Over the past decade, the landscape of honors education has changed dramatically to include both innovative and inclusive pedagogies that promise to enhance and enrich a student’s undergraduate experience. Our own Honors College is likewise refreshing our curriculum and programming. What does this mean for students, faculty, and staff at Ball State? How and why might the innovations in the Honors College be relevant to you, your department, and campus-wide student success initiatives? How can you get involved?
We are excited to welcome faculty, staff, and administrators who are new to honors education or simply curious about honors on the BSU campus, as well as seasoned honors educators who wish to engage in renewed conversation about the future of the Honors College on Ball State’s campus and nationwide. The Honors College 2.0 Community of Practice welcomes core Honors College and affiliate faculty, mentors for undergraduate research and creative projects, and collaborative campus partners in another capacity. In addition to peer-to-peer dialogue, the facilitators will curate resources regarding honors teaching, mentoring, and community-building for CoP members. We will also facilitate opportunities for CoP members to devise new honors courses and learning opportunities.
Hosted by the Division of Online and Strategic Learning and facilitated by Drs. Jim Buss and Emily Rutter, this Community of Practice will meet in-person from 12-1pm, in Student Center 301-302, on the following Mondays throughout the Spring 2025 semester: January 13, February 3, February 24, March 17, and April 7. Lunch will be provided by the Honors College.
Themes for these dates will include:
- How Can I Engage with the Honors College at Ball State?: Monday, January 13, 12-1pm, SC301-2
- Who Is Honors?: Monday, February 3, 12-1pm, SC301-2
- High Impact Practices (HIPs) and Developing Honors Offerings: Monday, February 24, 12-1pm, SC301-2
- What Is the Role of Honors at Public Universities, and Why Does the Honors College Matter for Ball State?: Monday, March 17, 12-1pm, SC301-2
- Honors 2.0 and Getting Involved: April 7, 12-1pm, SC301-2
Membership is open to any Ball State faculty, staff, and administrator interested in this topic. Please complete THIS BRIEF FORM to receive a calendar invitation to the gatherings. REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2025.
What’s a Community of Practice (CoP)?
Following a structure outlined by Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Traynor, Communities of Practice have 3 characteristics:
- Domain – the CoP’s identity is defined by a shared domain of interest.
- Community – CoP members engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. While they don’t necessarily work together daily, relationships are built that enable members to learn from each other.
- Practice – CoP members are practitioners developing a shared repertoire of resources.
It is similar to a Faculty Learning Community, but does not “require” the documentation and artifact creation.
Questions? Contact Emily Rutter (errutter@bsu.edu) or Kathleen Jacobi (kjacobi@bsu.edu)