Dairy Science 272

Title:	Pre-Capstone Seminar
Listing:	DY SCI 272
Description:	Sophomores learn about, and prepare for, active and independent learning from juniors and seniors who have successfully completed independent learning projects including internships, senior seminars and other "capstone" experiences.
Prerequisite:	Sophomore standing
Date/Time:	Tuesdays, 4:00 to 5:15 pm
Location:	236 Animal Science
Instructor:	Michel Wattiaux; email: wattiaux@wisc.edu
TA:	Kestrel Schmidt; email: khschmidt@wisc.edu

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Learning Objectives:

The ultimate goals of this seminar are to help you identify and pursue your own interest for out-of-classroom experiences and thus become a better "independent learner" while exploring possible career opportunities. In particular, the pre-capstone seminar is to help dairy science students to become more aware of:

• the availability of a wide array of independent and experiential learning (independent study, undergraduate research, internships, study abroad, etc.);
• the steps involved in developing and (or) preparing for them;
• the skills needed to maximize the educational benefits derived from independent learning (including report writing skills and oral presentation skills).

The learning objectives of this class will be met if (when) you, as a student:

• realize the importance of taking an active role in sharpening your critical thinking skills as you take upper level undergraduate courses;
• take the lead in developing an internship that fits your interests, needs and help you explore possible career objectives;
• become more aware of the skills needed to succeed as an individual learner (Dy Sci 690) or as a team learner (Dy Sci 535).

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Course Description:

The precapstone is a weekly seminar series. As a dairy science sophomore, you should start thinking about (summer) internships and learn more about other independent learning experiences you may want to consider before graduating (which will happen faster than you realize!). Internship (Dy Sci 399) is a capstone requirement for Dairy Science Majors.

Precapstone speakers are primarily juniors and seniors who accepted to share with you their internship experience (Dy Sci 399), other formal capstone experiences (Dy Sci 535, Dy Sci 690), and "informal" independent learning experiences (e.g., study tour and semester abroad).

The seminar is about opportunities for your to consider. In planning your required internship (Dy Sci. 399) many opportunities exist for you to select from. In addition, you should take advantage of independent study (Dy Sci 299 or Dy Sci 699), which are classes you can enrolled in under the supervision of a faculty advisor, to direct your own independent learning experience(s). You can earn many credits toward graduation by doing "things" you want to learn about and sharing what you have learned with your classmates and professors. You should know what those opportunities are and take advantage of them.

The seminar is also about helping you understand some of the differences between a freshman class and a senior class. From the earlier years (freshmen and sophomore) to the latter years (junior and senior) of your undergraduate program, expectations of course instructors and thus your role as a student changes dramatically. The pre-capstone seminar is to help the transition from the passive, lecture-based courses to the increasing amount of independent work and out-of-classroom experiences that will be required during the latter years of your undergraduate program. Specifically, the pre-capstone seminar was designed to improve students’ readiness for the required courses such as in Dy Sci 399 (Internship), Dy Sci 535 (Dairy Farm Management Practicum) and Dy Sci 690 (Senior Seminar). These courses share common educational objectives including (1) the development of decision-making skills and (2) the ability to take the learning process in one’s own hands.

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Expectations:

What am I expected to do in the pre-capstone?

1. To attend and participate actively by taking notes and/or asking questions during the seminars.


2. To submit a draft resume. See below for details.


3. To submit three reports. See below for details.


4. To submit a final resume. See below for details.


5. To submit a four-year road map. See below for details.


6. To submit an internship proposal. See below for details.

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Deadlines & Grades:

Item

Deadline

Points

1. Attendance / Participation

weekly

5 pts

2. Draft resumé

10/16 (4:00 pm)

5 pts

3. Final resumé

11/13 (4:00 pm)

5 pts

4. Three seminar reports (5 pts each)

4:00 pm the week after the seminar

15 pts

5. Four year road map

10/30 (4:00 pm)

5 pts

6. Internship proposal

12/11 (4:00 pm)

15 pts

Total

50 pts

What grades am I getting in this class? The Grade Book will be updated periodically throughout the semester.

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Homework 1 — Resumé:

This assignment is to help you build your best possible resumé. It is designed as a two-step process. Your draft resumé will be due at the second class period and a final resumé will be due after you have an opportunity to improve your draft.  Each step is described below.

• Draft Resumé: Create your own resumé using the information discussed during the first day of class. Upload your resumé in the dropbox (see deadline above) and bring a print out of your draft resumé to class. Please upload a pdf, a word document or a document saved as "rich text format (rtf)". The content of the resumé is not a criterion for grading. The Resumé Feedback Form contains the rubrics that will be used to grade your resumé. Feedback will be provided so you can improve your draft resumé.


• Final Resumé: You are expected to use feedback and suggestions for improvement of your draft resumé. Upload your final resumé in the dropbox (see deadline above) and bring a print out of the final resumé and the draft resumé (including suggestions for improvement) to class. Grades will be based on revisions and improvements made to your draft. Hopefully, the final version of your resumé will be ready to go when you'll need it to apply for an internship in the coming months!

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Homework 2 — Three Seminar Reports:

Look at the schedule page and pick three speakers that had internships that appear to be of interest to you. The report will be due in the dropbox at 4:00 pm the Tuesday of the week after the speaker(s) made their presentation.

• To write a report, download and use this 272-report template. Your writing should include a description and a reflection on the presentation made by a speaker. Your reports must be structured as follows (for each speaker separately):


• First, DESCRIBE in 400 - 600 words the speaker's presentation: How did the speaker learned about the internship (study abroad, etc.) and what had to be done in order to apply? What were the learning objectives? Then describe briefly "who did what to whom, where, how and why" (WDWWWHW; if applicable, use names of individuals, specific location and contact information.) To what degree were the learning objective achieved? What other learning outcomes resulted from the experience? What did the speaker say (s)he would do differently?


• Then, REFLECT in 400 - 600 words how the presenter's experience related to you: Describe what motivated you to choose to write about today's topics and presentations. What aspect of the experience you had not thought about before but found interesting? After listening to the speakers do you still find the experience relevant (irrelevant) to you? Why? What would you really like to learn — and what would you do differently from the speaker — if you were to engage in a similar experience? What questions remain unanswered?


• Report grade. Each report will be graded on a 10-pt scale. The rubrics to evaluate the report on selected presenters are described below:


• Description of the speaker's presentation:
  3 pts for a description that follows the instructions described above thoroughly and completely;
  2 pts or 1 pt for a narrative that incomplete and (or) has few specifics information about the presentation.


• Reflection part of the report:
  5 pts for a thorough, thoughtful and complete reflection (that follows the instructions described above);
  3 pts for a narrative that is thoughtful but incomplete;
  1 pt for a narrative that is neither thoughtful nor complete;
  0 pt for a report that does not include any reflections on the presentation.


• Grammar , spelling, style and formatting:
  2 pts for a report that is carefully and thoroughly formatted (dates, title, headings, etc.) and is free of spelling and grammatical errors;
  1 pt or 0 pt for a report that has missing formatting details, includes some spelling and grammatical mistakes and has other evidences that it was put together hastily.


• Timeliness: -2 pts for late submission (past the Tuesday deadline).


Summary: The 10 pts will be allocated as described below:


Rubric	Pt	Pt	Pts	Pts	Pts	Pts
First half of the report	0	1	2	3
Second half of the report	0	1	2	3	4	5
Grammar, spelling and formatting	0	1	2

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Homework 3 — Four Year Road Map:

The seminar will include at least one session during which seniors will come in class to share with you their four-year road map. You assignment is to develop YOUR own four-year road map with a short explanation of your course choices. Feel Free to use the following Microsoft Excel template to build your 4-yr Road Map (4-Yr-Road-Map-Template.xls). Using the spreadsheet is not required, but may prove useful. You can also copy the requirements from the Dairy Science curriculum sheet into a word document and complete the sheet with an explanation of your plan. Do not bring a print out of your four-year road map in class, but upload it in the dropbox (see deadline above).

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Homework 4 — Internship Proposal:

This proposal is YOUR plan of action to become active in preparing for, and seeking out an internship opportunity that fits your needs.

• The internship proposal should be a properly organized "working document" written as an essay between 800 and 1200 words that should include the following information:
• What kind of internship would you prefer? Industry-related (AI company, feed company, consulting firm) / On-farm / With a university research or extension project / Going abroad to learn Spanish / etc.)
• When / Where (close from home or away from home) / For how long would you like your internship to be?
• What do you need to do to apply? Are there any deadlines? Who would be a contact person?
• Do you need to be compensated? / Who will pay for your expenses? / Will you have insurance coverage?
• What do you really want to learn? There are multiple learning objectives you may want to focus on. For example, you can use your internship to:
• Build a certain set of skills (e.g., something hands-on / computer / interpersonal communication);
• Network with a particular segment of the dairy industry;
• Learn about a particular job (e.g., consultant, veterinarian, sales).
• What will you do the first day of the internship?
• What will you do if in the first few days after starting you realize that things are not going the way you were thinking?
• How will you document you learning progress?
• Who will you be writing report(s) for? What will your written report(s) include?
• Do you plan to make a power point presentation next fall to share your internships with others on campus?


• Upload your internship proposal in the course dropbox. (See deadline above). You are encouraged to work on this proposal as early as possible in the semester and if you wish, feel free to submit this proposal any time during the semester.