A Study of Community College Academic Administrator and Faculty Perceptions of the Wingspread Principles of Teaching Effectiveness

K. Paul Knott
pknott@abtech.edu
NCCCS BioNetwork/WCU doctoral student

The teaching activities of higher education faculty have received much attention in recent years.  Scholars in higher education have underscored the importance of effective teaching and the critical need for facilitating student learning outcomes, and these issues have become concerns of higher education faculty and administrators alike.  This study explored the perceptions of importance and use of a well-known framework for teaching effectiveness.  The “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education” (Chickering & Gamson, 1987), also known as the Wingspread Principles of Teaching Effectiveness, describe several aspects of good teaching practice in undergraduate education, including encouraging active learning, student-faculty contact and cooperation among students.  In addition, faculty are encouraged to give prompt feedback and to construct learning that emphasizes time on task and communicates high expectations.  Another Principle advocates respecting the diverse talents and ways of learning among students.  Populations of community college faculty and academic administrators were asked to describe their perceptions of the importance of these Principles.  In addition, faculty were asked to describe the frequency of their use of each Principle and administrators the level of their advocacy of faculty use of these suggested approaches.  The survey results identified similar perceptions of importance across both groups and catalogued a significant body of suggested teaching effectiveness best practices.