{"id":632,"date":"2020-01-25T14:12:15","date_gmt":"2020-01-25T14:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uniquest.xyz\/?page_id=632"},"modified":"2020-01-28T06:04:32","modified_gmt":"2020-01-28T06:04:32","slug":"high-impact-educational-practices","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/uniquest.xyz\/index.php\/high-impact-educational-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"High Impact Educational practices"},"content":{"rendered":"

High-Impact Educational Practices: A Brief Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Association of American Colleges and Universities<\/a> conducted research that revealed the following:<\/p>\n

The following teaching and learning practices have been widely tested and have been shown to be beneficial for college students from many backgrounds. These practices take many different forms, depending on learner characteristics and on institutional priorities and contexts.<\/p>\n

On many campuses, assessment of student involvement in active learning practices such as these has made it possible to assess the practices\u2019 contribution to students\u2019 cumulative learning. However, on almost all campuses, utilization of active learning practices is unsystematic, to the detriment of student learning. Presented below are brief descriptions of high-impact practices that educational research suggests increase rates of student retention and student engagement. The rest of this publication will explore in more detail why these types of practices are effective, which students have access to them, and, finally, what effect they might have on different cohorts of students.<\/p>\n

First-Year Seminars and Experiences<\/strong><\/a>
\nMany schools now build into the curriculum first-year seminars or other programs that bring small groups of students together with faculty or staff on a regular basis. The highest-quality first-year experiences place a strong emphasis on critical inquiry, frequent writing, information literacy, collaborative learning, and other skills that develop students\u2019 intellectual and practical competencies. First-year seminars can also involve students with cutting-edge questions in scholarship and with faculty members\u2019 own research.<\/p>\n

Common Intellectual Experiences<\/strong><\/a>
\nThe older idea of a \u201ccore\u201d curriculum has evolved into a variety of modern forms, such as a set of required common courses or a vertically organized general education program that includes advanced integrative studies and\/or required participation in a learning community. These programs often combine broad themes\u2014e.g., technology and society, global interdependence\u2014with a variety of curricular and cocurricular options for students.<\/p>\n

Learning Communities\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>
\nThe key goals for learning communities are to encourage integration of learning across courses and to involve students with \u201cbig questions\u201d that matter beyond the classroom. Students take two or more linked courses as a group and work closely with one another and with their professors. Many learning communities explore a common topic and\/or common readings through the lenses of different disciplines. Some deliberately link \u201cliberal arts\u201d and \u201cprofessional courses\u201d; others feature service learning.<\/p>\n

Writing-Intensive Courses\u00a0<\/strong>
\nThese courses emphasize writing at all levels of instruction and across the curriculum, including final-year projects. Students are encouraged to produce and revise various forms of writing for different audiences in different disciplines. The effectiveness of this repeated practice \u201cacross the curriculum\u201d has led to parallel efforts in such areas as quantitative reasoning, oral communication, information literacy, and, on some campuses, ethical inquiry.<\/p>\n

Collaborative Assignments and Projects\u00a0<\/strong>
\nCollaborative learning combines two key goals: learning to work and solve problems in the company of others, and sharpening one\u2019s own understanding by listening seriously to the insights of others, especially those with different backgrounds and life experiences. Approaches range from study groups within a course, to team-based assignments and writing, to cooperative projects and research.<\/p>\n

Undergraduate Research<\/strong><\/a>
\nMany colleges and universities are now providing research experiences for students in all disciplines. Undergraduate research, however, has been most prominently used in science disciplines. With strong support from the National Science Foundation and the research community, scientists are reshaping their courses to connect key concepts and questions with students\u2019 early and active involvement in systematic investigation and research. The goal is to involve students with actively contested questions, empirical observation, cutting-edge technologies, and the sense of excitement that comes from working to answer important questions.<\/p>\n

Diversity\/Global Learning<\/strong>
\nMany colleges and universities now emphasize courses and programs that help students explore cultures, life experiences, and worldviews different from their own. These studies\u2014which may address US diversity, world cultures, or both\u2014often explore \u201cdifficult differences\u201d such as racial, ethnic, and gender inequality, or continuing struggles around the globe for human rights, freedom, and power. Frequently, intercultural studies are augmented by experiential learning in the community and\/or by study abroad.<\/p>\n

ePortfolios<\/strong>
\nePortfolios are the latest addition to AAC&U\u2019s list of high-impact educational practices, and higher education has developed a range of ways to implement them for teaching and learning, programmatic assessment, and career development. ePortfolios enable students to electronically collect their work over time, reflect upon their personal and academic growth, and then share selected items with others, such as professors, advisors, and potential employers. Because collection over time is a key element of the ePortfolio process, employing ePortfolios in collaboration with other high-impact practices provides opportunities for students to make connections between various educational experiences.<\/p>\n

Service Learning, Community-Based Learning\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>
\nIn these programs, field-based \u201cexperiential learning\u201d with community partners is an instructional strategy\u2014and often a required part of the course. The idea is to give students direct experience with issues they are studying in the curriculum and with ongoing efforts to analyze and solve problems in the community. A key element in these programs is the opportunity students have to both apply what they are learning in real-world settings and reflect in a classroom setting on their service experiences. These programs model the idea that giving something back to the community is an important college outcome, and that working with community partners is good preparation for citizenship, work, and life.<\/p>\n

Internships<\/strong><\/a>
\nInternships are another increasingly common form of experiential learning. The idea is to provide students with direct experience in a work setting\u2014usually related to their career interests\u2014and to give them the benefit of supervision and coaching from professionals in the field. If the internship is taken for course credit, students complete a project or paper that is approved by a faculty member.<\/p>\n

Capstone Courses and Projects<\/strong>
\nWhether they\u2019re called \u201csenior capstones\u201d or some other name, these culminating experiences require students nearing the end of their college years to create a project of some sort that integrates and applies what they\u2019ve learned. The project might be a research paper, a performance, a portfolio of \u201cbest work,\u201d or an exhibit of artwork. Capstones are offered both in departmental programs and, increasingly, in general education as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

High-Impact Educational Practices: A Brief Overview The Association of American Colleges and Universities conducted research…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-632","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniquest.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniquest.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniquest.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniquest.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniquest.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/uniquest.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":667,"href":"https:\/\/uniquest.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/632\/revisions\/667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniquest.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}