This document discusses how to empower honors students to thrive in the 21st century. It argues that honors programs need to integrate 21st century literacies and pedagogies into their curricula by reconsidering what and how they teach based on who is being taught (21st century digital native students) and the current economic setting. Specifically, it advocates for using student-driven, technology-enabled, collaborative, and inquiry-based learning approaches over traditional classroom-based education. This includes incorporating skills like critical thinking, communication, creativity, problem-solving across disciplines, and learning how to learn, unlearn and relearn.

1. Empowering Honors Students to
Thrive in 21st Century
Presented at National Collegiate Honors Conference, New Orleans, LA, 2013

2. HOW Do We Empower Our Honors
Students To Thrive In 21st Century?
1. What We Teach?
2. How We Teach?
3. Who Is Being Taught?
4. The Setting In Which We Teach?

3. WHAT We Teach
- Goals of Honors Courses
Student Learning
Outcomes
– Critical Thinking Skills
– Ability To Synthesize
Ideas Across
Disciplines
– Communication Skills
– Creative Inquiry
– Collaboration Skills
– Self-reflectiveness
– Tolerance Of
Uncertainty &
Ambiguity.
Teaching & Learning in Honors (2002) edited by Fuiks, C. & Clark, L. (p. 3) and
http://nchchonors.org/faculty-directors/honors-course-design/

4. HOW We Teach - Honors Pedagogy
1. Is It Determined By:
a. Amount Of Work In The Course?
b. Difficulty Of Assignments?
c. ?
2. Can Its Essence Be Captured?

5. “Drinking Deeply at the Spring of Learning”
• Shaped By Student
Populations & The Mission
Of The Institution
– Small Liberal Arts Setting vs.
Large Land-Grant University
vs. Community College
• Not One Thing, But Many

6. HOW We Teach
- Characteristics of Honors Pedagogy
• Pursues Academic Excellence
• Poses Challenges
• Requires Engagement
• Stirs Passion
• Inspires Wonder
• Creates Community
• Nurtures & Supports
Teaching & Learning in Honors (2002) edited by Fuiks, C. & Clark, L. (p. 3)

7. WHO Is Being Taught –
21st Century Students
• Entitled
• Casual
• Fragile
• Digital Native
• Easily Distractible
• Goal-oriented
• Need Self-Expression
• Need to Share Broadly
• Like to Feel Special
• Like Personal Connection
• Significant Learning
Experiences Occur Outside of
Classroom
• Make Learning Relevant
• Engage Us!

8. 21st Century HONORS Students
• High-Achieving
• Motivated
• Persevering
• Grade-obsessed
• Risk-averse
• Over-programmed &
Stressed-out
Wintrol, K. & Jerinic, M. “Rebels in the Classroom: Creativity & Risk-Taking in Honors Pedagogy.” Honors in Practice (2013)

9. The Setting In Which We Teach –
21st Century Economy
Globalization &
Digital Revolution
Hyper-Connected
World
Accelerating
Innovation
Economy
Transformation

10. Ailing Economy
– 15% Underemployment Rate
– Skyrocketing Debt

11. Ailing Education
– Shrinking College Applicant Pool
– Skyrocketing Cost Of College Education
– College Graduates Not Prepared For The Job
Market
– Proposed Federal College Score Card
– Proposed College Programs That Are Competency-based
And Do Not Rely On Seat Time
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/education/edlife/degrees-based-on-what-you-can-do-not-how-long-you-went.
html?pagewanted=1&_r=3&hp&

12. • Need For More Innovation
To Help With Economic
Recovery
– New Products & Services->
More Jobs -> More Wealth
• Need To Rethink Education
– The What? & The How?

13. How Do We Graduate More Innovators?
• Forces That Drive New
Innovators:
– Purpose
– Passion
– Play
• Classroom Culture That
Drives Innovation:
– Collaboration
– Interdisciplinary
Problem-solving
– Intrinsic Motivation
– Faculty Mentors
– Risk-taking

14. How Does Education Need to Change?

15. New 21st Century Literacies (What?)
• Attention
• Network Awareness
• Participation
• Narrative/Storytelling
• Learning, Unlearning And
Relearning
• Critical Consumption Of
Information
• Collaboration…

16. Institute for Innovation & Educational
Success @ SDSU.EDU (What?)

17. Cultivating the Imagination for a World of
Constant Change (How?)
• From Classroom Learning
To Learning Environments
• Embracing Change
• Playing To Learn & Gaming
• Learning As Inquiry
• Engaging The Passion
• Tacit Learning – Through
Doing, Watching,
Experiencing
• Learning In The Collective

19. Framework For 21st Century Skills
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

20. 21st Century Learning
Transitioning from teacher-centered,
classroom-based
education
to student-driven, technology-enabled
learning environment,
fusing vast informational
resources with personal
motivation to learn & life outside
of the classroom.

21. How Do We Empower Our Honors
Students To Thrive In 21st Century?
1. What We Teach?
2. How We Teach?
3. Who Is Being Taught?
4. The Setting In Which We Teach?
By Allowing 21st Century Literacies &
Pedagogies To Be Integrated Into Honors
Curricula Where Students Can
“Drink Deeply At The Spring Of 21st Century
Learning.”

22. Rethinking Goals of Honors Courses
Student Learning Outcomes
– Critical Thinking Skills
– Ability To Synthesize Ideas
Across Disciplines
– Communication Skills
– Creative Inquiry
– Collaboration Skills
– Self-reflectiveness
– Tolerance Of Uncertainty &
Ambiguity.
– Ability to
Learn/Unlearn &
Re-Learn
– Multicultural &
Global Awareness
Skills
– Personal, Social &
Civic Responsibility

23. Rethinking
Characteristics of Honors Pedagogy
• Pursues Academic
• Student-Centered
Excellence
• Embracing Change
• Poses Challenges
• Expecting Risk-taking
• Requires Engagement
• Engaging Technology
• Stirs Passion
• Encompassing Play
• Inspires Wonder
• Creates Community
• Nurtures & Supports

24. Lessons Learned From
My Teaching to Learning Paradigm
Journey

25. Start with a flexible course syllabus that
includes the learning outcomes, but does not
spell out all of the course details, which would
be determined by students.(student-centered
learning- pose challenges, stir passion, increase
motivation)

26. Make the course interdisciplinary, even if the
course subject matter is not, by including
discipline-specific assignments involving a
variety of 21st century literacies- e.g.,
collaboration, critical consumption of
information, digital storytelling, etc.

27. If possible, personalize learning through a
process of inquiry, with students posing their
own questions in the major course assignment.
Have their questions drive the course design.
(inquiry-based learning- to increase motivation)

28. For “reading assignments,” have students
suggest a variety of genres for resources:
primary research articles, talks or movies,
books, popular press articles, and websites.
(textual learning - to develop an understanding
of different perspectives)

29. For assignments, let students choose their own
complex real problems that students can be
passionate about; form diverse teams based on
common purpose or passion; (project-based
learning-allows to produce high quality
products, helps with prioritizing and planning)

30. If possible, look for opportunities for students to
apply what they learn in the course on projects
in the community that provide tangible
outcomes. (service-learning- helps promote
civic responsibility)

31. If possible, focus students on challenges with a
global scope to internationalize mindsets to
improve global and/or cultural awareness.

32. Promote collaboration – within groups, between
groups, between classrooms, with different
universities, with professionals -- to make
learning social and more rewarding.
(collaborative learning; connected learning)

33. Incorporate game principles and badges in the
design of your classes to encourage student
engagement. (gamified learning; competency-based
learning)

34. Provide support systems to help students
master the multidimensional skills required of
them. For example:
– Connect with a reference librarian in your
discipline to help with research and with the
assessment of information credibility;

35. – Connect with career services, local museums,
web portals etc. to learn about relevant
professional development opportunities for your
students and build these opportunities into your
class (models network awareness & participation);

36. – Build into the
curriculum tinkering
workshops or labs,
where students have
opportunities to be
creative, and make
mistakes without
incurring penalties
(encourages risk-taking)

37. – Require students to have the writing center review
written assignments to improve written
communication skills and narrative/storytelling skills;

38. – Conduct a team building workshop at the
beginning of the semester and utilize peer
evaluations at the end of term;
– Give each team five-minute opportunities to
reflect on the group process during the
course of the semester or require status
reports; (improve collaboration skills)

39. – Leverage the diverse features of the learning
management system, email and mobile
technology to support the 3Rs and the 4Cs of your
course anytime/anyplace.(social proximity,
seamless learning, geo-learning)

40. – Use web 2.0 tools and ePortfolios for digital
curation – building annotated collections of
interconnected, multimedia digital artifacts
(digital scholarship; social proximity)

41. – Mentor students; provide frequent feedback that
allows students to see how they are improving,
including peer-to-peer feedback. Teach how to give
and respond to feedback. (helps with risk-taking;
improves communication and collaboration skills)

42. Thank You!