Overview
Now that you have narrowed down a choice for the Capstone Project, you will submit the idea to your instructor in a formal proposal memo. Many of those details will be reported in the Unit 4 Feasibility Report Journal. However, this week, you will propose the idea for your Capstone Project to gain approval or get further direction. Review the reading for this unit for more information on the memo format. In your memo proposal, address each of the following areas:
- Identify and briefly discuss your proposed idea for the Capstone Project. Provide a description of your chosen topic area addressing pertinent background information to establish the rationale and significance of your research questions and Project.
- Provide a clear, concise, and appropriate null and alternate hypothesis to be addressed by your Capstone Project. Use your past readings and the steps of scientific inquiry to assess and recommend appropriate solutions to a workplace challenge. Use that data to create a hypothesis. As a reminder, a hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work. Your hypothesis should be written like this: "If _____ [I do this] _____, then _____ [this] _____ will happen." Your hypothesis should be something that you can test. In other words, you need to be able to measure both "what you do" and "what will happen."
- Provide appropriate references and depth to support the significance and need of the Project (Unit 2 Discussion and Assignment). Include within your proposal existing literature and theory pertinent to your topic area appropriately referring to key studies.
- Describe likely (hypothetical or potential) findings expected from the proposed study.
- Who is your primary audience? What do you know about that person, group of people, or organization at this time? Note: Remember the audience is NOT your instructor.
- What is your initial plan of action for completing this Project within the time constraints of this class?
- What is your final deliverable?
- Explain your rationale for each elemental choice you have identified above using the theories and principles you have studied in the Professional Studies degree program as a basis for those decisions.
- Discuss any potential difficulties and problems you foresee in completion of the Project by deadline.
- THIS IS WHAT I HAVE SO FAR
- For my Capstone Project, I plan to create a behavior support toolkit designed for parents and teachers who work with young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The main objective of this project is to provide simple, practical, and evidence-based strategies to manage a few specific challenging behaviors, such as aggression, elopement, and task refusal. Instead of making it too broad, I want to focus on early childhood and create a clear, easy-to-use guide that includes tools like reinforcement systems, visual schedules, and functional communication strategies. This connects to my Professional Studies degree because it combines research, communication, and real-world application to solve a problem within my field. This project also aligns closely with my career goals. I currently work as an RBT, and my long-term goal is to become a BCBA. By creating this toolkit, I will be strengthening skills that are directly related to my future career, such as developing intervention strategies, understanding behavior patterns, and learning how to present information in a way that caregivers can actually understand and use. I also feel like this project could potentially become something I use professionally in the future or even expand on later in my career. The significance of this project is that it goes beyond just completing an assignment. It will help me apply what I’ve learned throughout my degree to a real-life situation, which is important for both my academic growth and professional development. It also supports families and teachers by giving them practical tools, which makes the project more meaningful. Overall, this Capstone Project will help me build confidence in my skills while also preparing me for the next step in my career.
- I reviewed a peer-reviewed article on Functional Communication Training (FCT) for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The rationale was that many challenging behaviors, such as aggression and task refusal, occur due to communication deficits. The significance of the study is that it supports teaching communication as a more effective and positive approach to reducing behavior. The hypothesis was that teaching functional communication would decrease problem behaviors, and the findings confirmed a reduction in those behaviors along with an increase in appropriate communication. The audience includes behavior analysts, educators, and caregivers. For my Capstone Project, the rationale is that parents and teachers often lack simple, practical strategies to manage behaviors like aggression, elopement, and task refusal. The significance is that my toolkit will help bridge the gap between research and real-life use. My hypothesis is that if caregivers use a structured behavior support toolkit with reinforcement, visual supports, and communication strategies, then challenging behaviors will decrease and appropriate behaviors will increase. I anticipate improved consistency, reduced behaviors, and better communication skills. The audience includes parents, teachers, and ABA professionals. One difficulty I had was narrowing the hypothesis to keep it focused and measurable, and I still want to make sure it is specific enough to be clearly evaluated.