The Current State Of Capstone Design Pedagogy
James Pembridge, Marie Paretti
Abstract
In the fall of 2009, faculty involved in capstone design courses were surveyed to track trends in the course structure and to explore current pedagogical practices. Where prior surveys probed course logistics, faculty involvement, project coordination, funding details, and industry involvement, this survey complements that work by also addressing the teaching beliefs and practices of capstone faculty. The results provide a basis for understanding commonalities across capstone experiences and help lay the foundation for training future design educators. This paper presents the descriptive statistical results from the survey, examines national trends in capstone pedagogy, and addresses the implications of the findings for design education.