A Closer Look at A Closer Look at Selected High-Selected High-

Impact PracticesImpact Practices

George D. KuhGeorge D. Kuh

Humboldt StateHumboldt StateArcata, CAArcata, CAMay 18, 2011May 18, 2011

High Impact ActivitiesHigh Impact Activities

First-Year Seminars and Experiences First-Year Seminars and Experiences  Common Intellectual ExperiencesCommon Intellectual Experiences Learning CommunitiesLearning Communities Writing-Intensive CoursesWriting-Intensive Courses Collaborative Assignments and ProjectsCollaborative Assignments and Projects Undergraduate ResearchUndergraduate Research Diversity/Global LearningDiversity/Global Learning Service Learning, Community-Based Service Learning, Community-Based

Learning Learning InternshipsInternships Capstone Courses and ProjectsCapstone Courses and Projects

38%

54%

48%

63%

65%

68%

73%

69%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

Latina/o Respondents Other Respondents

Percentage Graduating "On Time" (i.e., in 2006-07)

None 1 HIP 2 HIPs 3 or more HIPs

[V = .109 (.094)]

[V = .255 (.007)]

High-Impact Practices and Senior NSSE Respondents Graduating on Time

Source: Does Participation in Multiple High Impact Practices Affect Student Success at Cal State Northridge? by Bettina Huber (unpublished paper, 2010).

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

Raising The Bar – October/November 2009 – Hart Research for5

Students complete a significant project before graduation that demonstrates their depth of knowledge in their major AND their acquisition of analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills (62% help a lot)

Students complete an internship or community-based field project to connect classroom learning with real-world experiences (66%)

Students develop research skills appropriate to their field and develop evidence-based analyses (57%)

Students work through ethical issues and debates to form their own judgments (48%)

Employers assess the potential value of high-impact educational practices

% saying each would help a lot/fair amount to prepare

college students for success84%

81%

81%

73%

Raising The Bar – October/November 2009 – Hart Research for6

Students acquire hands-on or direct experience with the methods of science so they will understand how scientific judgments are reached (40% help a lot)

Students learn about cultural and ethnic diversity in the context of the United States (34%)

Students learn about the point of view of societies other than those of Western Europe or North America (35%)

Students take courses that explore big challenges facing society, such as environmental sustainability, public health, or human rights (28%)

Employers assess the potential value of high-impact educational practices

% saying each would help a lot/fair amount to prepare

college students for success

65%

60%

58%

50%

Common Intellectual Experiences

When students read and write or conductinquiries about the same material, they

are more likely to:talk about substantive matters outside

of classstudy togethersee connections between different

coursesintegrate and synthesize material

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

National Survey of Student Engagement

Writing & Gains in Writing

First-Year Students

Seniors

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Number of Pages WritteNumber of Pages Writtenn

Self

-Rep

ort

ed

Gain

s in

Wri

tin

g C

learl

y &

Eff

ecti

vely

National Survey of Student Engagement

Short Papers & Writing Gains First-Year

Students

Seniors

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Number of Pages Written-- Fewer than 5 Page PapersNumber of Pages Written-- Fewer than 5 Page Papers

Self

-Rep

ort

ed

Gain

s in

Wri

tin

g C

learl

y &

Eff

ecti

vely

National Survey of Student Engagement

Medium Papers & Writing Gains

First-Year Students

Seniors

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Number of Pages Written--Between 5 and 19 Page Number of Pages Written--Between 5 and 19 Page PapersPapers

Self

-Rep

ort

ed

Gain

s in

Wri

tin

g C

learl

y &

Eff

ecti

vely

National Survey of Student Engagement

Long Papers & Writing Gains

First-Year Students

Seniors

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Number of Pages Written—20 Page PapersNumber of Pages Written—20 Page Papers

Self

-Rep

ort

ed

Gain

s in

Wri

tin

g C

learl

y &

Eff

ecti

vely

National Survey of Student Engagement

Writing and Deep Learning

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Number of Pages WrittenNumber of Pages Written

Avera

ge D

eep

Learn

ing

Seniors

First-Year Students

National Survey of Student Engagement

Writing and Deep Writing and Deep LearningLearning

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Number of papers of fewer than 5 pagesNumber of papers of fewer than 5 pages

Avera

ge D

eep

Learn

ing

Seniors

First-Year Students

Encourage Interactive Writing ActivitiesEncourage Interactive Writing ActivitiesFor how many writing assignments did you: Talk with your instructor to develop your ideas before you

started drafting your assignment Talk with a classmate, friend, or family member to develop your

ideas before you started drafting your assignment  Receive feedback from your instructor about a draft before

turning in your final assignment  Receive feedback from a classmate, friend, or family member

about a draft before turning in your final assignment  Visit a campus-based writing or tutoring center to get help with

your writing assignment before turning it in

For how many writing assignments did your INSTRUCTOR: 

Ask you to give feedback to a classmate about a draft or outline the classmate has written

Assign Meaning-Constructing Writing Tasks

For how many of your writing assignments did you: Summarize something you read, such as articles,

books, or online publications Analyze or evaluate something you read, researched,

or observed Describe your methods or findings related to data you

collected in lab or field work, a survey project, etc. Argue a position using evidence and reasoning Explain in writing the meaning of numerical or statistical

data Write in the style and format of a specific field

(engineering, history, psychology, etc.) Address a real or imagined audience such as your

classmates, a politician, non-experts, etc.

Explain Writing Expectations ClearlyFor how many of your writing assignments

did your instructor: Provide clear instructions describing what he

or she wanted you to do Explain in advance what he or she wanted

you to learn  Explain in advance the criteria he or she

would use to grade your assignment

Writing SummaryWriting Summary

1. The more frequently students work on meaning-constructing assignments, engage in interactive writing activities, and receive clear expectations:

A.They report engaging more in deep learning activities.

B.They report gaining more in desired learning and development outcomes.

Writing SummaryWriting Summary

2. These results persist after controlling for:

A. Student characteristics such as gender, parental education, race, grades, and major.

B. The amount of reading and writing that students do.

Writing SummaryWriting Summary

Working on meaning-constructing assignments, engaging in interactive writing activities, and receiving clear expectations are each more important than the amount of writing that students do.

Research with a Faculty Member

Outside of course/program requirementsMore likely in the sciences; less likely in

businessMajority 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

12.0

7.36.7 6.6

2.5 2.4 2.6 2.7

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

Doctoral Univ Master's Bac-Div Bac-Arts

Research and scholarly activities

Working with undergraduates on research

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

Research

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

1 2 3 4 5 6

Hours per week

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

Research

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%

2 2.5 3 3.5 4

Somewhatimportant

Important Veryimportant

Predictors for Gains in Undergraduate Research

Intellect Skills (.86)

Career & Collab.

Skills (.84)

Research Skills (.86)

Months in the research project

Working with other students on a research team

Contributing to study design

Reviewing related literature

Collecting data

Interpreting findings

Presenting the findings

Receiving detailed instruction at the start of the project Figuring out on my own how to organize my time and how to conduct the research Receiving feedback on contributions as the project progressed Receiving feedback on the quality of contributions when the project ended

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

58%

46%

36%

29%

25%

6%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Major paper, project, or thesis

Capstone course in my major

Formal presentation or demonstration

Comprehensive exam

Field placement or experience

Capstone course unrelated to major

Participation in Selected Culminating Activities

Senior Culminating Experiences Results 1

Seniors who participated had higher scores on NSSE’s Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice

a Analyses weighted by gender, enrollment status, and institution size.b ***p<.001

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

Educational Gains: General Education – Writing; speaking clearly; gen ed;

critical thinking Practical Competence – Working with others, solving

real problems, work related knowledge Personal/Social Development – understanding self;

contributing to community;

Outcomes Associated with Senior Culminating Experiences

Senior Culminating Experiences Results 2

Seniors who participated had higher scores on deep approaches to learning & greater self-reported gains

a Analyses weighted by gender, enrollment status, and institution size. b ***p<.001

Culminating Senior Experience• Students reported that culminating experience

contributed “substantially” (quite a bit, very much) to their abilities, varies by experience

• Field placements have impact on greatest number of gains

• Also beneficial:– Projects that required greatest

investment of time, – Working in groups, – Meeting often with supervising

faculty member, and – Receiving clear expectations for

the activity.

Percentage of Faculty Indicating Activity is Important

49% 53%44%

81%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

Learningcommunity

Research withfaculty

Study abroad Culminatingsenior

experience

Make Work a High-Impact Activity Make Work a High-Impact Activity

U of Iowa Student Employment Pilot Project

Supervisors from Student Health Service/, Housing, and Iowa Memorial Union

Supervisors received one hour of training on: Outcomes of student employment Results from the previous year’s Division

of Student Services Student Employment Survey

Background on the role supervisors can play in helping students make connections between work and academics

Expectations for the Pilot Project

U of I Student Employment Pilot Project

Supervisors had two structured conversations with every student employee during spring semester and coded conversations into the following categories: How the job and academics complement each other

(“How is your job fitting in with your academics?”) Transfer between work and academics (“What are you

learning here at work that is helping you in school?”) Transfer between academics and work (“Are you

learning anything in class that you can apply here at work?”)

Transfer between work and future career (“Give me a couple of examples of things that you are learning here at work that you will be using in your future profession?”)

U of Iowa Student Employment Pilot Project

Student Employment Survey used to examine differences between pilot and non-pilot participants.

Student Employment Outcomes: U of Iowa Pilot Project Participants

Outcome % agree/strongly agree

Mean

Pilot Participants

Non-Pilot

Pilot Non-Pilot

My job helped me develop more effective time management skills.

100% 77% 4.3 3.9

My job helped me improve my oral communication skills.

100% 68% 4.8 3.8

My job helped me develop conflict resolution skills.

69% 59% 3.9 3.6

Student Employment Outcomes: U of Iowa Pilot Project Participants

Outcome % agree/strongly agree

Mean

Pilot Participants

Non-Pilot

Pilot Non-Pilot

My supervisor helps me make connections between my work and my life as a student.

77% 46% 4.1 3.3

My job has helped prepare me for the world of full-time work.

54% 43% 3.6 3.1

My job has helped me improve my written communications.

69% 17% 4 2.6

Student Employment Outcomes: U of Iowa Pilot Project Participants

Outcome % agree/strongly agree

Mean

Pilot Participants

Non-Pilot

Pilot Non-Pilot

I can see connections between my job and my major/coursework.

69% 29% 3.7 2.7

My job has helped me learn about career options.

54% 30% 3.6 2.9

Student Employment Outcomes: U of Iowa Pilot Project Participants

Outcome % agree/strongly agree

Mean

Pilot Participants

Non-Pilot

Pilot Non-Pilot

Because of my job, I am able to work effectively with individuals with a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and cultures.

83% 75% 4.3 4

My job has helped me use critical thinking skills

77% 56% 4 3.4

Ponder ThisPonder This1.1. What high-impact practices (HIPs) – What high-impact practices (HIPs) –

those identified by AAC&U and others those identified by AAC&U and others -- are available at HSU/in our -- are available at HSU/in our department? Which students do department? Which students do them?them?

2.2. Are our HIPs designed for and Are our HIPs designed for and available only to our majors? Should available only to our majors? Should they be?they be?

3.3. Do students know about the HIPs Do students know about the HIPs available here? How do they learn available here? How do they learn about them?about them?

4.4. How do we know our HIPs are How do we know our HIPs are effective? What is the evidence?effective? What is the evidence?

Questions Questions & &

DiscussionDiscussion