Published on Dec. 4, 2024

This summer, Mizzou faculty attended the High Impact Practices Summer Institute, a pilot program funded by a 2024 MizzouForward Student Success grant. This professional development retreat was designed to help faculty integrate high-impact practices (HIPs) into course curricula. 

The summer institute provided support to faculty seeking to enhance their courses by drafting either a course proposal or a revised course syllabus while in attendance. The organizers hoped 50 faculty would attend, but over a hundred registered. 

During the two-day institute faculty were challenged to reflect on their undergraduate years and think about when they engaged in learning in a format different from the traditional model of receiving information in the classroom. Many recalled transformative experiences of creativity and growth that remain with them now. 

HIPs are referred to as “learning that sticks,” because the term describes experiential and purposeful learning practices. Examples of HIPs include internships, undergraduate research, global learning, service learning, community-based learning, writing-intensive courses and first-year seminars and experiences.

Research shows that HIPs contribute to improved retention and graduation rates among participating students.HIPs are part of the student success goals of University of Missouri strategic plan. Goal #7 says: Achieve 100% participation rate of graduating seniors in 3+ high impact educational practices (e.g., undergraduate research; study abroad; practicum/experiential learning experiences; internships; leadership development).

“If we’re going to set that metric, we need to support the faculty charged with making that happen,” said Graham McCaulley, director of the Office of Community Engaged Learning, and lead on the grant proposal for the summer institute.

Other goals for the High Impact Practices Summer Institute included incentivizing broader participation in HIPs, integrating high impact practices into curriculum and supporting participating faculty through an ongoing quality control pilot group called a Community of Practice. 

The pilot program was also supported by Linda Blockus, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, Jerry Frank, director of Freshman Interest Groups (FIGs), Amy Lannin, director of the Campus Writing Program, and Andre Thorn, director of the Center for Academic Success and Excellence (CASE). 

Kristin Schwain, professor of art history in the College of Arts & Science, was glad to see how many of her colleagues at the summer institute were already familiar with high-impact practices and dedicated to improving their teaching and student learning. She was looking forward to the upcoming community of practice meetings.

“When you see people again and again, it creates a community,” Schwain said. “It’s clear that there’s already a community in that there are already people who show up and take advantage of these opportunities. This pilot program formalizes that and creates the chance for more opportunities in the future.”  

Creating a Community of Practice

Following the summer institute, 30 faculty were selected to participate in an interdisciplinary Community of Practice based on the strength of their proposal and with the support of their academic unit. These “HIPs champions” are developing or adapting a course emphasizing one of four HIPs areas: research intensive, writing intensive, service learning or Freshman Interest Groups (FIGs). An estimated 750 students will be impacted by these 30 courses. 

The HIPS Community of Practice meets six times throughout academic year at the Teaching for Learning Center to engage in professional development opportunities. Members will continue learning about research-based best practices from colleagues and the alignment of their courses with institutional goals.  Members will measure course satisfaction and engagement in the pilot HIP courses. Additionally, each member’s academic unit will receive a stipend of $1000 per credit hour in operational support during the semester the course is taught. 

Ashlie Lester, associate teaching professor of Human Development and Family Science in the College of Education and Human Development, said that the summer institute discussions generated lots of exciting ideas. 

“I found it was very helpful to hear what other faculty are doing in their classes to make an impact in the lives of students who will go out and impact in their communities,” Lester said. 

She will offer a new Freshman Interest Group called Love, Family and Relationships that she hopes will help first-year students internalize what they learn and apply it in their own lives by exploring potential careers. 

McCaulley said that the 30-member group will be divided into smaller groups to share best practices, course learning outcomes, and generate materials to share, such as a syllabus bank to enhance their academic learning objectives, regardless of discipline. This is a way to “scale up” HIPs integration for new faculty to use through materials on Canvas. 

The MizzouForward Student Success grant supported this inaugural summer institute and pilot group in its first year, but McCaulley hopes the High Impact Practices Summer Institute and Community of Practice will continue. 

“It’s a way to differentiate ourselves from other institutions,” he said. “It’s a competitive advantage. If you come to Mizzou, you’re not just going to be learning, but you’re going to stretch that learning through these types of practices.”

High Impact Practice Course Examples

Writing Intensive

Kathleen Miller is an associate teaching professor and director of academic programs for Public Administration and Policy in the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs, College of Arts & Science. She is adapting her Public Affairs 4020 course, Program Assessment and Improvement, to be writing intensive.

“Our students will be future government/non-profit sector workers,” Miller said. “They need to be able to write concisely and well, and to understand the tools to get good writing done. For example, be able to use AI as a writing tool, and also be able to recognize when they’re getting something that’s not useful.”  

Research Intensive

Kristin Schwain is a professor of art history in the School of Visual Studies, College of Arts & Science. Schwain’s course, ARH_VS 2850: Introduction to Visual Culture, which was already writing intensive, introduces students to the problems of understanding, analyzing and writing about art and visual culture. In adapting the course to be research intensive, as well, Schwain will incorporate questions about all the ways research has changed.

She said the most helpful thing about her breakout session at the summer institute was seeing how other faculty are breaking apart the research process and then putting it back together again for students.

“With the proliferation of databases, it’s harder to locate the relevant material and make sense of the different scholarly landscapes, especially for interdisciplinary work (art history with musicology, for example),” Schwain said. “It’s also really exciting, because there’s so much primary source material that wasn’t available before.”

Service Learning

Amanda Alexander is an associate teaching professor and the program chair for hospitality management in the College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources. She is developing her course, Hospitality Management 3200, to be a service learning course that connects students with partners in the larger Columbia community.

“Students will gain hands-on experience in the course and possibly end up with an internship,” Alexander said. “Especially with our hospitality management students, there are so many community opportunities that I think it’s sometimes easy to put on the blinders and just focus on campus.”

Freshman Interest Group

Lyria Bartlett, an associate teaching center and chair of architectural studies in the College of Arts & Science, created a new Freshman Interest Group called Design Your Mizzou Experience. The course offers first-year students in architectural studies an immersive introduction to place-making.

“Students used to sit for extended periods of time and develop camaraderie, but now that only exists in small pieces,” Bartlett said. “We’re trying to develop that kind of culture again. Hopefully this FIG unifies students within our program and sets them up for success.”