Reflective Capstone Models for Integrating Multidisciplinary Knowledge

Adrian M. Foster

Reflective Capstone Models for Integrating Multidisciplinary Knowledge

Author(s)	Dr. Adrian M. Foster
Country	United States
Abstract	Capstone experiences occupy a distinctive position in higher education because they are expected to bring together knowledge, skills, and experiences accumulated across an academic program. An international multidisciplinary analysis of capstone purposes identified integration of previous learning, demonstration of competence, preparation for life after graduation, and provision of a meaningful culminating experience among the recurring functions of capstones. Yet multidisciplinary exposure does not automatically produce multidisciplinary integration. Students may complete complex projects by dividing work according to disciplinary specialization while never constructing a coherent account of how those different forms of knowledge influence one another. Recent interdisciplinary-education research similarly treats integration as the synthesis of knowledge from diverse sources rather than the simple coexistence of disciplinary contributions. This study develops a Reflective Integrative Capstone Model in which multidisciplinary project work is combined with structured reflection, stakeholder critique, knowledge-integration mapping, revision, and a concluding integrative portfolio. A synthetic cohort of 640 final-year students was modeled across four capstone conditions: disciplinary capstone projects, multidisciplinary projects without structured reflection, reflective multidisciplinary capstones, and integrative reflective capstones incorporating peer and stakeholder critique plus a synthesis portfolio. Outcomes included multidisciplinary knowledge integration, transfer to unfamiliar problems, reflective judgment, epistemic flexibility, evidence integration, collaborative synthesis, professional-identity articulation, and metacognitive explanation of learning. The strongest modeled condition produced a simulated composite integrative-learning score of 93.4 compared with 59.0 for the disciplinary capstone condition and 71.9 for multidisciplinary project work without structured reflection. Synthetic analysis also produced a strong association between reflective depth and multidisciplinary knowledge integration, illustrating the methodological proposition that students are more likely to recognize connections among disciplines when reflection requires them to explain how their understanding changed, which assumptions were challenged, and how knowledge from one field altered decisions originating in another.
Keywords	reflective capstone, multidisciplinary knowledge, integrative learning, capstone education, reflection, interdisciplinary learning, authentic assessment, ePortfolio, professional learning, higher education
Field	Engineering
Published In	Volume 3, Issue 6, November-December 2022
Published On	2022-12-30

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American Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Innovation and Research

A Widely Indexed Open Access Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Bi-monthly Scholarly International Journal

Reflective Capstone Models for Integrating Multidisciplinary Knowledge

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