Getting Engaged In and Through Honors Education
Tuesday, August 16, 2022 | 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm | Drinko Library 402
Facilitated by Dr. Brian A. Hoey
Interim Dean, Honors College
Lecture Abstract:
The Honors College’s mission includes providing a space for innovative education where faculty and students can refresh and renew together. In this flexible environment, faculty explore stimulating content and activities as co-learners with students. Building meaningful relationships by engaging with each other and various communities of which they are a part, students reflect on their personal development. Honors education at Marshall University supports acts of “thinking the world together,” in a manner suggested by Parker Palmer, that vitally complement analytical approaches that “think the world apart.” For students, a true benefit of honors courses is their focus on learning through deep forms of engagement. This creates opportunities for a dynamic classroom experience driven by students’ ability to communicate and build relationships. During this session, techniques and assignments that foster interpersonal communication and learning will be shared and discussed for those eager to craft contributions to honors education at Marshall. For faculty, honors seminars (sections of HON 480), in particular, lend themselves to a variety of instructional practices that can be “tried out” by faculty who want to create a dynamic, learner-centered classroom. These opportunities can foster the co-creation of project-based applications for the campus community. In this session, faculty teaching in Honors will share their experiences. Participants will be guided to explore ideas to develop their own contributions to Honors education or for incorporating elements discussed into their regular courses for the benefit of non-honors students, which is always our intent as a college. We aim to ultimately enrich the educational experience at Marshall for all students. Participants will receive teaching resources, think and write about their own engaging dream course, and discuss possibilities for faculty collaboration.