What exactly are the characteristics of honors pedagogy? What are the teaching strategies that are particularly relevant and successful for academically gifted and motivated students? In spite of the substantial body of literature about the practice of honors education, largely referring to the United States, very little systematic and empirical research has been done about honors pedagogy. This study contributes to a better understanding of honors pedagogies, focusing not just on what might distinguish honors teaching and learning from standard expectations and methodologies but also on how honors pedagogy offers both instructors and students an opportunity to fundamentally rethink their philosophy of education. The present study points out the similar and different approaches and dispositions in American and Dutch honors teaching. Cultural differences, distinctive educational systems, and diverse priorities play a role in defining both the shared and unique perspectives on honors education in both countries. Therefore, a baseline comparison is made between American and Dutch honors teachers with respect to their teaching strategies.
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Many honors educators have a need for evidence-based input and tools on how to plan their teaching and their interactions with honors students. At the same time, an increasing amount of research is available on the specific characteristics and needs of honors students and teaching. Connecting this need for professional input with the increasing quantity of research findings, however, remains a challenge. In this note, we provide a roadmap for translating educational research into an accessible product for educators from the start of a research project. We present our project as a case to illustrate the roadmap. In the project, our research results have been translated into an e-module to allow for professionalization among honors educators in higher education.
This brochure is one of the results of the research project Honors in Europe at the Research Centre forTalent Development in Higher Education and Society at Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen inthe Netherlands. It is based on the book Talent Development in European Higher Education – Honors programs in the Benelux, Nordic and German-speaking countries by Marca Wolfensberger, published in openaccess in 2015 at Springer Open. The book can be downloaded freely through www.honorsineurope.com.The brochure was prepared in cooperation with the European Honors Council (www.honorscouncil.eu).
