The following principles are anchored in extensive research about teaching, learning, and the college experience. Good practice encourages student-instructor contact. Frequent student-instructor contact in and out of classes is a most important factor in student motivation and involvement. Instructor concern helps students get through rough times and keep on working. Knowing a few instructors well enhances students' intellectual commitment and encourages them to think about their own values and future.
Good practice encourages cooperation among students.
Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort than 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 improves thinking and deepens understanding. Good practice encourages active learning.