Below is a listing of Chickering and Gamson's 7 principles of good practice. The E-Learning Standards Task Force has adopted these principles (plus two additional ones, farther below) for CUW faculty as good principles for teaching and learning. We believe that they are broad enough to address all teaching situations at CUW, yet flexible enough to allow for personal teaching styles and philosophies.
- Good Practice Encourages Student Instructor Contact
- Good Practice Encourages Cooperation Among Students
- Good Practice Encourages Active Learning
- Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback
- Good Practice Emphasizes Time on Task
- Good Practice Communicates High Expectations
- Good Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning
Concordia’s E-Learning Standards Task Force has also adopted an extra two principles which help to keep teaching/learning within the mission of the university:
- Good practice reflects the mission and values of Concordia University Wisconsin, especially the Lutheran concept of vocation.
- Good practice consistently uses assessment and quality improvement.
These nine principles, we believe, will give Concordia’s faculty a good basis on which we can continue our discussions about improving teaching and learning at CUW.
"A Focus for Improvement - The (original) seven principles are intended as guidelines for faculty members, students, and administrators to improve teaching and learning. They rest on 50 years of research on the way teachers teach and students learn, how students work 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:" (Chickering, Arthur W. and Gamson, Zelda F.)
- Activity
- Expectations
- Cooperation
- Interaction
- Diversity
- Responsibility
Dr. William Cario
Vice President of Academics
RESEARCH / INFORMATION ON THE 7 PRINCIPLES
Seven Principles for Good Practice: Enhancing Student Learning. This article provides a brief summary of the original Chickering and Gamson article (1987), followed by a list of ways in which one might implement the seven principles in the college classroom.
Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education by Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson – This is a copy of the original article on the seven principles, reprinted in The Wingspread Journal (1987). The principles arose out of a collaborative effort by a group of higher education scholars who came together as a task force studying effective educational practice.
Development and Adaptations of the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education by Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson – This 1999 article from “New Directions for Teaching and Learning” provides an overview of the origins, development, applications and research on the seven principles.
The Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education: A Historical Perspective by Chickering and Gamson – This article from The Seven Principles in Action, edited by Susan Hatfield describes the history of the principles, noting ways in which they have influenced practice and research. This is an excellent resource for those who are interested in understanding the history and influence of Chickering and Gamson’s work.
Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education Implementation Ideas. This web page by Ted Panitz of Cape Cod Community College includes a collection of information from various universities, noting specific ways in which each university applies The Seven Principles.
Impacts of Good Practices on Cognitive Development, Learning Orientations, and Graduate Degree Plans During the First Year of College. This article from the Journal of College Student Development (2006) is a report on a study that “estimated separately the unique effectives of three dimensions of good practice and the global effects of a composite measure of good practices on cognitive development, orientations to learning, and educational aspirations of students during their first year of college.”
Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. This popular 1996 article from the Teaching, Learning and Technology Group is an effort to highlight ways in which technology might be used a lever for implementing The Seven Principles.
Online Courses Demonstrate Use of Seven Principles. This 2006 article from the Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning is a report on a study that “investigate[d] the perception of students and instructors in selected online courses relative to the use of Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.”
Do Chickering and Gamson's Seven Principles Also Apply to Online MBAs? Some individuals have questioned if Chickering and Gamson’s Seven Principles are also useful for graduate level education. This report from the Journal of Educators Online provides a brief related literature review and a report on a study that “tested the applicability of a commonly-used framework, Chickering and Gamson’s…using a sample of twenty-four online MBA courses conducted at two Midwestern U.S. schools.”
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Chickering, Arthur W. and Gamson, Zelda F. (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. The Wingspread Journal, Volume 9, No. 2. Retrieved February 2007 from http://www.johnsonfdn.org/Publications/ConferenceReports/SevenPrinciples.
