The student is doing their own individual poster / instead of a group poster

Final Capstone Poster Assignment Description

Rationale: A poster is a centralized, formal way to present how the research will prove that an idea or endeavor will be successful. The capstone course allows students the opportunity to cap (“provide a fitting climax or conclusion to”) their education with the identification, development, completion, and presentation of a project relevant to their major programs and/or career goals. The project will be contained by a poster. Alone or in small groups (maximum number of four per group) students will devise a project that represents their interests, challenge their skills and growing expertise, and contributes to their academic and/or professional field.  The projects should not duplicate in any way projects or assignments already completed prior to enrollment in the capstone course and should not draw on a single previous course but instead should take an interdisciplinary approach, combining methods, philosophies, and skills acquired across general education and major program courses.

Pre-Directions:

1. In a group (or if you have permission to work alone), go to Canvas: Files: and look at the few sample posters available from previous semesters. Or you could click here:

2. Sample Poster 1. – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XHaiaI5JUQT3S-bI0vpAoLo-Sk8OvsPk/view?usp=sharing

3. Sample Poster 2. – https://drive.google.com/file/d/143O-tVfhb6Xo8ej3dALWB9JU69PyXBsZ/view?usp=sharing

4. Sample Poster 3 – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GfsogEK6vWEBCRYYcPJ1bLVJWEW0mY_Q/view?usp=sharing

5. These are so you can see what an exemplary poster looks like. (These posters aren’t necessarily “perfect,” but they’re at least headed in the right direction.)

6. Open the Poster Template or click here. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rWSb32eC4b0thn7kP0rfax-2277KqYGP/view?usp=sharing

7. You should keep those poster sections, but feel free to adjust the design. Remember, don’t overdo it. Simple is good when it comes to poster aesthetics.

8. Make sure all group members’ names and contact info are on the poster.

Directions

1. Problem Statement

   1. This is not a question or a solution, but one sentence that summarizes your problem. For example, on Sample Poster 1, the problem statement is, “There are very few opportunities for heterosexuals to learn about how HIV/AIDS can affect them since they are not the target audience for outreach programs.”

   2. Make sure the problem statement is clear and concise.

   3. Make sure the problem has a narrow focus. For example, a problem statement that says, “There is much hunger in the world” is too broad. Narrow the focus to a problem in Bridgeport or on campus.

2. Problem Background

   1. Synthesize the background information you have found (use sources in this section) to identify and discuss the possible causes of the problem. Write an opening sentence that stimulates interest as well as conveys an issue to which a broad readership can relate. Possible questions that may be answered in this section:

      1. What research establishes a strong rationale or need to focus on this problem?

      2. Why is this problem important?

      3. What is known about the issue so far?

      4. What remains unknown?

      5. Are there areas for disagreement among your sources?

      6. Describe the disagreement and what might account for it.

      7. Who are the individuals impacted by this problem?

      8. Are other organizations or groups already working on this problem? If so, what problems are they encountering?

3. Pathway to Solution

   1. This section will explain how your project will be completed. Even if your group is not going to go through these steps, you need to list the necessary steps for completion in detail. Think of:

   2. Human and material resources needed

   3. Activities or products

   4. Potential problems/pitfalls

   5. Timeline for completion

4. Deliverable

   1. A deliverable is a thing that “gets the job done.” For example, if humans need to explore the moon, the spaceship is what gets them there. The spaceship is the deliverable. This section should explain how your deliverable will bring about your desired solution. For example, the way the HIV/AIDS prevention group achieved a campus in which heterosexual students knew their positive/negative status was by holding an HIV/AIDS testing event on campus. (That group actually did hold the testing event, but you do not need to do something this ambitious, as long as your poster describes how it could be done.)

5. Solution

   1. This section should include two parts: target audience and outcome. Students are often confused about the difference between the solution and the deliverable. Think of the solution as a description of the world/population/situation AFTER the deliverable has been implemented. For example, the HIV/AIDS project’s solution is a world in which heterosexual students are more aware of their HIV status.

6. References

   1. Extremely Important: list references herein MLA or APA format, https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html

   2. Also, make sure your poster has in-text citations for each source listed in your References section. (See sample posters.)