Core course student learning
objective/concept from a core
course:
1. Self Awareness
Identify your values, strengths,
and personality characteristics
and apply them to your work and
vision for life
Values: Family, Relationship,
Integrity, Support
Strengths:Communication,
Gratitude
2. Understanding Data
Identify and evaluate alternative
types of data and data sources.
Gather and manipulate data to
provide numerical and visual
summaries.
3. Systems Thinking
Utilize systems thinking tools
and techniques on a problem in
your life
4. Design Thinking
Prioritize human-centered design:
putting people at the center of
your concern and design
How the concept is related to my
problem or question:
I value family, honesty and
relationships. Children of single
mothers are not given the
opportunity to see how it is living
in a two-parent household, I
believe that having a two-parent
household is very important for a
child and the child’s wellbeing.
Not having the father in the
home may cause the mother to
get caught up in her own
emotions and view parenthood
differently. My capstone focuses
on attempting to bring single
mothers together to be a
supportive network for one
another.
I will need to gather data to
support the need for this project.
I will need to understand the
current situation of the single
mothers or stakeholders and
make sure they know the value
of my support group.
After thinking about the systems
that are in place for providing
support and advice for these
single mothers, I believe that
shifting the burden is present.
This is present because single
mothers may not look towards
becoming a part of a support
group to seek advice, to connect
with other single mothers or help
deal with stress; some may look
towards drugs or alcohol as a
symptomatic solution which
could lead to other problems
such as drug dependency or
alcohol addiction.
My project focuses on single
mothers.
My specific plan to apply this
concept this week is:
I will listen to what these single
mothers are having a hard time
with whether it’s not having
enough free time or just simply
needing someone to talk to and
then I will work towards putting
together a support group with 5-
6 women, I will interview these
single mothers.
I will contact 5-6 single mothers
through Facebook/phone and
ask what topics they wish to
discuss in this support group
and also gather survey data on
avg self care days and other
specific data.
In the next week, I will set up my
support group page on
Facebook and invite the 5-6
single mothers so that I can
begin sending out daily
inspiration quotes using text,
images or videos. I may even
ask questions as far as mood,
thoughts, etc. on those days. I
will do this to keep the group
engaged and to remind them
that myself and the others are
still here if help is needed.
My support group will consist of
5-6 single mothers in my small
town in rural North Carolina. I
will reach out to these single
mothers via Facebook and ask if
 they’re willing to be a part of my
support group.

5. Global Awareness & Parents of all cultures want to be
Intercultural able to provide the best care for
Competence their child. Single parenting may
be looked at as ‘shame’ and it
Describe and analyze significant may be difficult for women to
global issues work after having children(which
may result in low income) or
being able to find a great
affordable sitter. These
economic problems may cause
single mothers to become
distressed.
My support group will work on
providing recommendations to
one another for affordable child
care services/babysitters in the
area and also will post job
openings in the group. If no
affordable care is available then
I will suggest that we help one
another out ourselves. In the
next week, I will begin looking at
babysitting/child care service in
or nearby my hometown.

6. Contemporary Media
Literacies
Speak in genres appropriate to
the discipline(s) of the primary
subject of the course
Social media and parenting has
been linked together showing
that parents using social media
are not showing their children
enough attention which could
affect the strength of attachment
and bonding between the
two(Ante-Contreras, 2016).
My support group will provide
these single mothers with the
opportunity to write out their
challenges, ask questions,
suggest recommendations/tips
and/or post inspirational videos.
These opportunities will allow
these mothers to create
connections that can be both
beneficial for them and their
child.

References

Ante-Contreras, Denise, "Distracted Parenting: How Social Media Affects Parent-Child Attachment"
(2016). Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations. 292.
https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/292