InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Future of Food > Section 4: Food Systems and Sustainability > Capstone Project Stage 4
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The materials are free and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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Capstone Project Stage 4

Gigi Richard, Colorado Mesa University
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Summary

Stage 4 of the Future Food Scenarios capstone project is the final data gathering phase of the project. Stage 4 is completed following Modules 10 and 11 and guides the student through final data collection about the food systems and sustainability of their assigned food region. In addition, students explore population projections for their assigned region, so they can begin to assess the potential future resilience of the food systems in their assigned region.

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Learning Goals

As outlined in the capstone overview (Stage 1), Capstone Stage 4 provides a benchmark to assess students progress on their semester-long Future Food Scenarios capstone project. Upon completing Stage 4, students should have gathered all of the data and information they need to prepare their final website or presentation to complete the capstone project. In Stage 4, students should be thinking about the resilience of the food systems in their assigned region and what strategies could be implemented to increase the region's resilience to projected future warming and population change projections.

Context for Use

See Capstone Stage 1 for details.

Description and Teaching Materials

See Capstone Stage 1 for details. Student materials for Capstone Stage 4 are also available, including a student worksheet.

Teaching Notes and Tips

What works best

  • The amount of time allocated to this capstone stage is up to the instructor. The next module (Module 12) is the final capstone stage (Stage 5), where the students compile, synthesize and summarize the data and information they've collected all semester into their final website or presentation. One week of the course could be reserved for Stages 4 and 5.
What students may find difficult
  • Students studying international regions may struggle to find future population projections for their region and may require support from the instructor.

Assessment

No assessments have been formally planned for this stage of the capstone. Assessment of progress on the capstone project is conducted at Stages 1 and 3. Unless the instructor prefers, there are no graded submissions at this point in the course. However, simple status updates in class time or through a discussion board generally suffice. The instructor should especially pay attention to students who struggled with Stages 1 to 3 to see if they are still having difficulties. The instructor might also ask students to bring their stage 4 worksheets to class for a quick check to see how up-to-date they are, or may choose to collect the worksheets and PowerPoints to encourage student to make continued progress on the capstone. At the least, checking the worksheets and PowerPoint briefly during class time will encourage students to continue to work on them.

References and Resources

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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »