Capstone Experiences in Career and Technical Education :: Employment Jobs Businesses Essays

Capstone Experiences in C atomic number 18er and Technical EducationCapstones are culminating experiences in which students synthesize subject-matter knowledge they have acquired, integrate cross-disciplinary knowledge, and connect hypothesis and application in preparation for entry into a career (Fairchild and Taylor 2000). Durel (1993) evocatively describes them as a rite of passage or liminal threshold through which participants interchange their status from student to graduate. A capstone course should be both a synthesisreflection and integrationand a bridgea real-world preparatory experience that focuses on the postgraduation future (Fairchild and Taylor 2000 Rhodus and Hoskins 1995). In career and practiced education (CTE), capstones are about often found in postsecondary business, agriculture, and consort health programs in their emphasis on integration, experiential learning, and real-world problem solving, they would be valuable in any CTE electron orbit. This Brief discusses the rationale for capstones, presents evidence of their effectiveness, and describes shipway to use them in CTE. Why Capstones?Many types of work now train more than technical expertise (Fairchild and Taylor 2000 Magney 1996). In many fields, a considerable range of nontechnical skills is now essential leadership, teamwork, problem solving, decision making, full of life thinking, interpersonal communication, information management (Fairchild and Taylor 2000 Rhodus and Hoskins 1995). For example, in organizations with flatter hierarchies, management responsibilities are now being downshifted to technicians (Magney 1996). Information technology graduates need not single specialized technical skills but also project management skills and knowingness of global concerns and business practices (Novitzki 1998). Nurses must be prepared for change management, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary col wear outation in the volatile health care field (Rains, Richardson, and F owler 1999). To achieve these outcomes, the objectives of a capstone course, project, or experience typically let in the following (Fairchild and Taylor 2000 Rhodus and Hoskins 1995 Thomas 1998) . To provide students an opportunity to synthesize knowledge from chunk and informal learning and apply it to contemporary issues in the field . To avail prepare students for a successful career by providing experiences that enhance their labor market advantage . To increase students understanding of the big picture, including ethical and cordial issues related to the field . To help students understand the relevance of theory and search to practice How Effective Are Capstones?What benefits do students receive from capstone experiences? husbandry capstone graduates (Andreasen and Trede 1998) recognized the application of knowledge from other courses as the most beneficial outcome.