Syllabus Statements about High-Impact Practices (HIPs)

All ELAC courses are required to incorporate at least one High-Impact Practice (HIP). Some of these practices may be less familiar to students, and they may not understand why they're being asked to learn and engage in a different way. Some faculty choose to include a statement about why they're including certain practices in their course so that students know from the beginning of the semester what to expect.

Sample Syllabus Statements

Below are examples of statements provided by Eastern faculty.

Sample 1 (from a political science course):

High-Impact Practices are shown to increase student efficacy and learning. These practices aim at helping you to apply what you are learning in academic and real-world contexts. This course utilizes two high-impact practices, collaborative assignments and global/diversity learning.

Collaborative Work: This course was motivated by the need to build on shared viewpoints and better understand the perspectives of those with whom we disagree. In order to have effective conversation, we must also foster trust. We will work together in groups throughout the semester to build community and work towards supporter deeper and clearer understanding of diverse viewpoints. In class discussions, the perspectives analysis assignments, and the presentation will be completed in groups. Groups will be formed at the beginning of the semester, each group member will agree to take on a role for the group (i.e. organizer, communication specialist, secretary, etc.). Groups will remain the same throughout the semester. Your group will have opportunities to switch roles within the group, if your group comes to a consensus about those roles.

Global/Diversity Learning: This course is focused on understanding diverse political perspectives, both those that align with your own views and those which do not. We will consider how political identity is created and how group membership impacts political beliefs, paying attention to how life experiences impact political perspectives. While this type of diversity learning is not global, it requires you to examine differences within groups and individuals in the United States.

Sample 2 (from a math course):

High-Impact Practices are shown to increase student efficacy (or empowerment) and learning. These practices aim at helping students to apply what they are learning in academic and real-world contexts. This course incorporates the following high-impact practices: Inquiry-Based Learning and Collaborative Assignments.

Inquiry-Based Learning: You and your classmates will work together to discover strategies and solutions to problems and puzzles. The focus will be on you figuring out how to solve problems with my guidance. In this class you will be researchers working to solve problems.

Collaborative Assignments: At several points during the semester you and your group will be in charge of writing and communicating solutions to and/or strategies for solving a problem or puzzle to share with the class. More details will be provided about these assignments as the semester progresses.