Capstone Projects engage students in personalized learning experiences. The Capstone Project affords students the opportunity to apply critical thinking skills while investigating a specialized area of interest. Students synthesize the teaching and learning from core courses and STEM elective pathways to solve real-world problems related to their chosen fields. The Capstone Project serves as a culminating demonstration of what a student has learned.
Throughout the Capstone Project, students activate prior academic and technical knowledge and skills to address complex, authentic problems. In addition, students incorporate 21st Century Skills in a real-world context through: brainstorming; thinking interdependently; questioning and posing problems; applying creativity, innovation, and invention; problem solving; researching; gathering data; thinking and communicating with clarity and precision; thinking about thinking via persistence, flexibility, and reflection; and interpersonal communication and connections with adults.
To complete the Capstone requirement, students may choose one of the following options.
Option 1
Students can fulfill the Capstone requirement while successfully completing the course; AP Seminar.
AP Seminar is an interdisciplinary, research-based class. Students learn to synthesize information from multiple sources, develop their own perspectives in written essays, and design and deliver oral and visual presentations, both individually and as part of a team. Ultimately, the course aims to equip students with the power to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy and precision in order to craft and communicate evidence-based arguments. Students learn to synthesize information from multiple sources, develop their own perspectives in written essays, and design and deliver oral and visual presentations, both individually and as part of a team. The AP score is based on independent and group research, completed during the school year, as well as an exam in the spring.
OR
Option 2
Students can fulfill the Capstone requirement by successfully completing both the requirements for extracurricular participation in the Science Fair and by presenting their project to the STEM committee.
The Maine State Fair is an experience that lasts a lifetime. By participating in the Science Fair, you can follow your natural curiosity about the world and explore “real world” science and engineering problems that really interest you! Want to make a difference in the world? You can! Students work individually or in teams to investigate everything from dirt bike mechanics to green energy solutions to genetic research.
The Science Fair process also builds essential skills for success in 21st-century careers, such as critical and creative thinking, communication, teamwork and ethical decision-making.
Click here for the rubric: STEM Endorsement Capstone Rubric
Click here for information about the Science Fair: https://mmsa.org/projects/reach-center/maine-state-science-fair/