Principles of Good Teaching Practice in Undergraduate Education

Probably the best know list of HE principles is from Chickering & Gamson (1987)., a list of 7 principles which are a good, general basis for all instructors and will provide a foundation for all aspects of a course (Chickering & Gamson, 1987):

Based on research on college teaching and learning, 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; and 
(7)	respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

For information about the possibilities of technology to support the seven good practices, refer to Chickering & Ehrmann (n.d.).

Hattie (2011, p.130-142) used research reports from over 800 studies to determine what strategies worked best in supporting student learning. He found three strategies which made the most significant difference:

1. Clear objectives and criteria for SKAs
2. Multiple types of teaching and learning activities,  and assessments aligned to the objectives and criteria
3. Asking for feedback from students and taking action based on the feedback

Answering Unasked Questions

I was working with an instructor once, discussing his assessments, when he realized that he was expecting students to be able to apply information in new cases, but he was not discussing this in classes. According to McCarthy (2000), for students to properly understand and use information, they need to know 4 aspects of the information:

• WHY:
  • “Why is this important to you?”
  • “Why should you learn this?”
  • “Why do experts believe this?”   
  • “Why do we need to do this?”
• WHAT:
  • “What is the definition of … ?”
  • “What do we know about… “”
  • “What can we create from… ?”
  • “What did xxx mean… ?”
• HOW:
  • “How do I use this… ?”
  • “How does this work… ?”
  • “How do we apply this… ?”
• WHAT IF:
  • “What if we change this…”
  • “What if xxx happens?”
  • “What if xxx condition changes?”

Frequently instructors assume students will already understand the ‘why’ and sometimes even the ‘what’ aspects. (The Class Outline worksheet 4.1a includes these questions)

‘Connecting’ to Students

When thinking of connections (Chickering & Gamson’s 1^st item), consider student’s connections –

• to the institute,
• to the instructor,
• to the course material and/or
• to other students

Instructors who help build these connections have better results for their students.

For suggestions on how to use technology to support connections, see Glantz et al. (2021).

Instructor ‘Presence’

Instructor connections to students include the students feeling the you are ‘present’ – working with them. Hargis (2020, pp. 7–8) provides the following recommendations to increase instructor presence:

1. Incorporate videos/audios aligned with learning outcomes;
2. Frequent communication;
3. Checklists to remind and foster self-regulated learning;
4. Low-stakes assignments, especially early in the term to help students acclimate;
5. Provide regular, timely feedback in various forms (individual/group; writing/audio, etc.);
6. Show you care about them; their learning and their success;
7. Encourage/Define collaboration; and
8. Demonstrate flexibility and patience.

(Of these, 3, 4, and 8 are not covered by either Chickering & Gamson or Hattie.)

Online Instructor Presence

Of special note is online instructor presence. This is so important that effective 7/2021, USA DoE regulations stated that distance education courses must “support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor, synchronously or asynchronously” (Distance Education and Innovation: A Rule by the Education Department on 09/02/2020, 2020). The DoE further stated  “We do not consider interaction that is wholly optional or initiated primarily by the student to be regular and substantive interaction between students and instructors.”

According to the K. Patricia Cross Academy ( Meaningful Peer Interaction, 2022), students need to feel a sense of community. Because online learning is frequently both temporally and spatially distant from other students, the university, and the instructors, students often feel isolated. Students who feel socially isolated may lose their motivation to learn (Meaningful Peer Interaction, 2022). In research on 23 online courses, the CCRC (Community College Research Center) found that students in low-interaction online courses typically received a full letter-grade lower scores than students in high-interaction online courses (Jaggars et al., 2013).

To combat this feeling of isolation, you can increase the ‘community’ and feeling of connection in a class by providing social student connections in the class using group and paired activities, peer teaching, group active learning models, etc. For specific exercises using these, see the K. Patricia Cross Academy website. In addition, using both grouped and individual direct communication with the students helps build a connection with each student. The CCRC (Jaggars et al., 2013) recommends that you:

• Participate in the discussion boards, providing examples, responding to questions, and correcting or confirming student posts.
• Use live chat sessions where students can type questions and comments and you answer using a microphone.
• Try to provide lab experiences, field trips, etc. that are either virtual or completed by the student at home.

In addition, you can contact directly with individual students to discuss how they are progressing with the content, assignments, and assignment feedback, how they feel they are doing in general, any issues they are having with content, approach, technology, or format, etc. You can contact them by email or chat, but videoconferencing with them individually will help set a personal connection and sense of caring. You can also audio or video record your feedback on their assignments.

Research also shows that asynchronous students need good time management skills, so sending reminders about due dates, where they should be with the content, etc. is also recommended. If your institution offers time management support for students, consider mentioning this several times, as well as including it in the syllabus. Perhaps you could add suggestions at the end of each video lecture.

They also need a solid understanding of how to use the LMS and any other software/hardware you require. For each feature of your LMS or other software that you will expect them to use, tell them who they can contact for technical and use support.

Online Good Teaching Principles

To support you in developing and offering good learning experiences online, you can review various good practice rubrics. The two most notable are the OLC Quality Scorecard and Quality Matters.

The OLC Quality Scorecard (n.d.) provides measures in the following areas:

1. Course Overview and Information
2. Course Technology and Tools
3. Design and Layout
4. Content and Activities
5. Interaction
6. Assessment and Feedback

Quality Matters (n.d.) provides measures in the following areas:

1. Course Overview and Introduction
2. Learning Objectives (Competencies)
3. Assessment and Measurement
4. Instructional Materials
5. Learning Activities and Learner Interaction
6. Course Technology
7. Learner Support
8. Accessibility and Usability

Using these rubrics will help instructors follow basic online course principles. Both are available free online.

Outside the Classroom

Many of the teaching principles above require additional out-of-class work, such as:

• Providing timely and effective feedback.
• Encourages contacts between students and faculty – office hours (some research indicates ‘Drop-by’ may encourage more students).
• Initiate interaction with students to ensure they have a sense of  connection.

IDI & Good Teaching Principles

The following describe actions you can take to use concepts from Good Teaching Principles in the IDI model:

Step 1. Where are You Starting?

1.2 Identify Student Learning Characteristics

1. Ensure that your expectations are aligned with both student characteristics (not expecting too much or too little) and learning outcomes (Respects diverse talents and ways of learning Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
2. Consider what active learning techniques will support your learners based on their characteristics (Uses active learning techniques & Respects diverse talents and ways of learning – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
3. Based on the learner characteristics, identify how to encourage cooperative learning (Respects diverse talents and ways of learning – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
4. Based on student level and major, consider which unasked questions you need to include.

Step 2. Where are You Going?

2.1 Write Learning Outcomes & Objectives

1. Review the course and program goals to ensure that you clearly understand what you need to include in your course (Communicate Clear Criterion – Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Communicate Clear Criterion – Hattie, 2011).
2. Review your outcomes for which will require active learning and which can benefit from active learning (Uses active learning techniques – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
3. As part of your syllabus, include information on how students can contact you (Encourages contacts – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
4. Consider adding information about a class discussion group for students to post questions so you and other students can provide answers to everyone (Encourages contacts & Develops reciprocity and cooperation – Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Use Multiple Teaching Strategies – Hattie, 2011).

2.2 Finalize Learning Model

1. Consider setting ‘class rules for interaction’  (Develops reciprocity and cooperation – Chickering & Gamson, 1987) & Seek Feedback – Hattie, 2011).
2. Based on the learning structure selected, develop a list of methods to encourage interaction with students, such as online discussion forums which you manage (rather than for specific groups of students), in-class chats for students to ask questions, video meetings between class sessions, etc. (Develops reciprocity and cooperation & Uses active learning techniques – Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Use Multiple Teaching Strategies – Hattie, 2011).
3. Determine what group or paired activities can be supported by selected model (Develops reciprocity and cooperation & Uses active learning techniques – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
4. Identify how you can best use the tools and technologies, including LMS layout, room layout, furniture, and equipment to encourage active learning (such as think-pair-share, small group work, in-class chats, etc.) (Uses active learning techniques & Respects diverse talents and ways of learning – Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Use Multiple Teaching Strategies – Hattie, 2011).
5. If using self-regulated learning or learning contracts, provide checklists and regular check-in dates (Checklists to remind and foster self-regulated learning – Hargis, 2020).

Online courses

1. Consider using either the Quality Matters or OLC Quality Scorecard
2. Check to see if your organization has LMS templates
3. Seek help from instructional designers and educational technologists

Step 3. How Will You Know If You Get There?

3.1 Develop Assessments & Rubrics

1. On each assignment, provide guidelines for success, such as the grading rubric and checklists (Emphasizes time on task & Communicates high expectations – Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Communicate Clear Criterion – Hattie, 2011 & Checklists to remind and foster self-regulated learning – Hargis, 2020).
2. Consider what active learning assessments (summative and/or formative) you can use to encourage learning for each learning outcome (Uses active learning techniques  – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
3. Use low-stakes assessments often to help students acclimate to college and your style (Low-stakes assignments – Hargis, 2020).
4. Ensure that each activity is on-task and targeted at a learning outcome.
5. Consider adding contact information to the feedback for every assessment to remind students how they can get further support (Encourages contacts – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
6. Develop feedback for common mistakes and success for every assignment/assessment (Gives prompt feedback & Communicates high expectations – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
7. Use Hattie’s feedback model to provide effective feedback (see Chapter C10).
8. Add all rubrics and assessment and assignment information to your syllabus (Emphasizes time on task – Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Communicate Clear Criterion – Hattie, 2011).

3.2 Develop Instruments to Evaluate the Course

1. Identify several methods for obtaining feedback from students on the course and your teaching. See Chapter C12: Improving the Course & Your Teaching for suggestions.
2. On the instructor’s schedule, add specific dates and activities to get course and teaching feedback (Seek Feedback  – Hattie, 2011).

Step 4. How Will You Get There?

4.1 Develop & Teach Course

1. Consider having a lesson about how to learn (Evidence of ‘thinking about thinking’ & Deeper level study skills – Hattie, 2011)
2. Identify appropriate statements for correcting student errors during discussions (Communicates high expectations – Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Communicate Clear Criterion  – Hattie, 2011).
3. Consider using an in-class chat (back-channel) to allow students to anonymously ask questions just-in-time (Encourages contacts – Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Use Multiple Teaching Strategies – Hattie, 2011).
   • If you have a TA, ask the TA to keep an eye on the chat and either answer questions via chat or ask you to stop and answer questions.
   • If you do not have a TA, ask students on a rotating basis to monitor and manage the chat.
   • Encourage all students to review and answer chat questions but review all chats after class.
4. Provide group or paired activity time (Develops reciprocity and cooperation – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
5. Review active & transformative learning techniques to determine which can be incorporated to improve time-on-task learning (Uses active learning techniques & Emphasizes time on task – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
6. Provide diverse types of projects, assignments, and presentations. This is particularly applicable to asynchronous courses. (Uses active learning techniques & Respects diverse talents and ways of learning – Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Use Multiple Teaching Strategies – Hattie, 2011 & Demonstrate flexibility and patience – Hargis, 2020).
7. Put the pertinent learning objectives at the top of the outline to ensure you stay focused (Communicates high expectations – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
8. When developing class outlines, add a timeframe to each activity to ensure you have enough class-time for all activities (Emphasizes time on task – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
9. When developing slides/handouts, add learning objectives and any activity instructions, expectations, etc.
10. Provide slide handouts and use visual and verbal information on slides and handouts (Respects diverse talents and ways of learning – Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Use Multiple Teaching Strategies & Provide the instructors notes – Hattie, 2011).
11. Ensure that all activities are focused on learning objectives by mapping activities to objectives.
12. Model problem solving and testing for correct resolution of problems (Communicate Clear Criterion – Hattie, 2011).
13. Respect diverse talents and ways of learning – Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Use Multiple Teaching Strategies – Hattie, 2011.
    • Provide a variety of activities and methods
    • Develop and post a set of ‘class rules for interaction’
    • Listen carefully to students to ensure they are respecting each other and take action when you think a student might be upset
    • Use Hattie’s feedback model when student answers are incorrect
    • For online and asynchronous courses, identify methods for providing flexibility
14. Encourages contacts – Chickering & Gamson, 1987.
    • Provide plenty of time for in-class discussion and q&a
    • Provide in-class feedback during discussions
    • Ask students to explain how they reached their conclusions
15. Provide group or paired activity time (Develops reciprocity and cooperation – Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
16. During discussions, ask students questions about how they arrived at their answers, provide feedback on their approach, and model accurate approaches (Gives prompt feedback –  Chickering & Gamson, 1987 & Provide Feedback – Hattie, 2011, p.137).
17. Whenever with a student, minimize your frustration and practice patience (Demonstrate flexibility and patience – Hargis, 2020).
18. Regularly communicate with every student. This is particularly applicable to asynchronous courses (Distance Education and Innovation: A Rule by the Education Department on 09/02/2020, 2020).

4.2 Assess Students

1. Gives prompt feedback (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) & Provide Feedback – Hattie, 2011, p.137).
   • Tell students when you will have completed reviewing their assessments.
   • Give complete feedback using the Feed Forward, Feed Back, and Feed Up model.
   • Review student progress to determine if you need changes in your content and/or methods (Seek Feedback – Hattie, 2011).

Step 5. How Did It Go?

5.1 Evaluate Course Success

1. Review all forms of feedback you received from students, other instructors, and others (Seek Feedback – Hattie, 2011, p.137) (C12, B2, C10).

Note additional possible actions in ‘Outside the classroom’ above.

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References

Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S. C. (n.d.). Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. 7.

Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. AAHE Bulletin. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED282491

Distance Education and Innovation: A Rule by the Education Department on 09/02/2020. (2020, September 2). Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/02/2020-18636/distance-education-and-innovation

Glantz, E., Gamrat, C., Lenze, L., & Bardzell, J. (2021). Improved Student Engagement in Higher Education’s Next Normal. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2021/3/improved-student-engagement-in-higher-educations-next-normal

Hargis, J. (2020, March). Rapid Course Conversion into Online. Google Docs. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y2_k1tBM5q07WLVwzCRTZsUe_9K_Tls7E3dwCBvwFOI/edit?usp=sharing&usp=embed_facebook

Hattie, J. (2011). Which strategies best enhance teaching and learning in higher education? In Empirical research in teaching and learning: Contributions from social psychology. (pp. 130–142). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444395341.ch8

Jaggars, S. S., Edgecombe, N., & Stacey, G. W. (2013). Creating an Effective Online Instructor Presence. Teachers College, Columbia University, 8.

McCarthy, B. (2000). 4Mat About Teaching; Format in the Classroom. About Learning Inc.

Meaningful Peer Interaction: Combatting Isolation in Online Courses. (2022, August 22). The K. Patricia Cross Academy. https://kpcrossacademy.org/combatting-isolation-in-online-courses/

Online Learning Consortium. (n.d.). OLC Quality Scorecard—Improve the Quality of Online Learning & Teaching. OLC. Retrieved July 7, 2020, from https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/consult/olc-quality-scorecard-suite/

Quality Matters. (n.d.). Higher Ed Course Design Rubric. Quality Matters. Retrieved July 7, 2020, from https://www.qualitymatters.org/qa-resources/rubric-standards/higher-ed-rubric

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