So here are the seven principles for 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
I think they all feed in to one another. Giving prompt feedback and respecting diverse ways of learning helps encourage contact between students and faculty for example. I am working on a diagram.
I think emphasizing time on task is probably the least important. Encouraging active learning is probably the most important, along with respecting diverse ways of learning.
Here are two principles I would add:
8. Professor stops thinking they are the smartest person in the room
9. Encouraging students to take responsibility for their learning is also critical.
I think these last two are especially relevant in the new educational landscape dominated by technology which we have been discussing.
Interesting post here…I really like the 8th principle you’ve added. I think this additional principle acknowledges that expertise is distributed, and in a formal education setting there is the opportunity for everyone to to learn…including the professor. What do classrooms look like where the professor is a co-learner? What are some things that need to be [re]thought if #8 is put into practice?
I’m also very interested in the diagram that you are developing. Can you describe how you see it working? Perhaps in another post…
I love the diagram! I’m glad you finally got it figured out and I agree with where you have placed them all. Looks like something that would be published in a journal
[...] of say, communication between teachers and students. Others have expanded them to include a few additional principles, and even lamented their absence as part of the professional education of PhD [...]
Jeff,
We need to rethink how the classroom is organized. Maybe replace the podium and blackboard, with tables facing one way to smaller round tables that way everyone is facing each other for discussion. Students should be allowed to add content to the course website (not just the professor). Perhaps the online chatroom idea would also work, where every student can contribute to the discussion.
I am still working on the diagram, I do not really like the one I have here. I think I am trying to show how 1) the seven principles work together and reinforce one another yet 2) some of the principles are more important than others