Music 1A Honors Credit
If you are part of the
Honors Program at De Anza College, you may be able to take Music 1A for honors credit.
Students taking Music 1A for honors credit will, for the most part, complete the same course work completed by all students enrolled in the class. The primary difference is that honors students will additionally complete an "honors project."
There is some flexibility concerning the precise nature of a Music 1A honors project. In general I expect the honors project to
- demonstrate significant commitment, engagement, and learning beyond that of the "regular" Music 1A student.
- demonstrate self-direction, organization, and motivation.
- be a collaborative project done with other students enrolled for honors credit.
- focus on a subject that is significantly different than those that are the subject of the regular class.
- demonstrate increased knowledge and understanding of the role of music in the local community, broadly defined.
- be a long-term effort, with work done throughout the term - e.g., no last minute honors projects.
- result in an interesting and informative presentation to the rest of the Music 1A class.
Honors students must arrange to meet with me by the end of the first week of the term to discuss the general nature of the project and their specific ideas. A schedule for the term will be similar to the following. (Some minor deviations from this plan are expected, but the overall process should be as described here.)
- Week 1: Students initiate a meeting with me to discuss their honors project. Collaborative working groups are established.
- Week 2: Students meet with one another to determine the focus for their proposed project.
- Week 3: Honors students initiate a meeting with me to discuss their specific project proposal. I either approve it as proposed, or suggest alternatives - in which case they must be finalized no later than the start of week 4.
- Week 4: If not already completed, students provide me with a one-page written outline of the details of the project. Note: If the nature and details of the proposed project have not been finalized by this point, prospective honors students may be transferred from the honors class section to one of the regular sections - in other words I may make a decision to not go forward on the honors credit track.
- Weeks 4-9: Groups complete the work of the project.
- Week 9: Students initiate a meeting with me to report on their completed projects and to make final plans for their class presenation.
- Weeks 10-11: Projects are presented to Music 1A classes.
Honors project guidelines are somewhat flexible, and may be changed during the term.
It is important for honors students to understand that honors credit is not automatically granted for work that does not meet my standard for honors credit. For example, work done at the last minute will generally not warrant honors credit nor will projects that do not demonstrate honors credit-worthy engagement and work.