This week I have been reading some classics in higher educational theory and research. First, I reread a summary of decades of research into seven principles to guide faculty and administrators. According to Chickering and Gamson (1987), “good practice in undergraduate education
- 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.
- Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.”
Another classic comes from physics education. As far as I know, Hake (1998) was not specifically testing Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) guidelines, but he did end up testing their third principle: the role of active learning. He compared 14 traditional courses (2084 students) and 48 courses using active learning techniques (4458 students). His analysis included “the average normalized gain, which is a measure of how well students improved over the duration of the semester in their conceptual understanding of physics as measured by a basic conceptual test. The difference in the mean gain between traditional and active courses was highly significant and very large (effect size of about 2, where effect sizes above about 0.8 are usually considered large). The mean gain was more than twice as large for active learning classes, so you could say that courses implementing active learning are more than twice as effective as traditional courses in building basic concepts.” (Thanks to Nicholas Hall for this concise overview.)
What do you think about these principles and the accompanying empirical research? How well do they match your experience? If Chickering and Gamson (1987) and Hake (1989) are right, why is it sometimes a struggle to incorporate active learning into our classes? How might you might overcome barriers to incorporating active learning into your own teaching? (If you are having trouble envisioning specifics, check out a few examples of active learning from a previous post.)
Chickering, A. W. & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39(7) 3-7.
Hake, R. R. (1998). Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses. American Journal of Physics, 66(1), 64-74.
