In their seminal writing, Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson identified seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education based on decades of research.
This page provides resources for faculty to apply these seven principles in all courses regardless of modality. Hopefully, these efforts will increase student motivation/engagement/learning.
What: Community agreements are created as a way to establish a mutual understanding or make a set of expectations for all members of a community to abide by. They can be based on many things, such as how to support each community member and how to make everyone feel included.
Why: A community agreement is a useful teaching tool because it helps create a learning environment where all students feel they belong and are encouraged to participate in ways that support their individual and collective success
Resource: National Equity Project "Developing Community Agreements"
- from "Small Changes in Teaching" by James M. Lang (January 11,2016), The Chronicle of Higher Education.
According to Lang, "The opening five minutes offer us a rich opportunity to capture the attention of students and prepare them for learning." Rather than focusing on administrative tasks such as taking attendance and/or reviewing homework, try the following:
Discussions are a great way to engage students and encourage a shared understanding of course content.
“We had the experience but missed the meaning.”
- T.S Eliot Four Quartets (1943)
"We do not learn from experience . . . we learn from reflecting on experience.”
- John Dewey
What reflection Is:
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Ask questions like:You can ask students to write or discuss in class.
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"The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. The notion of a flipped classroom draws on such concepts as active learning, student engagement, hybrid course design, and course podcasting. The value of a flipped class is in the repurposing of class time into a workshop where students can inquire about lecture content, test their skills in applying knowledge, and interact with one another in hands-on activities" (Educause).
An important element of student-centered, more engaged, learning is collaboration. When students interact and work with each other, they take a more active role in the classroom, which increases the potential to deepen and strengthen learning.
The New Power of Collaboration (TED Talk)
When student feedback is given immediately after showing proof of learning, the student responds and remembers the experience of what is being learned more positively. If we wait too long to give feedback, the student might not connect the feedback with the learning moment.
If we focus our feedback around student effort, we can encourage students to keep working, highlighting they are improving in class and can improve (a growth mindset), which leads to better student outcomes.
It is important to define to students how their grade will be earned. A grade breakdown explains the % value for every category of an assignment. It is also helpful to include a grade scale in your syllabus.
Using the Nest grade book allows students to track their progress and provides grading transparency.
Your grade breakdown should = 100%
Provide opportunities in class for students to engage with their coursework when possible.
It can be worthwhile to engage students on topics around project/time management so they can better manage their workload.
Syllabi are posted in the Nest a week before classes begin. This allows students to get a sense of your class before Day One.
Don't miss this opportunity to use the syllabus as a way to communicate who you are as faculty with tone and style, but also convey what this course is about, including your expectations of learners and pathways to be successful.
Exercise: Write down one line that explains what your syllabus is for. Then ask yourself: Is the purpose of my syllabus aligned with my course goals?
Step 1: Pick your type of knowledge
Types of knowledge are categorized on the knowledge dimension from concrete to abstract. The major categories are factual, conceptual, procedural and metacognitive.
Step 2: Pick your verb
Verbs correspond with different levels of cognitive processing and are categorized from lower order thinking skills to higher order thinking skills. The major categories are to remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.
Step 3: Use the chart to track learning objectives
No more than four learning objectives should be used at a time. Objectives should include both lower level and higher level cognitive processing as well as concrete and abstract knowledge types.
There is an opportunity to move away from a system based on Bloom's Taxonomy and rethink learning objectives from a multicultural lens. A great example is the medicine wheel, which uses a four-domain framework.
According to LaFever (2016) The role of the instructor and that of the learner are inextricably tied to achieving the desired outcomes. Both the instructor and the learner should see their roles and responsibilities in the learning environment reflected in the following conceptualizations of the outcome progression.
More resources are available in our Libguide under:
1. Graphic Design
American Institute of Graphic Arts - Diversity Equity and Inclusion Resources
2. Multi-Disciplinary Resources
De-centering Whiteness in Design History - Links to many books, podcasts, readings, etc.
DRIVE: The surprising truth about what motivates us (0:10:47)
There are two types of motivation:
Intrinsic* - internal factors that motivate like a student's curiosity
Extrinsic** - external factors that motivate like receiving grades
Success = Intrinsic Motivation + Extrinsic Motivation
Malone (1981)
Keller (1988)
Remember: A task in your class may fit into some of the criteria above, however, it may not be obvious to your students. It never hurts to take a moment and explain "why" you are asking students to do something.
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