High Impact Practices

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has identified 11 high impact practices (HIPs) that have been shown to increase student engagement and learning.  

Assignment Design Using the TILT Framework | Lafayette College
Accessible resource that provides the why and the how for designing or modifying assignments to ensure transparency and support student engagement and success.

Checklist for Designing Transparent Assignments | TILT Higher Ed
Useful document for developing or revising assignments to ensure transparency.

Transparent Equitable Learning Readiness Assessment for Teachers | TILT Higher Ed
Instructor-facing one-pager that helps faculty communicate learning expectations for an assignment or a course to students.

Transparent Equitable Learning Framework for Students | TILT Higher Ed
Student-facing one-pager that equips students with an overview of the TILT framework and empowers them to approach assignments and other course tasks aware of their instructor’s expectations of what students should do and how they should do it.

The Importance of Transparency in Learning and Teaching | Teaching in Higher Ed
Podcast episode with Dr. Kerry Mandulak on, as the podcast title suggests, the importance of transparency in college teaching and learning.

A Little Transparency Goes a Long Way | International Journal for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Research article demonstrating TILT practices’ effectiveness in helping instructors organize assignments and students interpret assignment expectations.

Capstone Courses and Projects Resources (a High-Impact Practice) 

Integrative Core Capstone Seminar | Elon University
Program and course descriptions for the U.S. News and World Report’s 2nd ranked nationally Senior Capstone experience, demonstrating vertical alignment with first-year learning, general education, and major/program expectations.

Capstone Experiences | Elon University Center for Engaged Learning
Thorough discussion of capstone experiences, including explanation of how capstones are high-impact practices.

Capstone Design | Georgia Institute of Technology
Program description for the U.S. News and World Report’s 12th ranked nationally (and top public) Senior Capstone experience, demonstrating team-based learning with real-world applications and unique opportunities to demonstrate learning.

What is a Capstone Project in College? | Southern New Hampshire University
Student-facing web article describing the purpose and process of a senior capstone. Usefully explains what is involved and provides examples.

Capstone Experiences Best Practices and Resources | Oregon State University
Accessible resource for establishing capstone priorities, including useful frameworks, keys and best practices to consider, and pedagogical considerations for designing and teaching capstone courses. 

Collaborative Assignments and Projects Resources (a High-Impact Practice)

Ideas for Group and Collaborative Assignments | Cornell University Center for Teaching Innovation
Faculty-facing institutional site providing useful list of activities and tools for collaborative learning.

The Art of Collaboration: Designing Assignments that Work | Faculty Focus
Article describing approaches to teamwork as a pedagogical strategy. Author applies lessons learned from her educational practice to concise set of implications faculty in any discipline should consider.

The Collaborate Toolkit: A Guide for Teaching and Assessing Collaborative Skills | Seattle Central College
Robust collection of tips and resources for faculty to use in any course with any students. Toolkit developed through multi-institution collaboration and in use at multiple colleges, supporting faculty in both teaching collaborative skills and assessing students’ collaborative proficiency.

Group Work | Harvard University’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
Student-facing site explaining reasons students work in groups, the benefits of doing so, and the steps involved in ensuring group productivity and success. Useful list of roles, with accompanying notes for each, that help groups function and benefit individuals’ involvement. Also identifies potential problems in group work and examples of ways to circumvent identified problems.

Collaborative Learning | Penn State Pedagogical Approaches with Canvas
Guide to using collaborative learning, focusing primarily on online courses in Canvas, but providing strategies and approaches that are broadly applicable. Includes helpful information on assessing group work including linked PDF to assessment and student self-assessment document.

Center for Project-Based Learning | Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Landing page for recognized authority on project-based learning in higher education. Includes pages for annual institute and other professional development, pedagogical resources, and a useful collection of research briefs showing effectiveness of project-based learning in a range of disciplines and for a range of students.

What is Project-Based Learning? | University of North Texas College of Applied and Collaborative Studies
Engaging site blending narrative text and infographics to explain project-based learning and how it works. Site includes content for faculty and students, and infographics walk through the steps of learning through taking on a “real-world” project or problem.

Global Learning Resources
(a High-Impact Practice) 

Education Abroad as a High-Impact Practice | The Forum on Education Abroad
Comprehensive site providing broad information on planning for and implementing education abroad as an institutional priority and pedagogical practice.

Study Abroad and Away | Centre College Centre Global
Primary student-facing site for one of the state’s and nation’s leaders in study abroad and study away experiences for students. Page anticipates and answers student questions and provides wealth of information on planning for and participating in global learning experiences.

Benefits of Study Abroad
(a High-Impact Practice)

Benefits of Studying Abroad | Umbra Institute, Italy
Overview of benefits students gain through study abroad, especially through immersion experiences.

Benefits of Studying Abroad | North Carolina State University
Overview of benefits students gain through study abroad, including Chancellor’s advocacy for full immersion experiences.

Benefits of Study Abroad | University of North Carolina – Charlotte
Overview of benefits students gain through study abroad, including links to perspectives of study abroad peer advisors.

Why Study Abroad | University of Arizona
Overview of benefits students gain through study abroad, including specific application to career preparation.

Seven Reasons Why All College Students Should Study Abroad | St. John’s University
Blog post offering student perspectives of the benefits of study abroad in student-friendly terms.

ePortfolios Resources
(a High-Impact Practice) 

ePortfolios in the Curriculum | Ohio State University Teaching and Learning Resource Center
Comprehensive, instructor-facing guide to incorporating ePortfolios into a program or course. Shows connections to high-impact, reflective, and metacognitive practices.

What is ePortfolio? | Middle Tennessee State University Writing Center
Short video outlining ePortfolio philosophy, contents, and pedagogy. Useful for instructors implementing ePortfolios and students who are assigned ePortfolios and would benefit from transparent support.

Why Use ePortfolios | University of Arizona
Multi-modal site describing ways in which instructors’ use of ePortfolios helps students learn, make connections, and communicate what they know through a range of learning modes that empower students, including growth mindset, self-assessment, and metacognition.

Preparing for the Metaverse with ePortfolios | Inside Higher Ed
Article that contextualizes ePortfolios within higher ed teaching practices and synthesizes (and links to) an important range of resources and trends informing promising ePortfolio practices.

First-Year Seminars and Experiences Resources (a High-Impact Practice) 

First-Year Experience | Elon University
Landing page for Elon’s First-Year Experience program, ranked 1st in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, demonstrating the cohesive multi-pronged structure of the university’s robust orientation for first-year students that brings together many of the university’s divisions.

National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition | University of South Carolina
Site hosting a range of resources related to first-year experience programming and professional resources from the U.S. News and World Report’s 3rd ranked (and top public) institution for first-year experience.

First-Year Seminars | University of California – Davis
Instructor- and student-facing site that describes first-year seminars for both audiences, guides students in finding a seminar and instructors in proposing a course, and provides a link with answers to students frequent questions.

What is a First-Year Seminar | Dr. Janice Fedor
Short video explaining to students the goals of a first-year seminar and best practices students should adopt for success in their transition to college.

First Year Experience | University of Louisville
Comprehensive student-facing site outlining goals of first-year experience programs, key components, and rationale behind each part and the program overall.

Service Learning, Community-Based Learning Resources
(a High-Impact Practice) 

Literature Review: Service Learning as a High-Impact Practice | Washington State University Student Engagement Services
A site that offers what the title suggests, a concise review of the literature surrounding service learning as a high-impact practice for college student engagement and success.

What is Service Learning? | Elmhurst University
Institutional blog explaining what service learning is, the benefits to students, examples of service learning, and how students can find opportunities to engage in service learning experiences.

A Checklist for Implementing Service-Learning in Higher Education | Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship
Useful journal article describing why service learning matters and providing a framework for incorporating service learning into the curriculum. The 10-item checklist at the article’s center is especially useful, with broad application.

Service Learning | Berea College Center for Excellence in Learning through Service
Thorough description of service learning program, partnerships, workshops, and seminars at nationally recognized leader in service learning. Site provides foundational definition of service learning, centered on integration of academic knowledge development and identification of community needs. 

Undergraduate Research Resources
(a High-Impact Practice) 

Undergraduate Research | University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research
Comprehensive site primarily directed to students with sections and links for faculty included. Provides guidance on opportunities for research, funding, and presenting research and curates a wide range of institutional resources students and faculty need access to as research begins, evolves, and concludes.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates | U.S. National Science Foundation
Site providing information for faculty and undergraduate students on applying for, conducting, and funding research in any area of science the NSF supports.

Undergraduate Research | University of Louisville Center for Engaged Learning
Student-facing site describing undergraduate research processes and opportunities at Louisville. Includes descriptions of various ways the university supports and prioritizes research, including opportunities for funding and presenting scholarly and creative activity.

Writing Intensive Courses Resources
(a High-Impact Practice) 

Writing Intensive Course Requirement | Kent State University
Catalog language describing writing intensive course requirement and providing impressive list of available writing intensive courses, including links to descriptions of each course.

Writing Intensive Courses | University of Missouri Campus Writing Program
Thorough description of writing intensive courses at Missouri, including explanation of the program’s benefits and a list of the program outcomes. Also includes a description of how a writing intensive course is positioned within the university’s overall, three-part, campus writing program.

Best Practices in Writing Intensive Courses | Hamilton College
Faculty-facing site providing precisely what the title suggests: best practices for faculty incorporating intentional writing instruction within a course in any discipline.

Simple Ways to Strengthen your Students’ Writing | Inside Higher Ed
Opinion piece blog post that demystifies some of the complexities of writing instruction that happens in writing-heavy courses by outlining pedagogical practices that can be applied in any discipline.

Metacognition Resources

Metacognitive Study Strategies | University of North Carolina College of Arts and Sciences Learning Center
Student-facing collection of tips and tools for using proven metacognitive study strategies.

Metacognition: The Key to Self-Directed Learning | Kennesaw State University
Instructor-facing guide to helping students think independently. Chunks content into ways students can “plan for learning,” “monitor for learning,” and “evaluate learning.” Includes impressive list of references.

How People Learn: Metacognition | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Teaching and Learning Lab
Overview of metacognition theory and practice. Most useful for strategic list of implementation examples and accompanying caveats.

Active Learning and Metacognition | University of Oregon Teaching Support and Innovation
Multi-modal synthesis of research and application of knowledge around metacognitive strategies. Unique for ways in which site contextualizes metacognition within active learning.

Teaching and Learning with AI Resources

AI, Unscripted: From AI-Curious to AI-Confident | University of Maryland System Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation
Limited-run (7 episodes) podcast series that guides faculty from curiosity to confidence in using AI for teaching and learning. Series is a subset of University of Maryland – Baltimore’s Moving the Needle podcast.

How Professors are Leveraging 7 AI Tools in the Classroom | HigherEd Jobs
Short news/advice piece that describes promising practices with AI tools in college writing classes.

Teaching with AI: How College Professors are Redefining the Classroom | Ohio University
Institution-produced opinion piece on emerging trends in AI’s place in the college classroom. Of important note is section on shift from AI-detection to AI-driven critical thinking.

How to Think about Writing in the Age of AI | Teaching in Higher Ed
Podcast episode with John Warner, author of More Than Words, in which Warner discusses his book and his evolving opinions of the place of AI in the college classroom.

Teaching Writing in an Age of AI | Teaching in Higher Ed
Podcast episode with John Warner, in advance of the publication of his book More Than Words, as he fleshes out ideas on AI in the college classroom, acknowledging they are not fully formed and anticipating the technology’s rapidly evolution.

The Edge: Stop Assigning Traditional Essays | Chronicle of Higher Education (login may be required)
Pedagogical-focused opinion piece from Chronicle writer Scot Carlson on intersection of traditional writing instruction and advent of artificial intelligence.

Teach Writing, Not Document Production | Inside Higher Ed
Opinion piece from John Warner that identifies the distinctions between traditional writing instruction and the thinking required to produce college writing and the promises and threats of artificial intelligence.

Teaching Students to Navigate a World with AI | Virginia Tech University
Institution-produced overview and Q&A with faculty across the disciplines who are experimenting with promising ways of incorporating AI in their classrooms.

Learning Curve | Jeffrey R. Young
Podcast series that explores what it means to learn, including in the age of artificial intelligence, and ways in which AI can/will improve or impact education.

Eliminate the Required First-Year Writing Course | Inside Higher Ed
Thought-provoking opinion piece acknowledging the influence of technology on students’ writing and thinking and arguing for renewed focus on disciplinary content over instruction in the writing process.