Experiences of Instructors Who Teach Capstone Courses in Computing Fields

Capstone courses are an integral part of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the computing fields. They are designed to help students gain hands-on experience and practice professional skills such as communication, teamwork, and self reflection as they transition into the real world. Prior research on capstone courses has primarily focused on the experiences of the students. The perspectives of instructors who teach these capstone courses has not been explored much. However, an instructor's motivation and expectancy can have a significant effect on a capstone course quality. In this working group, we plan to use a mixed methods approach to understand the experiences of capstone instructors. Issues such as class size, industry partnerships, managing student conflicts, and factors influencing instructor motivation will be examined through a quantitative survey and semi-structured interviews with capstone teaching staff from multiple institutions across multiple continents. This global perspective will be used to develop a guiding framework on the different pedagogical approaches that can be used to enhance engagement and motivation for both staff and students in computing courses.