Overview
Creative research projects are needed more than ever as the world faces unprecedented climate challenges. Environmental Studies 498: Capstone 1: Capstone Project Proposal (ENVS 498), a core required course in the environmental studies program, offers students a unique opportunity to put their particular research into practice. In this course students will work with a supervisory professor throughout Capstone 1 (ENVS 498) and Capstone 2 (ENVS 499) to update their e-portfolio, create a project proposal, and present their proposal in a student forum. Students will also receive constructive feedback and ideas on their proposal before they undertake their project.
This course involves three assignments: 1) a Reflection Journal, 2) a Project Proposal for Capstone 2, and 3) a Learning Plan (a guide to implement the project).
The reflection journal contains a range of activities that will support students in defining their research topic and methods and identifying sources.
Toward the end of this course, students will share their proposal with ENVS students in a peer-to-peer learning symposium. This will offer students an opportunity to hone their presentation skills and receive constructive feedback on their research in a supportive environment, as well as build community among BES program students and faculty.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to
- apply interdisciplinary and integrative research to creatively address an issue or challenge in the broad field of environmental studies;
- synthesize and extend knowledge, skills, and perspectives from previous bachelor of environmental studies (BES) coursework to develop a coherent and well-informed project proposal for a project to undertake in ENVS 499;
- effectively present their refined project proposal to an audience, demonstrating the incorporation of constructive feedback received from faculty and peers; and
- critically reflect on personal learning and growth throughout the BES program, demonstrating an awareness of how various courses contribute to a coherent knowledge base.
Outline
Unit 1: Reflecting on Your BES Journey So Far
Unit 2: Interdisciplinary and Integrative Analysis in Environmental Studies
Unit 3: Going Through the Research Process
Unit 4: Research Strategies and Methods
Unit 5: Creative Research Projects
Unit 6: The Proposal for the Capstone Project
Unit 7: Developing a Learning Plan
Evaluation
To receive
credit for ENVS 498, you must complete and submit all the assignments and achieve a minimum overall grade of at least
D (50 percent) for the course. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Refection Journal | 40% |
| Project Proposal for Capstone 2 | 40% |
| Learning Plan | 20% |
| Total | 100% |
Materials
This course either does not have a course package or the textbooks are open-source material and available to students at no cost. This course has a Course Administration and Technology Fee, but students are not charged the Course Materials Fee.
All course materials are available online.
In this course, you will revisit the artifacts and assignments in your PebblePad e-portfolio. However, this course is available via Brightspace, not PebblePad. If you want, you can save some of your materials from this course on PebblePad, but this is not necessary.