There are neither enough carrots nor enough sticks to improve undergraduate education without the commitment and action of students and faculty members. They are the precious resources on whom the improvement of undergraduate education depends.

But how can students and faculty members improve undergraduate education? Many campuses around the country are asking this question. To provide a focus for their work, we offer seven principles based on research on good teaching and learning in colleges and universities.

Good practice in undergraduate education:

1. encourages contact between students and faculty,
2. develops reciprocity and cooperation among students,
3. encourages active learning,
4. gives prompt feedback,
5. emphasizes time on task,
6. communicates high expectations, and
7. respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

These seven principles are not ten commandments shrunk to a 20th century attention span. They are intended as guidelines for faculty members, students, and administrators -- with support from state agencies and trustees -- to improve teaching and learning. These principles seem like good common sense, and they are -- because many teachers and students have experienced them and because research supports them. They rest on 50 years of research on the way teachers teach and students learn, how students work and play with one another, and how students and faculty talk to each other.

While each practice can stand alone on its own, when all are present their effects multiply. Together they employ six powerful forces in education:

• activity,
• expectations,
• cooperation,
• interaction,
• diversity, and
• responsibility.

But the ways different institutions implement good practice depend very much on their students and their circumstances. In what follows, we describe several different approaches to good practice that have been used in different kinds of settings in the last few years. In addition, the powerful implications of these principles for the way states fund and govern higher education and for the way institutions are run are discussed briefly at the end.

As faculty members, academic administrators, and student personnel staff, we have spent most of our working lives trying to understand our students, our colleagues, our institutions and ourselves. We have conducted research on higher education with dedicated colleagues in a wide range of schools in this country. With the implications of this research for practice, we hope to help us all do better.

We address the teacher's how, not the subject-matter what, of good practice in undergraduate education. We recognize that content and pedagogy interact in complex ways. We are also aware that there is much healthy ferment within and among the disciplines. What is taught, after all, is at least as important as how it is taught. In contrast to the long history of research in teaching and learning, there is little research on the college curriculum. We cannot, therefore, make responsible recommendations about the content of good undergraduate education. That work is yet to be done. This much we can say: An undergraduate education should prepare students to understand and deal intelligently with modern life. What better place to start but in the classroom and on our campuses? What better time than now?

Seven Principles of Good Practice.

1. GOOD PRACTICE ENCOURAGES STUDENT -- FACULTY CONTACT

Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement. Faculty concern helps students get through rough times and keep on working. Knowing a few faculty members well enhances students' intellectual commitment and encourages them to think about their own values and future plans.

• I make a point to talk with my students on a personal level and learn about their educational and career goals.
• I seek out my students who seem to be having problems with the course or miss class frequently.
• I advise my students about career opportunities in their major field.
• I share my past experiences, attitudes, and values with students.
• I know my students by name.
• I make special efforts to be available to students of a culture or race different from my own.
• I serve as a mentor and informal advisor to students.

2. GOOD PRACTICE ENCOURAGES COOPERATION AMONG STUDENTS

Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort than a solo race. Good learning, like good work, is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated. Working with others often increases involvement in learning. Sharing one's own ideas and responding to others' reactions improves thinking and deepens understanding.

• Beginning with the first class, I have students participate in activities that encourages them to get to know each other.
• I use collaborative teaching and learning techniques.
• I encourage students to participate in groups when preparing for exams and working on assignments.
• I encourage students from different races and cultures to share their viewpoints on topics discussed in class.
• I create "learning communities," study groups, and project teams within my courses.
• I encourage students to join at least one organization on campus.
• I distribute performance criteria to students so that each person's grade is independent of those achieved by others.

3. GOOD PRACTICE ENCOURAGES ACTIVE LEARNING

Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.

• I ask students to present their work to the class.
• I ask my students to relate outside events or activities to the subjects covered in my courses.
• I encourage students to challenge my ideas, the ideas of other students, or those presented in readings or other course materials.
• I give my students concrete, real-life situations to analyze.
• I encourage students to suggest new readings, projects, or course activities.

4. GOOD PRACTICE GIVES PROMPT FEEDBACK

Knowing what you know and don't know focuses learning. Students need appropriate feedback on performance to benefit from courses. In getting started, students need help in assessing existing knowledge and competence. In classes, students need frequent opportunities to perform and receive suggestions for improvement. At various points during college, and at the end, students need chances to reflect on what they have learned, what they still need to know, and how to assess themselves.

• I give students immediate feedback on class activities.
• I return exams and papers within one week.
• I give students evaluations of their work throughout the semester.
• I give my students written comments on their strengths and weaknesses on class assignments.
• I discuss the results of class assignments and exams with students and the class.

5. GOOD PRACTICE EMPHASIZES TIME ON TASK

Time plus energy equals learning. There is no substitute for time on task. Learning to use one's time well is critical for students and professional alike. Students need help in learning effective time management. Allocating realistic amounts of time means effective learning for students and effective teaching for faculty. How an institution defines time expectations for students, faculty and administrators, and other professional staff can establish the basis for high performance for all.

• I expect my students to complete their assignments promptly.
• I clearly communicate to my students the minimum amount of time they should spend preparing for class and working on assignments.
• I help students set challenging goals for their own learning.
• I encourage students to prepare in advance for oral presentations.
• I explain to my students the consequences of non-attendance.
• I meet with students who fall behind to discuss their study habits, schedules, and other commitments.
• If students miss my class, I require them to make up lost work.

6. GOOD PRACTICE COMMUNICATES HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Expect more and you will get it. High expectations are important for everyone-- for the poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert themselves, and for the bright and well motivated. Expecting students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when teachers and institutions hold high expectations of themselves and make extra efforts.

• I encourage students to excel at the work they do.
• I give students positive reinforcement for doing exemplary work.
• I encourage students to work hard in class.
• I tell students that everyone works at different levels and they should strive to put forth their best effort, regardless of what level that is.
• I help students set challenging goals for their own learning.
• I publicly call attention to excellent performance by students.
• I revise my courses to challenge students and encourage high performance.
• I work individually with students who are poor performers to encourage higher levels of performance.
• I encourage students not to focus on grades, but rather on putting for their best effort.

7. GOOD PRACTICE RESPECTS DIVERSE TALENTS AND WAYS OF LEARNING

There are many roads to learning. People bring different talents and styles of learning to college. Brilliant students in the seminar room may be all thumbs in the lab or art studio. Students rich in hands-on experience may not do so well in theory. Students need to opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be pushed to learning in new ways that do not come so easily.

• I encourage students to speak up when they do not understand.
• I use diverse teaching activities and techniques to address a broad range of students.
• I select readings and design activities related to the background of my students.
• I provide extra material or activities for students who lack essential background knowledge or skills.
• I integrate new knowledge about women, minorities, and other under-represented populations into my courses.
• I have developed and use learning contracts and other activities to provide students with learning alternatives for my courses.
• I encourage students from different races and cultures to share their viewpoints on topics discussed in class.
• I use collaborative teaching and learning techniques and pair students with lesser abilities with students with greater abilities.

Teachers and students hold the main responsibility for improving undergraduate education. But they need a lot of help. College and university leaders, state and federal officials, and accrediting associations have the power to shape an environment that is favorable to good practice in higher education.

What qualities must this environment have?

• A strong sense of shared purposes.
• Concrete support from administrators and faculty leaders for those purposes.
• Adequate funding appropriate for the purposes.
• Policies and procedures consistent with the purposes.
• Continuing examination of how well the purposes are being achieved.

There is good evidence that such an environment can be created. When this happens, faculty members and administrators think of themselves as educators. Adequate resources are put into creating opportunities for faculty members, administrators, and students to celebrate and reflect on their shared purposes. Faculty members receive support and release time for appropriate professional development activities. Criteria for hiring and promoting faculty members, administrators, and staff support the institution's purposes. Advising is considered important. Departments, programs, and classes are small enough to allow faculty members and students to have a sense of community, to experience the value of their contributions, and to confront the consequences of their failures.

States, the federal government and accrediting associations affect the kind of environment that can develop on campuses in a variety of ways. The most important is through the allocation of financial support. States also influence good practice by encouraging sound planning, setting priorities, mandating standards, and reviewing and approving programs. Regional and professional accrediting associations require self-study and peer review in making judgments about programs and institutions.

These sources of support and influence can encourage environments for good practice in undergraduate education by:

• setting policies that are consistent with good practice in undergraduate education,
• holding high expectations for institutional performance,
• keeping bureaucratic regulations to a minimum that is compatible with public accountability,
• allocating adequate funds for new undergraduate programs and the professional development of faculty members, administrators, and staff,
• encouraging employment of under-represented groups among administrators, faculty members, and student services professionals, and
• providing the support for programs, facilities, and financial aid necessary for good practice in undergraduate education.

SOURCE: Chickering, A.W., and Gamson, Z.F. (1991). Applying the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. Number 47, Fall 1991. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.