George D. Kuh 16 th ISL Symposium Durham, England September 2, 2008 High Impact Activities What They Are, What They Are, Why They Work, Who Benefits

Javier Javier Sarah Sarah Nicole Nicole

We all want the same thing--an undergraduate experience that results in high levels of learning and personal development for all students.

Student Success in College Academic achievement, engagement in educationally purposeful activities, satisfaction, acquisition of desired knowledge, skills and competencies, persistence, attainment of educational objectives, and post-college performance

Overview The U.S. context What the world needs now Student engagement High impact practices: what they are, why they matter and who benefits

Advance Organizers To what extent do your students engage in productive learning activities, inside and outside the classroom? To what extent do your students engage in productive learning activities, inside and outside the classroom? How do you know? How do you know? What could we do differently -- or better -- to enhance student success? What could we do differently -- or better -- to enhance student success?

The U.S. Context Unprecedented numbers of increasingly diverse students matriculating Unprecedented numbers of increasingly diverse students matriculating Many underprepared students Many underprepared students Rising college costs Rising college costs Continuing shift of cost from states to students Continuing shift of cost from states to students Increasing numbers of part-time instructors Increasing numbers of part-time instructors Worries about collegiate quality, global competitiveness Worries about collegiate quality, global competitiveness

The U.S. Context National Commission on Future of Higher Education National Commission on Future of Higher Education Voluntary System of Accountability Voluntary System of Accountability (NASULGC & AASCU)

Voluntary System of Accountability College Portrait Consumer information Consumer information Student experiences and perceptions Student experiences and perceptions Student learning outcomes Student learning outcomes

Transparency Improvement Accountability Assessment Purposes Assessment Purposes

Association of American Colleges and Universities

Narrow Learning is Not Enough The Essential Learning Outcomes Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical & Natural World Intellectual and Practical Skills Intellectual and Practical Skills Personal and Social Responsibility Personal and Social Responsibility Deep/Integrative Learning Deep/Integrative Learning

Most Important Skills Employers Look For In New Hires Teamwork skills Critical thinking/ reasoning Oral/written communication Ability to assemble/ organize information Innovative/thinking creatively Able to work with numbers/statistics Foreign language proficiency Recent Grads* 38% 37% 10% 21% 4% 6% * Skills/abilities recent graduates think are the two most important to employers

Employers On Accountability Challenge – December 2007 – Hart Research for Supervised internship/community-based project Supervised internship/community-based project 83% 79% 60% 56% 32% Senior project (e.g., thesis, project) Senior project (e.g., thesis, project) Essay tests Electronic portfolio & faculty assessments Electronic portfolio & faculty assessments Multiple-choice tests Multiple-choice tests Evidence of College Graduates Skills/Knowledge Very effective Fairly effective

What Really Matters in College: Student Engagement Because individual effort and involvement are the critical determinants of college impact, institutions should focus on the ways they can shape their academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular offerings to encourage student engagement. Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005, p. 602

Foundations of Student Engagement Time on task (Tyler, 1930s) Quality of effort (Pace, s) Student involvement (Astin, 1984) Social, academic integration (Tinto,1987, 1993) Good practices in undergraduate education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) College impact (Pascarella, 1985) Student engagement (Kuh, 1991, 2005)

Student Engagement Trinity What students do -- time and energy devoted to educationally purposeful activities What students do -- time and energy devoted to educationally purposeful activities What institutions do -- using effective educational practices to induce students to do the right things What institutions do -- using effective educational practices to induce students to do the right things Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward the right activities Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward the right activities

Good Practices in Undergraduate Education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) Student-faculty contact Student-faculty contact Active learning Active learning Prompt feedback Prompt feedback Time on task Time on task High expectations High expectations Respect for diverse learning styles Respect for diverse learning styles Cooperation among students Cooperation among students

National Survey of Student Engagement Community College Survey of Student Engagement National Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced nessie) Community College Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced cessie) College student surveys that assess the extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development

NSSE Project Scope 2,000,000+ students from 1,334 different schools 2,000,000+ students from 1,334 different schools 80+% of 4-yr U.S. undergraduate FTE 80+% of 4-yr U.S. undergraduate FTE 50 states, Puerto Rico 50 states, Puerto Rico 59 Canadian IHEs 59 Canadian IHEs 100+ consortia 100+ consortia

NSSE Use Over Time

AUSSIE Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) is administered by ACER. It is intended to yield generalisable information about university education sensitive to institutional diversity that will allow institutions to monitor and enhance the quality of education.

NSSE Questionnaire Student Behaviors Institutional Actions & Requirements Reactions to College Student Background Information Student Learning & Development

Effective Educational Practices Level of Academic Challenge Active & Collaborative Learning Enriching Educational Experiences SupportiveCampusEnvironment Student- Faculty Interaction

Key findings

Grades, persistence, student satisfaction, and engagement go hand in hand

Student engagement varies more within than between institutions.

Its more complicated than this… Many of the effects of college are conditional Many of the effects of college are conditional Some are compensatory Some are compensatory

Narrow Learning is Not Enough The Essential Learning Outcomes Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical & Natural World Intellectual and Practical Skills Intellectual and Practical Skills Personal and Social Responsibility Personal and Social Responsibility Deep/Integrative Learning Deep/Integrative Learning

Attend to the underlying meaning of information as well as content Attend to the underlying meaning of information as well as content Integrate and synthesize different ideas, sources of information Integrate and synthesize different ideas, sources of information Discern patterns in evidence or phenomena Discern patterns in evidence or phenomena Apply knowledge in different situations Apply knowledge in different situations View issues from multiple perspectives View issues from multiple perspectives

Deep learning is learning that takes root in our apparatus of understanding, in the embedded meanings that define us and that we use to define the world.Deep learning is learning that takes root in our apparatus of understanding, in the embedded meanings that define us and that we use to define the world. J. Tagg (2003). The learning paradigm college (p. 70). Bolton, MA: Anker

Integrating ideas or information from various sources Included diverse perspectives in class discussions/writing Put together ideas from different courses Discussed ideas with faculty members outside of class Discussed ideas with others outside of class Analyzing the basic elements of an idea, experience, or theory Essential Learning Outcome: NSSE Deep/Integrative Learning Synthesizing & organizing ideas, info., or experiences Making judgments about the value of information Applying theories to practical problems or in new situations Examined the strengths and weaknesses of your own views Tried to better understand someone else's views Learned something that changed how you understand an issue

National Survey of Student Engagement Writing and Deep Learning Number of Pages Written Average Deep Learning Seniors First-Year Students

National Survey of Student Engagement Feedback and Deep Learning NeverSometimesOftenVery often Frequency of Prompt Feedback from Faculty Average Deep Learning Seniors First-Year Students

High Impact Activities First-Year Seminars and Experiences First-Year Seminars and Experiences Common Intellectual Experiences Common Intellectual Experiences Learning Communities Learning Communities Writing-Intensive Courses Writing-Intensive Courses Collaborative Assignments and Projects Collaborative Assignments and Projects Science as Science Is Done; Undergraduate Research Science as Science Is Done; Undergraduate Research Diversity/Global Learning Diversity/Global Learning Service Learning, Community-Based Learning Service Learning, Community-Based Learning Internships Internships Capstone Courses and Projects Capstone Courses and Projects

Effects of Participating in High-Impact Practices on Deep/Integrative Learning and Gains

Effects of Participating in High-Impact Practices on Student Engagement

Learning Communities Formal program where groups of students (FY) take two or more classes together LC programs that integrate material across courses are associated with better student engagement and learning

Service Learning Community-based project as part of a regular course 36% of FY students and 46% of seniors participate in SL More likely to be present at smaller and private institutions Positively associated with deep learning and personal development

Research with a Faculty Member Outside of course/program requirements More likely in the sciences; less likely in business Majority utilized existing info (libraries, WWW), and almost half worked in laboratory and fieldwork settings Reviewing literature and interpreting findings most closely related to deep learning Data collection had the weakest relationship

Contributions to Aspects of the Research Project

Average Weekly Research Hours

Percentage of Students Participating in Research with Faculty by Faculty Time Spent on UG Research Hours per week

Percentage of Students Participating in Research with Faculty by Importance Placed on UG Research Somewhat important ImportantVery important

Study Abroad 14% of seniors studied abroad A life changing experience Positively related to engagement and learning outcomes upon return to home campus Living with host nationals related to more integrative and reflective learning, and personal and social gains The length of time spent abroad did not make a difference

Participation in Study Abroad by Parents Education

Culminating Senior Activities Capstone course, senior project or thesis, comprehensive exam, field placement A third (32%) of seniors reported having completed such an experience Another 29% said they planned to do so before graduating

Participation in Selected Culminating Activities

Culminating Senior Activities Half of students worked alone; 40% worked with others Field placements related to greatest number of gains, Other productive activities: –Projects that required the greatest investment of time –Working in groups –Meeting often with supervising faculty member –Receiving clear expectations for the activity

High Impact Activities Increase Odds Students Will: Invest time and effort Invest time and effort Interact with faculty and peers about substantive matters Interact with faculty and peers about substantive matters Experience diversity Experience diversity Get more frequent feedback Get more frequent feedback Reflect & integrate learning Reflect & integrate learning Discover relevance of learning through real-world applications Discover relevance of learning through real-world applications

Engaging Classroom Activities 1.One minute papers (variations) 2.Case studies 3.Debates 4.Small group problem sets… 5.Others

If We Could Do One Thing… Make it possible for every student to do at least one high-impact experience in the first year and another later linked to the major Make it possible for every student to do at least one high-impact experience in the first year and another later linked to the major

Faculty Survey of Student Engagement Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced fessie) FSSE measures faculty expectations and activities related to student engagement in effective educational practices

Percentage of Faculty Indicating Activity is Important

National Survey of Student Engagement Learning Community Participation 3% 29% 55% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Somewhat ImportantImportantVery Important Average Importance Faculty Place on Learning Communities Percentage of First-Year Students Who Participated

National Survey of Student Engagement Senior Participation in High Impact Activities 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Somewhat ImportantImportantVery Important Average Importance Faculty Placed on the Experience Percentage of Seniors Who Did the Experience Culminating Senior Experience Research with a Faculty Member Study Abroad

Faculty Priorities and Student Engagement

What to Make of This? 1.When faculty members emphasize certain educational practices, students engage in them to a greater extent than their peers elsewhere. 2.Good things go together 3.Teacher-scholars matter

Last Word We cannot change the lineage of our students. Campus cultures do not change easily or willingly. We can counter both by using promising policies and practices more consistently throughout the institution to increase the odds that students will succeed. Do we have the will to do so?

Questions & Discussion