Good Teaching Practices What Are They ?

Good Teaching Practices: An Intro The Chickering and Gamson summary (1987) Seven Principles of Good Practice (GTPs) The technological revolution The Chickering and Ehrmann update (1996 & 2003)

Seven Principles of Good Practice Encourages contact between students and faculty Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students Encourages active learning Gives prompt feedback Emphasizes time on task Communicates high expectations, and Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

#1: Contact Encourages contact between students and faculty Factor in keeping students motivated and involved Augments face-to-face contact Opportunities: Opportunities: Announcements: What to expect at next class Chat – virtual office hours Virtual Classroom – Hold class online with a whiteboard Email send email to students especially if their grades are slipping Discussion Threads Create threads where students can talk about non- course-related items Use Assignment Content type, and allow students to view their grade Post grades as soon as possible Use the Early warning system to spot possible issues with a students grade Surveys Learn what students know the first day, use to get post-course feedback

Opportunities: Announce upcoming assignments and tests Host office hours with Collaborative Tools (Chat, Virtual Classroom) Set up tasks to remind students of deadlines, Tasks Communicate using Email and Discussion Boards Keep students informed of their progress with the Gradebook and Early Warning System Use surveys to assess learning and prior knowledge

#2: Reciprocity & Cooperation Develops reciprocity & cooperation among students Collaborative/social vs. competitive/isolated Facilitation of group study, discussions, & problem solving Opportunities: Email, Group Work, Collaborative Tools, Discussion Boards, Wikis And Blogs, Surveys Opportunities: Email: Group work: Set groups based on learning styles, change groups if used on more than one assignment Chat: Set rules for netiquette Discussion thread assignments: Expect sustentative responses Wiki and Blog tools: (Learning Objects) Surveys: To get feedback on the group learning experience

Opportunities: Develop group projects using Wiki or Blogs, Have Groups communicate through: Email, Collaborative Tools, Discussion Boards, Wikis and Blogs Use Surveys as a means to provide feedback on the group activity

#3: Active Learning Uses active learning techniques Students can… Talk & write about it Relate it to the past Apply it to the present Opportunities: Opportunities: Simulation: Create Assignments, folders, Learning Units with multiple, sequential (Adaptive Release) tasks i.e. Capstone Project assignments Asynchronous communication: chat and Virtual Classroom, Synchronous: Email and boards Blogs: use as a journal

Opportunities: Use folders and Learning Units with multiple tasks to facilitate Capstone Projects Have students actively discuss lectures, video presentations, or class presentations using Collaborative Tools,(Asynchronous Communication), or Discussion Boards (Synchronous Communication), Use Blogs as a Journaling tool for personal reflection

#4: Prompt Feedback Gives prompt feedback Critical observation Assessment of knowledge & competence Frequent assessment Opportunities: Opportunities: Assignment (content type): When graded, students see their grade Gradebook: Assignments added outside of Blackboard are added to the Gradebook, so that students see a grade as soon as it is graded Early Warning System: Lets instructor and student know that there may be a problem with their grade Statistics Tracking: Allows instructor to see when, (date and time) and how often students are accessing both course and content. Instructors can inform students of poor study habits

Opportunities: Use the Gradebook for feedback (as a grade or score) on assignments and tests Employ Gradebook comments to provide additional, detailed, feedback Add Early Warning tools to communicate to a student if they are in danger of failing Set Statistics Tracking on assignments to determine when and how long students are accessing assignments, Use Turnitin as a tool for understanding proper citation standards Apply the Tasks feature to communicate deadlines

#5: Time on Task Emphasizes time on task Allow proper amount of time to complete tasks Set time limits to complete tasks Opportunities: Opportunities: Adaptive release rules: set restrictions for Learning Units Date restrictions on content

Opportunities: Set time limits on assignments with Adaptive Release Develop Sequential Learning Units so that students complete assignments one task at a time Use Statistics Tracking to determine how long students are accessing Assessments Tracking with Assessments

#6: High Expectations Communicates high expectations A self-fulfilling prophecy; students respond to what is asked of them. Opportunities: Opportunities: Syllabus, discussion boards, chat, or assignments. In all of these areas, set standards for content when posting the assignment. This can include: Length and quality of discussion posts and responses Grammar, usage and spelling expectations Promptness on assignment submissions Course Documents: Post rubrics for projects and papers

Opportunities: Explain course expectations in the Syllabus Set high length, grammar, and usage standards for Discussion Boards, Chat, and Assignments Provide feedback using comments in the Gradebook

#7: Diversity Respects diverse talents and learning styles Different students = different talents & styles Diversity in race, color, religion, income Diversity also relates to the quality of a student’s educational foundation Opportunities: Learning Units, Folders, groups Opportunities: Learning Units & Folders: Create learning opportunities through multiple task assignments encompassing various learning styles (video, audio, multimedia, PowerPoint, essay, external links to the Internet, reflection / journaling, or Podcasts), wikis, blogs, groups Create groups that include different learning styles

Opportunities: Create assignments that offer a variety of learning opportunities through the use of audio, video, reading, etc. House them in multiple –task Assignments, Folders, or Learning Units Have students provide outcomes in multiple formats (PowerPoint, documents, audio Podcasts, Wikis, Blogs) Create groups containing students with varied learning styles

Resources for Further Study Chickering and Gamson. “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.” The American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, March, 1987. http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevC om/guidebk/teachtip/7princip.htm Chickering and Ehrmann. “Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever.” The TLT Group: Teaching, Learning, and Technology. (Originally published in AAHE Bulletin, October, 1996, pp. 3-6). http://www.tltgroup.org/programs/seven.html

Resources for Further Study Chickering & Gamson. “Development and Adaptations of the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 80, Winter 1999. http://www.umflint.edu/resources/centers/tclt/resources/ evaluating_teaching/pdf- bin/Development%20and%20Adaptations%20of%20the%2 0Seven%20Principles%20for%20Good%20Practice%20in%2 0Undergraduate%20Education.pdf