I was given the opportunity to become the director of the McAllaster Scholars Honors Program at Greenville University and gladly took on that challenge. Students in the program were required to complete a two-semester sequence of individual research and writing. For most students, this task was incredibly daunting and many dropped out of the program as a result of feeling overwhelmed. It was not a matter of being able to do the work but rather one of perception and support.
I partnered with the library to develop a training and support resources for students interested in tackling this project but unsure where and how to start.
To help students, I created a resourced called The Honors Thesis Bible which included pertinent administrative details about the thesis, general writing and project management advice, and practical advice and encouragement from former students who had just completed the project. This resource was made available as both a physical copy that students could pick up at the library or at the honors director's office and as a digital resource kept on the program's homepage on our LMS (D2L). I also recorded the first of these trainings and posted a link to the program soundcloud account so that students could listen to what was discussed if they were unable to make the event.
The event itself was split into three parts. The first was a general overview of the requirements for the project which was conducted by the research librarian who also was able to point student to library resources they might not be aware of. Next, I had the students write down two potential thesis ideas on a 3x5 card and discuss with someone near them who was not in their discipline what they were thinking. Afterwards, I had a few students share their ideas and we brainstormed about what their research plan might look like. This allowed students to learn from one another and get an idea of what research might look like. Finally, I went over the thesis bible and pointed out a few key items.
Students found the thesis bible to be a helpful resource and many, not just honors students, asked for a copy. They also said that they were worried about the project before the training but left feeling encouraged and inspired to do good research. Having chaired some of these theses myself, I was able to see students use the resource to help guide them through the research project.
If you would like to take a look at the resource itself, please see the file below.
honors_thesis_bible.pdf | |
File Size: | 231 kb |
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