By Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson. From The American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, March 1987
Good practice in undergraduate education:
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Encourages contact between students and faculty.
- Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students.
- Encourages active learning.
- Gives prompt feedback.
- Emphasizes time on task.
- Communicates high expectations.
- Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
These seven principles are not like the ‘Ten Commandments’ shrunk to a 20th-century attention span. They are intended as guidelines for faculty members, students, and administrators — with support from state agencies and trustees — to improve teaching and learning. These principles seem like good common sense, and they are — because many teachers and students have experienced them and because research supports them. They rest on 50 years of research on how teachers teach and students learn, how students work and play with one another, and how students and faculty talk to each other.
Seven Principles of Good Practice.
1. Encourages Contact Between Students and Faculty
Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement. Faculty concern helps students get through rough times and keep on working. Knowing a few faculty members enhances students’ intellectual commitment and encourages them to consider their values and plans.
2. Develop reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students
Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort than a solo race. Like good work, good learning is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated. Working with others often increases involvement in learning. Sharing one’s ideas and responding to others’ reactions sharpens thinking and deepens understanding.
3. Encourages Active Learning
Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.
4. Gives Prompt Feedback
Knowing what you know and don’t know focuses on learning. Students need appropriate feedback on performance to benefit from courses. When getting started, students need help in assessing existing knowledge and competence. In classes, students need frequent opportunities to perform and receive suggestions for improvement. At various points during college and in the end, students need chances to reflect on what they have learned, what they still need to know, and how to assess themselves.
5. Emphasizes Time on TaskTime plus energy equals learning.
There is no substitute for time on task. Learning to use one’s time well is critical for students and professionals. Students need help in learning effective time management. Allocating realistic amounts of time means effective student learning and faculty teaching. How an institution defines time expectations for students, faculty, administrators, and other professional staff can establish the basis of high performance for all.
6. Communicates High Expectations
Expect more, and you will get more. High expectations are essential for everyone — the poorly prepared, those unwilling to exert themselves, and the bright and well-motivated. Expecting students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when teachers and institutions hold high expectations for themselves and make extra efforts.
7. Respect Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning
There are many roads to learning. People bring different talents and styles of learning to college. Brilliant students in the seminar room may be all thumbs in the lab or art studio. Students rich in hands-on experience may not do so well with theory. Students need the opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then, they can be pushed to learn in new ways that do not come so quickly.
