Books
Boyer Commission. (1998). Reinventing undergraduate education: A blueprint for America’s research universities. Menlo Park, CA: Carnegie Foundation.
This report was inspired by the thinking of Ernest Boyer, who died while the commission was doing its work. It identifies key deficiencies in undergraduate education in research universities and provides creative and detailed suggestions for improvement. Interspersed in the report are suggestions for radical changes in the traditional learning environment in these universities, i.e., large lectures given by mediocre teachers. The commission argues persuasively for a learning environment that is an “intellectual ecosystem … [where] inquiry, investigation, and discovery are the heart of the enterprise,” and undergraduates are integrated meaningfully with faculty and graduate students in research projects. Two highlights of the paper are a Bill of Rights for Undergraduates and a set of ten well-supported and detailed recommendations for improving education in research universities.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
How People Learn is a joint report by two committees of the National Research Council: the Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, and the Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice. It is based on a two-year study of the science of learning which links research to classroom experience. Its premise is that the classroom environment must be centered on four aspects: the learner, knowledge, assessment, and community. These four aspects are closely related to the steps in the module 3.1.3 Methodology for Creating a Quality Learning Environment. Some strengths of the report are the plethora of helpful diagrams and practical examples of classroom interactions that illustrate the learning theory being presented, and a set of 33 well-defined research topics for future exploration. This book also contains highly readable descriptions of recent research in the physiology and psychology of learning.
Fink, L. D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
the reversal of the terms “assessment” and “evaluation” from the Faculty Guidebook definitions.The author is an experienced teacher and instructional consultant with more than 20 years experience. He is the 2004-2007 president of the POD network <http://www.podnetwork.org>. In this text, he covers three main concepts: significant learning, integrated course design, and organizational support. The book is also applicable to the guidebook chapters, Instructional Design and Effective Teaching Practices. It is relevant to the chapter, Establishing Quality Learning Environments, as it presents creative ideas about the underlying structure for dynamic, student-centered learning. The author’s central message is that faculty can and should design creative curricula to make student learning significant to their lives. When defining significant learning, the author introduces a replacement for Bloom’s taxonomy. The components of Fink’s taxonomy (foundational knowledge, application, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn) are “interactive and relational.” One confusing point in the discussion of an assessment system is
Gabelnick, F., MacGregor, J., Matthews, R. S., & Smith, B. L. (1990). Learning communities: Creating connections among students, faculty, and disciplines. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 41. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
The authors have much experience with learning communities and give an excellent history of their development. The text examines the impact of curriculum, faculty, and students on the learning environment. It also discusses five models of a learning community: linked courses (two courses with the same cohort of students), clusters (two, three, or four courses linked by a common theme), freshman interest groups (small cohorts in three large courses with peer advisor), federated learning communities (a master learner and a cohort of students enroll in three regular courses and engage in a “content-synthesizing seminar”), and coordinated studies (a cohort of students and a multidisciplinary team of faculty engage in a block of courses with a central theme). The authors include the results of many quantitative and qualitative studies to show how learning communities significantly improve student retention, GPA, intellectual development, and faculty job satisfaction. The book describes how to design and implement a learning community and discusses the problems in doing so. Because learning communities integrate most of the facets of a quality learning environment, this monograph is an excellent resource for all of the modules in this section of the guidebook.
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd expanded edition). Baltimore: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
Wiggins and McTighe have played central roles in performance assessment development for many years. This work clarifies the need to implement a quality assessment system in a successful learning environment. It separates assessment into three levels: quiz and test questions, open-ended critical thinking questions, and performance tasks and projects. The central tenet of the book is the need for backward design: to first identify desired results; then determine acceptable evidence that the results have been achieved; and finally to plan the learning experiences. The text also provides a number of classroom examples that apply the backward design process. The authors present many lists, figures, and tables that help the reader understand and apply their design concepts. Especially helpful are a series of misconception boxes and a detailed rubric outlining various stages contained in the six facets of understanding: explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge.
Wingspread Group on Higher Education. (1993). An American imperative: Higher expectations for higher education. Racine, WI: The Johnson Foundation.
This report attempts to explain why so many students are unable to finish college and why many who do graduate are not prepared to “function in a knowledge-based economy.” The book’s emphasis on the need for higher education to inspire lifelong learning supports the recommendations found in the module 3.1.1 Overview of Quality Learning Environments. The Wingspread Group was a collection of 16 influential members of the higher education community brought together by four foundations at the Wingspread facilities of the Johnson Foundation to study the question, “What does society need from higher education?” The group discussed and developed detailed questions on the following topics: taking values seriously, putting student learning first, and creating a nation of learners. After answering these questions, they hope that colleges and universities will improve their goals and procedures. The study also includes 32 essays dealing with the societal need question, but these add very little to the theory and practice of improving the learning environment.
Organizations
Professional and Organizational Development Network. <http://www.podnetwork.org>
This network of 1200 members sponsors conferences and an active listerv. Its peer-reviewed journal is To Improve the Academy.
The National Learning Communities Project. <http://learningcommons.evergreen.edu>
The National Learning Communities Project, housed at Evergreen College, is a Pew Charitable Trust-funded effort to foster learning communities. Resources on this site include a variety of articles and video clips on theory and practice with learning communities. Site visitors can post information related to their own experiences with learning communities.
National Center for the First Year Experience and Students in Transition. <http://www.sc.edu/fye/research/index.html>
This center at the University of South Carolina conducts research and publishes in multiple formats on the first year experience. In 1999 the Center conducted the first national survey of senior capstone courses. Most of the publications are for sale on this site as monographs and journal articles. The amount of information that is directly available and free is rather limited.
Journal
AACE Journal. <http://www.aace.org/pubs/aacej/>
This publication of the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education became an online journal in 2001. Its focus is the use of technology, and it contains articles related to quality learning environments for distance learning and hybrid class models.