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What Every Instructor Should Know
What Makes a Good Instructor? What Research Tells Us
In their classic work, Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, Arthur Chickering and Zelda Gamson distilled findings from decades of research on the undergraduate experience. They arrived at seven principles of effective instructional practice, outlined below:
Seven Principles of Good Practice
Patty Meek, Educational Psychology Honorarium Instructor, talks about the perils of being a first-time instructor, and then what makes a good one. A good instructor is one who:
- Encourages contact
- Develops reciprocity and cooperation
- Encourages active learning
- Gives prompt feedback
- Emphasizes time on task
- Communicates high expectations
- Respects diverse talents and ways of learning
In other words, a good instructor is communicative, interactive, and respectful, helping students to achieve challenging goals.
Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education
(Chickering, A. W., and Gamson, Z. F. "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education." AAHE Bulletin, 1987, 39(7), 3–7)