High Impact Teaching Practices

In George Kuh’s seminal AAC&U report (2008) on High-Impact Educational Practices, he identified ten teaching and learning practices which research has shown benefit students of many backgrounds. Colleges and universities have become more intentional in the methods and practices used to engage students in the learning process, thereby impacting student persistence and retention.  Kuh’s ten practices include:

• First-Year Seminar and Experiences
• Common Intellectual Experiences
• Learning Communities
• Writing-Intensive Courses
• Collaborative Assignments and Projects
• Undergraduate Research
• Diversity/Global Learning
• Service Learning, Community-Based Learning
• Internships
• Capstone Courses and Projects

Subsequent research built upon Kuh’s work identified an eleventh practice: E-Portfolios.

As Kuh’s report noted, “These practices take many different forms, depending upon learner characteristics and on institutional priorities and contexts” (pg. 9).  MSU Denver has programs and activities across the university with touchpoints in each of these practices.  Undergraduate Studies seeks to highlight such practices while supporting faculty – individually and collectively – to continue to strategically implement High-Impact Teaching Practices.