You will have a chance to engage in activities that help students connect their academic studies and Bonner service experiences through hands-on projects. Additionally, we will talk on a broader level about strategies that are effective for students to get their Bonner Programs more connected with faculty, coursework, and academic experience in general.

1. The Sweet Spot
Supporting Your Program to
Integrate Capstones
Ariane Hoy, Kai Mangino, & Alexander Nichols
Bonner Congress 2018

2. Workshop
Goals
Engage you as student
leaders in helping to
integrate capstones for
Bonners on your
campus
Give you a preview and
hands-on experience
with the 8-Part Capstone
Series
Provide discussion and
support for how students
can connect their Bonner
service with academics
and college more broadly
1
2
3

3. IMAGINE!
TRY IT!
Today’s Agenda
1 INTRODUCTION 2
YOUR
PROGRAM3
STAKEHOLDER
DISCUSSION4

4. 1 INTRODUCTIONS

5. A project that
connects your
identity,
service, and
learning
A project
created with the
community
A signature
experience
Bonner Capstone:

6. Capstone Examples
Capstones take many forms:
• Research Project
• Volunteer Handbook or Analysis
• Curriculum or Training
• New or Changed Program
• Grant Proposal or Fundraising
• Theater Production or Journalism Series
• Social Action Campaign
• Policy Analysis or Recommendation
and more…

7. Siena College Bonner Service Leader Senior Capstone
By: Brittany Drollette
Faculty Advisor: Jesse Moya, PhD
Culturally-relevant
Education and Medical
Services for Indigenous
Bolivian Women and Youth
Abstract: The country of Bolivia is struggling to
provide indigenous and low-income women with
the care they need, for both adolescents just
learning about topics such as menstruating, and
seasoned mothers preparing to birth their 5th
child in less than 10 years. While much of the
Bolivian population receives westernized care or
at least understands it, there is still a large portion
of those who do not: indigenous peoples, the
majority of whom reside in rural areas. This paper
examines the state of sexual health education as a
whole in Latin America and Bolivia, and discusses
how a misunderstanding of indigenous culture,
particularly Aymara and Quechua, is negatively
contributing to this state in a substantial way.
Additionally, this paper explores how westernized
educational practices and medical practices can
address the health needs of indigenous
communities while also remaining culturally
sensitive to their beliefs.
Problem One: An Education
Disparity
• 32% of citizens are without
formal education.
• 77% of the illiterate population
are women, leaving them
vulnerable to situations of
control.
Problem Two: Ethnocentrism
• 60% of the population is indigenous,
primarily within the Aymara and Quechua
traditions.
• Indigenous peoples often live in extreme
poverty, and have virtually no access to
adequate health care facilities and
resources.
• They are often confronted with intense
Ethnocentrism.
Solution One: Access to Sexual
Education
• There are two approaches to Sexual
Education:
• The Life-Skills based method,
which targets changing sexual
behaviors of youth.
• The Biological based method
which targets building
biological knowledge of youth.
• Characteristics of an informed
adolescent:
• a knowledge of biological
processes of the reproductive
system
• a knowledge of proper family
planning methods
• a respect and understanding of
their own body, as well as
other’s.
Solution Two: Culturally Relevant Medical
Services and Sexual Education
• Community Based Medical Services:
creating lines of communication and trust
between traditional indigenous peoples
and western medical doctors.
• Culturally Relevant Sexually Education:
connects the discontinuity between home
culture and school culture, by inserting
education into culture as opposed to
inserting culture into education.
• Keys to success: the use of home
language, drawing on issues and
ideas the students find meaningful,
and allowing students to be
comfortable in their own culture
(“be themselves.”)

8. Siena College Bonner Service Leader Senior Capstone
By: Jordan Thompson
Faculty Advisors: Duane Matcha & Rong Fu
Attitudes toward Drug Policy
among College Students
Beginning in 2001, there has been a shift toward the decriminalization
of illicit drugs. With the current political climate, in the United States it is
unlikely for something like this to pass unless there are people willing to
increase knowledge on this issue. The main purpose of the study was to
investigate students’ opinions on the decriminalization of illicit drugs
such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and amphetamines through
an open ended survey. Special attention is given to students' attitudes
towards the drug decriminalization policy in Portugal and its potential
appearance in the United States. The researcher was also interested in if
students’ demographic characteristics (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity) and
family socioeconomic status (e.g., parent’s highest level of education,
household income) have had an impact on their views of the
decriminalization of illicit drugs. The execution of this research allowed
the researcher to begin educating individuals on the current
decriminalization policies that are being implemented in other countries
and the health benefits of these policies. Drug decriminalization has the
potential to benefit low- socioeconomic drug users and allow them to get
treatment compared to their high-socioeconomic counterparts who will
be responsible for their actions. Additionally, the decriminalization of
drugs will benefit those from minority racial and ethnic groups since they
are more likely to be put in jail compared to their white counterparts.
Abstract
Conflict Theory
Conflict theory helps explain the reason that the decriminalization of drug use
will focus and aim to help the poor more than rich. Conflict theory begins with
the basis that individuals are born into a society to a particular social class. These
social classes help define how the individual will be treated in life. “Conflict
theory holds that there are higher numbers of chronic drug abusers found in
lower social classes, disorganized neighborhoods, low-income families, and
relatively politically powerless places” (Lo, 2001). The lower the social class, the
more likely the individual will experience challenges. The Poverty Cycle helps
explain the entrapment that individuals face when born into a low socioeconomic
status. When born into a low class, the individual will have less resources available
to them including less successful schools, less job opportunities, and the likeliness
of falling into the same routines as their parents (Social Learning Theory).
Overcrowding Prisons
Since 1982 and Ronald Reagan's declaration of a “War on
Drugs”, the United States has taken a highly punitive approach
toward illicit drug consumption, distribution, and production.
“During the past three decades, the number of arrests for drug
law violations has nearly tripled and government spending on
the drug war have increased considerably ( Woods, 2011; 1).”
Since the 1980s, the United States incarceration rate has nearly
quadrupled. The United States is now the world leader in the
highest incarceration rate and the greatest number of people
incarcerated. Due to the lack of success of the war on drugs
and a failure to reduce the problems with illicit drugs,
researchers and policymakers are expressing the need to
explore different strategies in order to combat illicit drugs.
What the United States can Learn from Portugal
1. Drug decriminalization is no longer just an
abstraction, it is a reality.
2. Social and cultural attitudes towards drug influence
the success of newly enacted drug policy reforms.
3. A large amount of preparation and investment are
required for a new decriminalized regime to function.
4. There are potential benefits to treating the use of all
illicit drugs as a matter of public health, not criminal
justice.
5. There are advantages to treating drugs as an
administrative offense exclusively.
What’s the Difference?
Criminalization vs. Decriminalization vs. Legalization
Criminalization
● The country would proceed with the action as a criminal offense and have
criminal sanctions based on the crime.
● “From this perspective, criminalization proponents argue that criminal laws
against drug use are necessary to communicate the message that drug use is
dangerous and immoral” (Woods, 2011; 2).
Legalization
● Individuals are allowed to use drugs regardless of the means to do so.
● From a consequentialist perspective, “legalization proponents argue that the
advantages of prohibition do not outweigh the negative consequences of
prohibition and/ or the benefits of legalization” (Woods, 2011; 3).
● From a rights-based perspective, “legalization advocates argue that individuals
have a moral right to use drugs , which is rooted in personal autonomy to
make private decisions over one’s body” (Woods, 2011; 3).
● Individuals who believe in legalization put more focus on the individual and
their rights rather than the impacts that they have on society.
Decriminalization
● Some drug policy experts perceive decriminalization as a sensible middle
ground between criminalization and legalization (Woods, 2011).
● Under de jure decriminalization, “criminal legislation is amended to eliminate
all criminal offenses for drug use” (Woods, 2011; 3).
● Under de facto decriminalization, “drug use is still formally prohibited under
the criminal law, although law enforcement and courts do not enforce these
laws” (Woods, 2011).
● Decriminalization allows the individual who is caught using drugs to be
subjected to non-criminal sanctions and shift the idea of drug usage from a
crime to a public health issue (Woods, 2011).

9. Preparing Student Teachers for Teaching
Experiences in High Needs Schools
3. Culturally Responsive Teaching
Shevalier (2012) describes culturally responsive teaching as a way to
“respond to students in ways that build and sustain meaningful, positive
relationships.” In a study completed by Foote (2004), student teachers
identified having exposure to cultural diversity in their classrooms as a
beneficial experience for their development as teachers. Also, culturally
responsive teaching is a result of integrating different types of learning into
the curriculum in order to develop and foster students’ understanding of
others in the classroom (Gay 2002).
1. Developing a Teaching Vision
Fairbanks et al. (2010) defines vision as a “teacher’s personal commitment
to seek outcomes beyond the usual curricular requirements.” When teachers
strive to extend the outcomes of their teaching passed student
understanding of required content material, they motivate their students to
become “something special” (Fairbanks et al. 2010). Additionally, visions
can also help teachers foster the relationships that they envision themselves
developing with their students and help teachers become more thoughtfully
adaptive while teaching (Amatea 2012, Fairbanks et. al 2010).
2. Connection with Student Communities
Teachers who are inexperienced working with students in high-needs,
urban schools often develop deficit views of these students. (Amatea 2012).
Long et al. (2014) concluded that when student teachers interacted with
students on a regular basis, the stereotypes they held about a particular
group of people were shattered. Teachers’ dedication to maintaining
constant communication with their students’ parents/guardians results in
deeper relationships with students’ families (Barnes 2006). Furthermore,
Amatea (2012) indicated that constantly communicating with students’
families increased the value that student teachers saw in integrating the
knowledge of diverse families into their instruction.
Three Main Components of Student Teacher Preparation
Siena College Bonner Service Leader Senior Capstone
By: Jessica Guthrie
Advisor: Dr. Ruth Kassel, Ph.D.
Abstract
Teachers working in high-poverty, urban schools are
50% more likely to leave than teachers working in
low-poverty schools for reasons that include lack of
support from school administrators, student behavior
problems, and not being prepared for the demands
of teaching in these schools (Freedman 2009). This
research is designed to address one contributor to
this problem: a lack of preparation in teacher training
programs. The activities and discussions outlined
within this resource are based on experiences and
situations that student teachers may face throughout
their teaching careers within these schools. A
resource for student teachers is developed focusing
on three areas: 1) development of a teaching vision,
2) connection with students’ communities, and 3) use
of students’ culture as a foundation for curriculum.
This resource will encourage faculty to work with
student teachers to develop the skills and mindset
needed in order to effectively teach in these schools.
Connection to DORS
Working with students in high-needs schools will expose student teachers to
the DORS values that Siena upholds through:
• Working with students from diverse backgrounds and learning how to
incorporate their culture into the curriculum
• Developing a positive attitude for their teaching experience and hoping
to improve their practice in the future
• Fostering a respectful and safe classroom community
• Serving under-privileged students within the capital region
Trainer Guide Format
The self-guided trainer guides are designed to be implemented into the
EDUC-261 Foundations of Language and Literacy curriculum to focus
discussion about observations in classrooms around the three main
components of student teacher preparation for high-needs, urban schools.
One trainer guide is designed for each component and each trainer guide
includes:
1. Suggested Readings
2. Discussion Questions
3. Suggested Activities
The purpose of each trainer guide is to deepen prospective student
teachers’ understanding of the skills and mindset required to effectively
teach in these schools early within their growth toward student teaching.

10. “Signature Work”: A culminating educational
activity in which students integrate and apply their
learning to a significant project with meaning to the
student and society

11. Mirum est notare quam littera
gothica, quam nunc putamus
parum claram,

12. 2 IMAGINE! TRY IT!

13. Identity
vocation background
sense of personal identity
Bonner
Capstone
“Sweet Spot”
Education
academic major
issue area interests
interdisciplinary interest
Service and
Civic
Involvement
primary service site
service leadership
capacity building

14. Circle three academic priorities (prospective
major, issue research, policies, etc.)
Circle three community service priorities (sites,
issue area, site needs, etc.)
Circle three identity or vocational priorities
(experiences, career prospects, etc.)

15. Palette
Priorities

16. What career can you see yourself
pursuing? What is a significant factor
in understanding or embracing your
identity?
What academic topic or
discipline makes you
excited to learn?
What service or organization
makes you feel like you are
making an impact? What is a
need that you observe during
your time at a particular site?
Identity
Education Community
Capstone
Framework
What Might Be Your
Primary Colors?

17. 3 YOUR PROGRAM

18. 4
3
2
1
Explore
Experience
Example
Expertise
Bonner
Developmental
Model
Find issues and causes
Explore service sites
Assume leadership role
Take on more responsibilities
Serve as site leader
Engage in capacity building
Integrate
academic and
experiential
learning

19. 4
3
2
1
Explore
Experience
Example
Expertise
Explore passions and interests
Build relationships with partners and faculty
Develop capacity building skills and ideas
Determine potential capstone projects
Narrow down capstone idea
Secure resources & advisors
Complete capstone
Focus on post-
graduate plans
Bonner
Capstone
Supports

20. 4
3
2
1
Explore
Experience
Example
Expertise
“Explore Your Palette” - introduction to concept
“Your True Colors” - playing around with integrations and potential ideas
“Capacity Building & Its Link to Capstones” - explore projects
“Your Capstone Development Plan” - narrow down an option
“Capstone Nuts & Bolts” - advisors, $
“Capstone Proposal and Work Plan”
“Reflecting on…”
“Leaving a Legacy”
8-Part
Series

21. Davidson
College

22. The College of
New Jersey

23. Key Strategies
These are recommended take aways for you as student leaders
1 2
3
USE
FIRST 2
SESSIONS
PILOT WITH
WILLING
UPPER CLASS
BE
COLLEAGUES
TO FACULTY &
STAFF

24. 4
STAKEHOLDER
DISCUSSION

25. 4 Corners Activity
In each round, choose the description
that best describes your campus context.
1 2
3 4

26. You’re working within a
s i t e d e l i v e r i n g t h e
programs
DIRECT
SERVICE
What kind of work are you
currently doing?
1 2
3 4
SERVICE
LEADERSHIP
CAPACITY
BUILDING
CAPSTONE
You’re part of a site or
issue team or leading a
site
Yo u t h i n k t h a t y o u r
position does involve
some capacity building
You would say you’re
doing a capstone (even if
you don’t call it that)

27. Your center director
r e p o r t s t o D e a n o f
S t u d e n t s o r V i c e
President of Student
Affairs.
STUDENT
AFFAIRS
Where is your
Bonner Program Housed?
1 2
3 4
ACADEMIC
AFFAIRS
PRESIDENT OTHER
Your center director
reports to Provost or Vice
President of Academic
Affairs.
Your center director
reports to President or
Chief of Staff.
Your center director
reports to a Chaplain,
individual faculty member,
or you don’t know.

28. Community partners (i.e.,
size, needs) seem like the
biggest challenge for
capstones at our school.
PARTNERS &
PROJECTS
What are the
Bonner Program’s Challenges?
1 2
3 4
FACULTY &
CREDIT
STAFF STUDENTS
Getting support from
faculty seem like the
biggest challenge for
capstones at our school.
Issues with staff (i.e.,
busy, new, etc.) seem like
the biggest challenge for
capstones at our school.
Issues with students (i.e.,
morale, time, etc.) seem like
the biggest challenge for
capstones at our school.