Creating Opportunities for Peer Leadership in Honors Education

Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may I remember; involve me and I'll understand --Chinese Proverb INTRODUCTION As honors educators, we are privileged to work with exceptional students who are also some of the most engaged and motivated students on campus. These students often seek opportunities within their honors experience to study abroad, join community service organizations, conduct research, participate in internships, and develop their leadership skills. We are in a unique position to provide leadership opportunities while teaching students about the theory, methods, and processes involved in the decisions they make every day. Providing intentional, rigorous, and intellectually challenging educational opportunities for students to develop leadership skills is arguably a core mission of honors programs and colleges, and the West Virginia University Honors College has developed several models for developing such experiences that other honors educators may find useful. OUR PHILOSOPHY OF HONORS EDUCATION An honors education should provide students with a distinctive academic experience that prepares them for life after their undergraduate career. Students should learn how to think for themselves, not merely reiterate the thoughts of their professors. They must know how to read for understanding of content, how to write a thesis that demonstrates their knowledge, and how to connect the unconnected in a manner that allows them to develop innovative ideas. "The single most important feature of any honors program is its people: the students who learn there and the faculty who teach them. Next would have to come the substance of what they teach and learn together: the curriculum" (Schuman 33). Like the majority of honors colleges and programs, we offer a combination of course categories: (1) honors sections of regular courses, (2) honors add-on sections that accompany regular courses, (3) special topic honors courses, and (4) research courses. Both the courses and the co-curricular activities at the West Virginia University Honors College are designed to encourage students to become independent, creative, and self-motivated learners. Students are challenged to "think beyond the textbook" and are often given real-world tasks that provide them with opportunities to use the professional skills and knowledge they will need in graduate school and/or their careers. We urge honors students to conduct independent research in their field, participate in major-related internships, and study abroad to earn honors academic credit. Additionally, the honors college has a number of peer-led programs designed to provide opportunities for students to develop, refine, and practice their leadership, communication, and critical thinking skills. Students can follow a variety of avenues to become leaders in the honors college, and they have responsibility for the social and academic programming upon which the honors college depends. PEER LEADERSHIP The definition of the term leadership has been discussed and debated for many decades. For our purposes, leadership is defined as "a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal" (Northouse 5). Defined in this manner, leadership is a series of actions that occur between a leader and followers rather than a set of characteristics or traits. "Process implies that a leader affects and is affected by followers. It emphasizes that leadership is not a linear one-way event, but rather an interactive event. When leadership is defined in this way, it becomes available to everyone" (Northouse 5). Innovators in industry, education, and the non-profit sector all search for individuals with leadership skills, and developing such skills is vital to students' undergraduate experience. our honors college especially encourages peer leadership whereby students influence, support, and serve as role models for their peers. …