Readings
The “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education” were created by Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda Gamson. These principles and the suggestions for implementation were distilled from decades of research on learning in higher education. The project received support from the American Association of Higher Education (AAHE), the Association of American Colleges (ACE), and the Johnson and Lilly Foundations. The investigators are leading scholars in faculty and student development who, amongst other things, solicited the ideas of hundreds of faculty members and administrators in North American colleges and universities.
'Seven Principles' was originally published in 1987; it is based on an underlying view of education as active, cooperative, and demanding (Chickering, p. 5). The goals of the authors are first, to identify practices, policies, and conditions that would result in a powerful and enduring undergraduate education, and second, to offer a set of research-based principles that would help sustain debate and action regarding undergraduate learning (Chickering, p. 13).
Good practice in undergraduate education:
1. Encourages contacts between students and faculty.
2. Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students.
3. Uses active learning techniques.
4. Gives prompt feedback.
5. Emphasizes time on task.
6. Communicates high expectations.
7. Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
Here is an excellent summary of the Seven Principles along with examples for their implementation in your own teaching practice.
Whose Responsibility Is It?
Teachers and students hold the main responsibility for improving undergraduate education. But they need a lot of help. College and university leaders, state and federal officials, and accrediting associations have the power to shape an environment that is favorable to good practice in higher education.
What qualities must this environment have?
• A strong sense of shared purposes
• Concrete support from administrators and faculty leaders for those purposes
• Adequate funding appropriate for the purposes
• Policies and procedures consistent with the purposes
• Continuing examination of how well the purposes are being achieved
There is good evidence that such an environment can be created. When this happens, faculty members and administrators must think of themselves as educators. Adequate resources are put into creating opportunities for faculty members, administrators, and students to celebrate and reflect on their shared purposes. Faculty members receive support and release time for appropriate professional development activities. Criteria for hiring and promoting faculty members, administrators, and staff [reflect] the institution's purposes. Advising is considered important. Departments, programs, and classes are small enough to allow faculty members and students to have a sense of community, to experience the value of their contributions, and to confront the consequences of their failures.
States, the federal government, [sponsoring institutions], and accrediting associations affect the kind of environment that can develop on campuses in a variety of ways. The most important is through the allocation of financial support. States [and boards] also influence good practice by encouraging sound planning, setting priorities, mandating standards, and reviewing and approving programs. Regional and professional accrediting associations require self-study and peer review in making their judgments about programs and institutions.
These sources of support and influence can encourage environments for good practice in undergraduate education by:
• Setting policies that are consistent with good practice in undergraduate education
• Holding high expectations for institutional performance
• Keeping bureaucratic regulations to a minimum that is compatible with public accountability
• Allocating adequate funds for new undergraduate programs and the professional development of faculty members, administrators, and staff
• Encouraging employment of under-represented groups among administrators, faculty members, and student service professionals
• Providing the support for programs [and] facilities, [including the] financial aid necessary for good practice in undergraduate education
To order copies of "Inventories of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education," write to The Johnson Foundation, Inc., Processing Center, P.O. Box 17305, Milwaukee, WI 53217.
Bibliography
1. Chickering, Arthur W., and Zelda F. Gamson, "Applying the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education," New Directions for Teaching and Learning Vol. 47 (1991), San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers.
2. Hatfield, Susan Rickey, ed. The Seven Principles in Action. Bolton, Mass.: Anker Publishing Company, Inc.,1995.
3. Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education: Faculty Inventory. Racine, Wisc.: The Johnson Foundation, Inc., 1987. Additonal resources for you include: The participants at the weekend seminar created a list of collaborative ideas. These comments are collated in a document at the bottom of this page. Tuitt's chapter on rethinking pedagogy in diverse classrooms
Saunders and Kardia on creating inclusive classrooms
Anne Aby on teaching diversity in Worthington, Minnesota.
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