High-impact Practices Research Articles

Powerful and Life-Changing Learning Communities

For over 2 decades, the Learning Community Program has impacted students at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), with its emphasis on critical thinking, community, belonging, and student success. Faculty teaching this high-impact practice (HIP) not only implement an integrated curriculum in 2 paired courses representing different disciplines, but also strive to build community among the students and teachers, setting up activities and an atmosphere so that students of diverse backgrounds can build relationships and understanding. At CCBC, we typically have general education learning communities for first year students in the general college population, as well as ESOL learning communities that link ESOL classes with a general education requirement and allow preacademic ESOL students to earn credit. In 2019, our Learning Community Program reached new heights, as a Mellon Foundation Humanities for All grant paved the way for summer travel themed learning communities to Atlanta, Montgomery, Birmingham, and later New Orleans, as well as taking a deeper look at our own Baltimore during the pandemic. In these settings and with the support of their learning community faculty, students explored culturally relevant themes, formed a community bond as they journeyed together throughout the country, and gained both academic success and a life-changing experience.

Designing Effective Internships: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of the Sociocultural Aspects of Intern Satisfaction and Development

ABSTRACT Internships are widely promoted high-impact practices that can have positive impacts on students’ academic and post-graduate success, yet how specific features facilitate these outcomes is understudied. Instead, internships are often studied in terms of mere participation, without recognizing that these experiences are complex pedagogic spaces shaped by professional cultures and decisions about instructional design. In this sequential mixed-methods study we use sociocultural learning theory to interpret data from online surveys (n = 435) and focus groups (n = 52) with students at five institutions. Stepwise linear regression analyses of demographic and programmatic variables associated with intern satisfaction, developmental value, and career adaptability indicated that first-generation status, sex, race and income level, and supervisor behaviors were significantly associated with satisfaction and development. Analyses of qualitative data revealed that features of positive (clear communication, availability, feedback) and negative (unavailability, inattention to learning) supervision impacted student experiences. These findings reveal that internships should be designed with careful attention to task scaffolding, student autonomy and supervisor assistance, depending on the professional context and situation. These results highlight the need for colleges and employers to design internships as mentored and culturally shaped learning spaces, provide supervisor training, and consider the cultural backgrounds of students when matching them to internships.

Pathways and barriers to Human Development and Family Science student engagement in undergraduate research

The value of high-impact practices in undergraduate higher education is well documented. However, very little is known about high-impact practices in Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) programs. The goal of this study was to explore one specific high-impact practice: undergraduate research. Specifically, our study explored the benefits and barriers of undergraduate research for HDFS students as well as the pathways HDFS students use to become involved in undergraduate research. College student identity theory served as a guide for our inquiry. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 undergraduate HDFS students, 13 of whom had participated in undergraduate research and 9 who had not. Results revealed three pathways students took to participate in undergraduate research: interest in a specific research topic, connection with the researcher, and preparation for graduate school. Enhanced learning, professional skills, personal growth, and relationships with others were identified as benefits of participation in undergraduate research. Barriers to participation in research included time, lack of awareness, and feelings of fear or intimidation. Specific processes for students and faculty to overcome these barriers are suggested. It is recommended that HDFS faculty and administrators provide multiple pathways and supports for undergraduate students to become involved in research.

Defining Collective Priorities: Research and Learning Agendas for Family Planning Across 6 Countries.

Evidence should be the foundation for a well-designed family planning (FP) program, but existing evidence is rarely aligned with and/or synthesized to speak directly to FP programmatic needs. Based on our experience cocreating FP research and learning agendas (FP RLAs) in Côte d'Ivoire, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, and Uganda, we argue that FP RLAs can drive the production of coordinated research that aligns with national priorities.To cocreate FP RLAs, stakeholders across 6 countries conducted desk reviews of 349 documents and 106 key informant interviews, organized consultation meetings in each country to prioritize evidence gaps and generate research and learning questions, and, ultimately, formed 6 FP RLAs comprising 190 unique questions. We outline the process for consensus-driven development of FP RLAs and communicate the results of an analysis of the questions in each FP RLA across 4 technical areas: self-care, equity, high impact practices, and youth. Each question was categorized as a learning versus research question, the former indicating an opportunity to synthesize existing evidence and the latter to conduct new research to answer the question. Themes emerging from the data shed light on shared evidence gaps across the 6 countries. We argue that similarities and differences in the questions in each FP RLA reflect the unique implementation experience and context, as well as each country's placement on the FP S-curve. Early uses of the FP RLAs include informing the development of FP costed implementation plans and FP2030 commitments. FP RLAs have also been discussed in multiple thematic working groups. For FP stakeholders, these FP RLAs represent a consensus-based agenda that can guide the generation and synthesis of evidence to answer each country's most pressing questions, ultimately driving progress toward increasingly evidence-based programming and policy.

Whole-institution approach to social justice education for preservice teachers

PurposeThis study used the design process (analysis, development, and evaluation) to understand and refine the process, dimensions, and outcomes of a multi-year, whole-institution approach to social justice education for preservice teachers (PSTs) at one institution. The authors used shared governance to establish a cross-disciplinary faculty-student learning community and provided interdisciplinary social justice learning opportunities to PSTs across multiple years. These were delivered using high-impact practices such as community-engaged learning and ePortfolios.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used formative data to examine and refine this study's program design. The authors assessed engagement within and across the components of the whole-institution approach and the impact on, and change in, social justice learning and orientation for PSTs.FindingsFindings showed deepened engagement within and across the components of the whole-institution approach, however, committee representation, opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, and coordinated field experiences are areas that can be strengthened. All PSTs demonstrated an understanding of the connections between annual social justice foci and teaching practices, and some documented growth in social justice awareness over time. The authors found more clarity is needed around archiving and keeping social justice event reflections in the ePortfolio each year.Originality/valueThis study adds to the existing literature by using the design process to refine the development of a whole-institution social justice education program for PSTs.

Unlocking Undergraduate Student Success: A Study of High-Impact Practices in a Comprehensive and Diverse College

This study examines undergraduate senior students’ participation in high-impact practices (HIPs) and the relationship of that participation with engagement indicators, perceived gains, and overall satisfaction, as well as institutional outcomes of persistence and graduation based on race/ethnicity, first-generation status, and low-income status. Drawing on multiple years of data from 1,482 undergraduate seniors who completed the 2015 through 2019 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and enrolled in a comprehensive four-year state college, this study indicates that HIP participants reported higher levels of engagement, perceived gains, and overall satisfaction. Participation in HIPs is also positively related to improved persistence or graduation, particularly for racially minoritized students. While overall participation patterns were similar regardless of race/ethnicity or first-generation status, low-income students had higher participation rates in HIPs and participated in more kinds of HIPs as compared to their non-low-income counterparts. Implications of implementing and increasing access to HIPs for enhancing student success in similar institutions are discussed.

Assessing Use, Usefulness, and Application of the High Impact Practices in Family Planning Briefs and Strategic Planning Guides.

In global health, persistent barriers and challenges to bridging the gap between research and practice remain critical to address in most health areas. The High Impact Practices (HIPs) briefs and strategic planning guides aim to bridge the know-do gap in family planning (FP) by facilitating research utilization and knowledge sharing and also providing a summary of experiential knowledge from experts. The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess the use, usefulness, and application of these 2 knowledge products developed by the HIP Partnership for decision-makers and implementers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This research used in-depth interviews with FP stakeholders from various LMICs to assess the use, usefulness, and application of 2 HIP products for FP decision-makers and implementers. The analysis was shaped by an adapted logic model framework to assess HIP product reach, engagement, usefulness, learning, and action. We interviewed 35 FP professionals from January to March 2021. Participants reported that HIP products have a wide reach, have garnered positive engagement, and were useful. Participants generally liked the current format of the HIP products and reported using them to inform program design, guide discussions with partners, enhance personal knowledge, support advocacy work, and strengthen the guidance they provide to colleagues in the field. The participants shared important feedback to improve the development and dissemination of HIP products, particularly a need to enhance local access and use. The study highlighted the importance of knowledge products, such as the HIP briefs and strategic planning guides, to make evidence and experiential knowledge accessible to a wide audience. These can be valuable tools for policymakers and program implementers to ensure public health practices are evidence-based and integrate experiential knowledge.

Effects of High-Impact Learning Practices: A Review

One of the biggest concerns that has come to the fore in the field of education recently is whether colleges and higher education institutions offer educational programs providing their students with the basic skills and competences necessary to meet the requirements of the globalising and rapidly changing world and the accordingly changing labour market. To answer this question, this review investigated the effects of 11 high impact practices (HIPs) based on single HIPs (RQ1), limited combinations (LC) of HIPs (RQ2), and extended combinations (EC) of HIPs (RQ3). For this study, selected 56 studies were analysed by narrative analysis. As a result, 18 different positive effects were determined on which single HIPs enhanced. Among these effects critical thinking, communication and collaboration were the most promoted ones. In addition, fourteen LC of HIPs with 17 different positive effects were detected. Communication, collaboration and career related opportunities were the most common effects of LC of HIPs. Furthermore, 16 different positive effects of EC of HIPs can be grouped under five main headings as achievement-focused effects, motivation-focused effects, competence development-focused effects, personal development-focused effects and learning process-focused effects. EC of HIPs have the most competence/skills development-focused effects with their features of developing transformative learning, leadership skills, student and faculty/peer/community interaction, critical thinking, time management and job-readiness skills. Also, the most common effects of EC of HIPs were increased student engagement and motivation, increased critical thinking, higher academic achievements, higher graduation rates and retention.

Advancing understanding of discordant mentoring relationships in STEMM: A method and framework.

Having a diverse workforce in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) fields is essential for the United States to remain competitive in the global economy and to create a more just society. Faculty-mentored undergraduate research experiences have been identified as a high-impact practice for encouraging students from diverse backgrounds to pursue STEMM education and careers. Despite extensive research examining factors influencing the effectiveness of mentor-mentee relationships, there is still limited understanding of how differences or similarities in the social identities of mentors and mentees, which we term mentor-mentee discordance, impact undergraduates' research experiences and outcomes. In this perspective, we propose that mentor-mentee discordance should be conceptualized as a multidimensional, continuous construct and suggest a global index to measure varying degrees of discordance in mentoring relationships. We also offer a conceptual model that incorporates the Discordance Index to systematize the understanding of the effects of discordant mentoring relationships on student development across social contexts and over time. Finally, we provide recommendations for future researchers, STEMM educators, and program directors who are interested in using the Discordance Index.

Peer Mentoring: A Case Study in Developing Legislative Advocacy Skills among Social Work Students

Peer mentoring in social work education can be beneficial in developing and promoting legislative advocacy skills among social work students taking foundational social welfare policy courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. A descriptive case study is presented of a student peer mentoring project within a social work educational program at a regional comprehensive state university. This study describes the incorporation of a peer mentoring program to assist in promoting legislative advocacy skills among social work students. The project encompasses annual state-level high-impact practice (HIP) legislative advocacy action events across 5 years before and during the global pandemic. This article also seeks to inspire social work educators to embrace peer mentoring as a means to enhance and promote the development of advocacy skills as students find their collective voice and speak up to educate lawmakers on contemporary social problems impacting vulnerable populations.

The Role of High Impact Practices in an Online Graduate Program: Leveraging the Success

A feeling of isolation has been cited in the literature as one of the main reasons students dropped off their online courses or programs. Innovations in instructional design and delivery can boost student engagement, advance student learning, and enhance student success. Based on the findings generated from countless evidence-based research, high-impact educational practices are effective teaching strategies and can substantially benefit students. This paper presents a case study in which a capstone course incorporated with ePortfolio in an online master’s program in healthcare administration is examined. This study's primary goal is to assess students' perceptions of the usefulness of ePortfolio and their overall experience in the capstone course. The findings shed light on how a program implemented ePortfolio in the entire program could impact students’ acceptance and view of ePortfolio. Limitations of this research study are also presented. The contribution of this case study to high-impact educational practice research and implications for institutional decision-makers and educators are also discussed.

Stepping outside of comfort zones: Transformational learning in online asynchronous communication courses

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the impact of communication educators’ teaching practices on student transformation and growth in asynchronous online communication courses. The literature focuses on high-impact practices, self-transformation in higher education, and Experiential Learning Theory. Qualitative interview data, collected from metropolitan university students using a narrative inquiry approach, suggests that when educators incorporate active experimentation and concrete experience in asynchronous online communication classrooms, students are more likely to perceive they have experienced transformational learning, which students conceptualize as good for their individual personal growth and for changing their perspective, despite requiring them to step out of their comfort zone. Future research should focus on the impacts of incorporating service-learning, reflective writing assignments, and group work into the online learning environment to help ignite transformations and growth within classes in other disciplines.

Support to Classify Intercollegiate Athletics Participation as a High Impact Practice

Abstract: Academic practitioners have promoted the idea of high impact practices (HIPs) in higher education. HIPs are cognitive and social activities designed to prepare students for life after college. Research indicates that college athletes are less involved in HIPs than non-athlete peers; however, limited research has explored the ways in which athletics, if organized and governed appropriately and ethically, can qualify as a HIP. This manuscript examines the intercollegiate athletics and higher education literature and provides key ways in which athletics participation has components—such as reflection, intentionality, and interaction—present in HIPs. Additionally, this manuscript offers practical implications for athletics leaders to consider in order to further align athletics participation with other traditional HIPs. As critics note the growing divide between academics and athletics, reframing sports as an educational endeavor, such as a HIP, may help alleviate some strain between sport and the academy.

High-impact practices (HIPs) benefits from study abroad country agent: a multi-method multi-perspective approach

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to extend the Blevins et al. (2020) study by empirically examining the benefits of using a customized study abroad host-country provider (hereafter referred to as “SAA”) of logistical and other services that support non-native host country (hereafter referred to as non-indigenous) college of business study abroad educators. This study also makes a significant contribution by extending Strange and Gibson’s (2017) call by examining transformative learning experiences (TLEs), a high-impact practice, from educators’ and students’ perspectives of two types of study abroad experiences (i.e. one with and one without an SAA).Design/methodology/approachA mixed methods and multiple perspectives triangulation of the three studies (i.e. student survey, student-produced artifacts data and faculty interviews conducted in Canada, Spain and the UK) was used for this study to increase confidence in the findings by providing a comprehensive picture of the results. A mixed methodology provides rich, in-depth data for analysis as to how study abroad experience [hereafter referred to as experience(s) abroad] benefits from contracting with an SAA to work with a non-indigenous business course educator.FindingsThis study's findings demonstrate the positive impact of transformative learning from a short-term study abroad experience from contracting with an SAA.Practical implicationsBenefits of contracting with a host-country SAA are increased time and a reduction in the emotional toll on educators. Educators are free to provide memorable international business educational experiences abroad, resulting in student satisfaction and transformative learning.Originality/valueThe originality of this study is the mixed methods and multiple perspectives approach to the topic.

Integrating High-Impact Practices (HIPs) In Medical Curriculum At Northern Border University: Strengths, Challenges, and Examples.

High-Impact Practices (HIPs)are educational practices that have been shown to increase rates of student retention, engagement, and persistence to graduation which help them to become high achievers and lifelong learners. Universities strongly encourage faculty members to incorporate one or more of these HIPs in order to improve active learning among students. Students are met with a variety of experiences that are not entirely of their choice, including expectations for academic performance, interactions with faculty, staff, and peers, and extracurricular activities that may or may not match their expectations and skills. Higher retention and high-grade achievementrates are attributed to HIPs. The mechanism by which HIPs improveretention is poorly understood. There are numerous analyses of the objectives particular to undergraduate medical education in recent years. There have been proposed three major target categories. Undergraduate medical education has been positioned within a liberal education framework, where the main objective is to equip students with the critical thinking abilities, broad general education, and subject-specific knowledge they will need to be able to effectivelyproblem-solve, adapt to new roles, and apply public health thinking and practices to a variety of situations. We tried to incorporate HIPs in a medical curriculum at the Faculty of Medicine, Northern Border University, by giving them topics that can be used to create public awarenessabout the selected objectives which may help the community greatly. Students were asked to make posters or videos on the topics and were asked to write reflections about their experience and give feedback to the coordinators for improvements and to make these HIPs better so that they can be included uniformly in the other courses as well. Based on results from a random sample of undergraduate students, we draw the conclusion that HIPs are correlated with engagement, which is the alignment of the student's critical thinking and ability to work in effective teams, group projects, learning communities, and sequence courses. HIPs have an impact on involvement among students across the world. HIPs are effective to the extent that they engage pupils, encouraging a greater commitment, which is one way to understand their success.

High Impact Practices in Underserved Communities: Linking Open Educational Resources and Local Non-Profit in Business Communications Course Design

High Impact Practices in Underserved Communities: Linking Open Educational Resources and Local Non-Profit in Business Communications Course Design

“I Never Would Have Talked to This Person”: The Power of an Assignment to Encourage Engagement

First-Year Seminars (FYS) are a high-impact practice (Keup & Young, 2018; Skipper, 2017). However, outcomes of pedagogical approaches linked to those seminars have not been as well researched. An expectation of Christian higher education is to consider what kind of spiritual and personal formation is happening through classroom assignments and practices (Smith, 2021a). This qualitative study explored the impact of an assignment in which first-year students interacted in structured conversations outside of class for 10 weeks of the fall semester. Students reflected on their experiences by responding to prompts at the midpoint and end of the semester, and the researcher conducted a qualitative analysis of the responses with a focus on the question: “Have our teaching practices nudged students toward genuine engagement with the people around them?” The most common themes revealed that structured conversations functioned as a formative relational practice, which moved students to engage in meaningful ways with people with whom they previously thought they would have nothing in common.

Shifting to a high impact practice-centered student worker staffed research desk: a Hispanic serving institution perspective

PurposeThe authors seek to demonstrate, from a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) perspective, the importance of utilizing High Impact Practices (HIPs) for not only more meaningful student employment initiatives, but to benefit the campus community and prepare Hispanic students for success post-graduation.Design/methodology/approachEvaluation of current practices in academic libraries aided the design of the new staffing model, location and name. A survey of research desk student assistants was designed and implemented approximately one academic year after changes were executed. Survey data combined with follow-up interviews summarized the qualitative-focused assessment of the research desk's evolution and verified the validity of maintaining HIPs in libraries for Hispanic student success.FindingsThe transition of the reference desk to a student-staffed research desk was successful in that librarians were able to dedicate more time to other endeavors, such as campus outreach and collection development. The High Impact Practice (HIP)-focused desk model, along with new, customized onboarding and training materials, fulfilled their goals of giving student assistants meaningful employment on campus while also bridging the gap between the library and the mostly Hispanic, first-generation student population. An assessment from the student assistants' point of view helped them further analyze the new research desk model. They found that student assistants noticed the ease with which their peers approached the desk and how their skills learned on the research desk transferred to their classes and future careers.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restructuring of library personnel the authors were unable to implement library patron surveys to evaluate the new desk model.Originality/valueMany academic libraries and partners have made the transition to student-staffed help desks or offer peer-to-peer tutoring or mentoring services. HIPs positively impact marginalized student populations scholastically, but no current studies discuss the effect on the Hispanic student population from an HSI perspective. This study illuminates the wholistic influence HIPs have on Hispanic student assistants, not only their work and peers, but the affect on their academic and personal lives.

Estimated reduction of nitrogen in streams of the Chesapeake Bay in areas with agricultural conservation practices

Spatial data provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resource Conservation Service representing implementation at the field-level for a selection of agricultural conservation practices were incorporated within a spatially referenced regression model to estimate their effects on nitrogen loads in streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Conservation practices classified as “high-impact” were estimated to be effective (p = 0.017) at reducing contemporary nitrogen loads to streams of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in areas where groundwater ages are estimated to be less than 14-years old. Watershed-wide, high-impact practices were estimated to reduce nitrogen loads to streams by 1.45%, with up to 60% reductions in areas with shorter groundwater ages and larger amounts of implementation. Effects of “other-impact” practices and practices in areas with groundwater ages of 14 years or more showed less evidence of effectiveness. That the discernable impact of high-impact practices was limited to areas with a median groundwater age of less than 14 years does not imply that conservation practices are not effective in areas with older groundwater ages. A model recalibrated using high-impact agricultural conservation practice data summarized by county suggests effects may also be detectable using implementation data available at such coarser resolution. Despite increasing investment, effects of agricultural conservation practices on regional water quality remain difficult to quantify due to factors such as groundwater travel times, varying modes-of-action, and the general lack of high-quality spatial datasets representing practice implementation.

Rising to the challenge: adult student perceptions of institutional supports to increase access to careers in biotechnology

PurposeAmidst continued calls for the democratization of access to higher education for historically underrepresented populations alongside the first global health crisis in a century lies the opportunity to address persistent societal needs: increasing access for underrepresented minority students to educational pathways that lead to careers in lucrative fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).Design/methodology/approachStudent participants enrolled in the biotechnology pathway Associates, Bachelors and Masters programs share programmatic experience in an accelerated biotechnology program through a bi-annual survey grounded in the central tenets of social-cognitive career theory aimed at understanding requisite academic, social and financial support for student success.FindingsThe pathway program described in this paper emerged to address the need to support underrepresented students in degree attainment and taking on roles in the growing field of biotechnology through a novel, multi-degree, multi-institutional pathway to STEM degree attainment and career success.Social implicationsThis work has advanced understanding about how to effectively align higher education institutions with each other and with evolving STEM labor market demands while documenting the impact of essential academic, career and social supports recognized in the literature as high impact practices in broadening participation and increasing retention of underrepresented minority students in lucrative STEM careers.Originality/valuePathway programs which best support student success include robust mentoring, experiential learning and robust student scholarship support, part of the design of this unique pathway program. The authors share how this program utilizes high impact practices to provide low-income, underrepresented minority students with supportive, accelerated biotechnology degrees in preparation for success in the job market. What's more, of all our BS-level graduates thus far, 100% are employed and 93% within the biotechnology field. For many, the opportunity to raise their family out of poverty via a stable, high paying job is directly tied to their successes within this program.