In this paper, we report on the implementation of a novel compute-to-learn pedagogy, which is based upon the theories of situated cognition and meaningful learning. The "compute-to-learn" pedagogy is designed to simulate an authentic research experience as part of the undergraduate curriculum, including project development, teamwork,…

In spring 2017, Ervin Malakaj (Assistant Professor of German) and Jeffrey L. Littlejohn (Professor of History) led a Difficult Dialogues seminar on #BlackLivesMatter for the Sam Houston State University (SHSU) Honors College. The seminar considered the complex historical, economic, and cultural forces that produced the movement along with the…

Studies in social stratification have used siblings as a tool to learn about the intergenerational transmission of advantage but less often have asked how siblings impact one another's life chances. The author draws on social capital theory and hypothesizes that when youths attend college, they increase the probability that their siblings attend…

The popularity of service learning has grown in recent years, as educators place more value on active and experiential forms of learning. Service learning is learning conducted through service work in a community setting in combination with coursework that frames the service experience with respect to civic engagement and political power. Yet…

In the field of college success and retention, researchers have examined school facilities, grade point averages, SAT scores, high school grades, and student involvement among other variables. One of the additional variables that has been examined is how happiness affects college success. The matter of student happiness is of primary importance to…

First-generation students sometimes lack a support network that values higher education. Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA)--a regional, comprehensive university of approximately 13,000 students, located in East Texas--serves a diverse body of students who are nearly 50% first-generation. These students often face financial constraints and…

This article describes how James Herbert's career transition to working on the Educational EQuality Project for the College Board and the National Endowment for the Humanities confirmed his belief that a liberal education in honors was good preparation for life. He proposes that his work experience may be illuminating to those who are now…

Background/Context: There is broad agreement about the benefits of taking AP and/or IB courses in high school. Nonetheless, student access to such courses remains uneven and inequitable, due largely to the practice of tracking students by perceived "ability." These tracking practices are often defended based on the contention that…

Since Jerry Herron begins his forum essay, "Notes toward an Excellent Marxist-Elitist Honors Admissions Policy," with his anecdotal True Genealogical Confessions, Jeffery Portnoy, writes here that he feels feel obligated to begin in a similar mode. One side of Portnoy's family was in the real estate business in St. Louis, and the other…

When faculty and the community can see the data about student learning and discover what and how students are learning, they experience a transformational moment. Faculty often see critical thinking, for example, as an important goal in honors, but educators need to explain how, where, and when it is taught directly; how students have learned it;…

In this article, Beata Jones attempts to organize the honors discipline into a comprehensive framework that can guide explorations and shed light on specific attributes of honors entities in the framework of their interrelationships. The framework offers an approach to deal with the inherent fragmentation of the field, which can lead to…

Introductory undergraduate science courses are traditionally offered as distinct units without formalized student interaction between classes. To bridge science courses, the authors used three Honors Organic Chemistry projects paired with other science courses. The honors students delivered presentations to mainstream organic course students and…

Both the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the new AP Chemistry curriculum focus on a deeper understanding of content, as well as application of concepts within science classes. A well accepted research-based method for improving student understanding and the ability to apply many of the abstract concepts presented in chemistry is…

There is increasing emphasis on the importance of making Graduate Attributes (GAs) explicit to students as part of their degree programme and the role of students themselves in proactively developing GAs. The aim of the present project was to encourage students to actively develop and reflect upon curricular and extra-curricular attributes at an…

This mixed method research study set out to address the central problem statement of whether the Advanced Placement (AP) program results in higher academic growth and college preparedness than other rigorous course work. To understand and address this problem statement an explanatory sequential mixed method design was used (Creswell & Plano…