Post by Uplifting Education on Nov 30, 2011 19:05:33 GMT -8
Quoted from this website
(This is directed toward college level academic excellence but it's good to work towards.)
Defining Academic Excellence
Academic excellence means sustaining an environment in which student learning is fostered inside and out of the classroom through a pervasive atmosphere of high expectations leading to student mastery of a significant body of general and specialized knowledge; the ability to find, analyze and effectively use relevant information; and the development and employment of fundamental academic skills (reading, writing, critical thinking problem-solving) in all areas of college life, so that the joy of learning permeates every aspect of campus culture.
This is a somewhat “fuzzy” definition. This reinforces a sense that academic excellence is not something that can be achieved through a community commitment, but is in some ways a “given.” In other words, a key problem with achieving academic excellence is that traditionally it has been understood almost entirely as an artifact of external reputation. So, if the higher education community believes that you are academically excellent, you will attract better students (of whom you can have higher expectations, who are more able to employ fundamental academic skills with minimal assistance, and who are prepared to analyze complex problems with only minimal guidance); this also makes it easier to attract faculty with prestigious degrees; since the students they teach need less intensive coaching and oversight than less well-prepared students, they have more time devote to research and publication, which increases the institutions reputation for excellence, and keeps the cycle going (a NCAA Division I football or men’s basketball championship doesn’t hurt either).
Luckily, there has been extensive research in the past several years to try and break out of this closed cycle and identify those practices by which schools that are not among the elite handful that already have a reputation for academic excellence can provide a high-quality, value-added experience for their students. The goal has been to decouple “excellence”—achieved through the disciplined pursuit of effective educational practices—from “prestige”, which is largely a given. In the 1980’s, the American Academy of Higher Education, with the support of the Lilly Foundation and the Council on Education in the States, undertook a project to identify the “Best Practices in Undergraduate Education” In 1987 these principles of good practice were published. They are as follows:
Good practice in undergraduate education:
1. encourages contact between students and faculty,
2. develops reciprocity and cooperation among students,
3. encourages active learning,
4. gives prompt feedback,
5. emphasizes time on task,
6. communicates high expectations, and
7. respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
These principles have been best operationalized (for the purpose of measuring and benchmarking) through the NSSE “Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice” which are based on these principles and more than 50 years of educational research regarding how students effectively learn in college.
(This is directed toward college level academic excellence but it's good to work towards.)
Defining Academic Excellence
Academic excellence means sustaining an environment in which student learning is fostered inside and out of the classroom through a pervasive atmosphere of high expectations leading to student mastery of a significant body of general and specialized knowledge; the ability to find, analyze and effectively use relevant information; and the development and employment of fundamental academic skills (reading, writing, critical thinking problem-solving) in all areas of college life, so that the joy of learning permeates every aspect of campus culture.
This is a somewhat “fuzzy” definition. This reinforces a sense that academic excellence is not something that can be achieved through a community commitment, but is in some ways a “given.” In other words, a key problem with achieving academic excellence is that traditionally it has been understood almost entirely as an artifact of external reputation. So, if the higher education community believes that you are academically excellent, you will attract better students (of whom you can have higher expectations, who are more able to employ fundamental academic skills with minimal assistance, and who are prepared to analyze complex problems with only minimal guidance); this also makes it easier to attract faculty with prestigious degrees; since the students they teach need less intensive coaching and oversight than less well-prepared students, they have more time devote to research and publication, which increases the institutions reputation for excellence, and keeps the cycle going (a NCAA Division I football or men’s basketball championship doesn’t hurt either).
Luckily, there has been extensive research in the past several years to try and break out of this closed cycle and identify those practices by which schools that are not among the elite handful that already have a reputation for academic excellence can provide a high-quality, value-added experience for their students. The goal has been to decouple “excellence”—achieved through the disciplined pursuit of effective educational practices—from “prestige”, which is largely a given. In the 1980’s, the American Academy of Higher Education, with the support of the Lilly Foundation and the Council on Education in the States, undertook a project to identify the “Best Practices in Undergraduate Education” In 1987 these principles of good practice were published. They are as follows:
Good practice in undergraduate education:
1. encourages contact between students and faculty,
2. develops reciprocity and cooperation among students,
3. encourages active learning,
4. gives prompt feedback,
5. emphasizes time on task,
6. communicates high expectations, and
7. respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
These principles have been best operationalized (for the purpose of measuring and benchmarking) through the NSSE “Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice” which are based on these principles and more than 50 years of educational research regarding how students effectively learn in college.
