Learning Contract

Environmental Studies Capstone Experience

(ENVIR 491)
Administered by the UW Program on the Environment
15F Wallace Hall • Box 355679 • Seattle, WA 98195-2802
Phone: 206-616-2186 • E-mail: psean@u.w.edu

Please complete all portions of this form. You will not be eligible to register for ENVIR 491 until the
Capstone Instructor has received a completed and signed form.

Student Name Student Number Student Email

Marie Curatolo 0721842 curatm@u.washington.edu

Other Majors and Minors (if applicable)

N/A

Title of Capstone Experience

Consumption Behavior and the Law: Collecting and Applying Current Knowlege

Capstone Experience Quarter(s) and Year(s) Number of Credits per Quarter

8
Winter 2011

Capstone Experience Faculty Advisor Capstone Experience Site Supervisor

Name: Kristiina Vogt Name: Ashley Zanolli

Department: School of Forest Resources Title: Environmental Engineer

Box Number: 352100 Organization: US Environmental Protection

Agency Region 10
Phone: (206) 543-2765
Address: 1200 6th Ave | Seattle, WA 98101
Email: kvogt@u.washington.edu
Phone: (206) 553-4425

Email: Zanolli.Ashley@epa.gov
1. Please describe your learning goals for your capstone project. What specific skills and knowledge
areas are you seeking to obtain or improve? In addition, how does your capstone project relate to
your career plans and objectives?

Through my Capstone Experience, I hope to achieve learning goals in two main ways. First, I
hope to achieve a thorough understanding of the subject matter associated with my project. As a student
in the College of the Environment, I am aware of the widespread effects of consumption as well as the
potential to affect the environment by addressing consumption. Knowledge of this topic could prove
useful in a multitude of environmental disciplines. Second, I hope to gain substantial experience doing a
project that involves utilization of research, scholarly articles, and other information. The knowledge
gained by obtaining, narrowing down, and applying such a large quantity and wide variety of
information will be valuable in many sorts of academic and professional settings. One skill that I am
currently looking to improve is being able to be concise yet effective. Efficient communication requires
this ability, and it is one that I need to refine.
What I really hope to gain from this experience is increased familiarity with the intersection of
environmental knowledge with law and policy. My long-term career plans and objectives include
attending law school with an emphasis on environmental law. My undergraduate experience has
prepared me with an interdisciplinary education that covers the many scientific and social issues facing
environmental decisions today. I believe that law and policy play a crucial role in effective conservation.
What makes effective law and policy, I believe, is a comprehensive inclusion of adequate research and
best available science. This project exemplifies the way in which information is gathered and made
accessible. This will be the clearinghouse project that will serve as my deliverable. As part of the
investigation into my researchable questions, I will be applying my research findings to evaluate its
application to current law and policy as well as looking at ways to apply it more effectively. My project
could serve as a demonstration of not only the kind of work I respect, but the kind that I hope to one day
make my career.

2. Where, and, most important, WHEN will you be doing your capstone project? Please provide a
precise schedule of your capstone work, keeping in mind that one academic credit is equal to around
30 hours of work.

Location(s): Odegaard Undergraduate Library and Allen Library Research Commons (University of
Washington). Region 10 EPA Office (1200 6th Avenue).

Proposed schedule:
Sunday: 12:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Monday: 1:00 PM - 3:20 PM
Tueday: 11:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Wednesday: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Thursday: 11:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Friday: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Saturday: As Needed

3. When and where will you be meeting your site supervisor? You need to set aside a regular time to
meet with your site supervisor at least every other week. (Once a week is preferable.)

Location: Wallace Hall (ACC) at the University of Washington

Regular meeting time: Mondays at 4:45 PM

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4. Propose a schedule of meetings with your faculty advisor. Each meeting should be about an hour
long and have a clear set of purposes. You should meet your faculty advisor at least once a month
during ENVIR 491, which means that students enrolling in ENVIR 491 for more than one quarter
will definitely need to add meetings to this schedule. In addition, all students and faculty advisors
should feel free to add meetings and customize this schedule as needed. The highlighted text below
is simply a suggestion, and you and your faculty advisor should modify the purposes of your
meetings to fit your project. For more information on the role of the faculty advisor and the content
of these meetings, please see http://faculty.washington.edu/mreese/capstone/info_fac_adv0910.doc

Note: In addition to these meetings, we will have regularly-scheduled meetings once a week. The
determination of the regular time will occur at the beginning of the Winter 2011 quarter.

Meeting One Meeting Two

Purposes of meeting: talk about ways to focus
and improve researchable questions; discuss
appropriate methods for answering questions;
discuss and evaluate criteria for consumption
matrix.
Purposes of meeting: determine if research is
productive; how it can be improved or
enhanced; discuss findings.

Date and time: 01/06/2011 2:00pm Date and time: 01/13/2011 2:00pm

Meeting Three Meeting Four

One week before the meeting, the student will Purposes of meeting: check-in on student
send the advisor: initial bibliography progress in early stages of project; talk about
extending bibliography & filling research gaps
Purposes of meeting: check-in on student
progress in early stages of project; talk about
extending bibliography & filling research gaps

Date and time: 01/20/2011 2:00pm
Meeting Five
One week before the meeting, the student will
send the advisor: drafts of all deliverables
Date and time: 01/28/2011 2:00pm
Meeting Six
One week before the meeting, the student will
send the advisor: a draft of one tangible
product of the student’s capstone work

Purposes of meeting: provide feedback on all Purposes of meeting: mid-quarter check-in;

deliverables; debrief entire capstone project provide feedback on deliverable; discuss
connections between capstone project and
larger academic and environmental questions
Date and time: 02/03/2011 2:00pm Date and time: 02/10/2011 2:00pm

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 Meeting Seven Meeting Eight

Purposes of meeting: TBD Purposes of meeting: TBD

Date and time: 02/17/2011 2:00pm Date and time: 02/24/2011 2:00pm

Meeting Nine Meeting Ten

One week before the meeting, the student will One week before the meeting, the student will
send the advisor: drafts of all deliverables send the advisor: drafts of all deliverables

Purposes of meeting: provide feedback on all Purposes of meeting: provide feedback on all
deliverables; debrief entire capstone project deliverables; debrief entire capstone project

Date and time: 03/03/2011 2:00pm Date and time: 03/10/2011 2:00pm
Meeting Eleven Meeting Twelve

Purposes of meeting: TBD One week before the meeting, the student will
send the advisor: rough draft of analysis paper

Purposes of meeting: discuss revision

strategies for analysis paper

Date and time: March 14 to 18 Date and time: 03/2011, Spring Quarter TBD

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5. Please list and describe the final deliverables (research summary, brochures, curriculum materials,
databases, websites, built structures, etc.) that will you be able to show once your work in ENVIR
491 is complete? List all deliverables, including those requested or specified by your site supervisor
as part of your hands-on work, as well as those needed to address your researchable questions. Be
sure to indicate who will receive which deliverables by when. Students who are enrolling in more
than one quarter of ENVIR 491 must provide deliverables at the end of each quarter. Note that,
because of the time commitment required by ENVIR 491, you should not list formal academic paper
as a deliverable; this paper will be the main deliverable in ENVIR 492. Additional information and
guidelines regarding deliverables can be found at
http://faculty.washington.edu/mreese/capstone/491deliverables.doc

• A capstone journal containing a log of hours worked and tasks accomplished, all research
notes, etc., will be delivered to the capstone instructor by March 11, 2011.
• An annotated bibliography of at least ten print sources will be submitted to the faculty
advisor and capstone instructor by March 11, 2011.
• A final deliverable in the form of an online consumption clearinghouse of categorized areas
of information to site supervisor, faculty advisor, and capstone instructor by March 11, 2011.

6. ATTACHMENTS. Include your capstone proposal and initial bibliography with the final draft of
this form. In addition, please attach a calendar to document your capstone work plan. Include all
capstone-related events large and small—regular work days, meetings with faculty advisor and site
supervisor, deadlines for draft deliverables, etc. You may include a hard copy of whatever calendar
format you usually use (Google Calendar, spiral-bound notebook calendar, iCal, etc.).

Here is the URL for the Google Calendar I have created:

https://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=oc

7. SIGNATURES (required to be eligible for enrollment in ENVIR 491)

We have thoroughly read and discussed this learning contract and the attached proposal, and we
concur that these documents propose a challenging yet achievable project for the student. We
therefore approve this project and agree to the terms of this learning contract.

Student Marie Curatolo Date 12-9-10

Faculty Advisor ______________________________________ Date _____________________

Site Supervisor _____ Ashley Zanolli ________________ Date _____12-7-10____________

Capstone Instructor ____________________________________ Date _____________________