Module 12: Capstone Project Stage 5
Module 12: Capstone Project Stage 5 azs2Future Food Scenarios
Stage 5 is the final stage of the semester-long capstone project. There are two parts to this assignment.
- You will submit a rough draft of your final Capstone Paper to be peer-reviewed. You will submit 700-1000 words, or roughly half of your final paper. Once the deadline for this submission passes, you will be able to access the paper of a peer's to review. When reviewing someone else's paper, consider the following:
- What are aspects of this paper do you enjoy the most? (3-5 sentences)
- What three aspects of this paper do you think could be improved? (3-5 sentences)
- To improve this paper, what two things would you change? (3-5 sentences)
- You will write a 1500-2000 word paper (approximately 6-8 pages double-spaced) as your final project. For this paper, you will use the data you've been gathering in the previous capstone stages throughout the semester to write a paper. Your paper will summarize the data and information you’ve gathered in stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 about the food systems of your assigned region. You may incorporate images, maps, and/or charts in your final paper, but keep in mind that these do not go toward your final count. You must include proper citations and references in your paper for any work (ideas, quoted material, maps/charts/images) that is not your own. If at any time you have a doubt about needing a citation, you should go ahead and include one or reach out to your instructor for assistance.
You will follow the instructions from your teacher to write and submit the paper. Your paper must include the following information:
Capstone Stage 5 Final Paper
Click for a text description of Capstone Stage 5 Diagram.
Capstone Stage 5 - final paper
- Assess current status of regional food system
- Discuss future scenarios - temperature + human population growth
- Assess resilience and vulnerabilities of system to future scenarios
- Propose strategies for sustainability and resilience
Credit: Capstone Stage 5 diagram © Penn State is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
What to do for Stage 5?
- Download the Capstone Project Stage 5: Final Paper Project
- Follow the instructions from your instructor to write the paper.
- Turn in via Canvas:
- Your final paper draft for peer-review
- Your final paper
Grading Information and Rubric for Final Capstone Paper:
| Criteria | 9 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criteria | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Completeness of paper & all supporting documents: Conforms to all instructions and guidelines | All specific instructions are met and exceeded; no components are omitted. | Most instructions are met with only 1 to 2 minor omissions | Some components are present with the omission of several key elements | Missing most components of the project, minimal conformity to guidelines. |
| Identification of the key food systems of the region | Clearly and thoroughly identifies the regional food systems with a clear application of material from Modules 1, 2, & 10 | Satisfactory identification of the regional food systems some mention of material from modules 1, 2, & 10 | Minimal identification of the regional food systems some mention of material from modules 1, 2, & 10 | Little to no identification of the regional food systems some mention of material from modules 1, 2, & 10 |
| Assessment of the regional food system and the physical environment of the region (water resources, soils, crops, climate) | Thoroughly articulates specified elements with in-depth & accurate application of key concepts from Modules 4, 5, 6 & 9 | Satisfactory articulation of specified elements with some application of key concepts from Modules 4, 5, 6 & 9 | Minimal articulation of specified elements with little application of key concepts from Modules 4, 5, 6 & 9 | Little to no articulation and application of key concepts from Modules 4, 5, 6 & 9 |
| Analysis of the resilience of the regional food system based on data and facts | Thoughtful and thorough consideration of potential vulnerabilities using concepts from Module 11 | Satisfactory consideration of potential vulnerabilities using concepts from Module 11 | Minimal consideration of potential vulnerabilities with little use of concepts from Module 11 | Little to no consideration of potential vulnerabilities with little use of concepts from Module 11 |
| Proposes reasonable strategies for sustainability and resilience based on data and facts | Clearly develops viable & insightful strategies with well‐ supported data & research | Develops viable strategies supported by some data and research | Develops minimal strategies supported with limited data and research | Little to no strategies provided or not supported by data and research |
| Overall professionalism and timing | Advanced ‐ no typos, or grammatical concerns, attention to detail with superior effort demonstrated | A solid effort with few typos, or grammatical concerns, attention to detail evident with some effort demonstrated | Minimal effort with numerous typos, or grammatical concerns, little attention to detail minimal effort demonstrated | Little to no effort demonstrated with extensive typos, or grammatical concerns, little to no to attention to detail |
| Total Points (out of 50) | - | - | - | - |
- Summary of Current Regional Food System
- Summarize the data and information that you’ve gathered throughout the semester about your assigned regional food system(s) and the interaction between those food systems and the environment, as well as any relevant socioeconomic, cultural and policy factors.
- Provide an overview of the current status of your assigned regional food system(s). Summarize the data and information that you acquired in the previous modules to present the current status of your regional food system. Details are provided in the Stage 5 worksheet document.
- Discussion of future scenarios
- What are projections for regional human population growth in your assigned region?
- What are the projections for temperature increases in your assigned region?
- Analysis of the resilience of future food system
- Provide a discussion of the resilience of your food system given the potential of increasing human population growth and increasing temperatures.
- Consider possible impacts of climate change and human population growth on the regional food system and the resilience and/or vulnerability of the food system to those changes.
- Proposed strategies for sustainability enhanced resilience
- Propose strategies that contribute to the increased resilience of your assigned regional food systems in the face of human population growth and rising temperatures and evaporation rates.
Files to Download (if you haven't already done so)
Capstone Project Stage 1
Capstone Project Stage 1 azs2
Capstone Stage 1: Introduction to your regional food system and the region’s soil resources.
Click for a text description of the Capstone Stage 1 diagram.
Capstone Stage I - Introduction to your regional food system, history and diet/nutrition
- Describe physical environment
- Describe human environment
- Explore history of the food system
- Discuss diet and nutrition
Credit: Capstone Stage 1 diagram © Penn State is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Instructions
- Confirm with your instructor which region you will be studying and introduce yourself to your group members.
- Download and complete the CapstoneProject_Stage1.docx worksheet that contains a table summarizing the data you’ll need to collect to complete this stage. You need to think deeply about each response and write responses that reflect the depth of your thought as informed by your research. Do not just write one-word answers.
- Create a powerpoint file that you’ll use to store maps, data, graphs, photos, etc. that you collect related to your assigned region. For every piece of information that you put in your powerpoint file, you MUST include a citation that clearly explains where that piece of information came from.
- Create a Word document to list questions that you have about your region related to the key course topics covered so far. Include in this document a record or your efforts to answer the questions so far.
Capstone Project Stage 2
Capstone Project Stage 2 azs2Water, crops, and climate
The diagram below summarizes the topics you will explore in Stage 2 for your assigned region.
Capstone Stage 2 Water, Crops and Climate.
Click for a text description of Capstone Stage 2 image.
Capstone Stage 2 - Water, soils, and crops
How do water and soils influence regional crops?
- Describe precipitation and water resources
- Assess water pollution
- Describe soil types
- Describe soil impacts
- Describe regional crops
- Discuss the relationship between crops, soils, and climate
Credit: Capstone Stage 2 diagram © Penn State is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
What to do for Stage 2?
- Download and complete the CapstoneProject_Stage2.docx worksheet that contains a table summarizing the data you’ll need to collect to complete this stage. Remember, you need to think deeply about each response and write responses that reflect the depth of your thought as informed by your research.
- Add relevant data to your PowerPoint file.
- Add questions and continue to research the questions in your word file.
- Capstone Project Overview: Where do you stand?
- At this stage, you should have started to investigate your assigned region and have added information, maps, and data to your worksheets and PowerPoint file for Stages 1 and 2.
Upon completion of stage 2, you should have at this point:
- Confirmed which region you will study for your capstone project and identified the members of your group.
- Initiated research and data compilation in the Stages 1 and 2 sections of the Future Food Scenarios table.
- Stage 1: Regional food setting, history of regional food systems, soil types
- Stage 2: Water resources, c, ops, and climate
- Created a PowerPoint file to hold the data that you are collecting about the food system of your assigned region. The information you may have:
- Labeled map of your region
- Soil map of your region
- Precipitation and temperature map of your region
- Major crops and crop families grown in your region
- Compiled an initial list of questions you have about your region related to key course topics and initiated significant efforts to answer.
Capstone Project Stage 3
Capstone Project Stage 3 azs2Vulnerability and Resilience
At this stage, you should have collected quite a bit of data related to the physical environment of your region (water, soils, and climate) as well as related to the regional food system, including the history of the regional food system and which crops are grown in your region. You may also have discovered some impacts that the regional food system is having on soil and water resources in the region.
In stage 3, you will explore the vulnerabilities in your regional food system and the potential resilience of the system. The diagram below summarizes what you will cover in Stage 3.
Capstone Stage 3
Click for a text description of the Capstone Stage 3 diagram.
Capstone Stage 3 (soil/crop management, pests, and climate change)
- System stressors and management strategies:
- describe soil conservation practices
- describe pest management strategies
- discuss agrobiodiversity of region
- discuss future climate scenarios
Credit: Capstone Stage 3 diagram © Penn State is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
What to do for Stage 3?
- Download and complete the CapstoneProject_Stage3.docx worksheet that contains a table summarizing the data you’ll need to collect to complete this stage. Remember, you need to think deeply about each response and write responses that reflect the depth of your thought as informed by your research.
- Add questions and continue to research the questions in your word file.
- Keep track of all of the resources and references you use.
- Add relevant data, maps, and figures to your PowerPoint file.
Capstone Project Stage 4
Capstone Project Stage 4 azs2Strategies for Sustainability
Stage 4 is the last piece of data gathering and research that you need to do.
Capstone Stage 4
Click for a text description of the Capstone Stage 4 Diagram.
Capstone Stage 4 (food system and sustainability)
- describe regional food systems
- assess using the life-cycle concepts
- discuss agrobiodiversity using RACV
- discuss food insecurity/security
- research population growth projections
- propose strategies for sustainability
Credit: Capstone Stage 4 diagram © Penn State is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
What to do for Stage 4?
- Download and complete the CapstoneProject_Stage4a.docx worksheet that contains a table summarizing the data you need to collect to complete this stage. Remember, you need to think deeply about each response and write responses that reflect the depth of your thought as informed by your research.
- Add questions and continue to research the questions in your word file.
- Keep track of all of the resources and references you use.
- Add relevant data, maps, and figures to your PowerPoint file