Principles of Good Practice in Education

As instructors, we spend a lot of time trying to understand our students, colleagues, institutions, technology, and ourselves. The seven principles of good practice from a study supported by the American Association of Higher Education, the Education Commission of the States, and The Johnson Foundation are based on research on the way teachers teach, how students learn, how students work and play with one another, and how students and faculty talk to each other. Below is a brief summary of the Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education:

1. Good Practice Encourages Student to Faculty Contact. Student to faculty contact and interaction in and out of class has been identified by the study as the most important factor in student motivation and involvement. 
2. Good Practice Encourages Cooperation Among Students. According to the study, good learning, like good work, is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated. The sharing of ideas and responses to others' reactions improves thinking and deepens understanding.
3. Good Practice Encourages Active Learning. Students need to talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives in order for the knowledge to become part of themselves.
4. Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback. Students need help in assessing their competence, what they have learned, and what they still need to know.
5. Good Practice Emphasizes Time on Task. Students need helping learning effective time management through the assignment and assessment of tasks.
6. Good Practice Communicates High Expectations. Hold your students to high standards so that they will make the extra effort. "Expect more and you will get it."
7. Good Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning. Give students the opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them but also push them to learn in new ways that may not come easily for them.

For more information on this study and examples of how these principles have been applied in actual learning settings visit:  Seven Principles for Good Practice

Information adapted from:
Chickering, A. & Gamson, Z. (1999). Development and adaptations of the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 80(Winter). pp. 75-81.