Handbook for Honors in Education March 2012

Handbook: Honors in Education College of Education Honors in Education Committee Dr Misty Cowan-Hathcock, Teaching Fellows, ex officio (2007 – continuing) Dr Paul Fitchett, Middle, Secondary, and K-12 Education (2009 – 2012) Dr Michael Matthews, Special Education and Child Development (2000 – 2013) Chair Dr Adriana Medina, Reading & Elementary Education, (2010 - 2013) Mr Terry Shirley, Geography & Earth Sciences (2010 – 2013) Dr Rebecca Shore, Educational Leadership (2009 -2012) Inaugural Edition: Spring, 2008 Revised March, 2012 College of Education Handbook: Honors in Education Table of Contents Purpose Admission Criteria Program Requirements Honors Courses Honors Thesis and Options Honors Thesis Defense Selecting a Thesis Advisor Selecting a Thesis reader Academic Integrity Procedures Appendices A B C Honors Program Forms Application for Honors in Education Program Application for Admission to Candidacy Preparing the Thesis Content and Sections Format Important Deadlines and Timelines Note The COED Honors in Education Program Handbook will undergo periodic revisions to insure that information contained herein is timely, accurate, and up to date All revisions will include a semester/year date on the front page to insure that students are working from the latest adoption Purpose The purpose of the Honors in Education Program is to identify exceptional undergraduate students who, through uncompromising probity and intellectual vigor, deserve formal recognition of their extraordinary academic performance, skills, and dispositions While there are many excellent education students at UNC Charlotte, the Honors in Education Program confers formal recognition of excellence to a select few who are among the very highest achievers in all education programs Admission Criteria Admission to the Honors in Education program requires the following minimal accomplishments: Admission to a teacher education program with a 3.5 or higher cumulative GPA Completed application form and recommendation by advisor and department chair A one page statement explaining: a the student’s academic/career goals in the field of education, and b how the Honors in Education Program is relevant to the student’s academic and/or career interests Completion of 30 semester hours of coursework taken prior to application for the Honors in Education Program Many education students meet the minimal criteria Before applying to the Honors in Education Program, students should meet with their academic advisors to discuss their interest, motivation, and chances of being successful After all, it is a good idea to find out if there is a good fit between student interest and program expectations before expending the effort to complete an application Ultimately, the advisor will have to recommend the student for this program, so meeting soon after admission to the education program are usually better than meetings scheduled much later Academic advisors can provide important information about the program and can give students a fairly reliable prediction of their opportunity for successfully completing the Honors in Education Program The Education Honors Committee consists of faculty in the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences who work in teacher education programs This Committee will review each applicant’s materials on an ad hoc basis and notify (1) the student and (2) the department chair of students who have been admitted into the Honors in Education Program Program Requirements To qualify for graduation with Honors in Education recognition, a student must: Be formally admitted to the Honors in Education program by the Education Honors Committee; 2 File for honors candidacy with the Education Honors Committee and the University Honors Council in accordance with guidelines set by the University Honors Council and the College of Education (see timelines); Maintain an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher in all UNC Charlotte coursework; Complete at least six (6) hours of honors coursework (including the thesis) and obtain an overall GPA of 3.5 for all UNCC honors courses; Select a 2-person Honors Thesis Committee, approved by the student’s department chair and the Education Honors Committee; Complete hours of Honors Thesis in Education (EDUC 3790), including: a Submit a proposal to the Education Honors Committee, which may approve, amend, or reject the proposal; b Substantially complete the Honors Thesis prior to the beginning of student teaching; c Orally defend the Honors Thesis before the student’s Thesis Committee and its invited guests prior to student teaching and; d Obtain a grade of “A” for the Thesis This thesis grade will also be the grade assigned for the 3-hour course “Honors Thesis in Education” (EDUC 3790) Honors Courses Students admitted to the Honors in Education Program must complete EDUC 3789 (Seminar: Honors in Education) and EDUC 3790 (Honors Thesis in Education) The Honors Thesis in Education must receive a grade of “A” to qualify for honors at graduation Until the College of Education begins multiple honors courses, students may need to complete this requirement by taking at least one honors course in other colleges (e.g Arts and Sciences honors courses) or visit the Honors College web site at: http://www.honorscollege.uncc.edu/ When the College of Education is able to offer multiple honors courses, honors students will have more flexibility in choosing honors courses to meet this requirement In any case, EDUC 3790 must be completed with a grade of “A” for Honors in Education to appear on the student’s transcript Honors Thesis and Options Every student in the Honors in Education program must submit a thesis for EDUC 3790 and must receive a course grade of “A.” Any lower grade will deprive the student of “honors” status at graduation and on the official transcript Writing a thesis is a timely and labor-intensive undertaking Education majors experience a hardship not experienced by other majors That is, they must “substantially complete” their honors thesis prior to the student teaching semester that typically takes up their final semester at UNC Charlotte A “substantially complete” thesis means:      The oral defense of the thesis has been completed; Faculty on the honors committee have approved the report (subject to minor revisions); Only minor revisions (corrections of editing, grammar, spelling, punctuation) remain to be completed during the student teaching semester; The student has completed and submitted the Application for Admission to Candidacy for the University Honors Program by its deadline; and The likelihood of receiving an “A” for the thesis is high Types of Honors Theses All honors theses involve research, and research invokes elements of originality, synthesis, and lessons (or conclusions) This triadic set of research activities can be accomplished in different ways, but in every case, the three elements will be present Research Project A written report of a research project may be submitted for the honors thesis This type of thesis will probably require Human Subjects approval from the university’s IRB (Institutional Review Board) Make sure to work closely with your thesis advisor if you this type of thesis If doing a research project, a student must identify an original question for which data have not already been reported (conduct a literature review) For this option, a student must  complete the university IRB on-line tutorial and receive IRB approval;  present a literature review and research question;  identify your data sources and data collection methods;  collect data from relevant sources;  analyze the data;  interpret the data;  draw conclusions about the research findings Case Study Honors students may choose to describe in detail a particular experience within a school setting or a culture that exemplifies a theoretical concept or principle of teaching/learning Such a project would be a case study Case studies of personal experiences not require IRB review or approval, but studies of other individuals might Case studies require honors students to report  The theoretical concept or principle to be exemplified  How data were obtained  Dates, times, and contacts with informants (teachers, principals, students)  Manner of obtaining informed consent from individuals  Compliance with IRB regulations    Descriptions of data Descriptions of generalizations/interpretations/conclusions Justifications for generalizations (above) Historical or Archival Research Honors students may write a thesis that examines historical sources of data located principally in a library or other archive Students who take this approach must address the following components:  Research question  Description of data sources (what counts; what does not)  Descriptions of “weight” given to historical, archival data sources  Conclusions and implications (what did you learn?) Educational Comparisons Honors students may propose and carry out a variety of comparisons between educational institutions, countries, districts, or other bodies This type of thesis MAY require Human Subjects approval from the university’s IRB (Institutional Review Board) Make sure to work closely with your thesis advisor if you this type of thesis Students who participate in international study abroad programs may wish to complete this type of thesis Theses of this type will contain:  Clear descriptions of each unit to be compared  Description of data to be or already collected  Descriptions of data collection methods  Descriptions of group similarities and differences  Conclusions drawn from analyzing the comparison(s) Other Options Other options for demonstrating “exceptional” academic ability are not precluded for an honors thesis However, if electing a different scheme than provided in # – above, the responsibility will lie with the student to demonstrate convincingly that a different type of honors thesis would  reflect your own academic prowess and be educationally responsible,  contribute substantially to your own professional knowledge of education, or  contribute substantially to your career goals in education Ultimately, the thesis proposal must be acceptable to the advisor and thesis reader, and it must be approved by the COED Honors Committee Proposals which adhere closely to thesis guidelines are typically easier to approve and complete than proposals than those which deviate significantly from the guidelines Honors Thesis Defense An honors student must orally defend the honors thesis to the honors committee and its invited guests Consequently, the student must consult with the thesis advisor to schedule an appropriate day, time, and location for the honors defense Such a defense may be formally announced to interested faculty in the college and university In any case, at least 21 days advance notice must be given Any thesis defense that is rescheduled must also provide a minimum of 21 days notice for the new date This may be done informally by having the thesis advisor email the Chair of the COED Honors Committee with the following information:  Student name and program  Thesis title  Date, time, and location All thesis defenses are public forums Once notified of the particulars, the Chair of the COED Honors Committee will provide public announcement of the thesis defense and an invitation for interested faculty Selecting a Thesis Advisor The single most important contact for an Honors Student is the Thesis Advisor In the College of Education, you should select a faculty member whose research is as close as possible to your topic of interest This faculty member may not be your academic advisor That is OK, but it is often helpful if you have had the professor for a course Very early (or before) in the honors thesis course, you should contact the faculty you want for a thesis advisor to discuss your project This faculty member will often be very helpful in identifying an appropriate Thesis Reader (the second member of your committee), or in some cases, a more suitable thesis advisor The thesis advisor should be responsible for helping students by:  defining an appropriate topic  selecting relevant literature to read and report  setting clear criteria for progress, expectations, report length and contents  identifying needed resources for the project  keeping the project on schedule (both in doing it and reporting it)  meeting on a regular basis throughout the project  reading and commenting on drafts in a timely (not “miracle”) fashion  assigning a grade to the thesis after its completion and after input from the thesis reader You must take a proactive stance in meeting with your thesis advisor to discuss your progress and any problems you’ve encountered If a faculty member hints early on that he or she may be too busy or may be unfamiliar with your topic, it might be best to try a different faculty member rather than struggling through an awkward arrangement Remember, faculty members receive no reward for working with you on your honors thesis – no extra pay, no course release, and no “atta boy/girl” handshake from the Chancellor at the end of the semester They agree to work with you because they like your idea and think it might be fun or interesting to help you pursue it In some cases, you might end up working in a significant way on the faculty’s research If that occurs, you both benefit The faculty’s research agenda is helped along, and you complete a significant undergraduate research project at the same time The Honors in Education program requires only two faculty committee members Once you’ve identified your thesis advisor, talk with him/her to find another faculty member who will be your “thesis reader.” Ultimately, your thesis chair and thesis reader must agree on an “A” for your thesis If there is a disagreement, you and your thesis advisor will need to find a qualified third reader to break the disagreement After selecting a thesis advisor and reader, honors students should schedule an appointment with their department chair to initiate their honors application and gain formal approval of their honors committee Approval must be obtained from the department chair or each committee members and from the COED Honors Committee Selecting a Thesis reader Your thesis advisor or your academic advisor can help you select an appropriate thesis reader The reader should be supportive of your project and have sufficient time to read your written drafts and provide feedback to you It is often helpful to have a thesis advisor and thesis reader who are compatible with each other’s biases, styles, and theoretical orientations Procedures The intent of the COED Honors Committee is to establish a consistent set of guidelines that balances faculty work load with student academic performance To make this work, the committee has intentionally set quotas for each department for the next four years Periodically the committee will revise its projections as appropriate Academic Integrity All conduct in the Honors in Education program is subject to The UNCC Code of Student Academic Integrity (Policy Statement 105; see http://www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps105.html) This code forbids all types of academic dishonesty, including cheating, plagiarism, and complicity All evaluations of student academic work in the honors program assume that student work is free from academic dishonesty of any type (including false reporting and fabrication), and grades will therefore be adversely affected by academic dishonesty In addition, students who violate the Code can be expelled from UNC Charlotte Honors in Education students will be expected to sign an informed consent waiver that allows their thesis advisor or thesis course instructor to submit their thesis or portions of their thesis work to plagiarism detection services (including TurnItIn.com) in order to safeguard the program from false honors due to plagiarized materials Program Quotas for Honors Students Projected quotas from 2008-09 to present have not been met Generally, no more than 3-5 students from any single department should be participating in Honors in Education at any given time Steps for Honors in Education Complete 30 hours of UNCC coursework with GPA of 3.5 or higher Complete and submit application form for Honors in Education Program Attach a 1-page essay Obtain signature from department chair Submit complete application to COED Honors Committee Search out and find a thesis advisor Find a thesis reader (with help from thesis and academic advisor) Enroll in and pass EDUC Honors Seminar Schedule and complete oral defense of thesis Enroll in and get a grade of “A” in EDUC Honors Thesis COED Honors Committee Formally admits students (college program) Formally appoints thesis advisors and readers Adjudicates grading disagreements between thesis advisors and thesis readers Communicates with students about timelines, deadlines, requirements, etc Timelines The University Honors Council (UHC) maintains deadlines for honors students That web site contains up to date deadlines for submitting paper work That web should be visited at: http://www.honorscollege.uncc.edu/ Honors students in the College of Education Honors Program should submit all forms at least two weeks before the deadline established by the UHC Appendix A Application for University of North Carolina Charlotte College of Education Honors Program Name: Student ID Number: Campus Address: _ Check the best way to contact you:  Local Phone Number:  Cell Phone Number: _  E-mail address: _ Permanent Address: _ Date Accepted into Education Program: Major: Minor: _ Licensure Area: Cumulative GPA: _ Please attach the following:  Unofficial copy of your student transcript (print from Banner)  A well written page statement explaining your current academic and career goals in the field of education and how the Honors in Education Program is relevant to your academic and/or career interests  A brief description of your project/research interests (e.g Special Populations, Specific Content Areas) _ _ Student signature date _ Faculty Advisor signature date _ Department Chair signature data _ Submit this form and required attachments to: Chair, COED Honors Committee Date Received: Appendix B COLLEGE OF EDUCATION HONORS PROGRAM Application for Admission to Candidacy Student Name ID Number Major _ Expected Graduation Date Overall GPA Committee Chair & Dept _ Check One Option: Research Project Report International Study Report Briefly Describe Project This above described project is approved for execution in the COED Honors Program Approved, Committee Chair Date Approved, COED Honors Council Date URL for University Application: http://www.honorscollege.uncc.edu/content/view/13/28/ 10 ... about timelines, deadlines, requirements, etc Timelines The University Honors Council (UHC) maintains deadlines for honors students That web site contains up to date deadlines for submitting paper... admitted into the Honors in Education Program Program Requirements To qualify for graduation with Honors in Education recognition, a student must: Be formally admitted to the Honors in Education. .. assigned for the 3-hour course ? ?Honors Thesis in Education? ?? (EDUC 3790) Honors Courses Students admitted to the Honors in Education Program must complete EDUC 3789 (Seminar: Honors in Education)