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Slide 1: The Pennsylvania State University Discovering What Faculty REALLY Need to Know about Teaching Online Ann Luck & Carol McQuiggan The Pennsylvania State University 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 2 2 A Little Background… Lots of groups and individuals doing faculty development at Penn State, but no coordination Faculty development efforts tend to be our “best guess” Traditionally low participation More and more “decentralized” distance learning development, but no resources to support Want to develop faculty resources that can be used by anyone at PSU in multiple ways! 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 Research Questions Q1: With what aspects of teaching online do faculty need assistance? Q2: What types of professional development experiences are needed by online faculty? Q3: What format should these professional development experiences take to best meet faculty needs? Q4: What incentive(s) do faculty wish to receive in return for participating in a professional development experience that is focused on teaching online? 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 4 3 4 The Survey Instrument Web-based 32 items in 3 parts: 1. 2. 3. Target Population Higher education faculty who have taught at least one completely online course at PSU 260 World Campus faculty 237 Usable e-mail addresses 68 Surveys returned Response rate of 28.7% Sample closely reflects population Online teaching experience(s) Professional development experience(s) Demographics 28 multiple-choice type questions; 4 openended 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 5 5 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 6 6 1
Slide 2: Who are our online faculty? Teaching at college level more than 5 years (n=53; 78%) Rank of Asst. Prof. or lower (n=34; 51.5%) What Made Online Teaching Experience Positive? 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 ac te 15 10 7 7 5 3 36-55 years old (n=44; 64.7%) Not on tenure track (n=39; 58%) or already tenured (n=26; 39%) Have taught more than one course online (n=42; 61.8%) Full-time (n=54; 80.6%) en es s cti v ien ce pe r Fl ex ha r Ex In t er a (n=43; 64%) (n=40; 81.6%) 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 7 St u de nt c Experience was somewhat positive or very positive 7 Note: Survey respondents (19) who taught 5 or more online courses not included in this data 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 8 Ef fe Su pp o ri. ib ili ct Male io n ty .. rt 8 What Made Online Teaching Experience Positive? Student characteristics (15) Enthusiastic, motivated, attentive, returning adult students, working professionals, approached their studies more seriously “Primarily the fact that the students tended to be “returning” adult students who were very interested and motivated to succeed in the course (unlike the “college age” student who commonly does as little as possible to get as high a grade as possible).” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 9 What Made Online Teaching Experience Positive? Experience (10) “The new experience of learning how to teach material using on-line media.” “Ability to experience a new teaching approach.” Flexibility (7) “I personally enjoy the flexibility that teaching online provides for my schedule” “ability to have students complete individual activities at personal rate but still have team and team activities completed weekly” 9 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 10 10 What Made Online Teaching Experience Positive? Interaction (7) “I enjoy the high-level of quality personal interaction that I’m able to have with my students.” What Made Online Teaching Experience Negative? 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 F2 16 Effectiveness of learning activities (5) “I was impressed with how well the online projects and discussion worked. . .” 5 5 Support (3) “Excellent support from World Campus Designers and support staff.” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 11 rt Su pp o Note: Survey respondents (19) who taught 5 or more online courses not included in this data 11 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 12 La ck Te ch no lo of gy F 12 2
Slide 3: What Made Online Teaching Experience Negative? Lack of F2F (16) “I felt disconnected from the students – I had no way to respond to nonverbal cues that indicate their interest and motivation (or lack of).” “Lack of face-to-face time and interaction limits the rapport building that is an important element of effective teaching/learning.” “I’m trying to remain upbeat with this response. I think moving from “live” performance to complete on-line format is a difficult transition.” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 13 What Made Online Teaching Experience Negative? Support (5) “World Campus aspects – registration problems, ordering wrong books, links not working – were laughably bad.” “Conflicting policies, lack of university support, and inconsistent application of standards has made all of my negative experiences ‘top down’ – i.e. management related” Technology (5) “Occasional administrative/software/hardware inadequacies along with the randomness of “when” were the negatives.” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 14 13 14 Assistance/Resources to Develop & Teach Future Online Course Technical advice, assistance & support (20) “I would want excellent, on-call technical support” “Technical advice and assistance for transitioning course content from written word to graphical or flash-based presentation” “Graphics/multimedia assistance.” “Specific resources for “special” needs (multimedia, copyright research/clearance, short term assistance in writing code or solving specific technical problems, etc).” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 15 Assistance/Resources to Develop & Teach Future Online Course Instructional designer advice & assistance (15) “An instructional designer to discuss implication and strategies at each step of the course development process.” “I want to understand the parameters of the design so that I will know how to include interaction between students and the instructor.” “Instructional designer support that would allow me to put multiple interactive exercises and problems in my course.” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 16 15 16 Assistance/Resources to Develop & Teach Future Online Course Colleagues (7) “A community of people teaching the same/related course.” “More colleagues in my department who are also teaching online. “ Advice for Colleague Teaching Online for First Time – Preparation Things you need to do BEFORE teaching online Course & teaching preparation (19) Observe an online course/be an online student (11) Work with an instructional designer (9) Talk to colleagues (9) Learn ANGEL (6) Locate technical assistance (3) Gain access to resources (3) Consider it a work-in-progress (2) Use what you learn to improve your resident instruction (1) 17 Tool improvements (7) “More technical options to have homework done and graded on-line.” “An expert system that helps structure basic online instructional methods based on the teaching goals and objectives of the course.” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 17 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 18 18 3
Slide 4: Advice for Colleague Teaching Online for First Time – Preparation Course & teaching preparation (19) “Know your subject! Know where you're going with the course. In other words have your course objectives written and in your memory.” “Get organized. Prepare lesson and course objectives. Prepare content to meet those objectives. Prepare assessment tools (variety of different tools) to see that objectives being met.” “Carefully consider your expectations regarding students' interaction and assignments. What do you need from them in order to feel like you are effectively teaching them?” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 19 Advice for Colleague Teaching Online for First Time – Preparation Course & teaching preparation (19) “Do not see online learning as a direct transfer of what is done in a face-to-face learning situation to an electronic context. Online learning necessitates a "re-thinking" of the best means of presenting content and building a successful learning environment. Get background into the "best practices" and approach of the most successful online courses that are similar to the course you have in mind.” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 20 19 20 Advice for Colleague Teaching Online for First Time - Teaching Things to do while teaching the course Establish a presence (7) Give prompt, effective feedback (7) Provide detail and clarity (6) Set expectations (4) Provide interaction (4) Play a facilitative role (3) Be flexible (2) Advice for Colleague Teaching Online for First Time - Teaching Establish a presence (7) “I'd tell my colleague to make customer service a priority during the course's offering. High quality interaction and "being there" for the students is the best way to combat the commonly held misconceptions that on-line education is impersonal and that on-line instructors are "unplugged" from their students.” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 21 21 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 22 22 Advice for Colleague Teaching Online for First Time - Teaching Give prompt, effective feedback (7) “I have scripted general feedback to weekly lessons. I use that primarily and add personal comments on top of that when I correspond with each individual student.” Advice for Colleague Teaching Online for First Time – Time “Expect for teaching online to take a lot more time than teaching face-to-face, and budget time accordingly.” “Be prepared to devote a lot of time at the "front end." Careful and thoughtful development requires time, thought, a consideration of all options that are available, and an open mind.” “Make sure you have time for students almost 24 hours.” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 24 Provide detail and clarity (6) “Assume nothing - spell every activity out in as much detail as possible. Explain your grading scheme. Provide assessment rubrics.” 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 23 23 24 4
Slide 5: Helpful Aspects of Professional Development Events Sharing experiences (11) “Hearing about the experience of other online instructors is very helpful.” “Interaction between course development teams in other colleges and universities are far and away the most beneficial professional events. The shared insights of those who actually develop and offer courses are terribly important.” Type, length, and when? Self-paced/self-directed materials Length Series of short sessions Full day Summer session Self-paced Type Half day Informal face-to-face Informal online Formal face-to-face Formal online When Fall semester Spring semester Break before Summer 26 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 25 25 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 26 Course Design & Development Topics of Interest 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 ap pr op co .t ec ur se h. As m se at ss er m ia ls t. C in re st at ru As in m g se ts vid . ss eo st ud cl ip en s tp ro gr Ad es ap s C tl re ec at tu in re g s au D es di o ig cl ni ip ng s C we re b at si in te g s an D im ev at el io op ns in g ru br Au ics di o to PP T C op yr ig ht Course Delivery Topics of Interest 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 on lin e 38 32 27 24 24 23 22 24 24 23 23 21 21 21 20 20 19 18 di sc . R el at io Fa ns hi ci ps lit at e w In eb cr ea co si nf ng . in te ra ct M io an ns ag in g w or kl oa d 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 si ng ho o C on v er ti ng C 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 27 Fa ci lit at e Fe ed ba ck 28 27 28 Administrative Issues of Interest 25 20 15 10 5 0 Making courses available 71% Barriers to Participation 50 40 30 20 10 0 ... rti c pa 22 42 9 8 13 10 9 P& T ite 29% 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 25.8% 29 La ck Li m of Overview of Overview of World Campus World Campus Help Desk Student Services in ce n iti o n to re co gn e d 29 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 La ck tim of N ot aw ar e tiv e 30 30 5
Slide 6: Primary Incentive for Participation 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 P& T iti on Q1: With what aspects of teaching online do faculty need assistance? Course Design and Development Choosing appropriate technologies to enhance my online course Converting course materials for online use Creating video clips Determining ways to assess student progress in an online course Adapting traditional lecture material to an online environment Creating audio clips Designing and developing attractive Web sites 12 9 7 6 6 ch in g cia l C er tif ic at e Fi na n 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 As si st an ce R ec og n te a N on e 31 31 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 32 32 Q1: With what aspects of teaching online do faculty need assistance? Course Delivery Facilitating online discussion forums (e.g., threaded message boards) Building and enhancing professor/student relationships in the online classroom Facilitating Web conferencing sessions (using tools like ElluminateLive, Centra Symposium, WebEx, or Horizon Wimba) Increasing interactions in an online course (e.g., student-to-student, faculty-to-students) Managing my online teaching workload 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 33 Q1: With what aspects of teaching online do faculty need assistance? Access to instructional designers and colleagues who have experience teaching online Technical advice & assistance Design assistance & resources Give/share/discuss real-life examples/experiences 33 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 34 34 Q2: What types of professional development experiences are needed by online faculty? Self-paced/self-directed materials: Web-based resources, video tapes/DVDs, CDs, handouts, etc. Informal face-to-face events: presentations, brown bag meetings, etc. Informal online events: Web-based presentations, chat sessions, etc. Formal face-to-face events: a regularly scheduled course or set of training modules Formal online events: Web-based, regularly scheduled course or set of training modules 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 35 Q3: What format should these professional development experiences take to best meet faculty needs? Series of short (less than 1 day) sessions/workshops conducted over several weeks Full day Self-paced program (i.e., completed at one’s own time/pace) = 11 (20.4%) Half day In Summer, Fall, or Spring semester, or break before Summer semester 35 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 36 36 6
Slide 7: Q4: What incentive(s) do faculty wish to receive in return for participating in a professional development experience? Recognition toward promotion/tenure (n=12; 23.5%) Next Steps… Presentations to various stakeholders Publish article Form campus-based faculty learning communities? Develop learning objects for a central “pot” of resources? Connect campus faculty learning communities? Develop a mentoring program? Who will do what? Funding? 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 38 Financial incentive (n=9; 17.6%) Assistance teaching online course (n=7; 13.7%) Receipt of a University-sponsored certificate of achievement in online teaching (n=6; 11.8%) Release time (n=6; 11.8%) None (n=6; 11.8%) 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 37 37 38 Discussion What might be the best model for faculty development to meet diverse needs? How does this meet with your own experiences? What resources already exist that we can all draw from? 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning August 2-4, 2006 39 39 7