Bonner Cornerstone Activities - Capstone Projects

1. Bonner
Cornerstones &
Capstones
Creating Pathways Across
Students’ Experiences & Your
Campus

2. What We’ll Cover
• Orientation
• First Year Trip
• Second Year Exchange
• Junior Leadership
• Bonner Capstones and Presentations
of Learning

3. Orientation

4. Sense of place -
campus and
community
Personal
Exploration
Bonner
Program
Expectations
Inspiration
Sense of
Bonner
Community
Sets foundation for
success by building
community among
students and staff
Orientation

5. Welcoming and support-building
Establish the Spirit
of your Program &
the National
Network
Requirements,
Processes, Rules
Confirm decision of being a
Bonner, set personal
aspirations and identity
Locations, demographics,
Community Partners and
their missions
Essential (Bonner)
campus knowledge
Community
Building
Bonner Program:
the Big Picture
Bonner Program:
Goals & Expectations
Getting to Know:
Yourself
Getting to Know:
the Community
Getting to Know:
the College
Orientation Agenda

6. Community Building
• Maryville College - Meal
times (virtual breakfast),
Bowling Night
• Berry College -
Icebreakers, Meal Teams,
Game Night, Pool Party
• Siena College -
Icebreakers & Various
Social Activities
• University of Rutgers @
Camden - Cards
Promoting Humanity
(tailored to their Bonner
Program and Campus),
Get-To-Know-
YouWelcome Activities
(Find Someone and
Preferences game)

7. Bonner Program:
Big-Picture & Expectations
• Maryville College -
Logistics, Handbook and
Rules, BWBRS training
• Berry College - Program
Overview with Reflection
and creative activity around
the Common Commitments
• Siena College - “Program
Time” Sessions for different
levels
• Show the History Video on
www.bonner.org

8. Get to Know:
The College & Community
• University of Rutgers -
Camden - Annual Review of
Service Partners
• Maryville College - Bike Tour
of Community, Service Projects
• Berry College - Town
Scavenger Hunt, Campus Tour,
Community Partners Tour &
Brunch
• Siena College - Service
Projects, free-time around the
town
• TCNJ - Tour of Trenton (use
Google) and Service Partners,
Professor McGreevey Lecture
on Trenton - Changes in the
Urban Centers and Effects of
Suburbanization

9. Get to Know:
Yourself & Others
• University of Rutgers - Camden - “What’s Your
Passion?,” and Goal-Setting Activity
• Maryville College - Leadership Compass
• Berry College - River Stories / Identity Circles,
Personal Reflection activities
• Siena College - Reflection Sessions, other training
workshops

10. Training Modules
• Review Program History and
Structure
• Introduce History of Town/City
Serving
• Tour Town/City
• Community Asset Mapping
• River Stories
• Identity Circles
• Vulnerability and Leadership
• Leadership Compass
• Introduction to Communication
& Active Listening
• Conflict Resolution
• Service Based Reflection
• Exploring Diversity - Step to the
Line
• Time Management
• Project Management
• Bonner 101 and BWBRS 101
• Alumni Panel

11. First Year Trip

12. First Year Trip
• 2-7 day cohort experience for fresh
and new Bonners or done remotely
• Pick a distinctive place
• Delve into place or an issue - like
poverty or immigration
17%
17%
17% 17%
33%
Service or Action (i.e., Research)
Culture & History
Community and Team Building
Education, Reflection & Discussion with Community Experts
Engage Developmentally with New Organizations & Issues

13. Examples
• Emory & Henry in rural Virginia visited
New York City to learn about poverty
in both rural and urban contexts.
• Rider in New Jersey visited Boston and
served with City Year Corps Members,
and met with other campuses and
nonprofits
• Maryville in Tennessee connected with
course on Civil Rights Movement and
visited with organizations in
Birmingham, Montgomery, and
Southern Georgia.

14. Second Year
Exchange

15. Second Year Exchange
• Cohort experience for sophomores
that exposes them to national
movement
• Pair up with 1 or more other Bonner
Programs or other schools
• Delve deeper into an issue - integrate
activism and advocacy
• Can be a conference (in person or
remote)

16. Rollins, Stetson, University of Tampa
Students participating in “The
Privilege Walk” activity The
Everglades
Discussion: Environmental
Sustainability
The Everglades

17. •In person or remote?
•Places?
•Partners?
•Student Leadership Roles?
Discussion - FY Trip & SY Exchange

18. Junior
Leadership

19. Junior Leadership
• Cohort experience
• Campus-wide, national, or
international projects
• Juniors may raise money…
• Help Bonners understand issues in
local, national, and/or international
contexts
• Poverty
• Housing

20. National and International
Bonner Partners

21. Bonner
Capstones

22. Junior/Senior Year
• Bonner Capstones engage students in an
individual or team project
• It has a clearly defined community purpose
for a partner or constituency (involving an
advisor).
• It allows the student to integrate academic
and experiential learning.
• It involves a staff or faculty mentor (who can
provide structure, help, feedback, and
support. This may or may not involve credit).

24. •Volunteer Management (also called Service Leadership)
•Program Development and Training
•Fundraising
•Communications and Technology
•Research
•Creative/Disciplinary Projects (i.e., Public History)
•Social Action (Team-Based)
Capacity-Building Categories

25. Produce Valuable Work for Partner
•Curriculum or Program
Development
•Community-Based Research or
Applied research
•Capacity building (web
development, GIS mapping)
•Demonstration projects
(program development)
•Policy analysis or issue briefs
•Scientific analysis (i.e., water
quality analysis)
•Impact assessment or program
evaluation
•Business plan development
•Analysis and report on
community issue (i.e., poverty)
•Special projects (i.e., computer
scientist developing app for
nonprofit)
•Oral Histories
•Arts, Journalism, and
Community Development
projects

26. Elizabeth Farah
Siena College
•Analyzed food deserts in Albany
•In response, she developed the Corner
Store Initiative for the New York Capital
Region, which places fresh produce and
healthy foods in small local markets.
•The project reflected a partnership
between Capital Roots, the New York State
WIC program, and store owners.
•Dr. Rachel-Stern Marr served as her
academic advisor.

27. • Miguel designed a more
uniform and equitable way
to assess city property and
tax assessments.
• Worked with a long-term
community partner, Andy
Walker, Meadville’s City
Manager.
Miguel Liriano
Allegheny College

28. Barbara Crespo
Bates College
• An immersive internship connected
to an ethnographic research project
focusing on understanding the
educational and career aspirations
of teachers and students who have
migrated from East African
countries.
• 10-week experience (along the way
to capstone) solidified her interests
in being an ESL teacher.

29. Use Bonner
Capstone
Curriculum

30. CAPSTONE SERIES
1st
Stage
#1 Explore Your Palette: An
Introduction to the Bonner
Capstone
#2 Primary Colors: Building the
Foundation for a Bonner
Capstone
2nd
Stage
#3 Capacity Building
& Its Link to Capstones
#4 Your Capstone
Development Plan
3rd
Stage
#5: Your Capstone Nuts &
Bolts
#6: Bonner Capstone Proposal &
Work Plan
4th
Stage
#7 Reflecting on Your Project,
Learning, & Impact
#8: Sharing & Leveraging Your
Bonner Capstone

31. This 8-Part Series
•Can be done across four years (but placed to
match your program’s timeline for projects)
•Introduces concepts & inspiring examples
•Helps students start integrating from first year
•Includes work plans and worksheets
•Helps students talk with partners and faculty

32. Example of a Capstone Module

33. Example of a Capstone Module

34. •Questions?
•Strategy for your first year?
•Engaging faculty?
Discussion - Bonner Capstones

35. Academic
Pathways

36. The LEAP Challenge calls on
colleges and universities to
build pathways where all
undergraduates to
complete a substantial
“cross-disciplinary project
in a topic significant to the
student and society, as part
of the expected pathway to
a degree” (AAC&U, 2016).
Our Response to the LEAP Challenge

37. First Year Experience
Learning Community
Internship
Undergraduate Research
Capstone
Diversity/Global
Bonner as a Series of HIPs

38. An Aim to Change Higher Education

39. Integrating Project-Based Learning

40. with
real
world
impact

41. •Taking stock of current community-
engaged learning on your campus?
•Realistic strategies for year one?
Discussion

42. Advising and
Senior
Presentation
of Learning

43. Why Advising?
• Build trust and respect with students
• A personal experience for each student
• Emphasize importance of service and
accountability
• Recognize good work privately (and in a
group settings)
• Get to know your students and support their
talents
• Help students integrate learning across
Bonner and college experiences

44. First Year Written Reflections
• Identity and place: Let’s
talk about experiences in
service in which you
learned about place and
thought about your
identity and the identities
of others different from
your own. What have you
learned?
• Recognizing Solutions: Let’s
talk about issues you have
begun to find a passion for
addressing. What strategies
and solutions have you
learned? What courses and
other college experiences
have meshed with these
interests?

45. Fourth Year Written Reflections
• Leaving a legacy: Let’s talk
about the evolution of your
work in service and community
engagement. What are the
most meaningful contributions
and impacts you believe you’ve
helped to make? How will or
has your capstone project
allowed you to integrate your
identity, learning, service, and
long-term interests?
• Civically-engaged Lives: As
you reflect on your whole
Bonner experience, what
impact do you think it has had
on you? How has the
experience clarified or shaped
your own personal values or
aspirations? What are your
hopes for how you carry
forward this learning after
graduation?

46. Senior Presentations
of Learning
• An integration reflection across
four years of experience
• An inspiring presentation to one’s
cohort, campus, and community
• A high-impact practice in which a
student articulates her or his
journey and learning
• Can be linked with assessment

47. Let’s Discuss (p. 31)
What questions do you have?
To Do Checklist in Handbook