4 | Characteristics of

Effective Teaching

Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate

Education

Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education” first appeared in the American
Association for Higher Education (AAHE) Bulletin in 1987. In this article, Arthur Chickering and
Zelda Gamson describe a set of pedagogical standards derived from decades of educational
research, and designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning in colleges and
universities.

These principles have had an enormous impact on university teaching influencing research,
faculty development and student learning across the world. They are referenced, quoted and
remain a cornerstone of teaching and learning practices to this day.

Chickering and Gamson state that good practice in undergraduate teaching:

1. Encourages contacts between students and faculty

Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in student
motivation and involvement. Faculty concern helps students get through rough times and
keep on working. Knowing a few faculty members well enhances students' intellectual
commitment and encourages them to think about their own values and future plans.

Some examples: First year seminars on important topics, students taught by senior faculty
members, establish an early connection between students and faculty

VIU Teaching and Learning Handbook

2. Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students
Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort that a solo race. Good learning, like
good work, is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated. Working with others
often increases involvement in learning. Sharing one's own ideas and responding to others'
reactions sharpens thinking and deepens understanding.

Some Examples: Even in large lecture classes, students can learn from one another. Learning
groups are a common practice. Students are assigned to a group of five to seven other
students, who meet regularly during class throughout the term to solve problems set by the
instructor. Many institutions use peer tutors for students who need special help.

3. Uses active learning techniques

Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in classes
listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They
must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences and apply
it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.

Some examples: Active learning is encouraged in classes that use structured exercises,
challenging discussions, team projects, and peer critiques. Active learning can also occur
outside the classroom. There are thousands of internships, independent study, and
cooperative job programs across the country in all kinds of colleges and universities, in all
kinds of fields, for all kinds of students. Students also can help design and teach courses or
parts of courses.

4. Gives prompt feedback

Knowing what you know and don't know focuses learning. Students need appropriate
feedback on performance to benefit from courses. When getting started, students need help
in assessing existing knowledge and
competence. In classes, students need
frequent opportunities to perform and receive
suggestions for improvement. At various
points during college, and at the end, students
need chances to reflect on what they have
learned, what they still need to know, and how
to assess themselves.

2 | Characteristics of Effective Teaching

 Some examples: No feedback can occur without assessment. But assessment without timely
feedback contributes little to learning. Institutions assess entering students as they enter to
guide them in planning their studies. In addition to the feedback students receive from
course instructors, students in many colleges and universities receive counseling periodically
on their progress and future plans.

5. Emphasizes time on task

Time plus energy equals learning. There is no substitute for time on task. Learning to use
one's time well is critical for students and professionals alike. Students need help in learning
effective time management. Allocating realistic amounts of time means effective learning for
students and effective teaching for faculty. How an institution defines time expectations for
students, faculty, administrators, and other professional staff can establish the basis of high
performance for all.

Some examples: Mastery learning, contract learning, and computer-assisted instruction

require that students spend adequate amounts of time on learning. Extended periods of
preparation for learning also give students more time on task. Providing students with
opportunities to integrate their studies into the rest of their lives helps them use time well.

6. Communicates high expectations

Expect more and you will get more. High expectations are important for everyone -- for the
poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert themselves, and for the bright and well-
motivated. Expecting students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when
teachers and institutions hold high expectations for themselves and make extra efforts.

Some examples: In many colleges and universities, students with poor past records or test
scores do extraordinary work. Sometimes they outperform students with good preparation.
Most important are the day-to-day, week-in and week-out expectations students and faculty
hold for themselves and for each other in all their classes.

7. Respects diverse talents and ways of learning

There are many roads to learning. People bring different talents and styles of learning to
college. Brilliant students in the seminar room may be all thumbs in the lab or art studio.
Students rich in hands-on experience may not do so well with theory. Students need the
opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be
pushed to learn in new ways that do not come so easily.

VIU Teaching and Learning Handbook

 Some examples: Individualized degree programs recognize different interests. Personalized
systems of instruction and mastery learning let students work at their own pace. Contract
learning helps students define their own objectives, determine their learning activities, and
define the criteria and methods of evaluation.

Chickering, A.W. and Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate
education. AAHE Bulletin. Online at: http://www.aahea.org/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm

Seven Principles of Effective Teaching

Teaching is a complex, multifaceted activity, often requiring us as instructors to juggle multiple

tasks and goals simultaneously and flexibly. The following small but powerful set of principles
can make teaching both more effective and more efficient, by helping us create the conditions
that support student learning and minimize the need for revising materials, content, and
policies. While implementing these principles requires a commitment in time and effort, it often
saves time and energy later on.

Credit: Eberly Centre - Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University.
Principles of Teaching. Accessed September 15, 2013 from
http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/principles/teaching.html

1. Effective teaching involves acquiring relevant knowledge about students

and using that knowledge to inform our course design and classroom
teaching.
When we teach, we do not just teach the content,
we teach students the content. A variety of student
characteristics can affect learning. For example,
students’ cultural and generational backgrounds
influence how they see the world; disciplinary
backgrounds lead students to approach problems
in different ways; and students’ prior knowledge
(both accurate and inaccurate aspects) shapes new
learning. Although we cannot adequately measure
all of these characteristics, gathering the most
relevant information as early as possible in course
planning and continuing to do so during the

4 | Characteristics of Effective Teaching

 semester can (a) inform course design (e.g., decisions about objectives, pacing, examples,
format), (b) help explain student difficulties (e.g., identification of common misconceptions),
and (c) guide instructional adaptations (e.g., recognition of the need for additional practice).

2. Effective teaching involves aligning the three major components of

instruction: learning objectives, assessments, and instructional activities.
Taking the time to do this upfront saves time in the end and leads to a better course.
Teaching is more effective and student learning is enhanced when (a) we, as instructors,
articulate a clear set of learning objectives (i.e., the knowledge and skills that we expect
students to demonstrate by the end of a course); (b) the instructional activities (e.g., case
studies, labs, discussions, readings) support these learning objectives by providing goal-
oriented practice; and (c) the assessments (e.g., tests, papers, problem sets, performances)
provide opportunities for students to demonstrate and practice the knowledge and skills
articulated in the objectives, and for instructors to offer targeted feedback that can guide
further learning.

3. Effective teaching involves articulating explicit expectations regarding

learning outcomes and policies.
There is amazing variation in what is expected of
students across classrooms and even within a given
discipline. For example, what constitutes evidence may
differ greatly across courses; what is permissible
collaboration in one course could be considered
cheating in another. As a result, students’ expectations
may not match ours. Thus, being clear about our
expectations and communicating them explicitly helps
students learn more and perform better.

Articulating our learning outcomes (i.e., the knowledge

and skills that we expect students to demonstrate by the end of a course) gives students a
clear target to aim for and enables them to monitor their progress along the way. Similarly,
being explicit about course policies (e.g., on class participation, laptop use, and late
assignment) in the syllabus and in class allows us to resolve differences early and tends to
reduce conflicts and tensions that may arise. Altogether, being explicit leads to a more
productive learning environment for all students.

VIU Teaching and Learning Handbook

4. Effective teaching involves prioritizing the knowledge and skills we
choose to focus on.
Coverage is the enemy: Don’t try to do too much in a single course. Too many topics work
against student learning, so it is necessary for us to make decisions – sometimes difficult
ones – about what we will and will not include in a course. This involves (a) recognizing the
parameters of the course (e.g., class size, students’ backgrounds and experiences, course
position in the curriculum sequence, number of course units), (b) setting our priorities for
student learning, and (c) determining a set of objectives that can be reasonably
accomplished.

5. Effective teaching involves recognizing and overcoming our expert blind

spots.
We are not our students! As experts, we tend
to access and apply knowledge automatically
and unconsciously (e.g., make connections,
draw on relevant bodies of knowledge, and
choose appropriate strategies) and so we
often skip or combine critical steps when we
teach.

Students, on the other hand, don’t yet have

sufficient background and experience to make these leaps and can become confused, draw
incorrect conclusions, or fail to develop important skills. They need instructors to break tasks
into component steps, explain connections explicitly, and model processes in detail. Though
it is difficult for experts to do this, we need to identify and explicitly communicate to students
the knowledge and skills we take for granted, so that students can see expert thinking in
action and practice applying it themselves..

6. Effective teaching involves adopting appropriate teaching roles to

support our learning goals.
Even though students are ultimately responsible for their own learning, the roles we assume
as instructors are critical in guiding students’ thinking and behavior. We can take on a variety
of roles in our teaching (e.g., synthesizer, moderator, challenger, and commentator). These

6 | Characteristics of Effective Teaching

 roles should be chosen in service of the learning objectives and in support of the instructional
activities.

For example, if the objective is for students to be able to analyze arguments from a case or
written text, the most productive instructor role might be to frame, guide and moderate a
discussion. If the objective is to help students learn to defend their positions or creative
choices as they present their work, our role might be to challenge them to explain their
decisions and consider alternative perspectives. Such roles may be constant or variable across
the semester depending on the learning objectives.

7. Effective teaching involves progressively refining our courses based on

reflection and feedback.
Teaching requires adapting. We need to continually
reflect on our teaching and be ready to make
changes when appropriate (e.g., something is not
working, we want to try something new, the student
population has changed, or there are emerging
issues in our fields). Knowing what and how to
change requires us to examine relevant information
on our own teaching effectiveness.

Much of this information already exists (e.g., student work, previous semesters’ course
evaluations, dynamics of class participation), or we may need to seek additional feedback
with help from the university teaching center (e.g., interpreting early course evaluations,
conducting focus groups, designing pre- and post tests). Based on such data, we might
modify the learning objectives, content, structure, or format of a course, or otherwise adjust
our teaching. Small, purposeful changes driven by feedback and our priorities are most likely
to be manageable and effective.

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher
demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

― William Arthur Ward

VIU Teaching and Learning Handbook

What Less Effective Teachers Do Wrong

Doing the right things with your teaching is of course critical but so is avoiding the wrong
things. Richard M. Felder, North Carolina State University and Rebecca Brent, Education
Designs, Inc., have come up with a list to the ten worst mistakes teachers make. They are
summarized here in increasing order of “badness”.

Mistake #10: When you ask a question in class, immediately call for
volunteers. When you do this most students will avoid eye contact, and either you get a
response from one of the two or three who always volunteer or you answer your own question

Mistake #9: Call on students cold. If you frequently call on students without giving them
time to think ("cold-calling"), the ones who are intimidated by it won't be following your lecture
as much as praying that you don't land on them.
Even worse, as soon as you call on someone, the
others breathe a sigh of relief and stop thinking.

Mistake #8: Turn classes into

PowerPoint shows. Droning through lecture
notes put into PowerPoint slides is generally a
waste of time for everyone.

Mistake #7: Fail to provide variety in

instruction. Effective instruction mixes things
up: board work, multimedia, storytelling, Photo Credit: James Harder found online at
http://flickrcc.net/flickrCC/index.php?terms=James%20H
discussion, activities, individual assignments, and arder#
group work (being careful to avoid Mistake #6).
The more variety you build in, the more effective the class is likely to be.

Mistake #6: Have students work in groups with no individual accountability.

The way to make group work function is through using cooperative learning, an exhaustively
researched instructional method that effectively promotes development of both cognitive and
interpersonal skills.

Mistake #5: Fail to establish relevance. To provide better motivation, begin the course
by describing how the content relates to important technological and social problems and to

8 | Characteristics of Effective Teaching

whatever you know of the students' experience, interests, and career goals, and do the same
thing when you introduce each new topic.

Mistake #4: Give tests that are too long. If you want to evaluate your students'
potential to be successful professionals, test their mastery of the knowledge and skills you are
teaching, not their problem-solving speed.

Mistake #3: Get stuck in a rut. Things are always happening that provide incentives and
opportunities for improving courses. This is not to say that you have to make major revisions in
your course every time you give it-you probably don't have time to do that, and there's no
reason to. Rather, just keep your eyes open for possible improvements you might make in the
time available to you.

Mistake #2. Teach without clear learning objectives/outcomes. A key to making

courses coherent and tests fair is to write learning objectives-explicit statements of what
students should be able to do if they have learned what the instructor wants them to learn-and
to use the objectives as the basis for designing lessons, assignments, and exams.

Mistake #1. Disrespect students. If you give students a sense that you don't respect
them, the class will probably be a bad experience for everyone no matter what else you do,
while if you clearly convey respect and caring, it will cover a multitude of pedagogical sins you
might commit.

See this website for the origin of this list and other characteristics of effective teachers:
https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/resources/teaching/planning-your-
approach/characteristics-effective-teachers

“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.”

― Phil Collins

VIU Teaching and Learning Handbook

Taking Learning Seriously
By Lee Schulman What do we mean by "taking learning seriously?" Five interesting questions
reflect what's involved in taking up that challenge. I shall ask and answer these briefly to begin
this article. I shall then elaborate on those answers. First, What does it mean to take anything
seriously? I answer that when we take something quite seriously, we profess it.

Second, What do we mean by learning? I argue that learning is far more than bringing
knowledge from outside the person to inside. Indeed, learning is basically an interplay of two
challenging processes--getting knowledge that is inside to move out, and getting knowledge
that is outside to move in.

Third, What does learning look like when it's not going well? I ask this question because I've
spent much of my career in medical education, so I'm concerned not only with health, but with
pathology as well. I propose that the major pathologies of learning involve malfunctions of
memory, understanding, and application and can be called amnesia, fantasia, and inertia.

Fourth, What do you need to create in order to take learning so seriously that you take active
responsibility for understanding and treating its pathologies as well as enhancing its successes?
I claim that you must create a scholarship of teaching to pursue those goals.

[VIU free access on campus computer] Read rest of article at

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00091389909602695#.Vb0I1vlVhBd"Taking Learning
Seriously," in Change, July/August 1999. Volume 31, Number 4. Pages 10-17.

Face-to-face (F2F) and Online Examples of Effective

Teaching Characteristics
In 2008, Memorial University undertook a study to determine student perspectives on effective
teaching in higher education. 17000 students completed the survey. Researchers distilled the
data down to nine key characteristics of effective teachers. These characteristics are:
 Respectful  Organized
 Knowledgeable  Responsive
 Approachable  Professional
 Engaging  Humorous
 Communicative
The following chart gives an overview of these characteristics and examples of teacher
behaviours that illustrate those characteristics. Adapted from: Delaney, J.G., Johnson, A.N.,
Johnson, T.D. & Treslan, D. L. (2010) Students' Perceptions of Effective Teaching in Higher
Education. St John's, NL: Distance Education and Learning Technologies.

10 | Characteristics of Effective Teaching

Characteristic Face-to-Face Examples for Face-to-Face Online Examples for Online
Respectful Fair, understanding, Compassionate with regards to students' Fair, understanding, Prepared to answer more questions
flexible, caring, patient, circumstances; open to "stupid" flexible, caring, patient, than F2F; offers expressive
helpful, compassionate, question; willing to explain many times helpful, compassionate, feedback; shows concern for
open-minded, sincere, and in different ways if necessary; uses open-minded, students; must be able to trust
diplomatic, concerned, common courtesy; tactful with criticism; diplomatic, concerned, teacher's answers; fair and
reasonable, consistent, shows concern for students' academic reasonable, consistent, reasonable with expectations, create
kind, empathetic, humble, success; willing to admit own mistakes kind, empathetic, real world tasks
trustworthy, realistic trustworthy, realistic

Responsive Available, helpful, Timely, thorough constructive Available, helpful, Responds to posts and questions in
perceptive, feedback; set office hours; responds to accommodating a timely fashion; asks students for
accommodating email ASAP; involves students more clarification to check students'
during class time; has awareness of understanding; builds on what
students' needs; reads students' body students already know; gives
language; accepts that students learn at students options to accommodate
different paces different learning styles;
monitors and participates in
discussion forums
Knowledgeable Flexible, competent, Must be credible; conveys content that Flexible, competent, Must be competent; conveys
eclectic, credible, current, can be understood; shares real life eclectic, credible, content in a way that can be
practical, reflective, experience; varies teaching strategies; current, practical, understood; shares personal
qualified relates content to real-life reflective, qualified anecdotes; uses a variety of
resources to share content; must be
up-to-date on research and practice
in their field

Approachable Friendly, personable, Smiles; makes a comfortable Friendly, personable, Understands that not everything can
helpful, accessible, happy, atmosphere; maintains appropriate office helpful, accessible, be communicated using a written
positive hours and responds to email in a happy, positive approach; uses recordings to convey
reasonable time information; responds promptly to
questions; makes students feel like
instructor wants to be there;
uses friendly tone in posts

VIU Teaching and Learning Handbook

Characteristic Face-to-Face Examples for Face-to-Face Online Examples for Online
Communicative Clear, understandable, Speaks clearly; has astute listening skills; Clear, understandable, Clear, "listens" and gets points
thorough, constructive, uses a variety of teaching methods; is thorough, constructive, across via electronic (written)
attentive approachable; understands students attentive communication; uses a variety of
questions and gets to the point; is teaching methods, quick response
organized; maximizes use of class time; time; clearly communicates
gives prompt quality feedback expectations; personal feedback
helps connect student to instructor;
offers constructive feedback

Organized Efficient, focused, Organized lectures, clear visual aids; Efficient, focused, Organized online content; clear
prepared stays on topic; provides sufficient prepared expectations at the beginning of the
feedback in a reasonable time course; provides timelines; responds
to emails and discussion posts
promptly

Engaging Enthusiastic, interesting, Interacts with students, has a passion for Enthusiastic, interesting, Posts interesting info related to the
passionate, motivating, course content; smiles; varies tone of passionate, motivating, course from news; relates material
creative, positive, voice; actively involves students in a creative, positive, to real life etc.; offers creative
charismatic, stimulating, lecture; uses creative approaches charismatic, stimulating, discussion topics
interactive, energetic, interactive, energetic,
assertive assertive

Professional Dedicated, punctual, Dresses appropriately; is punctual, Dedicated, punctual, Is willing to investigate effective
dependable, efficacious, trustworthy, honest; has well-planned dependable, confident teaching techniques for distance
hygienic, confident lectures; be faithful to the syllabus; learning; makes sure all interactions
confidence helps students develop self- are quality interactions
esteem

Humorous Friendly, available, positive Helps students feel more relaxed; creates Friendly, available, Adds a personal touch to the
outlook on teaching, kind, a positive learning environment; humour positive outlook on course; makes the material come
happy prevents students from falling asleep in teaching, kind, happy alive; makes light observations
class

12 | Characteristics of Effective Teaching