National Collegiate Honors Council
Honors in Practice Online Archive
Date of this Version
2025
Document Type
Article
Citation
Honors in Practice (2025) 21: 189-203
Abstract
This essay presents a leadership academy in honors, an interdisciplinary offering co-taught by a team of five faculty combining in-course curriculum with travel-based experiential learning. Authors describe the academy’s inception, development, and curricular objectives and outcomes, as well as the experiences of four student cohorts (2021–2024). Focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to community-based problem solving, students (n ≈ 8–14) learn the Social Change Model of Leadership Development framework; engage in self-reflective exercises relating to leadership values and attitudes; partner with a local nonprofit organization; use design thinking methodology to solve a specific organizational challenge; and collaboratively work in teams to find solutions to these problems. Using City as Text® pedagogy, traveling students are invited to be active participants in their learning. Students meet with paired community organizations that share missions similar to those of local partners. In this way, students gain new insights and perspectives on how best to address challenges presented in their immediate environments. Components of the annual academy framework are presented.
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Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, Gifted Education Commons, Higher Education Commons, Liberal Studies Commons
Comments
Copyright 2025, NCHC and the authors. Used by permission