Honors First Year Seminar - INTD 1784

The Honors First Year Seminars, INTD 1784, are one credit first-year experience classes designed specifically for Honors students. They offer incoming students a small class experience and are led by faculty members known as Faculty Fellows, and co-facilitators known as Honors Facilitators, two or three specially trained sophomore Honors students. These courses offer first year students the opportunity to get to know a faculty member and explore an interesting topic very early in their undergraduate careers. It is also an introduction to an Honors education, providing students with a learning environment comprised of critical thinking, problem solving, and in-depth discussions. An important component of the class is the role played by the Honors Facilitators, which gives students the opportunity to learn from upper-class Honors peers and successfully transition to campus. Honors Facilitators lead the class in team builders, orient students to the programs and services available at UConn, and answer the typical questions and concerns of first year students.

There are a few differences between INTD 1784 and other first year seminars, namely INTD 1800, INTD 1810, and INTD 1820. INTD 1800 is a general first year seminar that helps students transition to college through class topics such as time management, academic preparedness, and getting involved on campus. INTD 1810 classes are tied to a learning community. INTD 1820 is a topical interest based class led by faculty and staff; these can also be tied to learning communities. These classes may focus on things such as family heritage, cooking, the environment, or nineteenth century dances. INTD 1784 is essentially both INTD 1800 and INTD 1820 combined into one class. It offers Honors students a modified first year transition curriculum more suited to them, the benefits of community-building and transitioning to campus with peer help, and the opportunity to get to know a faculty member and explore an interesting topic for the joy of learning.

The INTD 1784 class is scheduled for two 50 minute class periods a week. Classes are typically either Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday. The Facilitators and students attend both days, but the faculty member only attends the day he or she is scheduled to teach. The amount of Honors credits Honors students need to accrue to earn the Sophomore Honors Certificate is reduced if they have successfully completed INTD 1784, so there is a built-in advantage for students to take the course even though they receive only one credit for being in class two hours a week.

INTD 1784 is one of the most important ways in which we build community in the Honors Program. We regard the class as a critical part of the Honors experience, which is why the class is highly, highly, highly recommended for all first year students.

Information about Becoming a Facilitator - coming spring 2010

Each INTD 1784 section is assigned two or three trained Honors student “Facilitators.” These students have enrolled in a class the previous spring that teaches them about college student development, gifted student development, leadership, and facilitating classes. The top students in the class are then selected to become Facilitators for INTD 1784. These students are given a great deal of responsibility as they are expected to create a syllabus for the “second day” of INTD 1784. The Honors Program gives the Facilitators  required elements that they must cover, but it is their responsibility to get to know their students and their faculty mentor and to create the remaining content of the class. They are in charge of the course content dealing with transition to campus, orientation to the Honors Program, and community building. They attend both days of INTD 1784, and can also be helpful to the faculty mentor as small group leaders in the class. Their primary role is resource and guide for the first year Honors students. They DO NOT enroll in INTD 1784, nor do they complete assignments for that class. Instead, they enroll in a practicum class (INTD 3995) taught by Honors staff members who supervise and evaluate their performance. They will receive a grade based on their completion of readings and assignments in INTD 3995. This peer leadership model has been highly successful for the Honors Program. It allows first year students a peer-only venue to talk about issues and concerns. It also gives very valuable leadership, mentoring, and presentation experience to the students who are Facilitators.

INTD 1784(198) Course Descriptions:

Fall 2009
Fall 2008
Fall 2007
Fall 2006
Fall 2005
Fall 2004