Helping students learn so that they may become productive, creative, ethical, and engaged citizens.
Seven Principles for Good Practice
in Undergraduate Education
The University of Central Oklahoma is incorporating the Seven Principles
for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education in the assessment of
educational programs. The principles were developed in corporation with
the American Association for Higher Education, the Education
Commission of the States, and The Johnson Foundation. Arthur W.
Chickering, Zelda F. Gamson, and Louis M. Barsi developed the Faculty
Inventory based on the Seven Principles.
Following is a brief summary of the Seven Principles for Good Practice in
Undergraduate Education.
1. Good Practice Encourages Student-Faculty Contact
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 well enhances students’ intellectual commitment and
encourages them to think about their own values and future
plans.
2. Good Practice Encourages Cooperation Among Students
Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort than a solo race.
Good learning, like good work is collaborative and social, not competitive
and isolated. Working with others often increases involvement in learning.
Sharing one’s own ideas and responding to others’ reaction improves
thinking and deepens understanding.
3. Good Practice Encourages Active Learning
Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just sitting
in
classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and
spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, writing
about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They
must make what they learn part of themselves.
4. Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback
Knowing what you know and don’t know focuses learning. Students need
appropriate feedback on performance to benefit from courses. In 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 at the end, students need chances to reflect on what they have
learned, what they still need to know, and how to assess themselves.
5. Good Practice Emphasizes Time on Task
Time 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
alike. Students need help in learning effective time management. Allocating
realistic amounts of time means effective learning for students and effective
teaching for faculty. How an institution defines time expectations for
students, faculty, administrators, and other professional staff can establish
the basis for high performance for all.
6. Good Practice Communicates High Expectations
Expect more and you will get it. High expectations are important for
everyone – for the poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert
themselves, and for 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 effort.
7. Good Practice Respects 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
learning in new ways that do not come so easily.
May 01, 2006