Education

About this opportunity

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College actively supports the goals and mission of Barrett, the Honors College, at Arizona State University through its work with students enrolled in any of the college’s undergraduate education programs. 

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College offers a variety of undergraduate programs in both campus-based and remote formats. These include bachelor’s programs that lead to initial teacher certification for elementary and secondary educators, as well as an educational studies program that prepares graduates to work in a variety of learning environments such as community organizations, youth-serving organizations and other institutions where teaching and learning happen.

The mission of the college is to create knowledge, mobilize people and take action to improve education. 

In pursuit of this mission, the college brings people and ideas together to increase the capabilities of individual educators and improve the performance of education systems.

Through its Next Education Workforce initiative, the college is shaping the national conversation about how educators are prepared and how schools operate.

The Honors opportunities available to Barrett students provide meaningful ways of working the intersection of thought and action in education. 

Dr. Juliet Hart Barnett (Juliet.Hart@asu.edu), is the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Faculty Honors Advisor across all campuses and works with students to match Thesis Directors with student topical interests. She also teaches TEL 492 and 493, the thesis courses in the college. Teachers College students can email educationadvising@asu.edu or call 480-965-5555 for assistance in scheduling and advising.

Thesis

Completing an Honors Thesis in Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College
Honors students complete their Honors Thesis/Creative Project under the direction of a Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Faculty Mentor who serves as Thesis Director, assists with the thesis or creative project, and whose professional interests support the student’s thesis topic. Completion of an Honors Thesis/Creative Project in Teachers College reflects the expectations of the Honors College. Honors students are encouraged to work with faculty from other colleges if their areas of expertise support the project.

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College offers a maximum of 6 credits for Honors Thesis/Creative Project work. Students who select a Teachers College faculty member to serve as Thesis Director register for TEL 492 Honors Directed Study during the design and data collection portion of their work, and for TEL 493 Honors Thesis during the semester they complete and defend their work. Prior to enrolling in TEL 492 or 493, all students must complete a thesis/creative project information session. Students may complete this requirement by completing one of the following: One of the Thesis Workshop Sessions periodically offered by Barrett or the on-line workshop offered through Barrett via ASU Canvas.

Completing aspects of honors work within the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College is a valuable, fulfilling experience for both students and faculty. Faculty involved in the growth and mentoring of undergraduate students are rewarded with opportunities to reflect on their own teaching and learning.Similarly, students who systematically examine relevant issues in the field of education are more effectively prepared for future scholarly work and work as a professional. Some students elect to conduct their honors thesis/projects as part of their year-long internship activities. This context offers an available opportunity to study, implement, and evaluate instructional activities with K-12 students.

Barrett Honors Thesis/Creative Project Committee Guidelines
A thesis/creative project is a collaborative effort between the student and the committee. It is essential to set expectations with students very early, to hold regular meetings, and create a timeline with benchmarks for the student’s work. This will enable the student to work more effectively under the chair’s direction, and reveal any potential problems with the project. An honors thesis/creative project should not be worked on independently by the student without collaboration with faculty. By the time the student is scheduled to defend his/her work, the entire committee should be familiar with and supportive of the final product.

Thesis/Creative Project Committee Members
The Honors Advising Office educates students on the importance of understanding the role of their committee and strongly reinforces the responsibility of the student to communicate with each
committee member on a regular basis throughout the process.

Director
The committee consists of a Director, a Second Committee Member, and may include a Third Committee Member. The Director, chosen by the student, is a regularly-appointed member of the ASU faculty with professional expertise in the thesis/creative project area. The Director must be a lecturer or tenure-line faculty member. The Director is the faculty member with whom the student will work most closely throughout the process. The Director is responsible for providing project expectations, guidance throughout the entire thesis/creative project process, and evaluation of the final work. The student should meet regularly with the Director throughout the project. Among the members of a thesis committee, the Director’s recommendations are the most heavily weighted.

Second Committee Member
The Second Committee Member is an individual who the student and Director decide is appropriate to serve based on knowledge and experience with the thesis/creative project topic. The credentials of your Second Committee Member will be determined by the Director and the criteria of the Teachers College. The Second Committee Member could be a regular faculty member at ASU. A Second Committee Member is responsible for assisting you with research as needed, reading/viewing and providing feedback on drafts of the work, and being physically present to participate at the defense. Some Second Committee Members meet almost as regularly with students as the Director; others become involved only at significant points (e.g. a statistician when statistics are being analyzed). Regular in-person meetings, which at times may include the Director, are required to discuss the progress of the thesis/creative project.

Third Committee Member (optional)
If needed, a Third Committee Member will offer insights beyond those offered by the Director and Second Committee Member. Member. Family members, students, or close friends arenot appropriate Third Committee Members. The student and the Director should choose the Third Committee Member no later than six weeks prior to the defense; the Third Committee Member should receive a copy of the thesis/creative project at least 2-3 weeks before the defense. Students may also apply for the Barrett Honors External Examiner Program, which provides funding for an outside expert to act as a third committee member. The application is on the Barrett website and is also included in the Thesis/Creative Project Guidebook. An External Examiner is only eligible for the role of Third Committee Member.

Group Projects
Barrett allows more than one student to work on a thesis/creative project. Group projects are at the discretion of the Thesis Director. Group thesis/creative projects give students valuable experience and enable them to take on larger, more complicated topics. They can collaborate with peers and work with students in other disciplines in order to approach the topic from a variety of viewpoints. Group projects can and should grow out of a variety of student/faculty interactions including—but not limited to—labs, capstone classes, creative work, internships, and faculty research projects that utilize undergraduates. Each student in the group is required to submit an individual prospectus document. The individual roles of each group member should be articulated and a “code of conduct” agreed upon, particularly when the project is interdisciplinary. A detailed prospectus ensures that there is sufficient work for each student.

Academic Preparation

Students will want to begin the process of developing thesis ideas and connecting with potential committee members at least one semester prior to enrolling in TEL 492, the first of the thesis courses. Students wishing to engage in research opportunities related to their thesis topic and in collaboration with faculty members may enroll in TEL 494, an independent study course, under the direction of a MLFTC faculty member. In addition, honors contracts completed in MLFTC courses may also serve as the basis for the later development of the thesis.

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College offers a maximum of 6 credits for Honors Thesis/Creative Project work. Students who select a Teachers College faculty member to serve as Thesis Director register for TEL 492 Honors Directed Study during the design and data collection portion of their work, and for TEL 493 Honors Thesis during the semester they complete and defend their work. Prior to enrolling in TEL 492 or 493, all students must complete a thesis/creative project information session. Students may complete this requirement by completing one of the following: One of the Thesis Workshop Sessions periodically

Recommended Timeline

Honors students are strongly encouraged to focus on an area of interest, identify a Thesis Director, and begin the process of completing their Honors Thesis/Creative Project upon acceptance into the professional program, which is typically at the beginning of the junior year. Projects can be completed during the junior or senior year; however, many students choose to do their projects early so that they can focus on student teaching during the senior-year residency.

Other Honors Opportunities

Enrichment Contracts and Honors Courses in Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College
For students accepted into Barrett, opportunities exist for developing Honors Enrichment Contracts in both lower and upper division courses while completing requirements within Teachers College. As with all honors courses, Enrichment Contracts must be designed and completed under the direction of a regularly appointed full-time faculty member. The following courses are typically offered with honors contracts available each semester: BLE 220, EDT 321, SPE 222, TEL 215, TEL 394, TEL 492, TEL 493, USL 210, USL 216, USL 410. Teachers College students can email educationadvising@asu.edu or call 480-965-5555 for assistance in identifying courses taught by full-time faculty each semester.