Best Practices

Seven Principles for Good Practice

Building rapport with students is very important.  One of the main reasons students leave school is the feeling of isolation that they experience.  Chickering & Gamson state that faculty need to demonstrate concern for students so that they feel supported when they are struggling academically. Their research indicates faculty members can serve as role models in regard to career commitment.  Teacher presence in the courses is one of the most important factors for student success.

The second principle for effective teaching involves developing a reciprocity and cooperation among students.  Chickering and Gamson consider that characteristics of good learning are collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated.  Working together improves thinking and understanding.  Research indicates that students felt more prepared to complete their assignments as a result of the interaction with other students (Ryan, Clarton, & Ali, 1999). For online environments, the research specifies that students who had higher levels of contact with other students also had higher grades than the students who had little contact with other online students (Wang & Newlin, 2000).

The 3rd principle involves the use of active learning methods rather than relying on passive methods such as text books and lectures.  Students need to relate the material to their own lives.  They ust be able to talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives.  In other words, students need to make learning a part of themselves.   In the online environment, research indicates that most college teachers recognize the need for learner-centered instructions and faculty rate an active learning approach as one of the most relevant competencies for online instructors (Bigatel, et al., 2012).  Online courses allow a unique opportunity for active learning because students often initiate their own web research on a topic and then share the information in class discussions (Newlin & Wang, 2002).  This is a special feature of online courses because there is so much information available in online libraries and on websites.

By knowing what you know and what you do not know provides a focus to learning.  In order for students to benefit from courses, they need appropriate feedback on their performance.  When starting out, students need help in evaluating their current knowledge and capabilities.  Within the classroom, students need frequent opportunities to perform and receive suggestions for improvement.  Throughout the course, students need chances to reflect on what they have learned, what they still need to know, and how to assess themselves. In the online environment, research indicates the importance of transparent and prompt grading as a highly valued competency among online instructors (Bigatel, et al., 2012). Feedback after the first week of class encourages non-participating students to become more involved in the course.  This is critical for retention (Wang & Newlin, 2000).

Learning needs time and energy.  Efficient time management skills are critical for students.  By allowing realistic amounts of time, effective learning for students and effective teaching for faculty are able to occur. Students become more interested in course assignments when they are able to apply creative methods to complete them (Sansone & Thoman, 2005). You are encouraged to vary types of interaction that your students will have within the course.  However, one thing to note, in creating an interactive environment, it can be overwhelming to the students and teacher if the types of interaction required are too time consuming.  So it is all about balance. And it is of utmost importance that the instructors help students learn good time management techniques.  For example, if you have a course long project you may want to provide a pacing guide for your students to be able to gauge whether or not they are on pace for completing the assignment.  Research indicates that online courses encourage more time to be spent on the learning tasks; therefore online instructors will want to consider this when designing instruction for the online environment (Bachman & Panzarine, 1998).

Expect more and you will get it.  The poorly prepared, those unwilling to exert themselves, and the bright and motivated all need high expectations.  Colleges and universities expect students to meet their high expectations for performance in the classroom, but also expect a personal and professional commitment to values and ethics.  The instructor's expectation level for students becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for those students (Chickering & Gamson, 1987).

There are many different ways to learn and no two people learn the same way.  Students need the opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them.  Then, they can be guided into new ways of learning that are not as easy for them. Instructors should present a range of learning experience in order to accommodate students with different learning styles. Research indicates that most instructors agree that a range of learning opportunities should be offered, but that most instructors still do not incorporate a variety of learning tasks (Smith & Valentine, 2012).

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