HO 402: INDEPENDENT STUDY
SPRING 2008
INSTRUCTOR:
DR. ERIC DAFFRON,
DIRECTOR OF THE INA E. GORDY HONORS COLLEGE
OFFICE HOURS:
WHITFIELD (241-6850): TR 8-9:30 AND BY APPOINTMENT
E-MAIL:
edaffron@as.muw.edu
WEB SITE:
www.muw.edu/honors
Text: none
PROJECT APPROVAL FORM
Course Content:
The
Independent Study provides a structure for the
completion of the honors project, which is
intended to be a model of excellence for
undergraduate research. In the second semester
of Independent Study, the student, in
cooperation with a committee of three faculty
members, produces a piece of original research
based upon preliminary research and the proposal
written in HO 401. The student presents the
complete project at the Research Symposium.
Learning
Outcomes of the Honors College that this course
will fulfill:
1.
Honors students will
conduct research projects that demonstrate
competency in design, implementation,
development, and documentation while
simultaneously manifesting the sophisticated
knowledge and skills acquired during their
undergraduate careers.
2. Honors
students will exhibit scholarly traits not only
in their academic performance and scholarship
but also in their comradery with other student
and faculty scholars, their leadership roles,
and their mutual social and intellectual
support.
Requirements:
Attendance at scheduled
meetings
Completion of the project
with three drafts
Presentation of the project
at the Research Symposium
Completion of the project
approval form
Method of
Evaluation:
The student
is expected to meet weekly with his or her project
advisor for guidance in analysis, composition, and
research, to meet with the other committee members
as necessary, and to meet at least once during the
semester with the entire committee. The student must
submit all three drafts of the project to all three
members of the project committee and to the Honors
Director on the due dates. The student must submit
all required written assignments to the Honors
Director as e-mail attachments except for the final
draft of the project, which must submitted in hard
copy only. The student should check with the members
of the project committee for the form in which they
would prefer submissions of written work. The
student must also rehearse the oral presentation of
the project and then present it at the Research
Symposium in order to receive credit for the
project. Finally, the student must complete and
submit the project approval form on the due date to
receive credit for the project.
The
student’s grade will be assessed in consultation
between the project advisor and the other committee
members and in consultation between the advisor and
the Director of the Honors College. All parties
will assess the quality of the student’s work as
well as the student’s cooperation in the timely
completion of drafts and attentiveness to the
committee’s suggestions. Each of the written
requirements that the student fails to submit to the
entire committee and to the Honors Director on the
due date will result in a ten-point reduction in the
final grade unless the student’s advisor calls or
writes the Honors Director with a legitimate
explanation and a revised due date. The student
must complete all requirements to receive credit for
the course, including the presentation rehearsal and
the actual presentation at the Research Symposium,
which will be evaluated by the Honors Faculty
Committee.
Schedule
for Completion of the Projects:
January 17:
Orientation at 3:30 PM in the
Honors Office.
February
20:
The first
draft of the project is submitted to the entire
project committee and to the Honors Director.
February
25:
Roundtable
of Scholars at 3:00 in the Honors Office.
March
26:
The second
draft is submitted to the entire project committee
and to the Honors Director.
April 23:
The third and final draft is
submitted to the entire project committee and to
the Honors Director.
April 28:
Students will rehearse their
presentations at a mutually convenient time for
everyone.
May 1:
Research Symposium; the
ten-minute limit on presentations will be strictly
enforced.
May 2:
Students submit completed project
approval forms to the Honors Director.
Note:
February 13 is the last day to drop a course without
a WP or WF; March 12 is the last day to drop a
course. |
