Teaching Honors Courses Handouts: Advising/Curriculum Honors Designation Form Sample Syllabus Sample Assignments

Honors Programs Goals  For engaged, intellectually curious learners  Not more work, but deeper work  Encourage self-directed discovery  Connect the dots – interdisciplinary, experiential, contemporary relevance  Community of learners

Student Learning Outcomes 1. Critical Thinking 2. Interdisciplinary 3. Consultation/Consensus- building/Collaboration 4. Experiential 5. Primary Sources For complete descriptions, see the Honors Designation Form

Syllabus Policies  Honors Syllabus slightly different (about 5%) than standard syllabus  Identifies at least 3 of the 5 Honors SLO’s  Some assignments are augmented to address those SLO’s – these are mapped to the SLO’s (see sample Syllabus)  Even if non-Honors assignments address the Honors SLO’s, only augmented assignments can be SLO-mapped.

Honors Designation Form  Honors designation form must be submitted to the Honors offices at least 4 weeks before class begins.  Used for Program Assessment to ensure all 5 SLO’s are addressed through the curriculum  Used in future semesters for student advising  Does not go through Faculty Senate curriculum process – internal to Honors Program

Best Practices for Honors Instruction  For cross-listed courses – Lectures and readings should remain the same  Augmented Honors assignments should allow for self- directed research, inquiry, and problem-solving  Encourage Honors students to take advantage of Office Hours  Group Honors students together for group projects  Meet with Honors students after or before class at beginning of semester to review expectations and augmented assignments.  Use best judgment on identifying Honors students

Artifacts for Assessment  Collect Honors assignments for each class and submit copies to the Honors Program at conclusion of semester  Used for Program Assessment, not student or faculty assessment  Remove student and faculty names from artifacts

Resources for Honors Faculty  Classroom activity funds: small-scale field trips, food or supplies, speakers, etc.  Honors conference travel  Receive best-practice s  Recognition through official letters

Honors Program Service Activities  Honors Students must acquire extracurricular “points.” Opportunity to link in related lectures, events, etc.  “Conversations with the Professor” night at the Honors House  Major Scholarship Initiative  Outreach to High Schools/DSF