High-Impact Practices Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2013). High-impact educational practices. Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/HIP_tables.pdf

This PDF file is a chart that outlines the 10 high-impact practices outlined by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Each practice is listed as a sub-heading and followed by a detailed description of the practice and its goal. This is a quality chart to reference for an overview of high-impact practices. The PDF also includes two tables; the first table highlights the relationships between selected high-impact activities and clusters of effective educational practices for first-year students and seniors. The second table outlines the relationships between selected high-impact activities, deep learning, and self-reported gains of first-year students and seniors.

Brownell, J. E. & Swaner, L. E. (2009). High-impact practices: Applying the learning outcomes literature to the development of successful campus programs. Peer Review, 11(2), 26-30.

This article argues that first-year students partake in at least two high-impact practices; however, according to this article, this recommendation is far from the current reality in higher education. The article explains that the majority of college students, especially first-generation college students and African American students, do not have the opportunity to participate in high-impact activities. Additionally, this article focuses on four high-impact practices that colleges can provide in order to ensure every student is able to benefit from them: first-year seminars, learning communities, service learning, and undergraduate research. This article highlights ways to create successful high-impact campus programs that are accessible to all students.

Kilgo, C. A., Ezell Sheets, J.,K., & Pascarella, E. T. (2015). The link between high-impact practices and student learning: Some longitudinal evidence. Higher Education, 69(4), 509-525.

This paper used data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education to estimate the effects of participation in the ten high-impact educational practices endorsed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU). The high-impact practices included in the study were: first-year seminars, academic learning communities, writing-intensive courses, active and collaborative learning, undergraduate research, study abroad, service learning, internships, and capstone courses/experiences. The findings suggest that active and collaborative learning, as well as undergraduate research, has vast positive effects across multiple liberal arts learning outcomes, such as critical thinking, need for cognition, and intercultural effectiveness. Overall, this paper provides data supporting the original findings by AACU.

Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

This book examines practices that have a significant impact on student success and retention rates. Among these practices are first-year seminars, learning communities, core curriculums, service learning, internships, writing-intensive courses, and collaborative assignments. The information presented in this book explains why these practices have a positive high impact and benefit all students. Additionally, the information, explanation, and analysis is based off data from the National Survey of Student Engagement. This book provides an in-depth analysis on high-impact educational practices and is a solid research resource filled with statistical support.

Kuh, G. D. & O’Donnell, K. (2013). Ensuring quality & taking high-impact practices to scale. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

This book expands on the previous Association of American Colleges and Universities reports outlined in High-Impact Educational Practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why matter by George Kuh. However, this more current publication examines high-impact practices and their correlations with higher levels of academic challenge, student engagement, and achievement. This book includes detailed case studies regarding five campuses that are systematically providing high-impact practices.

McKim, B. R., Latham, L., Treptow, E., & Rayfield, J. (2013). A repeated measures study of the short-term influences of high-impact practices on college students' learning styles. NACTA Journal, 57(3), 122-128.

The results in this study show that students’ preferred learning style is likely to change if students are exposed to high-impact experiences and diverse environments. Based on the findings, the researchers argue that when conducting a high-impact learning experience, curriculum, teaching, assessment/evaluation, and learning outcomes, may require more in-depth planning and scrutiny by the instructor. In order to plan out high-impact learning experiences, more resources (time, money, and faculty) are required. Overall, the study supports Kuh's (2008) notion that high-impact experiences require more time and effort for all parties involved. The article concludes with recommendations for best high-impact practices.

National Survey of Student Engagement (2007). Experiences that matter: Enhancing student learning and success—Annual Report 2007. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.

The results of the research show that colleges should encourage undergraduates to participate in at least two high-impact activities (capstone projects, learning communities, internships, study abroad, undergraduate research, etc.) during their first year of study. Statistics show that participation in high-impact practices increases grades, graduation rates, and retention rates. The research is compiled from over eight years of surveys and provides groundwork for expanding upon high-impact practices.

Price, D. V., & Tovar, E. (2014). Student engagement and institutional graduation rates: Identifying high-impact educational practices for community colleges. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 38(9), 766.

This article addresses the issue of community college retention rates as well as highlights the critical role community colleges will play in the national agenda to improve the number of adults with postsecondary credentials. The study in this article examines the relationships between Community College Survey of Student Engagement benchmarks on student engagement and institutional graduation rates. The study also does a deep dive analysis into identifying high-impact educational practices that improve community college student engagement.

Prussia, G. E., & Weis, W. L. (2004). Experiential learning effects on retention: Results from a required MBA course. Journal of College Student Retention, 5(4), 397-407.

This article is a case study that supports the data highlighted in the Association of American College and Universities research of high-impact practices. This longitudinal study explored the degree to which a required MBA course, emphasizing experiential learning, positively influenced student retention. The results from the study indicated that the teaching methodology of experiential learning enhanced retention rates. Overall, this study supports the fact that high-impact practices improve student success and retention.

Tukibayeva, M., & Gonyea, R. M. (2014). High-impact practices and the first-year student. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2013(160), 19-35.

This article defines high-impact practices as time and effort consuming activities that define the first-year college experience and are likely to increase success in areas like persistence, deep learning, and self-reported gains. To continue, this article examines the data presented by the Association of American College and Universities and relates it directly to the first-year college experience. It also explains the difference between the first-year experiences at smaller, private institutions, verses larger institutions. One conclusion drawn is that a first-year student is more likely to participate in service learning at smaller, private institutions. Overall, this article serves as a sound resource for understanding the research method behind the benefits of high-impact practices.

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