High-Impact Educational Practices are a variety of teaching and learning practices that have been "widely tested and have been shown to be beneficial for college students from many backgrounds" (Kuh 9). Significantly, for those of us who teach and work within community colleges, these practices have been demonstrated to have the greatest impact upon students from traditionally underserved backgrounds.
The Ten High-Impact Educational Practices:
- First-Year Seminars and Experiences
- Common Intellectual Experiences
- Learning Communities
- Writing-Intensive Courses
- Collaborative Assignments and Projects
- Undergraduate Research
- Diversity/Global Learning
- Service Learning, Community-Based Learning
- Internships
- Capstone Courses and Projects
According to George Kuh, Chancellor's Professor and Director of Indiana Univerity Center for Postsecondary Research, these educational activities have the greatest impact upon students for the following reasons:
1) They "demand that students devote considerable time and effort to purposeful tasks" (Kuh 14).
2) These activities typically place students into contexts and learning situations that increase their interaction with "faculty and peers about substantive matters . . . over extended periods of time" (Kuh 14).
3) The activities expand opportunities for students to experience greater diversity, whether it is social, cultural, ethnic, or intellectual.
4) The practices typically require that students receive more substantive feedback from peers, faculty, and mentor.
5) Students are provided the opportunity to demonstrate their actual learning. Integrating, synthesizing, and applying knowledge are "essential to deep, meaningful learnng experiences" (Kuh 17).
6) Students gain a broader perspective on the deep connections that run across disciplines, intellectual traditions, and within their own learning.
Further Discussion
Over the next few weeks, I will discuss some of these practices in greater detail. I also invite you to submit brief articles or suggestions on how best to put some of these High-Impact Educational Practices into effect, whether in an online or on-campus class.
If you would like to read the full report published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, you can locate it at http://www.neasc.org/downloads/aacu_high_impact_2008_final.pdf
--Ghazala Hashmi
Professor of English
Work Cited
Kuh, George. High-Impact Educational Practices: What They are and Who has Access to Them. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2008.
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