dealt with in practice, and
students find that very engaging.
(Lecturer, international business capstone)
How much new content?
How much new content should be introduced is a vexed question. The way capstone
subjects are defined suggests that they should not introduce any new content. In practice,
lecturers told us that it is often necessary to introduce some new content although, if it is
too extensive, the subject is unlikely to fulfil its functions as a capstone. Some lecturers
do not introduce any new content at all, but focus on the application of theory already
presented.
We say to students, You wont be learning any new content in this unit
but youll be learning to use it in different ways and be challenged in
how you apply it. Theres no new content, but lots of new contexts.
(Lecturer, public relations capstone)
Other lecturers introduce some new material or ideas, by building on and extending
theory covered in previous subjects, or by introducing frameworks as a way of integrating
knowledge or casting a new lens over material.
I introduce a few frameworks that they have not covered before and
use those frameworks to build on the stuff they should have covered
before.
The content centres on revisiting major ideas that they should know
well from other courses, but putting them in a much more applied
context. I also introduce some new ideas like doing workplace
investigations and critiquing examples of individual work contracts.
Some subjects introduce new ways of framing existing knowledge. For example, the
University of Wollongongs new mountaintop capstone subject in commerce is framed
around the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, which is new to most students, but
helps organise what they already know. Some lecturers bring in new material at times to
address current issues; e.g. the advent of the global financial crisis was highly relevant
to many disciplines and needed to be addressed in the capstone subject. This was
arguably a case of a new context rather than new content.
As a rule, therefore, a capstone subject should not introduce substantial amounts of
new content, but rather focus on giving students opportunities to integrate and apply
the knowledge they already have, and to develop the skills required for a successful
transition to the workplace.
Ideas from our research
The case studies of capstones in Appendix B provide many ideas about learning
activities. As capstone subjects are diverse, so too is the range of learning activities that
can be used. These will be shaped by factors including size of classes and timetabling
issues, the discipline area, and teaching styles and philosophies.
Useful learning activities in a capstone subject depend on a whole
lot of contingent factors, like what your own teaching style is, the
discipline itself, the nature of the student body. So I wouldnt want to
be too prescriptive! I dont think a lot of straight lecturing is very useful
... Anything that gets students doing something that builds on their
existing knowledge and understanding, and gets them to apply it in a
new context, or in a different way (i.e., specifically giving advice to a
CEO or line manager, as opposed to discussing or analysing a topic)
is a good thing to do.
Drawing on our interviews with lecturers and surveys of alumni, the types of learning
activities that lecturers use and alumni recommend are listed below.
Practical activities. These are activities similar to the ones
graduates will be required to do in the workplace.
The final year should focus on activities and assessments that mirror
common tasks in the workplace, such as presenting pitches and writing
reports. Those that succeed in the workplace can also think creatively
and back up their ideas with solid research, so a self-directed research
project in final year subjects would help with this.
(Alumnus response)
The work students do should clearly link to something theyll have to
do in the workplace.
(Lecturer, financial planning capstone)
For example
In one capstone subject, students do regular professional practice exercises,
focussed on skills required of professionals in the industry. These include writing
informal briefing notes, memos to line managers and short policy documents.
The turnaround between being assigned the exercise, and handing it in, is only
one to two weeks.
A lecturer in another capstone subject runs bootcamps where students have
half an hour to complete a work-relevant task such as writing a media release
or a client brief.
Capstone lecturers often emphasisemore so than in other
subjectsthat students must carry out learning activities in a
highly professional way. For example, students must arrive at
classes and meetings on time, keep time sheets and submit
contracts.
We dont give students as much direction in this subject and the focus
is always on getting them to be workplace ready. For example, if they
dont meet the deadlines for submitting their briefs or submissions, we
say that this would not be tolerated in the workplace. Deadlines have to
be met. So simple things like time management are emphasised more
in this subject than in others.
(Lecturer, public policy capstone)
Alumni in our survey endorsed the requirement that capstone
students behave as professionals even though they are students.
I would suggest using tutorials to simulate completely professional
environments, rather than a casual learning environment; for example,
demand a dress code, allocate divisions to work on a class project,
have formal meetings and discussionsjust raise expectations for
tutorial attendance, engagement and output.
(Alumnus response)
Case studies. These are popular in capstone subjects, as
learning activities and/or assessment items. A number of
lecturers we spoke with use case studies, and many alumni
suggested they are useful in preparing students for work.
7

7 More information about the case study method is provided at Appendix C.
Contact with industry professionals. Alumni suggested that
contact with industry professionals is a useful way for capstone
students to gain insight into the realities of work in their chosen
discipline.
Its useful to have industry speakers to really explain what is involved in
the workplace how you need to be on time, work overtime, present
professionally, speak clearly and directly to people, support firm
values, and the list goes on.
One lecturer built his weekly presentations around the real world of
commerce with video interviews with small business owners. It was
great to get the sense of reality backing the theory of what he was
teaching us.
(I would like) more guest lectures, such as presentations on a day in
the life of a .
Some lecturers involve practitioners in their subject as guest
lecturers and in grading assessment items. They spoke of the
value of giving students exposure to someone from industry who
can talk about how theory works in practice.
In my view, no single person has all the skills to do everything well, so
I like to bring the very best into the classes where I can.
There are various ways of involving practitioners in capstone
subjects. Some lecturers give practitioners specific topics to
address. One lecturer asks practitioners to provide relevant
material and practical examples for students to analyse and also
to pose open-ended dilemmas for students to discuss.
An industry or work placement. Many alumni indicated that a
work placement is useful in preparing students for employment,
and that sharing experiences of placements in other
organisations and industries was a useful learning exercise. As
noted previously in this Guide, there is a blurred line between an
industry placement (particularly one that is specifically designed
to be a capstone experience) and a capstone subject that
authentically replicates in the classroom some of the tasks and
challenges that a new graduate would face.
I think work experience should be mandatory. Experience is more
important than an undergraduate degree (everyone has one).
I undertook work experience that I organised myself, and I learnt more
doing this than I did in any subject/activity at university itself.
Simulations. Our audit found that simulations are used
in only 5 per cent of capstone subjects. Two lecturers we
interviewed teach marketing capstones using simulations. This
low percentage may be due to costs, as many of the better
computer-based simulations are commercial products for which
universities (or students) must pay. It may also be due to the low
quality of many simulations, or the fact that a complex simulation
may quickly become outdated.
The simulation teaches students about group dynamics, decision
making and managing the profitability of a business based on
marketing strategies theyve developed it builds students capacity
to make decisions in a dynamic environment. Other courses teach
them static skills, that is, making decisions at a particular point in time.
A few alumni mentioned that simulations they had done at
university were useful as a way of applying knowledge in a
competitive scenario, and provided an opportunity to reflect on
business practice.
Discussions and debates. Most of the lecturers we spoke
to encourage discussions and debates among students to
make lectures and tutorials as engaging as possible. Large
class sizes can make it difficult to achieve high levels of
engagement. Lecturers use a range of stimuli for discussion
such as newspaper articles, YouTube clips, case study scenarios
and recorded interviews (as mentioned above), with the aim of
demonstrating and discussing how theory relates to practice.
This course was great because it allowed us to develop our critical
thinking by opening a discussion during the lecture and tutorial
sessions rather than having us sitting down for hours listening to a
tutor/lecturer.
(Alumnus response)
I found class discussions about current affairs and their impact on the
business world was both beneficial and enjoyable.
(Alumnus response)
I try to be interactive. For example, the lecture starts with an overview
of the topic. To indicate the relevance of the topic Id talk about where
the issues are being discussed in the papers. Id give students a
question and show a relevant video and get them to discuss it in small
groups and then have a forum. Id use a microphone and do an Oprah
session. Id keep reinforcing the academic material.
(Lecturer, human resource management capstone)
Learning by teaching. This strategy, suggested by alumni
and used by some lecturers, has students teach their fellow
students about a particular topic. This may be as part of a formal
oral presentation, or a less formal activity. An example of the
former is an assessable oral presentation about a contemporary
professional issue that requires the presenters to engage the
class in active learning. An example of the latter is a discussion
board on the subject website, where students post queries about
assessment items, with the lecturer encouraging students to
post comments, responding only if absolutely necessary.
ASSESSMENT
Much has been written about assessment in higher education.
8
This Guide does not
attempt to comprehensively cover that expanse of theory and research. Instead, it
presents a brief overview of some of the principles of assessment relevant to capstone
subjects, drawn from the literature and our own research. It also provides some practical
ideas and examples of assessment in capstone subjects.
Some principles from the literature
The literature identifies some key overarching good-practice principles for the design
and practice of assessment. Specifically, research by Boud and associates (2010), and
by team members of the Graduate Skills Project, suggests that assessment should:
9
Be constructively aligned.
The fundamental principle of constructive alignment is that a good
teaching system aligns teaching method and assessment to the
learning activities stated in the objectives so that all aspects of this
system are in accord in supporting appropriate student learning.
(Biggs, 1999: 11)
Thus assessment in capstone subjects should require students
to integrate and apply knowledge, rather than recall new
knowledge, to be aligned with the typical learning objectives of a
capstone.
8 ALTC/OLT projects which address this issue include Assessment Futures (www.iml.uts.edu.au/assessment-
futures/); Assessment 2.0 (www.olt.gov.au/); Enhancing Assessment Feedback Practices in Accounting
Education (www.jcu.edu.au/feedback/); Whats Happening in Assessment? 2009 (www.olt.gov.au/); and
Transforming Assessment (www.transformingassessment.com).
9 See the Seven propositions for assessment reform in higher education, developed by David Boud and others
(2010), and www.graduateskills.com.
Be organised holistically. The capstones assessment cannot
be designed in isolation, as subjects in the degree should
complement and reinforce each other. To fully develop graduate
attributes requires a systemic approach to assessment that
builds and enhances those attributes through tasks that are
diverse, complementary and embedded strategically throughout
the program of study. Thus students should arrive at the
capstone subject ready to have their graduate skills confirmed
for the last time, in preparation for their transition to the
workplace.
For example
The program goals of Queensland University of Technologys marketing
major were decided collaboratively by the whole marketing discipline group
and the subjects of the program were displayed on a curriculum map. Each
subject coordinator then worked through how and at what point each goal of
each subject was taught, practised and assessed. The group negotiated how
these goals would be spread over the entire marketing program, ensuring that
each was assessed at least twice. In the marketing major capstone subject,
it was decided that two goals, namely Social and Ethical Understanding, and
Professional Communication (oral) would not be assessed as it was impractical
and/or inappropriate. Instead a third year subject was used to map the final
approach to these important learning outcomes in the marketing major. All
subject coordinators are aware that any change to assessment involves a
process of negotiation due to its impact on the mapping of the attributes across
the entire marketing program. While this can seem restrictive, there is a certain
freedom in working together as a team to achieve program outcomes.

Involve students. Research

(e.g. Sadler, 2009) is increasingly
calling for greater openness and student involvement in the
assessment process. Students can be given opportunities to
provide input into the amount and type of assessment and the
marking criteria used, to ensure that assessment practices are
fair and effective. The aim is to help students develop their ability
to evaluate the quality, completeness and/or accuracy of work
with respect to appropriate standards, and have the confidence
to express their judgements with conviction. This is especially
important when they are about to enter the workforce where they
will need to assess their own (and others) work.
Be sustainable. For students to become effective lifelong
learners, they need to be able to conduct their own assessment
of the learning tasks they face throughout their lives (Boud,
2000). They should be able to identify whether they have
met appropriate standards and to seek feedback from peers,
other practitioners, and written and other sources. Boud calls
for a renewed focus on the role of formative assessment
which focuses learners attention more on the processes of
assessment.
If students are to be encouraged to be lifelong learners, they must
be weaned away from any tendency towards over-reliance on the
opinions of others. Ultimately, in real world contexts, they must be able
to judge or evaluate the adequacy, completeness or appropriateness
of their own learning, so whatever assessment practices are used must
be comprehensible to the learners so that they can be internalised as
criteria for critical self-evaluation. (Candy, Crebert & OLeary, 1994:
150, cited in Boud & Falchikov, 2006)
A number of lecturers we interviewed said that they use formative
assessment in capstones by making the first assessment
piece worth a small percentage. Attaching some weight to the
assessment helps motivate students to make an effort and tackle
the task seriously.
For example
In a problem-based accounting capstone, the first problem is completely
formative. It is called a trial run. Students are given extensive feedback as
well as a model answer and a marking scheme.
A lecturer teaching an employment relations capstone asks students to submit
a written summary of what they plan to do for one of their major assessment
items. The summary is worth a small percentage and gives the lecturer an
opportunity to give students feedback on whether what they plan to do will fulfil
the goals of the exercise.
Students in a public policy capstone subject prepare a basic briefing note on a
topical issue, with a partner, to give them practice and to familiarise them with
the required format and writing style.
A lecturer teaching a finance capstone, for which the main piece of assessment
is a financial plan, gives the students clear and comprehensive marking criteria
against which their plan will be marked. She then gives students some sample
financial plans (some regarded as good and others not so good), which they
have to assess against the criteria. She says this approach helps reduce
students anxiety about the assessment task and improves students results.

Include clear and helpful feedback. Assessment should
include opportunities for staff to provide quality feedback and for
students to develop the skills they need to offer sound feedback
to each other. Students should regularly be given specific and
detailed information about what they have and have not done
well, and how their work could be improved. This is especially
important in capstone subjects which often involve assessment
tasks that are very different to those they have previously
encountered.
Provide evidence of overall achievement of learning
outcomes. Many separate, low-value pieces of assessment can
fragment learning without providing evidence of how students
knowledge and skills are interrelated. For the most part, final
grades should be based primarily on assessment of integrated
learning as demonstrated through larger-scale tasks that require
students to demonstrate coherent integrated learning, not
isolated or atomistic performance.
Types of assessment commonly used in capstone subjects
A wide range of assessment tasks are possible in capstone subjects.
The University of New South Wales has developed the useful Assessment as Learning
Toolkit (www.teaching.unsw.edu.au/assessment-toolkit), which lists examples of assessable
outputs commonly used in capstone subjects:
a case study based on a real-world situation (e.g. overviewing
an organisation, its mission, goals, long-term prospects and how
it interacts with various actors and forces in its environment);
a research grant proposal or plan based on authentic
professional or industry needs;
a feasibility report on a proposed initiative addressing an issue
of relevance to a particular professional or industry need;
a project management plan for a team-based product-design
project;
a research report on the project conducted through the
capstone;
a plan to develop and implement a program of activities for an
authentic professional or industry setting;
a series of communiqus addressed to those working in the
authentic professional or industry setting of the capstone project
work; and
an integrated portfolio of the students key learning outcomes
from the whole degree program.
As part of our audit of capstone subjects, we examined assessment tasks in capstone
subjects in Australian business schools. Of 58 subject outlines provided on university
websites that contained detailed information about assessment tasks, we distilled the
broad assessment types used in capstones (Table 3).
Table 3: Assessment in capstone subjects in Australian business schools
Assessment task Percentage of subjects*
Written reports or assignments 64%
Exams 52%
Oral presentations, often given in groups 48%
Case studies and concept exercises 31%
Reflective journals 19%
Participation in and contribution to
discussion forums and tutorials
19%
Project plans, proposals and/or scope
documents
14%
*Note: most subjects have more than one type of assessment task
While these findings suggest that exams are used in approximately half of capstone
subjects, some lecturers believe they are not appropriate in capstone subjects, and
do not use them. This view was shared by alumni asked to rank final-year assessment
items according to their usefulness in preparing students for work. These alumni ranked
exams as the least useful, and work placements, oral presentations, simulations or
games, and written analyses of case studies as the most useful (Figure 1). As one
alumnus said:
By final year we should not be asked to regurgitate textbooks in
exams. Likewise, lectures should not just replicate the slides that
are made available in advance. Students need to be challenged and
pushed to think, solve complex problems, draw insights [and] make
recommendations.
(Alumnus response)
Figure 1: Alumnis ranking of the usefulness of nal year assessment items
Despite these views, some lecturers and alumni think an exam is important, to
demonstrate that students can integrate and apply knowledge without relying on
assistance from textbooks or other people. Some universities, and some practitioner
bodies that accredit university degrees, require subjects to have a certain assessment
percentage allotted to exams, to ensure individual students knowledge can be certified
unambiguously.
According to basic tenets of capstones, if exams are used, they should not just test
students knowledge and understanding of theory, but should rather assess their ability
to apply theory, critically analyse issues and problems, and develop arguments, solutions
and recommendations.
I believe a final exam is still necessary in order to verify that it was the
student who did the coursework. However the questions should be
more about applying knowledge to situations rather than the ability to
memorise answers.
(Alumnus response)
RANKING OF ASSESSMENT ITEMS
8.0
7.0 6.7
6.6
6.2
6.1
5.5
5.4
5.1
5.0 5.0
3.5
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
Work
placements
Oral
presenta-
tions
Stimulations
or games
Written
analyses of
case studies
Literature
reviews
Project
proposals or
reports for
lecturer
Refective
journals
Project
proposals or
reports for
external
client
Essays Exams
In summary
Again, the case studies of capstone subjects in Appendix B give many ideas about
assessment regimes. In sum, lecturers and alumni said that assessment in capstone
subjects should:
be practical;
be real world or authentic; and
foster independence.
Assessment should focus more on real-life examples and problem-
solving, rather than concentrating on theory and essay-writing.
(Alumnus response)
I think assessment should be authentic and learning activities should
be ambiguous and soft-edged, and all those things that make it
harder for students and much more real world.
(Lecturer, public relations capstone)
The types of assessment and learning activities they suggested include:
case studies, especially ones based on actual situations that
are current and real, not on issues in outdated textbooks;
open-ended problems, again, which are current and
authentic;
practical reports and other written outputs, and oral
presentations, based on real life scenarios or current events;
A final marketing subject required our group to actually put together an
advertisement for a product and present to the class. I felt this allowed
us to apply our skills and knowledge to a potential work scenario.
(Alumnus response)
Essays are not called for in real work situations, nor are one-hour
exams on information learnt over a six month period. Reports on
real life situations and businesses, presentations to a small group
of stakeholders, and other formats of correspondence used in the
workplace, would be more beneficial to final year students.
(Alumnus response)
reports and assignments for real clients;
Working for a real client on a real project/campaign gave me the
opportunity not only to apply my skills and knowledge, but also to do
something that I could put on my resume and add to my portfolio of
work.
(Alumnus response)
Conducting a company analysis on real companies where I was
required to leave the classroom and interview real people with
real industry experience. This helped me get a holistic view of an
organisation and realise how all of my different study areas actually
functioned.
(Alumnus response)
novel and challenging approaches to skills development;
The most useful learning experience was [through] a professor who
encouraged us to strip away excess information and truly seek out
what was important, and to justify why we felt that information was
important. He frowned upon excess writing, and rather than setting
word limits to be achieved, rewarded those who instead could identify
important information, and deliver it in the most succinct manner
possible. In my experience, people dont have time for excess rhetoric
outside of university, so this was really useful for me.
(Alumnus response)
a portfolio that includes work from all subjects the students
have completed, including the capstone, which they can use to
demonstrate to employers their skills and capabilities.
Some of the challenges of assessment
Our interviews with lecturers raised some of the issues and challenges associated with
assessment in capstone subjects. We discuss the most common ones below.
Assessing teamwork
Group work is often used in capstone subjects because teamwork is one of the skills
frequently emphasised by employers, and thus by universities. It is also used to make
complex assessment tasks scalable (that is, to cope with the marking loads and other
imperatives imposed by large classes).
Group work can be met with resistance from students, who find it challenging, and
sometimes even question its value.
Please do not rely so heavily on group projects and workespecially
with such a great number of students with English as a second language
as this does not reflect the workplace. It places inordinate pressure
on students who wish to perform at the highest levels and does not
accurately reflect the level of work undertaken by each student. Even
when contracts have to be agreed to and each student must rate each
others input. This is the cause of a lot of stress.
(Alumnus response)
However, some alumni reported that although they did not like group work while at
university, with the benefit of hindsight, they recognised its value in preparing them for
the workplace.
At the time, working in group assignments felt like a waste of time
and unfairI think most students would agree. But now that Im in the
workplace, office politics and the differing input from colleagues affects
me every day. Group assignments are an important learning vehicle
but it should be made clearer why they are used for assessment.
(Alumnus response)
Despite the criticisms and challenges associated with group work, it is commonly used
in capstone subjects. According to our audit, at least 31 per cent of capstone subjects in
Australian business schools require students to work in groups or teams.
On that basis, we looked for resources on good practice approaches to group work. The
Graduate Skills Project (www.graduateskills.edu.au) has resources for designing and
assessing team projects. The University of Technology Sydneys Institute for Interactive
Media and Learning (IML) (www.iml.uts.edu.au) contains a useful resource Assessing
group work, drawn from research of literature on assessment and interviews with its
staff and students. It acknowledges the value of collaborative group work for student
learning and provides some advice on how to ensure groups are well managed and
assessment requirements are clear and fair.
The Institute suggests it is important to:
help students understand the criteria for the group product and
processes;
inform them how individual contributions to the group will be
measured; and
inform them how grades will be allocated.
The website also contains a number of principles for assessing group work:
the product of group work (such as a report or project output)
should be assessed as well as the process of group work (how
well the students worked together);
if the group process is assessed, students need to be
clear about the criteria, which might include (Brown, Bull &
Pendlebury, 1997: 175):
- the ability to work with other people;
- the ability to motivate other people;
- the ability to overcome difficulties;
- the ability to generate ideas;
- attendance and time-keeping; and
- completing a fair share of the work.
if students have some experience of group work, the group itself
can be involved in the process of setting the criteria for group
participation (Brown, Race & Smith, 1996: 123);
it should be made clear to students at the start of semester how
group product and group process components relate to their
final grade; and
not all group work needs to be assessed; e.g. introductory
exercises designed to build team cohesion are often introduced
early in a subject to demonstrate the expectation of cooperation
in groups but not given a formal grade.
(University of Technology Sydney, 2012a)
The UTS website also provides guidance on assigning grades. While a single mark can
be allocated to all members of a group, this easily leads to dissatisfaction if students feel
that marks do not fairly reflect individual contribution. An alternative is to allocate marks
on the basis of a combination of group and individual activities. Students receive marks
awarded for a series of individual tasks that are combined with a single group mark from
the group component.
The software SPARK and SPARKPLUS
10
(www.spark.uts.edu.au; see University of
Technology Sydney, 2012b) enables students to rank their own and others contribution
to team projects. A number of the lecturers we interviewed have used SPARK, with
varying degrees of success. One lecturer found students responded very negatively
to SPARK and she thought it created some animosity between group members. She
said almost all of the negative feedback about her subject related to SPARK. However,
we spoke to several lecturers who had successfully adopted it, finding it discouraged
social loafing and produced better overall outputs, provided it was explained carefully
to students and they were involved in determining the criteria.
Lecturers use other methods to prepare students for and assess teamwork, including:
asking students to write a reflective piece on how their team
functionedwhat worked, what did not, and to describe a critical
incident that helped them to function more effectively as a team;
requiring students to complete a contribution sheet for
every group submission, and keep a document trail of all
correspondence with their group members, as they would do in
professional practice;
11
and
developing objective guidelines for assessing contributions and
using a peer-assessment form that is completed in a transparent
way. Students can approach the lecturer if they are not happy
with the assessment. Feedback is given openly.
10 SPARK enables students to rate their own and their peers contributions to a team task or individual
submissions. Group members are responsible for negotiating and managing the balance of contributions and
then assessing whether the balance has been achieved. Students confdentially rate their own and their peers'
contributions to a team project, and can self- and peer-assess individual work and improve their judgment
through benchmarking exercises. SPARK is a criteria-based tool and allows academics to choose or create
specifcally targeted criteria according to the task or attribute they want to assess.
11 Each member signs a declaration stating what they have done and the share (percentage) they have contributed.
This has to be shown to every group member before being submitted. If there is disagreement, students can
see a lecturer to discuss the problem. Students see the lecturer together (to avoid different versions of the same
story) and are asked to provide physical evidence of what they have done.
For example
One capstone subject outline makes clear how group work will be assessed:
Each group must provide a statement of the contribution of each group member
to each part of the assignment. This will be used to calculate individual marks
for the subject. In addition, each student will be individually assessed by other
members of the group.
The criteria for peer assessment include:
attendance at team meetings;
promptness;
calibre of preparation for meetings;
understanding of content and skills in interpreting and
analysing data;
skills in diagnosing problems and issues;
enthusiasm and commitment;
teamwork and cooperativeness;
exercise of leadership within the group; and
share of the overall workload.

Individually assessed items are of course vital in any assessment regime. For assurance
of learning, no subject can rely exclusively on team projects to assess students unless
there are very careful protocols to ensure individuals capacities.
Oral presentations
Many capstone subjects involve class presentations to develop and assess students
oral communication skills. Our audit found that nearly half of the subjects that provide
information about assessment on the universitys website have oral presentations as an
assessment item.
Some lecturers spoke of the difficulties associated with oral presentations including:
the time it takes to hear all presentations in large classes;
students not attending tutorials to hear other students
presentations; and
the need to support students whose oral communication skills
are underdeveloped.
Ideally students are given opportunities to develop and refine their oral communication
skills throughout the degree program. By the time they arrive at a capstone subject, these
skills should be well developed. If not, capstones will be particularly challenging for both
staff and students. Some lecturers we interviewed stressed that straight information
presenting sessions, using PowerPoints and with a few questions from the audience, did
not necessarily test students capacity to think on their feet. These lecturers developed
innovative oral exercises, such as rewarding innovation and audience involvement as
opposed to straight talk and chalk, or challenged students by providing client audiences
(for actual project brief presentations).
Reflective journals
While reflective journals are quite common in capstone subjects, they elicit mixed views.
Some lecturers think they are a useful way of encouraging students to reflect on their
own and others teamwork skills, and on the knowledge and theory they have drawn on
to complete various tasks.
Other lecturers have not had great success with them.
We dont do the reflective journal anymore. We found that students
would just copy what they wrote two weeks ago and they often didnt
submit them on time. Also, with the course growing in the number of
students, it became too much work to read and mark the journals,
especially when each contribution was only worth 5 per cent.
(Lecturer, accounting capstone)
One lecturer found assessing reflective journals difficult and subjective. It has only been
over time, via trial and error, that he has gained a better sense of what makes a good
and bad journal. This is consistent with the literature, which finds that designing and
assessing reflective work has challenges, but can work in the right setting with the right
design and guidance for students. Work by Jennifer Moon provides useful resources
(e.g. Moon, 2003) for teaching students what reflecting is, and how to write reflectively.
Useful insights and resources on reflective writing are provided by Developing Reflective
Approaches to Writing, a project led by the Queensland University of Technology and
funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (See Table 4 and www.qut.
edu.au/research/research-projects/developing-reflective-approaches-to-writing-draw).
The resources distinguish between different levels of reflection and suggest appropriate
questions for each stage. By the time students reach a capstone subject, they should be
required to develop higher-level skills in reflection. The QUT website provides examples
of reflective activities that are appropriate to the capstone stage of a degree program, for
those interested in reading further.
Table 4: Developing reective approaches to writing
Level Stage Appropriate Questions
1 Reporting and
Responding
Report what happened or what the issue
or incident involved. Why is it relevant?
Respond to the incident or issue by
making observations, expressing your
opinion, or asking questions.
2 Relating Relate or make a connection between
the incident or issue and your own skills,
professional experience, or discipline
knowledge.
Have I seen this before?
Were the conditions the same or
different?
Do I have the skills and knowledge to
deal with this? Explain.
3 Reasoning Highlight in detail significant factors
underlying the incident or issue. Explain
how and why they are important to an
understanding of the incident or issue.
Refer to relevant theory and literature
to support your reasoning. Consider
different perspectives.
How would a knowledgeable person
perceive/handle this? What are the
ethics involved?
4 Reconstructing Reframe or reconstruct future practice or
professional understanding. How would I
deal with this next time?
What might work and why? Are there
different options?
What might happen if ?
Are my ideas supported by theory?
Can I make changes to benefit others?
DEALING WITH STUDENT
RESPONSES
Students in capstones often feel they are being pushed out of their comfort zone. This
was reported by lecturers and by students interviewed in focus groups. Students may
respond negatively to the subject as they may be unfamiliar with independent learning
and a proactive, student-centred approach to teaching. The capstone, as noted earlier,
provides less structure and certainty than other subjects. There are ways, however, of
selling a capstone to students who are not convinced of its merits. It can be helpful to
highlight that the subject will:
provide a great opportunity to develop skills that they will find
very useful in the workplace and can emphasise when applying
for jobs;
adopt a practical approach to independent learning and give
students a chance to think on their feet and become problem
solvers; and
raise students self-awareness, and help them reflect on their
affective responses to learning activities, e.g. participating
in teams and cooperating in any interactions. This can build
their confidence, which is important for the transition to the
workplace.
Collecting and sharing testimonials and positive feedback from former students is
particularly helpful.
SOME PARTING TIPS
Most lecturers involved in our research clearly enjoy teaching a capstone subject. They
enjoy the high level of interaction with students and the satisfaction of helping them
become self aware and work ready.
I like to see students succeed. I enjoy getting emails from students
who have jobs and they say how well the course equipped them for
workwhen I get evidence that theyve made a good transition.
They also enjoy the opportunity to use different teaching methods, see them work (and
sometimes not!), and push their own boundaries as teachers.
This subject has taught me that students can learn without [too much
of] my guidance and they can do it really well.
(Lecture, accounting capstone)
But lecturers also spoke of challenges, demands and dilemmas, including issues to do
with resistance from students and the associated challenge of engaging them.
In this context, we asked lecturers if there was one particularly useful or worthwhile
learning from their capstone teaching that they would like to pass on. We include some
of their suggestions as parting tips.
Make explicit for students what a capstone subject is about: in
web descriptions, subject outlines, initial classes, and continually
throughout the semester. Students need to understand why they are
doing a capstone.
Persevere, even when students resist.
Running a capstone is not for the faint hearted. I would say to teachers
teaching a capstone for the first time to consider reducing any
distractions ... See it as being your major task. Consider writing up
what you learn along the way in a journal. This takes time but it can
become a precious and rich resource with lots of learning.
Prepare, prepare, and prepare early.
Capstones are without the borders and parameters that we lock around
other courses. Understand how it all fits together. Thats what you
want for students.
Its about giving them confidence that they can tackle things, which is
really important for their transition.
It turns teaching on its head. You get to know students [more than in
other subjects] and its a lot of fun.
APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: ABOUT THE PROJECT
The project, titled Capstone Courses in Undergraduate Business Degrees: Better
Course Design, Better Learning Activities, Better Assessment, was originally funded
by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd, and later by the Australian
Government Office for Learning and Teaching. The project ran from October 2010 to
October 2012. It was conducted by a team of academics from five Australian universities
and guided by a reference group and external evaluator.
Project rationale
The idea for this project came from some research indicating that, despite their growing
popularity, capstone subjects are often not well understood, and from concerns that
there are few resources for those developing or enhancing capstone subjects. An initial
scoping study conducted by the project leaders at Griffith University (van Acker, Bailey,
Farrelly and Hibbins, 2009) showed that a significant number of capstones are run
along lines similar to those of other subjects. Some staff teaching capstone subjects
did not understand their purpose and were treating them like any other subjectone
that happened in students final semesterwith a text, standard lectures and tutorials,
and large amounts of new content. Assessment often included a significant examination
component that emphasised content mastery and/or a large group work component that
did not enable individual assurance of learning.
Anecdotal evidence from other universities also indicated that staff understanding of
capstone subjects was underdeveloped. Many capstones were not realising their potential
to integrate curriculum and consolidate professional socialisation and employability
skills; thus students were losing a valuable learning opportunity. This project therefore
sought to increase the level of understanding of capstone subjects within Australian
business schools and to produce useful resources for staff teaching them.
Project methodology and outcomes
Our project team conducted the project in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of:
a comprehensive audit of capstone subjects offered in Australian
Business Schools, based on subject information provided on
Australian university websites;
in-depth interviews with 25 lecturers teaching capstone subjects
in the partner universities;
nine focus groups with students currently enrolled in capstone
subjects in partner universities;
a focus group with the Australian Business Deans Councils
Teaching and Learning Sub-committee;
a survey of alumni from each partner university; and
a review of the literature on capstone subjects.
Phase 2 involved:
development of a capstone subjects Good Practice Guide,
drawing on information gathered during phase 1; and
dissemination of project findings through workshops conducted
in most States and Territories, publication of journal articles,
presentations at national higher education conferences, and
development of a website (www.businesscapstones.edu.au).
Project team
Griffith University
Associate Professor Janis Bailey (Project Co-leader)
Dr Liz van Acker (Project Co-leader)
Professor Lorelle Frazer
Dr Ray Hibbins
Professor Keithia Wilson
Jacqui Fyffe (Project Officer)
Macquarie University
Associate Professor Leigh Wood
Queensland University of Technology
Dr Lynda Andrews
Associate Professor Erica French
The University of Newcastle
Dr Johanna MacNeil
Professor Jim Psaros
University of Wollongong
Dr Jan Turbill
Associate Professor Michael Zanko
Reference Group Members
Associate Professor Mark Freeman (The University of Sydney)
Professor Ross Guest (Griffith University)
Professor Sally Kift (James Cook University)
Professor Kerri-Lee Krause (Griffith University to June 2011)
Professor Kathryn Martell (Central Washington University)
Professor Lyn Simpson (Adjunct Professor, Queensland University of Technology)
External evaluator
Professor Mick Healey (Emeritus Professor, University of Gloucestershire)
APPENDIX B: CASE STUDIES
SINGLE DISCIPLINE MAGNET
CAPSTONES
Accounting Capstone
Stephen Marsden, Queensland University of Technology
Subject aims and objectives
Accountancy Capstone attempts to simulate the real world work of a professional
advisor or consultant, requiring students to solve unstructured, multi-disciplined
accounting problems. Using a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) methodology, students
are confronted with problems which they work through in teams, by researching issues,
gathering information and applying it to form conclusions. Problems are based on real
problems from the subject convenors own accounting practice.
We make the subject as real world as possible. All of the problems are
based on real clients from my own accounting practice. All I do is change
the names of clients.
On completion of the subject, students should be able to:
demonstrate appropriate content knowledge in solving
accounting problems;
apply accounting knowledge to real situations; and
understand the dynamic nature of laws, standards and
regulations which impact on accounting.
The aim of the subject is to develop students ability to research, analyse, discuss and
solve unstructured problems as typically encountered by a professional advisor or
consultant. This includes the ability to work out what questions to ask. Students are
given minimal information about the problem or situation and they need to ask the right
questions to find out more.
There are 24 subjects in the degree and each one is heavily focused on technical
content. According to the subject convenor, the capstone subject was developed to help
students appreciate that when they work in the profession, they will be presented with
questions from clients that will often involve a mix of content areas including accounting,
book-keeping, tax and law, and students need to learn to think across the silos.
The subject introduces minimal new content. It revisits key content areas that students
have already studied, but looks at it in the context of the problem to be solved.
About 80% of the subject involves building on students existing
technical knowledge and 20% is new concepts or concepts at a
slightly different level of focus to what theyve learnt in other units.
The lecturers approach to teaching and learning
Using a PBL approach, the subject is based on a less teaching, more learning
philosophy. The emphasis is on active problem solving rather than on technical content.
The students are the firm and staff are the clients. There are no lectures or exams.
We dont teach them. We present them with questions which theyre
expected to go away and research and find answers for. ... Students
are often shocked because we dont give them any assistance and
theyre expected to take responsibility for their own learning. If they
ask for guidelines or want some hints about the answer, we tell them
to go away.
Students form into groups of four to six, and are able to choose their own group members.
These groups remain intact for the entire semester to simulate the real world workplace
where groups with varying skills work together on specific projects.
The whole subject is structured around a client and their problems. In week 1, students
meet the client and from then they work through a twelve month cycle of the clients
business and the issues that arise. The tutor hands out two problems and students
spend two weeks, in front of tutors, working out the problem and what other questions
they need to ask. Tutors are there to respond if they have questions but students are
responsible for their own learning.
At the start of a new topic, the lecturer tells the students which subject areas will be
useful in solving the problem and where they can find relevant information. Students
are told that there is no right answer. Two groups could give different answers to a client
problem and both might be brilliant.
It warms my heart when students dispute the answer in their groups.
We emphasise that in the real world there are unstructured problems,
not text book problems, and you have to give your opinion and its your
opinion that makes you a professional.
Instead of attending lectures, students download PowerPoint slides from the Blackboard
site. These slides give a brief overview of the topic and its significance, rather than
provide vast amounts of technical information. Students are responsible for their own
learning and gathering information on the content of each topic. They are also expected
to have reviewed the content before attending their discussion forum.
Discussion forums are overseen by a facilitator. Facilitators are similar to tutors except
that they do not give students answers to problems. Instead, their role is to guide
students through the problem solving process. Discussion forums commence in week 1
and are two hours long.
At the beginning of the semester, students are told what is expected of them in the
subject and they are given rules of conduct which cover things like the need to arrive
on time for tutorials and to submit assessment on or before the due date. Students are
penalised for being late.
We keep bringing it back to what theyll be expected to do in six months
time when theyre working as professionals.
Students are also given a one-hour session covering tips on working in teams, such as
personality assessments and how to deal with problems.
Assessment
Assessment in discussion forumsWeight 60%
Written submission of PBL 1each group is required to
submit an answer to PBL 1 on the clients letterhead (32%).
Technical correctness of PBL 2by the end of the second
discussion forum for each topic, every group will present their
answer to PBL 2 to the rest of the class and will be assessed on
the technical correctness of their answer (12%).
Assessment of contributionfor each students individual
participation and contribution in discussion forums throughout
the semester (16%).
Integrated case studyWeight 40%
Students are required to complete an integrated case study in which they review a
clients MYOB data file and make appropriate end of year adjustments to the data file.
Students can choose to complete the case study by themselves or with another student.
Each student is also required to prepare an annual report for the client. Students are
also required to compare the clients actual financial results to budgeted data as per the
business plan and comment on key performance indicators.
Finally, students are required to calculate a range of key financial ratios and prepare a
Management Discussion and Analysis for the client advising which KPIs have and have
not been met, together with specific strategies that may be adopted to improve business
performance.
To help students adjust to the PBL methodology, the first topic is completely formative
and is called a trial run. Students are given extensive feedback as well as a model
answer and a marking scheme.
Student feedback and outcomes
In the first few years that the subject was offered, evaluations were very high (4.5 or 4.6
out of a possible 5). The subject is now much bigger and open to students of all abilities,
and its rankings have fallen to 3.73.8. The higher performing students can see the
value of the subject. The negative feedback is usually about the problems involved in
working in groups, the workload and the lack of guidance from the lecturer.
Despite these complaints, the subject convenor says that students tend to be very
engaged during discussion forums as evidenced by the fact that they never want to take
a break.
A litmus test is that in all the years the course has been running,
students are offered a 10 minute break and they never take it. They
keep working for the whole two hours.
Students who have entered the workforce sometimes take the time to let the lecturer
know how helpful the subject was.
I have a folder of emails from about 20 students who have entered the
workforce and say things like, I hated your subject when I did it and
I bagged it in the LES, but now Im working in an accounting firm and
its unbelievable we use what we learnt in that subject every day.
The subject convenor has also received some very positive feedback from practitioners.
For example, a city accounting firm wanted to pay for 20 staff to attend because they
thought they would learn more from the subject than from in-house training.
Employment Relations Capstone
Janis Bailey, Grifth University
Employment Strategies in Action provides students with an in-depth consideration of
employment relations (ER) strategies, drawing together and applying a mix of theories,
concepts and principles covered in previous subjects. Graduating students seeking
professional employment develop a small portfolio of Professional Practice Exercises
that is useful when applying for jobs. In addition, the subject builds on the core ER
curriculum to provide interested students with a springboard into honours study.
After successfully completing this subject, students should be able to:
understand the employment relations issues facing
contemporary organisations and be able to solve them in an
ethical, reflective way;
work effectively in a group to deliver a professional workplace
training exercise; and
provide authoritative written advice on a variety of issues and
genres/styles of communication to clients of the employment
relations function in an organisation.
The approach to teaching and learning
This subject is based on constructivist models of organising students learning. The
lecturer tries to eliminate formal lectures as much as possible, substituting more active
forms of learning. These include practitioner facilitators who talk about their practice
around a series of themes that relate to the assessment items. Dialogue between the
practitioner and the students is encouraged, and the practitioners are asked to present
some live caseswithout pat answersfor students to discuss.
Students later facilitate presentations around related topics, with fairly loose guidelines.
They have to educate and involve their audience, which is the other students, but
defined as some particular group such as line managers or employees or the senior
leadership team. The presentation needs to be activity-based, with only 10 of the 30
minutes devoted to conventional chalk and talk.
Students are also required to do short assessable Professional Practice Exercises which
revolve around particular workplace tasks, for example, developing an organisational
policy, investigating a messy workplace situation, or interpreting workplace agreements.
They have the knowledge building blocks (or most of them) to address the task, although
they have not previously applied their knowledge to these particular tasks. The tasks are
discussed extensively in class, and similar tasks completed as practice, before students
are assessed via a take home exercise.
To ensure learning is authentic, the lecturer picks up teaching ideas from colleagues
and from practitioners, including recent graduates. For instance, the idea of the group
facilitation exercise was suggested by both seasoned and recent practitioners who
said students need more skills in facilitating training exercises. The actual format of
the exercise was inspired by ideas from lecturing colleagues. Most of the Professional
Practice Exercises have developed as a direct result of practitioner feedback about key
deficiencies in new graduates skills and understanding, and from scanning ER graduate
job advertisements.
Assessment
This subject includes the following assessment:
Professional practice exercisesWeight 50%
Students complete five exercises during semester, drawn from typical tasks that a new
graduate might be expected to do (50 marks, each 10 marks).
Professional seminar presentationWeight 30%
Students are required to present a 30 minute seminar as part of a group (25 marks) and
submit a plan of the presentation to be discussed with the convenor two weeks before
the seminar (5 marks). (This is also used to provide formal assurance of learning for the
teamwork objective in the degree, applying a peer evaluation method that uses SPARK
Plus software.)
Guided discussion in student seminarsWeight 5%
Students are assessed on their active participation in guided discussions and other
activities in the professional seminar presentations.
Reflective practitioner exerciseWeight 15%
Students are required to keep a Reflective Practitioner Log, relating to the Master
Classes and to their experiences with the Professional Practice Exercises and the
Professional Presentation Exercise. The aim is to fill in the log soon after the class
or exercise. Some entries must relate to set readings about professional practice in
employment relations and human resources.
Subject outcomes
This subject receives very good feedback from students. Student evaluations are
consistently over 6 (averaged over the past 5 years; the maximum possible score
is 7). The lecturer has also received an ALTC citation and awards for lecturing from
her university, mostly for this subject. Students appreciate the real world approach,
the range and depth of practitioner input, and the lecturers active, personalised and
engaged approach. Students (and past graduates) find the Professional Practice
Exercises and the practitioner Master Classes particularly useful. ER graduates have
very high employment rates, and a sizeable proportion gain prestigious graduate
program positions.
Finance Capstone
Janice How, Queensland University of Technology
Finance Capstone is the final subject in a finance major and gives students an
opportunity to draw on and reinforce their understanding of finance. Students apply
the concepts, theories and competencies they have acquired throughout the finance
program in finding optimal solutions to problems encountered in the competitive real-life
business environment.
This subject integrates the material covered in the two major sub-disciplines of
financecorporate finance and investments. It also helps students to further develop
their graduate skills and capabilities. No new subject content is introduced. Successful
completion of this subject equips students, as much as possible, for success in the next
stage of their careers.
The aim of this subject is to provide students with a solid grounding in addressing and
solving real-life problems in financial management. At the end of the subject, students
should be able to:
propose an appropriate financial strategy for a company when
faced with certain challenges;
assess the underlying performance of a company through
systematic financial analysis;
apply the concept of shareholder value creation;
make strategic changes to an investment portfolio when faced
with changes in the economic environment;
communicate both strategic and financial information; and
apply personal and interpersonal skills appropriate to being an
effective member of a finance team.
Learning activities
To achieve the above aims, the subject has two broad themes. The first theme focuses
on financial decision-making from a corporate financial officers perspective. It deals
with typical financial problems faced by firms, which may include forecasting, funding
of new projects, acquisitions, capital structure and payout decisions, and agency
problems. Students learn how a thoughtful and skilled financial decision-maker can
improve shareholder value.
The second theme deals with managing a portfolio. Students explore issues such as
market efficiency, risks and prospects of an industry, portfolio restructuring and risk
mitigation. Once again, students learn how the decisions of portfolio managers can
enhance the value of an investment portfolio.
Approaches to teaching and learning
The key concepts are conveyed in lectures and tutorials. However, the main teaching
method is case studies and group work, and active discussion of the practical application
of finance concepts and theories. This is a highly interactive subject designed to
combine theory with debate and case studies to solve real-world problems. Students
are encouraged to learn from each other through group work and discussion as well as
through formal classroom sessions.
Assessment
Case studyWeight 50%
Students work in groups to critically analyse three real-world cases. The first case is
worth 10% and the second and third cases are 20% each. Each case analysis is 1,000
words.
Technical reportWeight 30%
Each student prepares a 1,500-word answer to a case study. The case study will
combine elements of problem solving as well as requiring students to make a series of
recommendations to a client.
Participation and presentationWeight 20%
Students are marked on their individual reflection on how effectively they worked as a
team, as well as on presentations made to the class during the semester.
While feedback from students is not always consistent, and is sometimes impacted by
negative experiences of working in teams, the subject tends to be well rated. Students
often find the subject challenging because they are required to apply theory, in a degree
that is otherwise heavily content driven. It is also often the first time that they have had
to do a presentation in front of the rest of the class, to work in groups and write a report.
But despite being challenged, students are usually very positive about the subject and
enjoy it.
Financial Planning Capstone
Julie Knutsen, Grifth University
Financial Planning and Construction is a final core subject within the Financial
Planning Specialisation of the Bachelor of Commerce. It is one of the subjects that
must be completed in order to comply with the Australian Securities and Investments
Commission (ASIC) Regulatory Guide 146 regarding Licensing: Training of Financial
Product Advisors.
Broadly, the subject is designed to extend students existing skills and knowledge
and equip them to become competent financial advisors. In the words of the subject
convenor:
The focus of this course is on equipping students to be ready to work
in industry. Were really trying to prepare students for the workplace ...
I tell students, Do this well and you will have something you can take
with you to an interview.
Its stated aim is to review core technical skills and understand compliance in the context
of fostering a good client relationship and constructing a financial plan. The subject gives
students an opportunity to develop, present, implement and review a limited Statement of
Advice (SoA) for a client. They are also required to consider the implications of relevant
legal and ethical codes and how they apply to their work activities.
According to the subjects objectives, students who have successfully completed the
subject should:
understand the legislative framework of the Financial Services
Reform Act (FSR) and how it is applied in practice in financial
planning;
develop skills in the use of financial planning software;
construct a comprehensive, best practice and FSR-compliant
SoA and Financial Services Guide;
further develop their analysis and problem solving skills that are
essential in the preparation of personal financial plans;
develop skills in communicating effectively with clients;
understand the role of ethics in relation to best practice within
the financial planning profession and how client complaints are
dealt with; and
integrate knowledge from other subjects within the program in
their development of strategic financial planning advice.
Learning activities
The subject is framed around the key piece of assessment, which is preparing an SoA,
or a financial plan. Students attend a two-hour lecture and one-and-a-half-hour tutorial
each week. In lectures, students are taught theory relevant to working with clients and
preparing advice, but also conduct some practical exercises, such as:
reading and discussing articles on relevant theories;
finding answers to typical client questions in the Financial
Planning Guide; and
exploring and reflecting on ethical issues such as what it means
to be socially responsible.
In the first five weeks the lecturer lays down the fundamentals. After that, she invites
guest speakers or past students who are working in industry to talk to the students. She
also uses video clips of interviews with practitioners on particular subjects which she
ties in with the theory.
In tutorials, students are given the chance to do what they have been taught in lectures.
In computer labs, students use computers to carry out tasks similar to those they will
have to do when they work in the industry. These include working on fund manager
profiles and creating Excel spreadsheets.
The lecturers approach to teaching and learning
The lecturer uses a scaffolding approach. Students are expected to be able to prepare
a compliant and thorough SoA that meets industry standards. To help them understand
what is required, she has developed marking criteria that align with ASIC guidelines.
Students are given exemplars of real SoAs which they critique for themselves, using the
marking criteria.
To alleviate students anxiety, I scaffoldIm guiding students and
building their confidence along the way. After a while, the scaffolding
drops away and they can do it independently.
This approach has really improved students results, as evidenced by the drop in results
when they were not given this guidance.
When resources allow, the lecturer involves practitioners in grading students
assessment. She has found this really effective and motivating for the students.
Assessment
Assessment items reflect the demands of the industry and require students to conduct
both the written and oral aspects of financial planning practice. Specifically, students
prepare and conduct a client interview and prepare and present an SoA.
The SoA project is split into three parts:
The client interviewWeight 15%
This incorporates preparing a new client file and role playing an initial client interview.
Construction of a Statement of AdviceWeight 25%
This requires a student to demonstrate their ability to a) research and evaluate a clients
financial planning options against their financial goals and b) document recommendations
in a Statement of Advice that is both compliant and readable.
The Statement of Advice presentationWeight 10%
This oral presentation examines students ability to a) prepare for a client presentation
including compliance documentation and visual aids and b) present a Statement of
Advice to a client.
Several years ago, a final exam was introduced (weighting 50%) which either requires
students to a) critique a pre-prepared SoA, or b) analyse a case study using the SoA
format.
Students who have completed this highly interactive subject report that while they find
the assignments challenging and the work demands intense, they feel rewarded for their
efforts and find the subject valuable. For instance:
I thought it was really preparing us for the requirements of the workplace,
e.g. role play scenarios, tutorials were focused on workplace tools,
both lectures and tutorials were very interactive, great discussions.
I am currently working ... as an internal auditor and I love it. You would
be pleased to know that everything you have taught me, I am using in
my new job.
Student evaluations of the subject are usually in the high range, the top 25 per cent, of
evaluation scores.
Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Capstone
Roslyn Larkin, The University of Newcastle
This subject gives students the opportunity to critically analyse some key concepts in
Human Resource Management (HRM) and Employment Relations (ER) and to apply
them in the study of selected industries and enterprises, both unionised and non-
unionised.
According to the subjects objectives, students who have completed the subject will be
able to:
critically analyse selected key concepts in HRM and ER;
apply HRM and ER concepts in the study of selected industries
and enterprises, both unionised and non-unionised;
explain foundation issues in research methods;
use research methods to gather publicly-available data about
HRM and ER practices in selected industries and enterprises;
access, evaluate and apply current data and information sources
to inform HRM and ER problem solving;
communicate orally and in writing, using subject specific
terminology;
demonstrate awareness of contemporary professional
standards, practice and effective implementation; and
individually and collectively engage in independent projects that
encourage reflection on personal knowledge, skill and ability.
Students are required to do an extensive project in groups of four or five. The lecturer
has recently trialled a project management approach to overseeing projects. Groups
are set up on Blackboard and students develop a Gantt chart to represent the phases
and activities of the project and when they will be completed. The lecturer is the project
manager and meets with groups twice to discuss how the project is progressing,
challenges that have arisen and how they might be overcome.
This subject has a strong focus on applying theory rather than learning new theory.
Students are given workplace scenarios and asked, based on their understanding of
HRM and EM concepts and theories, how they would deal with them. They are told to
consider a range of factors including the social environment, ethical considerations and
legislative provisions.
The lecturer tries to help students see connections between concepts they have learnt
and to add depth to their knowledge base.
I wouldnt say the content is new, there are no new concepts. Its rather
pulling them together, seeing relationships and building a knowledge
base on particular topics. I have added a focus on developing policies
in organisations. This is new to them. I put it in the context of what they
already know. Its about adding depth and application.
She reminds the students that, in practice, nothing occurs in isolation and that HR
managers have to make connections between different functions in the business, not
operate in a silo.
The lecturer finds that students are not always ready to integrate and think outside the
square which can be frustrating.
They are used to being bundled into the square, only they cant in this
course. Some students dont engage with what they cant fit in the box.
You say to them, Youve got all this prior knowledge and experiences
... lets do something with it.
Learning activities
The subject involves a one-hour lecture and a two-hour tutorial which is focused on
applied activities, such as:
designing a remuneration package;
applying a pay structure and performance requirements to
particular scenarios;
group discussion about how to deal with specific examples of
misconduct in the workplace;
role-playing dismissals; and
developing performance criteria for a number of employees.
The lecturer focuses on teaching students to be reflective and one of the assessment
items is a reflective piece, to address feedback from employers that students often lack
the ability to be reflectiveto assess for themselves what went well and what could have
been improved. She builds reflection into the project management process.
I have taught many courses as a casual and I often have the same
students throughout their degree. By third year I know some of the
students intimately, and some of them just dont seem to improve in
some areas. I say, I talked to you in first year and you dont seem
to have addressed this area. You should be starting to pick it up in
second year. ... some dont learn from their past experiences. So thats
the reason for the reflective exercise. I get them to think about their own
performance.
From time to time, the lecturer involves practitioners as guest speakers. For example,
a recruitment professional spoke to the class about how HRM and ER come together
in practice, recent changes in applying for jobs and gave them tips on how to apply for
a job. She also brought in an organisational psychologist to talk to the students about
personality testing. The students did their own online test and were encouraged to think
about the pros and cons of psychometric testing.
Assessment
EssayWeight 25%
Students are to provide a 2,000-word essay style response to a question about the role
of HR managers in balancing business needs with ethical considerations.
Group projectWeight 30%
A guest organisation presents to students a real situation they are experiencing. In self-
selected groups of four or five, students develop organisational HR policy on one or
more of the issues presented in the lecture, presented in a report format of 3,0003,500
words. The policies need to take account of the organisations background and context
as well as legal, social and ethical considerations. Students also have to provide an
appendix with evidence of how they managed the project and working in a group.
Groups are given a project package which contains information about the project
requirements, assessment criteria and guidance on how to manage the project.
Reflective presentationWeight 10%
Students deliver individual presentations, giving an overview of the contribution they
made to the group project as well as reflection on what they did well, why they think it
went well, what they would improve on and how.
Final examinationWeight 35%
Students sit a two-hour final exam at the end of semester.
Students like having the opportunity in this subject to bridge the gap between theory and
practice. They find the subject different and often think that the project involves a lot of
work. But the lecturer enjoys seeing them develop as they progress through their degree
to become young adults taking responsibility for their own actions and for themselves.
I can see the personal development from first to last year, and uni has
been a really big part of that.
Information Technology Capstone
Chris Gonsalvez, Monash University
IT Industry Experience Project is a capstone subject designed to prepare students for a
smooth transition to the workforce. The subject gives students the opportunity to work in
a team and apply their knowledge and skills in developing an IT system for a real world
client. Teams work in a professional and committed manner to add value to their clients
organisation.
The approach
University staff have strong relationships with a number of partners who help them
source suitable projects using their membership base. They engage regularly with
partners, running information sessions for their members about the projects, to promote
the benefits to their business and to ensure they are fully aware of the commitment
required and possible risks. This approach is highly successful and usually leads to a
large pool of projects to choose from and a range of options that offer students the best
educational outcomes. From this pool of projects, staff allocate suitable projects to the
teams.
While the projects are quite varied, most involve developing or redeveloping a
website, with client administration functions to assist with conducting business with
the organisation, and business administration functions to assist with managing and
growing the business. More recently there has been an increase in requests for mobile
app development. Some examples of projects include:
Toy librarystudents developed an attractive website to market
a toy library, together with facilities for members to register
and manage their personal information, reserve toys, manage
and extend loans, and select days to work on the roster. The
administration system allowed staff to manage customers,
toys, reservations, loans, special events and the roster, and to
report easily on issues such as popular toys for age groups and
overdue loans.
Transport for Health and Community care clients in a not-
for-profitstudents developed an internal IT web-based system
to manage the registration and approval of clients, volunteers,
vehicles and equipment and facilitate the scheduling of daily
trips. The system also enables staff to run a series of reports
required to manage the business processes productively and
meet government reporting requirements.
Health foods small businessstudents developed a website
to market the business, sell products online, and manage
personal naturopath consultations. Clients are able to register,
order products, track their orders, book consultations, view their
health history, and manage their orders and consultation data.
Staff use the system to manage their customers, products,
orders, and consultation data, and access a range of reports
such as products to be ordered to help better manage their
business.
There are a number of factors that contribute to the success of the approach taken in
this subject.
Committed and engaged staff
The subject has strong support from senior management who ensure that the staff
allocated to the subject are student-centred in their approach and are strongly committed
to engaging with and mentoring the students. Together, the industry project staff have
expertise in the range of skills that the students develop during their project.
Active team formation
Students do not select their own teams, but are allocated to teams by staff. Staff collect
information about students during the first week of class, and form teams of three or four
students, based on:
results of basic personality teststhe aim is to have a mix of
personalities in each group and to avoid personality clashes
which can be difficult for students and staff to manage in the
limited time frame;
subjects completed and academic performance to date;
students skill sets, based on a skills audit;
gender;
domestic/international statusthe aim is to have a mix of
students from different backgrounds to help improve inter-
cultural communication and foster respect for different cultures;
and
students capacity to meet with each other based on their
academic timetable, home location and transport options.
After moving to this model, the number of groups who failed to complete their project
reduced dramatically.
Learning by doing collaborative environment
The studiolearning by doing rooms are built to facilitate team work and mentoring.
Each studio room can accommodate five teams and has five work hubs with four or five
chairs, access to computers, a whiteboard and AV equipment. There is also a large table
in the centre of the room to bring all the students together to share ideas.
Regular participation, mentoring and peer learning
All teams attend a seminar each week which is either presented by staff who revise key
concepts required for the project, or by an industry speaker who focuses on a current
IT issue. Each team also attends a three-hour studio mentoring session (five teams
or 20 students attend each studio session) with two staff members and students from
four other teams, to discuss and share ideas. Often two to three studio sessions run in
parallel and in close proximity to each other, so staff and students can move between
studios to seek help. The staff members key role is to mentor the teams, assist with the
project, system and team issues, and to facilitate peer learning.
Active, regular project monitoring
A number of strategies are in place to ensure that projects stay on track, and that
students contribute equitably to the work. These include:
one-on-one meetings with each of the teams during the studio
session to review progress and manage any issues that arise;
weekly, individual, confidential reflective diaries written by the
students who reflect on what they have learnt. Students often
raise issues in these diaries which are then followed up by staff.
Staff read and provide feedback on these reflections, offering
advice as required;
self and peer reviews to help monitor contributions against a
range of criteria. These are used as part of the assessment and
to provide pastoral care as required;
project management software/timesheets are reviewed
to assess individual contributions to the range of system
deliverables; and
students attendance is strongly encouraged and monitored.
Staff follow up with students who do not attend to ensure that
any problems are dealt with as soon as possible.
A social area
A lounge has been created especially for students doing this subject with a television,
tables, chairs, beanbags, microwave and a fridge. Students regularly use this space for
both work and play.
Assessment
The staff team meet regularly before the start of the project to review the assessment and
address any issues encountered in previous offerings. Students develop their systems
using iterative development, where the client gets to see a version of their system and
provide feedback every three weeks.
For each assessment item, students are given a specification, guidelines, samples and
additional resources where applicable, a marking guide and an assessment criteria
rubric. Students are also encouraged to share their knowledge and assist each other
in the discussion forum. While students are generally using what they have learnt
previously, to help them prepare for a constantly changing career in IT, they are also
required to use a programming environment that they have not been taught as part of
their core subjects. This tends to cause a great deal of angst initially, but significantly
develops students research skills and self-confidence.
The assessment consists of:
Project based group deliverablesWeight 75%
Project based group deliverables include a range of outputs associated with developing
an IT system from inception right through to a post-implementation review, which includes
a client assessment component. The teams regularly present their system versions to
peers, staff and their client.
While the team is given a group mark for the deliverables, at the end of the project this
mark can vary based on individual contributions. Staff use detailed records of weekly
meetings, individual interviews, and time sheets to inform any variation.
Reflective diaries and peer assessmentWeight 25%
Students are also assessed on reflective diaries and peer assessment.
The Industry Experience Project is highly valued by students as attested by consistently
outstanding subject evaluations and positive feedback. A sample of this feedback follows:
I would like to thank you both for all the help, guidance and courage
that youve given throughout the IE Project. I now understand that the
experience and the exposure have given me tremendous courage to
take on different IT projects and to complete them well.
The IE project has helped me learn so much more and the experience
I have gained is simply priceless.
Life skills, friendships, technical knowledge and applicationthe IE
subject provided by Monash delivers everything the title promises, a
rewarding industry experience.
Marketing Capstone
Lynda Andrews, Queensland University of Technology
Marketing Strategy provides students with the opportunity to consolidate and apply much
of what they have learnt in their marketing major in an experiential learning environment.
It draws on their understanding of principles and applications covered in subjects such
as Consumer Behaviour, Market and Audience Research, and Marketing Planning and
Management.
Managing for business success in a constantly changing environment is a challenging
job for marketing managers. Key challenges include understanding the market as a
fundamental premise for formulating market-driven strategy, critically analysing the
market in terms of customers and competitors, and identifying current and future
competitive positions to achieve sustainable and profitable outcomes.
To replicate in a safe learning environment the complexity and ambiguity of the
marketplace, students participate in a strategic marketing simulation called Markstrat.
Taking on the role of a marketing manager, they are exposed to a variety of strategic
marketing techniques and issues, and learn how to apply them.
Topics covered include:
developing and critiquing strategic marketing planning models;
recognising the importance of market focus;
determining what marketing strategy can realistically be
accomplished for a business;
identifying underlying factors that must be considered
in developing marketing strategy for a market-oriented
organisation;
identifying potential problems in implementing marketing
strategy; and
organising for successful strategy implementation.
Students develop a better understanding of the complexities of applying theoretical
strategic marketing models and approaches to achieve sustainable competitive
advantage for their simulation company, at both the brand level and the overall company
level.
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
understand the theoretical underpinnings of strategic marketing,
and apply them to key issues and decision making techniques
when planning and implementing marketing strategy;
critically analyse the complexity of markets and how the nature
of competition in such markets is impacted through marketing
strategy decisions;
develop and implement effective strategic marketing decisions in
an evolving, competitive market place;
effectively evaluate the outcomes of such marketing decisions
using a wide range of marketing information; and
work effectively in a team to help make regular marketing
decisions to drive strategic directions and to prepare a strategic
marketing plan.
Markstrat is a high level and complex simulation which gives students a hands-on
taste of strategic marketing. All teaching and assessment activities are closely linked to
the strategic planning and weekly decision making students are required to do as part
of the simulation.
Each week, students attend two one-hour lectures, and a one-hour tutorial. In lectures,
students engage with strategic marketing theory and its practical application, using both
current marketing and simulation examples to encourage deeper understanding. In early
lectures and tutorials, students learn how to make decisions in the simulation.
The philosophy underlying this approach to teaching is to transition from a pedagogical
approach in the early weeks to an andragogical approach in the later weeks, where
students take charge of their learning needs and outcomes.
Assessment
This subject comprises of the following assessment items. The first two assignments
are undertaken during the semester and focus around the simulated decision making
periods.
Strategic marketing reportWeight 30%
In their simulation teams, students prepare a professional strategic marketing plan
analysing the current market and competitive environment and specifying a range of
long term strategic objectives that they plan to achieve for their company in the simulated
environment. Students are expected to integrate theory from lectures and marketing
information generated through the simulation.
Individual evaluative reportWeight 30%
In this report, individual team members are required to critically analyse and evaluate
the final outcomes of the teams strategic planning report, integrating theory covered
in the lectures and marketing information generated through the simulation over the
decision periods.
Final examinationWeight 40%
This assessment examines students knowledge, understanding and application of
strategic marketing theory as well as drawing on their experiences in the simulation or
other case studies covered during the semester. The exam addresses materials covered
in lectures and tutorials as well as relevant links to simulated strategic marketing issues
during the semester.
Subject outcomes
Through the weekly decision making periods in the simulation students come to
appreciate the importance of analysing marketing information, including competitive
intelligence gained through benchmarking and market forecast reports, to improve their
decision making. This helps them to be more productive when working in a marketing
role as they have developed skills in reading higher order marketing intelligence such as
Semantic Scales reports and Multi-Dimensional Scaling reports, to better understand
sustainable segmentation and positioning for their brands.
They develop a stronger understanding of how marketing decisions affect a range of
important marketing metrics, such as market share, as well as the relationship between
sales and revenue for longer term profitability. Using a resource-based view of the firm,
they learn the importance of allocating their marketing resources in an effective way
by evaluating their results and planning improvements for subsequent decision making
rounds in the simulation. Students also come to better understand the marketing function
as a profit centre in an organisation. Through the simulation, students experience how
the teams decisions impact on shareholder value metrics through changes in stock
prices and market capitalisation in each period.
Public Policy Capstone
Elizabeth van Acker, Grifth University
Solving Policy Problems is offered as part of a politics major, and examines several
cases in public policy from the perspectives of the disciplines of politics, law and
economics. It explores how disciplinary perspectives impact on how problems are
analysed and solved. Students learn to relate disciplines to one another and understand
the implications of different approaches.
This subject aims to build and test students skills in public policy analysis. Students
are exposed to different theoretical perspectives and asked to apply them in practical
contexts. They are required to draw on the knowledge and skills they have gained
from previous subjects and use them to test real-life policy options. They also need
to research relevant information about scenarios so they can develop and present their
position in a way that is both theoretically informed and practical. By employing the case
study method, the subject aims to develop students skills of persuasion, analysis and
advice. By delivering interactive presentations, students also learn to think on their feet
and sharpen their analytical skills.
Specifically, after successfully completing this subject, students should be able to:
develop a clear understanding of political issues, both at the
broad level and in a few particular policy areas;
argue and debate a case, thereby improving verbal and
analytical skills;
apply problem solving techniques to political problems and
dilemmas; and
write briefs and cabinet submissions.
In the first three weeks of the subject, students meet for lectures and participate in class
exercises to prepare them for assignments. Senior public servants are invited to class to
discuss the process of preparing briefs and cabinet submissions.
From week 4 onwards, students attend seminars in which one case or problem is
analysed each week. Group presentations form the major part of activities. Students are
set up in teams of three or four people and they present a brief, taking either a yes or
no stance. The brief includes a detailed analysis of a specific case or policy issue. The
presenters must defend their arguments and conclusions in the face of challenges from
other students, who are encouraged to ask questions throughout the presentations.
From week 9, students present their cabinet submission to the Cabinetthe class.
Again, the class questions the presenters as the discussion takes place. All students are
allocated a particular portfolio and, if not presenting, work from that perspective for the
remainder of the semester. The lecturer adopts the role of Prime Minister, which not only
makes the exercise more authentic, but also allows him or her to steer the discussion
and intervene if required.
Assessment
The assessment for this subject comprises:
Presentation/seminar contributionWeight 20%
Students contribution in seminars contributes 20% to their overall grade, 10% of which
is for general participation, and 10% for quality of presentation. Students are expected to
attend and to contribute to the discussion and the analysis during the class.
Students are required to present to the seminar in groups of two to four for the first two
items. To defend their analysis, students are required to write their papers individually.
Briefing paper for MinisterWeight 30%
This assignment is 800 words. Students are expected to develop concise and precise
arguments in the brief, using an authentic template provided.
Cabinet submissionWeight 30%
This assignment is a maximum of 2,000 words. Cabinet submissions must address
specific criteria and contain appropriate appendices.
ExaminationWeight 20%
Subject outcomes
Students find the case study approach challenging, but with sufficient guidance from
the subject convenor, they rise to the tasks and develop a range of skills which prepare
them for the workplace. Two convenors have received a teaching citation for their work
in this capstone.
Public Relations Capstone
Ingrid Larkin, Queensland University of Technology
The stated aims of Public Relations Campaigns are to provide students with the
opportunity to synthesise, apply and refine knowledge and skills to develop and present
a public relations campaign in response to a real world client brief through collaborative
and independent learning.
In the words of the subject convenor:
[This subject is about] bringing together areas of study students
have looked at throughout their degree program. Its a synthesis of
what theyve looked at in public relations and the unit is designed so
that theyre bringing together content, knowledge, skills, theory from
previous units and theres also the role of helping students transition
into professional practice.
Students work in teams with a real-world client through the steps that underpin the
planning of an effective public relations campaign. The subject reflects the process of a
client appointing a consultancy or agency for public relations activities, from a face-to-
face briefing session, strategy presentation with feedback from client, to the presentation
of a comprehensive written plan. Clients are from a range of sectors including large
corporate organisations, small to medium enterprises, from start-up to more established
companies, not-for-profit, social change, and community groups.
According to the subjects objectives, students completing the subject should be able to:
describe the public relations campaign theory and planning
processes;
analyse and evaluate public relations opportunities and
problems to enhance public relations campaign decision-
making;
develop and present a public relations campaign that responds
to a clients need;
integrate governance, diversity, ethical and legal implications
into public relations campaigns;
develop and justify a range of appropriate public relations
tactics;
evaluate how team roles and processes contribute to team
performance; and
communicate to different audiences using a range of genres.
This subject involves a concentrated workshop approach to foster collaborative and
independent learning. In the workshops, students cover key content relevant to the public
relations planning process, developing real-world campaigns, professional presentation
skills, working in teams and with clients, along with preparing and presenting a range of
public relations tactics.
Students draw on content and skills developed in previous subjects in the public relations
major, then test and apply them in new and challenging contexts.
We say to students, You wont be learning any new content in this unit
but youll be learning to use it in different ways and be challenged in
how you apply it. ... Theres no new content, but lots of new contexts.
Workshops are very interactive and involve students working in teams to develop their
campaign plan. Students also practise tasks that are relevant to current professional
practice of public relations. For example, they are given professional practice primers
which are simulations or case studies that enable them to workshop content, theories,
and skills in contemporary settings.
Drawing on her practitioner experience, the lecturer closely models professional practice.
One of my biggest motivations or influences is my background in
practice and my strong connection to practice and my belief that
we are preparing most students for professional practice rather than
research or academic careers. Im also influenced by what I hear from
industry colleagues who I keep in close contact with.
The subject is run like a real world consultancy, using real world terminology.
In my unit I model a PR consultancy, so Ive even changed the
terminology. I dont talk about tutorials or lectures. Our lectures are
called workshops and tutorials are work in progress meetings. Tutors
are called supervisors. Language is an important signal for students.
Theyre told that were running this like a real world consultancy.
Thats a big difference ... Im a bit pedantic about language because it
changes their mindset.
Students are expected and encouraged to approach the subject and the outcomes of
assessment as emerging professionals. For example, they need to keep time sheets, as
they would in a practice setting.
[Keeping time sheets] helps them think about the time they spend on
certain activities and what they got out of it. It makes them accountable
for what theyve done. Their supervisor can help them reflect on how
well theyre using their time. It seems rudimentary to us but its usually
new and valuable for students.
Team meetings are called Work in Progress or WIP meetings and each team must be
represented each week to meet with the supervisor. Teams make decisions about how
best to report progress to supervisors. It may be one team member attends the WIP
meetings, while others in the team work on research and developing the plan.
Learning activities
This subject has a practical focus, aiming to give students the knowledge and skills they
will need in the workplace. For example, students engage with resources and tools for
working effectively in teams. They assess their own strengths and weaknesses, their
working style and the role they play in a team.
The lecturer uses reflective practice and writing as a key learning activity. She teaches
students how to be reflective and asks them to write a reflective piece on the experience
of working in teams. Students reflect on what worked, what didnt, and identify when the
group started operating as a functional team.
Students are also required to integrate ethical and legal perspectives into the campaign
planning. In workshops, they are given complex ethical decisions to work through, as a
professional would, drawing on a range of resources and approaches, including codes
of professional ethics.
About four times each semester, the lecturer invites practitioners to hold masterclasses
for students. They talk about aspects of their work, for example, how they prepare for a
pitch or how they work with their in-house teams, and students are encouraged to ask
questions. She also brings in clients to talk about what they are looking for in a pitch.
Students also participate in weekly bootcamps, which focus on students developing and
refining writing skills, a core competency for public relations practice. The bootcamps
also help to develop students confidence in writing through regular practice, review, and
refinement.
Assessment
Oral presentationWeight 20-30% team, 10% individual
In teams, students pitch the key ideas they have developed in response to the client
brief. The client and academic supervisors give feedback which should inform the
development of the public relations campaign plan. The presentation is expected to be
20 minutes long with five minutes allocated to question time.
ReportWeight 40%
Students prepare a full public relations campaign plan (2,000 words) which should
demonstrate an understanding of the problem or opportunity and integrate the research
findings, issues, objectives, strategy, tactics, evaluation and resource elements. The
plan should incorporate feedback from the presentation.
Portfolio30%
Individually, students develop a range of tactical elements from the bootcamp exercises,
and the campaign plan. The 1,500-word portfolio also includes a reflection on teamwork,
including self and peer assessment, and a reflection on social and ethical considerations
linked to the plan and the selected tactics.
Feedback to students is provided across a number of formal and more informal channels.
Written feedback on assessment tasks marks specific milestones in the subject, but
feedback from the teaching team, peers, and self assessment throughout the semester
supports valuable learning experiences for students.
Responses to the learning experience survey is broadly positive, though some students
find the subject challenging. The most positive feedback often comes from graduates
who have been in practice for 12 to 18 months. They say that the subject prepared
them for practice, and increased their level of confidence about moving from student to
professional roles.
INTERDISCIPLINARY
MOUNTAINTOP CAPSTONES
Business Integration Capstone
Jessica Kennedy, CQUniversity
This is a core interdisciplinary capstone subject in the Bachelor of Business program,
completed in the final year of studies before graduation. The purpose of the subject
is primarily to integrate the learning that has taken place throughout the degree and
ensure that students specialising in particular disciplines understand how their work will
contribute to the performance of organisations. The subject also attempts to ensure that
students have the research, critical thinking and analytical skills to enter the workforce,
and develops students problem-solving and group-work skills.
The subject content is designed around a framework of implementing strategy, which is
introduced early in the subject. Weekly reading material ensures students understand
the topic for that week. Additional readings are suggested for students who want to delve
further into areas which they may not have covered in detail in their specialisation.
Weekly classes are managed as discussion groups in which students review the readings
and apply theory in analysing large cases. The readings may not cover all of the issues
that arise in cases studied in classes or for assessment, and students are expected to
access the relevant literature on those issues and apply their findings.
This subject is offered to distance students as well as those attending face-to-face
classes. Distance students are allocated to groups by the subject coordinator and interact
using group forums and group chat on the learning management website. There is also
a separate forum for interaction between the subject coordinator and distance students.
Students supplement these services with Skype and other forms of communication.
Distance students report that they find the subject difficult but they often comment on the
support they get from knowing other students in the degree program. Living in different
time zones and travelling in remote areas without adequate internet access are major
issues that can make distance study difficult.
Assessment
Assessment is based on group work. Students are assigned to groups and first complete
a team charter which sets the goals for the team and the rules under which the team
will operate. The teams then complete two major assignments. The first assignment is
focused on strengthening critical thinking ability by requiring students to critically review
literature and its application to a particular case. The second assignment requires
students to analyse a major case and prepare a business report. Having completed this
team work, individual students then review their performance as a member of a team
and the teams performance. There is also a final examination in which students are
required to individually complete a case study.
Subject outcomes
Feedback from students indicates that they find the content of the subject very broad,
but they learn about both business and themselves. They learn to work with others
to investigate and solve difficult problems of the type commonly faced by businesses.
Some indicate that they now see their jobs differently and have a different view on how
they fit within the organisation that employs them. They also often comment that they
have developed their leadership skills by working with others on the assignments, and
that they have a better appreciation of the knowledge and skills that other people can
bring when solving problems.
Business Project
Deborah Howlett, Macquarie University
This capstone subject in the Bachelor of Business Administration, a generalist
management degree, is built around analysis of a strategic case, as well as further study
on corporate level strategy, with a focus on the management of firm growth.
Students use a range of analytical tools to shed light on a strategic issue, problem or
opportunity. Project work is a major feature of the subject and students participate in
a business project in a workplace, such as a not-for-profit organisation, government
agency, company or other industry partner. The subject focuses on an industrys
strategic issues, and the environment in which they are generated. Issues relating to firm
structure, corporate level strategy and its global aspects, corporate social responsibility
and ethics are covered.
Students gain practical knowledge, experience and skills. They are challenged to
analyse the context and examine the intersection between business strategy theory and
practice. The subject aims to prepare students for effective, responsible, ethical and
active business management and strategy through community engagement.
We hope the Business Project brings together strategy, marketing,
HR and finance in a project that students can use as a selling point,
a portfolio when they apply for graduate jobs. It requires higher
order analytical thinking, underpinned by an emphasis on graduate
capabilities. Preparing students for their transition to work is a major aim.
The subject comprises of seven two-hour lectures, six two-hour project consultations
and 12 tutorials. The lecturer tries hard to make the lectures interactive with lots of
discussion.
I do use traditional lectures. But I put a big emphasis on discussions
in lectures. I try to get discussion going in the big group. I try to make
it media-based. I ask them what was in the paper today about a
particular organisation. I use a few videos. I use case studies, in the
sense that a whole organisation is a case study. It is like a live case.
In the tutes, there are group and individual presentations.
Students are also expected to keep abreast of current developments both in Australia
and abroad via the public and popular media in respect to strategic management. At
the beginning of each lecture, students are asked to participate in a discussion of the
preceding weeks newsworthy items.
Assessment
The assessment for this subject comprises:
Individual presentationWeight 20%
Each group member presents their analysis in respect to the organisation and the
strategic area selected. Students are expected to research, critique and analyse the
organisation, with respect to the weeks allocated topic. The presentation is followed by
questions from the class and tutor.
Group report presentationWeight 20%
Each group presents their complete analysis of the selected organisation.
Group reportWeight 30%
Each group is required to prepare a formal business report outlining a forensic analysis
of the organisations strategy in all areas.
Reflective exercises
These exercises are 30 minutes long and held during tutorials. The first is a short answer
question based on material that students will know from prior studies (worth 10%). The
second test is a short answer question, which requires students to reflect on how they
can apply theory to the organisation researched (worth 20%).
Student feedback
The expectations were higher and you pushed us all, which helped me
to push myself too; and I think it had a lot to do with how successful
Ive been in my jobs so far and how Ive been able to think about and
plan my career.
(Local student)
You cant imagine how much I have learnt from every one of your
lectures and the assignments we have done. The other day, I was
talking to my dad about businesses and for the first time in my life I felt
like I knew what I was talking about. Now I read the newspaper, and
thanks to this subject I will have more skills to offer to my job once I
go home.
(International exchange student)
Integrative Business Practice
Meropy Barut, Swinburne University of Technology
Since 2009, the Bachelor of Commerce at Swinburne University of Technology has
included two capstone subjects
12
designed to prepare students for the type of problems
they will encounter in business life. In the first subject, called Integrative Business
Practice, students work in diverse teams on unfamiliar problems. Through a series of
team-based activities, they build the skills and knowledge needed to present their teams
recommendation on a current business challenge. The challenge theme changes each
year. In 2011, it was the role of e-books in higher education. In 2012, it was franchising.
The second subject, Industry Consulting Project, involves students working on a real
business problem for a real client. Students work in classes of 40 to 50, organised into
teams of about six. In each class students all work on the same industry project.
This first capstone subject is structured according to a team-based learning approach
pioneered by Larry Michaelson (Michaelson, Knight & Fink, 2002). Students are
allocated to teams of five or six with an emphasis on diversity (according to majors,
genders, ethnic or cultural background and age). This takes place in the first class and
students work in these teams for the whole semester.
The focus is on both hard business skills and soft interpersonal and self-development
skills. No new content is taught, although students are provided with preparation readings
relevant to the business challenge they are working on. Instead students are expected
to apply their skills and knowledge from their discipline learning to analyse a business
challenge and recommend a solution.
Teamwork skills are explicitly taught and practised. Each team develops a team charter,
in which they discuss team members strengths, weaknesses and preferences, and
agree a code of conduct for the remainder of the semester. They are also required to
evaluate each team members contribution to team performance twice in the semester
(mid-way and at the end), and to evaluate their own contribution (mid-way). Finally, they
write reflective blogs throughout the semester, intended to document and reinforce their
learning journey.
The subject also has a strong focus on different styles of communication. Within the
reflective blogs, students are asked to use images and video clips as well as words. For
the team project, they must present a poster summarising their recommendation as well
as write a short report.
12 For which case studies have been developed by Samir Shrivastava and Susan Rushworth.
Teaching and learning activities
This subject involves team-based learning activities, such as case studies. Students are
provided with relevant readings to prepare them to work on the case, and the session
begins with a readiness assurance test to confirm that they have done the preparation.
An example of such a case, the Earthsage case, is based heavily on a real Australian
company. Students were given reading material which consisted of:
the case itself;
an industry report on the video gaming industry in Australia; and
a short, practical article on break-even analysis.
After a readiness assurance test, widespread points of misunderstanding are discussed.
The case concerns an entrepreneur, Bruce Darling, who has a game development
company, Earthsage, and has identified three potential market niches. He believes the
companys resources will not allow him to pursue all three market niches at once, and
if he wants to succeed in one of them, he must focus on it for the next 12 months.
Alternatively, he could sell Earthsage to a US-based games publishing company that
wants to use it as a platform for establishing an in-house games development capability
based in Australia. Whatever he decides, he has to get the agreement of his co-founder,
Shannon Guy, and consider the impact on employees.
He has identified four options, representing three different market niches and the option
of selling the business. Each option has benefits and disadvantages and he is seeking
advice on evaluating them.
The options are:
specialise in low-cost mobile apps for the next 12 months to
bring in quick revenue;
move now to specialise in premium mobile apps to secure
leadership in a higher-profit niche;
move now to negotiate a merger with Endless Play to allow
diversification into the PC and console game market, which
offers higher margins but relatively static demand; and
accept the buy-out offer from the US games publisher and
become a division of their business.
Each student team acts as a consulting company, giving Earthsage strategic advice.
Teams have 60 minutes to recommend which of the four options Earthsage should
pursue, with reasons and justifications. Reasons are to be summarised on a single A4
page in a format provided. Students are advised to consider multiple factors: account
investment requirements, profit potential, break-even analysis, market demand, risk,
and the level of management and employee support.
Assessment
There are multiple assessment tasks that build toward a major team task. For example,
in 2012, students were required to select a real company to extend as a franchise which
either was not already franchised, or not franchised in the selected country. They had to
develop and present a justification for the franchise opportunity and a high level strategy
for implementation.
Students could select one of four franchises to invest in, chosen by the teaching team, or
select their own. Their choice was based on criteria they developed as a team, informed
by reading materials on franchising and franchise selection. The team had to present
and justify their choice.
Using the franchise selected, students conducted a detailed external analysis of the
market and industry in the target country and presented this, using visual elements
where possible, such as charts, tables, graphs and images.
Students enjoyed the flexibility the task allowed. In one tutors class, not one of the nine
teams chose the same franchise or country combination, despite all being given the
same initial choice of four franchises.
This diversity increases engagement, reduces direct competition between teams and
the unproductive anxiety that can create, and allows students to learn from other teams
approaches to similar challenges.
Industry Consulting Project
Viet Le, Swinburne University of Technology
This is the second of two capstone subjects in the Bachelor of Commerce at Swinburne
University of Technology. Industry Consulting Project gives students an opportunity to
apply their technical knowledge and generic skills in a live problem solving project
for an industry partner. The first capstone subject, Integrative Business Practice, is a
prerequisite for the second subject and, among other things, prepares students to work
in multi-disciplinary teams on consulting projects.
Like the first capstone subject, the Industry Consulting Project is based on Larry
Michaelsens Team Based Learning (TBL) pedagogy. This approach is centred
around the four Ssthat is, students 1) work on a significant problem, 2) work on
the same problem, 3) make a specific choice from a range of solutions, and 4) report
simultaneously on the problem so that they learn from each other (for more information
about the TBL pedagogy, refer to www.teambasedlearning.org).
For this subject, the undergraduate cohort is split into classes of around 50 students. Each
class is further split into around eight multi-disciplinary teams that work independently
on a current problem being faced by an industry partner.
The teams are briefed by the industry partner and get to interact with the partner at least
three times during the semester:
the first visit is to brief the teams on the company and problem;
the second visit is an opportunity to examine the progress of the
project; and
the third visit is to listen to the final presentations and discuss
the proposed solutions.
Students do not approach the organisation directly without permission.
Field trips are also sometimes organised, if considered essential. Over 12 weeks, under
the supervision of an instructor, the teams analyse the industry in question, generate
several options to address the problem, identify the risks associated with each option,
and finally make specific recommendations in a written report and an oral presentation.
Listening to different solutions to the same problem tends to generate a healthy debate
amongst the teams and fosters critical thinking.
Capstone projects have come from a wide cross-section of industries, including the
public and the not-for-profit sector. These industries have ranged from information
technology, motor sport, high precision instrumentation to cosmetics. The students
have also done a project for the Australian Bureau of Statistics and disability services
providers such as Inclusion Melbourne, Milparinka and Interchange Outer East.
Subject outcomes
The Faculty believes that the capstone experience helps students hone their decision
making, team work, communication, and problem solving skills as they create value for
businesses and the wider community in Victoria. The testimonials from the clients are
highly positive.
Successful application of skills and knowledge in a multi-disciplinary context on a live
project also gives the students the kind of confidence that perhaps no other experience
can. Armed with self-belief, students can make a successful transition to the workplace.
Simulation of a Socially Innovative Enterprise
Faculty of Commerce, University of Wollongong
This is a final year mountaintop capstone subject in the Bachelor of Commerce, and
is one of a suite of four cross-discipline capstone subjects offered in the degree. All
students must complete one of the four subjects.
All of these capstones are underpinned by the UN Global Compact Principles and follow
the same content for the first six weeks, through two one-hour lectures and a one-hour
tutorial. The assessment at the end of these six weeks is the same for all subjects.
For the second half of the subject, each capstone has its own focus with a one-hour
lecture and two one-hour tutorials. This subject has been designed to attract the majority
of final year students and involves approximately 400 students per session.
The Simulation of a Socially Innovative Enterprise subject enables students to apply
the principles of ethical, socially responsible, and sustainable commerce in a web-
based simulated business environment. The subject is based on a series of lectures
and an action based learning project. In the action learning project students form
multidisciplinary teams and run a simulated business (which may include private, public
and not for profit organisations), twenty four hours a day for a period of several weeks.
Students are required to make multidisciplinary and interactive decisions based on the
principles of ethical, socially responsible and sustainable practice.
The intended learning outcomes for this subject are that students will:
demonstrate the capacity to problem solve and effectively work
in multidisciplinary contexts;
demonstrate a deep understanding of theoretical principles that
underpin the complexities of commercial practice;
apply a wide range of innovative commercial practices as
they construct and are constructed by intercultural values and
identities in societies;
demonstrate and apply the principles and ethical underpinnings
of corporate governance best practice in a globalised
environment;
demonstrate a knowledge of the dynamics of working both within
a team and a system; and
demonstrate an understanding of the use of specified
information and communication technologies.
Subject content
There is no textbook for the subject but students receive a set of readings that include
the UN Global Compact Principles. They also receive a Players Guide to the Simulation
which supports them as they play the simulation.
The following topics are covered in the subject:
the multidisciplinary nature of commerce as related to an
enterprise;
dynamics of systems;
values and identity;
theories of global commerce;
corporate governance, strategy and vision;
an introduction to the Simulation: Interactive Dynamic Learning
Environment (IDLE);
human rights;
labour standards;
environment; and
anti-corruption.
Assessment
The subject comprises four pieces of assessment:
Assessment 1Weight 30%
Students apply the concepts covered in lectures 1-6 to a current topic in the public
domain in order to prepare them for their team projects.
They are required to:
access a newspaper article published in Australia in the current
year;
identify a topic relating to socially innovative or socially
responsible commerce. For example they could look at
companies engaging in innovation that benefits society or at
companies that are not acting in a socially responsible way;
draw on the weekly lecture readings and other relevant material
to analyse the newspaper article, identify and critically evaluate
it, using at least two of the following theoretical principles:
- dynamics of systems;
- theoretical issues;
- values and identity;
- corporate governance; and
- theories of global commerce.
The final report needs be approximately 2,000 words and follow the conventions of
academic writing.
This assessment is based on Team Based Learning (Michaelson) principles. Students
complete an individual quiz followed by a team quiz in tutorials in weeks 3, 4, 5, 6. The
quizzes are based on the required reading for each week.
This is an online quiz completed in week 7. The quiz focuses on the IDLE Players Guide
and ensures students have read it before they begin the simulation.
This involves a series of authentic tasks focused on Company Operations Reporting.
Part Ateams have to write an interim report on their company operations which is due
in week 9. The multidisciplinary team has to demonstrate:
their ability to assess and make business decisions based on
their simulated context; and
their understanding of all interrelationships, with a view to
achieving long term success that aligns with strategy.
Part Bteams develop a Company Operations End of Performance Report. They
have completed the simulation and are expected to:
demonstrate their ability to assess and make business decisions
based on their final simulated context;
discuss all interrelationships with a view to achieving long term
success that aligns with strategy; and
use authoritative sources to justify their decisions and
recommendations for their company.
This is a written report and must adhere to expected academic conventions. The report
is due in the final week.
Part Cthis is a team meeting with CEO/Board of Directors. Teams make a presentation
to the lecturer and other tutorial attendees, but students are assessed individually and
each team member is required to present and to respond to specific questions asked by
the CEO or Board of Directors.
Students are assessed according to:
evidence of individual participation and involvement;
their ability to clearly articulate and justify company decisions
and to provide:
- high level aggregated information;
- recommendations for management; and
- a strategy for the company moving forwards.
Subject evaluation
An external responsive evaluation of this subject was carried out during autumn session
2012. Subject coordinators and tutors were interviewed as to the merit and worth of the
subject. Early analysis of these interviews demonstrates the subject clearly achieves the
learning outcomes. Students data also indicates that the learning outcomes have been
achieved and that working in cross disciplinary teams was useful in preparing them for
the workforce.
Results indicate that this subject addresses the five defining features of a capstone
(see p.4). It provides the opportunity to integrate knowledge learnt from their respective
disciplines. The students are engaged in activities that consolidate key skills such as
teamwork, communication and critical and creative thinking through the simulation and
in developing a business together. The simulation also creates a learning environment
that allows students to problem solve, as new environmental and political challenges (as
outlined in the UN Global Principles), impact their business operations. The assessments
serve as a vehicle for reflective practice and team decision-making, where students
draw together what they have learnt in previous classes as well as this subject, and
reflect on what this means to them and their professional careers.
Finally, the teaching staff describe how students grow throughout the subject. This is
particularly evident in the final board room assessment where young, enthusiastic,
professionally-dressed employees enter ready to promote, justify and defend their
business decisions.
APPENDIX C: LEARNING AND
TEACHING THEORY
Do lecturers need to know about learning and teaching theory to teach well? For some
lecturers, understanding relevant theory and concepts is usefulafter all, we tell our
students that integrating theory and practice is vital! Argyris and Schon (1974) argue that
teaching is better when lecturers can articulate the insights, values and strategies they
bring to the classroom.
We asked four capstone lecturers about their approaches to teaching capstones and
the learning and/or teaching theories that underpin them. We include a summary of
their responses here for those interested in an overview of some of the theory most
relevant to capstone subjects. We note that the approaches overlap and that while
these contributions offer useful general overview, they do not present comprehensive
coverage of all possible relevant approaches and theories.
Constructivism
Underpinning a number of teaching approaches, including problem-based learning,
simulation-based learning and case-based learning, is the theory of learning called
constructivism. The central tenet of constructivism is that the learner takes part in an
active, contextualised process of constructing their own knowledge. The theory holds
that all knowledge is constructed from a combination of the learners previous knowledge,
their past experiences and cultural factors.
Constructivism is a reaction to didactic and cognitively focused approaches that
emphasise the transmission of information. It focuses on learning contexts and the
activity of the learner. The teachers role is not to transmit information, but to collaborate
with students to help them construct meaning, to perform tasks and solve problems. The
teaching role is therefore strongly facilitative.
There are various approaches within the constructivist family. Bruner (1966) developed
the notion, based on constructivist theory, of a spiral curriculum that suggests
students should draw on past experience and existing knowledge to discover facts
and relationships and new truths. Bruner argues that students are more likely to
remember concepts and knowledge they have discovered than facts they have learnt,
and that learners need to master the fundamental principles of subjects rather than
just the facts. The curriculum should repeatedly revisit basic ideassometimes called
threshold conceptsbuilding on them repeatedly; thus the idea of a spiral curriculum.
Problem-based learning and experiential learning, discussed below, are also strongly
constructivist in their approaches.
Capstone subjects are a perfect vehicle for a constructivist approach, given their aim
to a) encourage students well advanced in their degree programs to synthesise and
apply their existing knowledge, rather than absorb yet more knowledge without properly
processing it; and b) give fledgling practitioners the skills and confidence they will need
in a professional role.

Case Study
A capstone subject for an Employment Relations major is based on
constructivist models of learning. The lecturer has replaced formal lectures
as much as possible with more active forms of learning. These include talks
by practitioner facilitators about their practice around a series of themes,
and constructivist approaches to student presentations, in-class and take-
home assessable exercises. The lecturer encourages dialogue between the
practitioners and students, with the practitioners presenting some live cases,
which dont have pat answers, for students to discuss.
Students are required to facilitate presentations around relevant topics. They
have to educate and involve their audience (the other students, but defined
as some particular group such as line managers or employees) so the
presentation is activity-based (only 10 of the 30 minutes can be straight chalk
and talk).
The approach to the student presentations is constructivist in the sense that
the guidelines given to students are deliberately loose, requiring students
to work out between themselves and in dialogue with the lecturer, the most
suitable approach and the marking criteria. The students are also given short,
assessable professional practice exercises. These replicate typical workplace
tasks such as developing an organisational policy, investigating a messy
workplace situation, or critiquing an individual contract. Students are required
to apply their existing knowledge to complete the tasks.
Action Learning
Action learning, also known as action inquiry and related very closely to action research,
involves learning through designing and implementing solutions to challenges or actual
or proposed problems. Subjects based on action learning are different from conventional
didactic subjects based on lecture and tutorial discussion formats in that they use project-
based learning, cooperative student interaction, and critical reflection on experience as
learning mechanisms.
In the same way that colleagues play a key role in the process of learning in the
workplace, peers are considered to be particularly important to achieving the learning
goals of critical reflection and learning from experience in action-learning based designs
(Wilson & Pirrie, 1999). The theory underpinning action learning designs is the process
of learning from experience that Kolb (1984) proposed in a four-stage cycle (Figure 2).

Figure 2: The four-stage cycle of experiential learning
The process is continuous, with multiple and cumulative experiential cycles required for
effective learning.
CONCRETE EXPERIENCE
What is happening?
CRITICAL OBSERVATION
AND REFLECTION
What do I observe?
How do I feel about it?
ABSTRACT
CONCEPTUALISATION
What do I think this means?
What general principles are at work?
ACTIVE
EXPERIMENTATION
How do I need to respond?
This combination of active and reflective learning mechanisms provides a potent
methodology for enhancing student engagement and learning. It is particularly relevant
for preparing professionals-in-training, and is well suited for the integrative and applied
learning agendas typically underpinning capstone subjects.
Some evidence indicates that these design components are associated with a range
of effective learning outcomes for final year students, such as increases in deep
approaches to learning (striving for meaning and understanding) (Wilson & Fowler,
2005), generic skills development (communication and team work) and meta-cognition
and critical reflection (learning to observe and critically examine ones experiences)
(Lizzio & Wilson, 2004; 2007).
Problem-based Learning (PBL)
The PBL approach is based on, and consistent with, the constructivist assumption that
learning is a product of social and cognitive interactions. It gives students opportunities
to apply their content knowledge and workplace skills while working on authentic,
contextualised problems and projects. What distinguishes PBL from other similar
approaches, such as problem-solving learning, simulations and case learning, is the
focus on defining the problem rather than a focus on specific tasks that need to be
achieved. Students are given the freedom to explore and define the problem at different
levels and from different angles and perspectives.
A typical PBL approach begins by presenting students with a common workplace
scenario with some incomplete information, and different views within the scenario that
may be contradictory. There are no set questions for students to work through. Rather,
students must identify what the problem or issue is, and propose ideas or hypotheses,
based on theory and research, about how to understand and/or solve the problem.
Students work in groups, to enable them to draw on different perspectives and generate
a richer interpretation of the scenario. Their ideas or hypotheses evolve and become
more specific and defensible as the learning progresses. Only when students have
moved through the process of proposal, investigation and review several times, do they
propose a solution. After setting out their resolution to the problem, students reflect
on what they have learnt, how well they have collaborated within the group and how
effectively they directed their own learning.
The literature indicates that PBL has positive effects on student learning and satisfaction.
It helps to build students confidence and professional skills, particularly their capacity
to make a strong and reasoned argument for a particular way forward, based on a deep
theoretical, as well as a practical, understanding of different views (Bailey et al., 2007).
PBL is particularly effective in equipping students to work with and respect diversity. It
encourages diverse opinions and perspectives, since there is no correct answer to a
problem scenario, only a well-researched and well-argued one.
Case Study
At The University of Newcastles Faculty of Business and Law, the capstone
subject for the human resource management major focuses on developing
students problem-solving skills for professional practice. The main piece of
assessment is a group assignment, in which a practitioner from a business
organisation presents students with information on a real and current
organisational challenge. The groups are asked to present their framing and
analysis of the problem/issue, options for responding, criteria for choosing a
particular option and recommendations for a way forward.
Examples of topics used and the practitioners who presented them include:
Aligning the salaried/enterprise bargaining agreement pay
and reward systems at nib Health Funds Ltd, presented by the
Manager, People and Development;
Planning for the impact of the ageing workforce at the
University of Newcastle, by the Organisation Development
Manager; and
Managing workforce change and redundancy during the
sale of Country Energys retail arm, by the General Manager,
Corporate Services.
Students were asked to create the presentation for the practitioner who posed
the challenge. Students participated in workshops to give them additional skills
training in the PBL methodology, in industry research and analysis, and in
developing presentations. They were given the opportunity to present their
ideas to the practitioners and to industry and employer representatives in the
Newcastle/Hunter region in a voluntary Student Showcase. Many students
reported that learning about and solving real-world problems was a highlight
of their subject.

The Case Study Method
A method of teaching and learning widely used in capstone subjects is the case study
method. It originated in the disciplines of law and medicine, with the work of the Harvard
University Graduate School of Business being particularly well-known. It is now used
widely across a range of disciplines (Gross Davis, 1993).
Case study as a teaching approach involves the detailed description of a particular
real life situation or problem as it happened in the past or as it could happen in the
professional life of the student (Kreber, 2001). According to Gross Davis (1993), a good
case study:
tells a story;
raises a thought-provoking issue;
has elements of conflict;
promotes empathy with the central characters;
lacks an obvious or clear-cut right answer;
encourages students to think and take a position;
demands a decision; and
is relatively concise.
The learners task is to analyse the case for the underlying problem, its symptoms,
causes and alternative solutions. By examining real-life situations, students are learning
skills by doing.
The case approach has a number of advantages. It gives students the opportunity to
analyse a typical situation or a true-to-life problem by providing concrete illustrations
of various theoretical concepts. It encourages them to enhance their verbal and written
communication skills and to draw on their ability to analyse a problem and think critically.
Case studies are useful in bringing abstract subject material to life, making learning
more enjoyable and bridging the gap between theory and practice (Osigweh, 1989: 43-
46). The case method encourages students to take action in the real world, in all its
complexity, in all its buzzing confusion The case method is the medium that most
nearly captures the realities of a strategic situation (Summer, Bettis, Duhaime, Grant,
Hambrick, Snow & Zeithaml, 1990: 367).
Despite its benefits, the case study method presents a number of challenges. It requires
substantial preparation from lecturers and more active engagement from students than
other methods of learning. It requires the appropriate selection of cases as well as
careful planning on the part of lecturers, including consideration of the overall climate
of the instructional setting.
Critics of the case study method point to its focus on past events and its offering of
a static view of an organisation at one point in time (in contrast to problem-based
learning), so that students do not develop the ability to deal with dynamic environments
and continuous change. And once published, cases are already out of date, which can
dilute their relevance and appeal to students. Some variations to the traditional approach
attempt to address these concerns.
One is the use of live case studies. These involve working with an organisation to
solve a real business problem. Ideally key decision makers in the company are active
participants and are accessible to students. The focal point of the case is usually a
central managerial decision that has either just been made or is about to be made.
Another variant is multiple role-playing as a way of encouraging students to think about
issues from a range of viewpoints.
Case Study
Solving Policy Problems is a capstone subject in a politics major at Griffith
University. It explores a series of policy areas by asking legal, economic and
political questions that generate debates and explore the consequences of
particular policies and actions. The subject aims to help students understand
how different disciplines relate to one another, and the implications of different
perspectives and approaches.
In the first three weeks of the subject, students meet for lectures and participate
in class exercises to prepare them for the assignments. Senior public servants
are invited to class to discuss with the students the process of preparing briefs
and cabinet submissions.
From week 4 onwards, students attend seminars in which one case or issue
is analysed each week, with group presentations forming the major part of
activities. Students work in teams to present a briefing note, making a detailed
analysis of one case or policy area.
From week 9, students present their cabinet submission to the Cabinetthe
class. Presenters must defend their arguments and conclusions in the face
of challenges from the other students. All students are allocated a particular
portfolio and, if not presenting, work from that perspective for the remainder of
the semester. The lecturer adopts the role of Prime Minister, which adds to the
realism of the exercise, but also allows him or her to steer the discussion and
intervene if and when necessary.
This capstone subject helps students learn to think on their feet and to
sharpen their analytical skills. It gives them the opportunity to apply the theory
and practice that they have learnt over previous semesters. They also need to
research and find relevant information about scenarios so they can develop
and present their position in a way that is both theoretically informed and
practical. By employing the case-study method, the subject aims to develop
the skills of persuasion, analysis and advice. Students find the case-study
approach challenging, but with sufficient guidance from the subject convenors,
they rise to the tasks and develop a range of skills that help prepare them for
the workplace and for life beyond university.
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ABOUT THIS GUIDE
Capstone subjects have been around for a long time, and are
becoming increasingly popular in Australian business schools,
usually as compulsory offerings in students nal year of study. They
are intended to be the culmination of studies in a degree program,
giving students an opportunity to integrate their knowledge and
skills and prepare for their transition to the workplace.
This Guide provides information and case studies of existing capstone
subjects, and ideas for introducing, designing, teaching and assessing
these subjects. It is one of the outputs of a project funded by the
Australian Government Ofce for Learning and Teaching (previously
the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd). See also the
project website at www.businesscapstones.edu.au.
The Capstone Project has allowed business
academics to reflect critically on the role of capstones
and to have opportunities to have informed
discussions with others. Via this guide and the other
resources on the project website, I am sure the project
will leave its mark for some years to come.
Mark Freeman, ALTC Discpline Scholar, Business and
Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning), Faculty of Economics and
Business, The University of Sydney

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