Gifted Education Commons^™

Remembering Ada Long, May 20, 1945–February 4, 2024, Jeffrey A. Portnoy, Larry Andrews, Bernice Braid, James J. Clauss, Lisa L. Coleman, Kevin W. Dean, Joan Digby, Linda Frost, Galit Gertsenzon, Devon Graham, Raymond Green, Annmarie Guzy, Jerry Herron, Mimi Killinger, John A. Knox, George Mariz, Mitch Pruitt, La Tanya L. Reese Rogers, Rae Rosenthal, Rusty Rushton, Chris Simon, Michael E. Sloane, Michaela Ruppert Smith, Christopher J. Syrnyk, Maria V. Tarasova, Norm Weiner

Honors in Practice Online Archive

As part of the National Collegiate Honors Council’s collection of essays honoring the life and work of Dr. Ada Long (1945–2024), the authors reflect on the personal and professional impact she has made in the honors experience. See https://youtube.com/live/EwdleBW1Rf8?feature=share to view the entire Celebration of Life that was held June 8, 2024.

A Matter Of Definition, Criteria, And Standards In Honors: A History, From The Basic Characteristics To The “Nchc Shared Principles And Practices Of Honors Education”, Richard Badenhausen, James Buss

Honors in Practice Online Archive

For more than half a century, the honors community has debated the role of standards. This comprehensive overview of those discussions—the first ever—traces the evolution of how honors education has defined itself from its early years right up until the 2022 adoption of the National Collegiate Honors Council’s new “NCHC Shared Principles and Practices of Honors Education.” While the latest document may seem to represent a stark change, the genealogy unfolded here demonstrates the “Shared Principles” as a return to the collegial and inclusive spirit of the earliest discussions about standards while reflecting more recent issues in contemporary higher education. …

Aristotle’S Poetics: A Biologist’S Approach To Tragedy, James J. Clauss

Honors in Practice Online Archive

The paper describes a class that introduces Aristotle’s Poetics from the perspective of his scientific, especially biological, treatises: a systematic analysis of what emotions a tragedy is supposed to elicit and how they are resolved by the audience (homoeopathy). Students read 11 ancient and modern plays and view one film, observing whether his theory of the Tragic explains our responses. The final project includes the writing of a tragic story (not a drama) evincing the students’ own understanding of the Tragic based on the readings.

Interdisciplinary Cohort Building: Creating A Feeling Of Belonging And Sense Of Community In Honors Transfer Students, Shannon Pittman, Vanessa Miller

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Athens State University Honors Program implements an honors mentoring model for transfer students that aims to support transfer student completion of an honors project and improve transfer students’ feelings of belonging in honors.

The Honors Research Project: Embracing Intellectual Discovery Through Storytelling, Malachi D. Crawford, Chelsee B. H. Young, Kimberly Michelle Gay, Quincy C. Moore

Honors in Practice Online Archive

The Honors Research Project (HRP) at Prairie View A&M University develops critical thinking and creative intellectual skills to analyze, understand, and comprehend the project’s topics.

Mindfulness In Honors: An Experiment In Collaborative Learning And Team Teaching, Pascale F. Engelmajer, Massimo A. Rondolino

Honors in Practice Online Archive

What do students hear when we talk of mindfulness? To reframe unexamined assumptions among students who conceptualize both mindfulness and honors education as “doing more” (more exercises to gain psychological benefits and more work to gain higher GPAs), the authors of this paper piloted a new course in philosophy and religious studies. In this essay, they discuss their collaborative experience designing, co-teaching, and assessing an honors course on mindfulness: its roots in Buddhist thought and practices, its contemporary secular developments, and its potential impact on students’ learning and lived experience. Integral to this experiment is also an approach to teaching …

Forming Civic Virtue Through An Honors Seminar Focused On Local Civil Rights History, Lynn Stallings, Aaron D. Cobb

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Citizenship and related values are common elements in the missions of honors programs. Our goal was to design a junior honors seminar with an intentional focus on developing citizenship, civic identity, and civic virtues through engagement with the challenging history of our city, Montgomery, Alabama. The course employed four evidence-based strategies for character formation in higher education: reflection on personal experience, engagement with virtuous exemplars, dialogue that increases virtue literacy, and awareness of situational variables. This paper describes our focus on learning about Civil Rights history to develop citizenship and civic virtues, the course’s impact on students, our reflections on …

If They Build It, They Will Come: The Power Of Student-Designed Honors Offerings In Small-Budget Programs, Claire H. Procopio

Honors in Practice Online Archive

This essay describes a student-designed framework implemented by an honors program because of budget constraints. The framework’s implementation, involving structured student leadership, feedback integration, and curricular adaptations, is detailed along with an exploration of the positive consequences of implementing a student-designed approach to co-curricular offerings. Benefits of the approach include better fulfillment of the honors mission, meaningful student leadership development, program growth, and eventually increased resources.

The Involvement Journal: A Signature First-Year Seminar Assignment, Matt Baran

Honors in Practice Online Archive

An involvement journal assignment encourages first-year students to attend a variety of events and engage in meaningful reflection and development.

Physics And Theatre: An Unexpected Pairing That Enhances Learning For Both Disciplines, Amber Karlins

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Taking an interdisciplinary approach to seemingly disparate subjects like theatre and physics allows students to more deeply engage with both disciplines.

Addressing The Climate Crisis Through Science And Art: The Value Of Interdisciplinary And Intergenerational Team Teaching, Megan Jacobs, Kineo Memmer

Honors in Practice Online Archive

The climate crisis is a growing concern for many people, especially those who are of college age, making it an important and pressing issue to explore in honors courses. Eco-Art: Using Art to Reconcile with the Climate Crisis, a University of New Mexico (UNM) Honors College course, integrates the disciplines of art and environmental justice to examine climate change and address the social and emotional toll of climate grief. The class was co-created and team taught by Associate Professor Megan Jacobs and UNM undergraduate honors and environmental science student Kineo Memmer. This article unpacks the methodologies and lessons learned from …

Fostering Belonging Through Bread (And Other Foods), Maria Elliott, Steve Garrison

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Communal eating serves as an effective teaching tool for cultural awareness while providing a powerful vehicle to promote community between faculty and students.

An Involvement Journal Assignment Encourages First-Year Students To Attend A Variety Of Events And Engage In Meaningful Reflection And Development., Jean-Paul Benowitz

Honors in Practice Online Archive

After 24 years of trial and error, an honors leadership course evolves to become relevant to the needs of the students while reflecting the learning objectives of the curriculum and giving students something tangible for learning in the real world.

Toward Student Success: The Impact Of Honors Participation On Transfer Student Graduation Rates, Judy Albakry

Honors in Practice Online Archive

While numerous studies have shown evidence of higher completion frequencies for first-time freshmen who participate in four-year honors programs, research has yet to reveal how honors programs might impact outcomes for transfer students. Based on ex post facto data collected on transfer student graduation percentages at a large public university in Tennessee, the purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative, comparative study was to investigate if transfer student honors participation has an association with graduation frequency. Chi-square analyses were performed to investigate the association among graduation frequency, honors participation, and the number of honors credits earned. The findings indicate that the association …

Third-Year Medical College Rotations For Premedical Honors Program Undergraduates, Harvey G. Stenger Jr., William L. Ziegler

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Honors programs typically enroll many students interested in the healthcare field, and honors administrators and faculty do their best to ensure that those students’ dreams are fulfilled. With Medical Doctor (MD) program acceptance rates averaging just 6.1%, students need a standout application. Experience has shown that getting accepted into a medical school is more than earning a great GPA and excelling on the MCAT exam; it also requires convincing a committee of professionals that an applicant has the right personal qualities and work ethic to succeed in the field of medicine, and applicants need to highlight their clinical experience as …

A Year Of Great Change And A Future Of Greater Change, Susan E. Dinan

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Good morning friends,

This fall semester began on my campus with a new crop of eager and engaged students who were ready to jump into their classes without the hesitancies we saw over the past few years. Our faculty is energized and excited to teach. I hope you had a similar experience on your campuses. I hope your presence at our national conference has also imparted a sense of excitement about your work in the classroom and as administrators. I always learn far more than I expect when I attend our annual conference.

Honors In Practice, Volume 20, 2024: About The Authors, National Collegiate Honors Council

Honors in Practice Online Archive

JUDY ALBAKRY serves as an adjunct professor and honors advisor at Middle Tennessee State University. She also coordinates the Buchanan Transfer Fellowship Program in the honors college. Her research specializes in student success initiatives, high-impact practices, transfer student engagement, and program assessment.

Honors In Practice, Volume 20, 2024, John Zubizarreta

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Guest Editor’s Introduction • John Zubizarreta

Remebering Ada Long

A Long Legacy for the Ages (Dedicatory Essay) • Jeffrey A. Portnoy

Keep Ada Happy! • Larry Andrews

Honors in Practice: Ada Long • Bernice Braid

Tribute to Ada Long • James J. Clauss

For Ada • Lisa L. Coleman

Memories of Ada—With Fondness and Admiration • Kevin W. Dean

Reflections on Ada Long • Joan Digby

Life, Love, Work, and Ada Long • Linda Frost

Insight, Sincerity, and Wit: Remembrances of Ada • Galit Gertsenzon

Giant Shoes to Fill • Devon Graham

Not All Heroes Wear Capes—Remembering Ada Long • …

Food And Culture, Brigett Scott

Honors in Practice Online Archive

A course on food and culture with several experiential components successfully encourages honors students to learn about new cultures and themselves.

Creating A Diverse Honors Faculty Through Collaborative Relationships Within The Community And The University, Amelia Underwood, Philip L. Frana, Awn-Amber Montoya

Honors in Practice Online Archive

This essay documents approaches to growing honors affiliate faculties through community and university partnerships. The need for new strategies to prepare non-traditional faculties is shown by evidence that the student population is changing and by the critical responsibility honors programs have in the mentorship of diverse students. Professionals, local experts, student affairs administrators, and international scholars can make valuable contributions to honors programs and colleges, given their practical insights and hands-on experiences. Methods for selecting, recruiting, and integrating affiliate faculty into honors education are also shared. The authors cite examples of successful collaborations with community leaders, officers in multicultural affairs …

Partners In Peace: A Sketch For A Link Between The Nobel Peace Prize And Nchc, Kevin W. Dean, Henrik Syse

Honors in Practice Online Archive

In a plenary address at the 2023 NCHC annual conference in Chicago, the former Vice Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee issued a challenge for honors students and educators to use their voices and positions of local leadership to promote peace. The call for peace advocacy extended in Chicago resonated with the large audience, as leadership development represents a high-impact practice that many honors programs embrace. As national and international conflicts produce increasing polarization and divisiveness that seep into our campuses and local communities, the urgency for honors students to hone critical thinking and practical skills needed for citizen leadership …

Partners In The Parks: A Shirt Tale, Joan Digby

Honors in Practice Online Archive

One of my most treasured garments is my 2016 NCHC Partners in the Parks T-shirt. It sports an uplifted tree of life insignia on the front and a list of the 12 national parks that hosted our programs that year. The shirt dries in a matter of hours, and the lettering has never faded. It travels with me wherever I go.

Honors Online: Teaching, Learning, And Building Community Virtually In Honors Education, Victoria M. Bryan, Cat Stanfield

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs

Contents

Introduction, Victoria M. Bryan and Cat Stanfield

Part I: Harnessing Virtual Connection in Program and Course Design

1. Through the Looking Glass: Honors in Virtual Reality, Betsy Greenleaf Yarrison

2. Exploring Incoming Honors Students’ Beliefs About Online Courses, Kristy Spear and Pavlo D. Antonenko

3. Reimagining Honors Curriculum—Delivered Through Technology Utilizing Our Alumni Community, Mollie Hartup, Amy Cossentino, and Lexi Rager

4. Online Faculty Professional Development and Community as Nexus, John Zubizarreta, Beata M. Jones, and Marca V. C. Wolfensberger

5. Building a Pipeline for Transfer and Scholarship Through (Virtual) Honors Research Partnerships, …

Language Learning Simulation Using Duolingo Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

It is likely that preservice teachers will work with students learning English as their second (third, fourth, etc.) language. For preservice teachers to better understand the language learning process, Duolingo was used to simulate the learning experience. The assignment description outlines how preservice teachers can reflection pre-simulation and post-simulation about what they learned about language learning.

Virtual Learning Walks Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Learning Walks are structured walkthroughs with the purpose of professional development and growth. Learning Walks include multiple people so that immediate reflections may occur through collaboration. In higher education, model classrooms are not readily available for preservice teachers to practice and apply coursework knowledge. Virtual Learning Walks are a creative approach to resolve this challenge. This assignment asks preservice teachers to watch a recorded lesson with the mindset that they are visiting a colleague’s classroom to observe them for professional growth. Students take notes during the observation then analyze the observation for their own growth.

The Apprenticeship Of Observation In Gifted Education, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

The ‘Apprenticeship of Observation’ is described as one’s perception of ‘good teaching’ as informed by our own experiences as a student observing teaching for thirteen years in a K-12 school system. Perception of gifted education is susceptible of the ‘apprenticeship of observation’ and often influencing teachers’ actions and beliefs about the needs of gifted learners.

Supporting New Colleagues In Gifted Education: Finding Your Starting Point, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Newly hired teachers and administrators often lack experience with gifted learners. The goal of this essay is to share four books to act as primers to introduce new teachers and administrators to gifted education and understanding gifted learners.

Higher Order Thinking ‘On The Go’, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Educators of gifted learners often teach in non-traditional spaces and need to be adaptable. This essay shared five cognitive models that support higher order thinking which can be implemented anywhere and with few materials.

Dueling Abilities, Behaviors, And Characteristics Of Gifted Learners, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Using the Star Wars’ characters, R2-D2 and C-3PO as analogies, educators can better conceptualize the diverse ability, behaviors, and characteristics of gifted learners. Gifted learners do not fit a single profile and this essay aims to help challenge stereotypes teachers may have of gifted learners and highlight the diverse cognitive, social, and emotional needs gifted learners may have.

Doordash, Inc. Strategic Audit, Brenna Paul, Nihaela Ponnatha, Pyper Haarala, Summer Liu, Abigail Mathiasen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This case study analyzes DoorDash, an innovator of online delivery in the software publishing industry. We conducted a strategic audit using principles from prominent strategic management to guide our process. Our research is based on publicly available information, including IBIS World reports, industry reports, DoorDash’s SEC filings and website, academic articles, and news articles. This case study aims to collect data from a prominent business and analyze it through strategic management to evaluate the firm’s potential for competitive advantage.

Our research includes firm analysis, industry analysis, external analysis, internal analysis, performance analysis, competitive dynamics, business level strategy, corporate level strategy, …