Category: Honors Courses

Honors Tutorial Spotlight: Shannon Fernandez-Denmark and Samantha Courtney

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Shannon Fernandez-Denmark and Samantha Courtney beginning their PowerPoint presentation for eighty enthralled fourth-graders at Cimino Elementary

An Honors Tutorial can go just as far as a student’s imagination, passion, and ingenuity can take it. This allows for Honors students to develop creative opportunities for themselves with the help of willing professors, which is exactly what Honors students Shannon Fernandez Denmark and Samantha Courtney did alongside Dr. Ann Williams, Professor in the Biology Department. Rather than simply internalizing course material and vocabulary pertaining to the Microbiology course, they wanted to take it a step further; they wanted to teach a course to eighty fourth-graders at Cimino Elementary. What could be better proof of proficiency than being able to translate the content in a fun and exciting way to young children?  On November 15th, Fernandez-Denmark and Courtney saw the actualization of their project with an hour-long “Microbiology: Food and You” presentation. They received an extremely positive response from not only their advising professor, but also the students and teachers at Cimino Elementary. These two students stand as one more example of the dedication and creativity of many of the students in the Honors program.

Honors Tutorial Spotlight: Gabrielle Cohen

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A showcase of the intricate and fascinating ceramics of Gabrielle Cohen.

Honors tutorials provide the opportunity for students to not only create their own unique Honors experiences but also explore individualized avenues within their disciplines. Gabrielle Cohen took the opportunity of a tutorial to heart, working alongside Jack King, Professor in the Art and Design Department, to craft herself the opportunity to dive deep into the world of ceramic sculpting. The results were, according to Professor King, inspiring. Cohen created a series of masterworks, revealing a keen focus on the interaction between positive and negative space, as well as the best possible glaze to complement her original formations.  Dr. Jack King had only great things to say about his student’s accomplishments:


In every aspect of her project, I have been extremely pleased with Gabrielle’s work and remain most confident she will prove to be one of the better artist’s we will have graduated from the University of Tampa. It has truly been an honor to have worked closely with her this semester.

With her newfound knowledge, Cohen plans to complete a larger, more detailed project of the same kind, continuing the pursuit of an increasingly skilled craft. 

Honors Courses – Pathways on the Riverwalk

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Dr. Jen Wortham and Dr. Abe Miller took their pathways students on a walk through Tampa using the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk is a great way to explore downtown Tampa while simultaneously enjoying scenic views of the Hillsborough River and The University of Tampa. Pathways courses help UT students adjust to Tampa and give them a number of engaging opportunities to learn.

Honors Courses – Honors Tutorials

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Dr. Jen Wortham in UT’s Department of Health Science and Human Performance recently oversaw a tutorial in her HSC 231 course with Julia Sengbusch. To help other students become familiar with tutorials and with inquiry projects in general, Dr. Wortham highlighted Julia’s tutorial on a bulletin board outside her office on the 2nd floor of the Health Science and Human Performance building.

Honors Activities – Leadership Challenge Course in HON 102

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Dr. Jen Wortham had her HON 102 students participate in the Leadership Challenge Course. The Leadership Challenge Course provides students with opportunities to work together to try to overcome challenging obstacles. Dr. Wortham includes some snapshots of what the students learned using the GroupMe app. Some of the comments from students:

I learned that groups work better when we can communicate well. – Laura Montgomery

 

I learned to always listen to others’ ideas and try them even if you don’t think it will work. – Maddy Lucas

 

I learned that you need to look at things from multiple perspectives to solve problems. – Lauren Koelln

 

It’s easier to balance everything by working together. – Emily Brooks

 

It’s important not to give up when a plan isn’t working but to be creative in finding a better solution. – Caroline Vocatura

 

Sometimes you have to step back and make a game plan before attempting to solve a problem. – Allyson Hicks

 

It’s not always necessary to have a designated leader in a group. – Madeleine Matolak

Honors Courses – BIOH124

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BIOH124 is a non-majors Honors Biology course that is being taught as an intro to human genetics. The professor, Dr. Sarah Cuccinello, developed a karyotyping activity that is unique to the Honors version of the course. The photos above show the students engaged in this activity. There are also some pictures of them using micropipettes for the first time. The micropipette practice is preparation for some genetics experiments they will be conducting in a couple of weeks.

Conferences – Florida Communication Convention

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Dr. Kristen Foltz and Dr. Chris Gurrie took 13 students from their Honors Speech courses to the Florida Communication Convention this past weekend. Of the four awards given at this conference, UT Honors students received two of them: runner-up for the best work/poster overall and the best oral presentation.