Online Faculty Learning Communities (OFLCs): How Connected Do Part-time Instructors Feel?

1. Dr. Robin James, Chair, School of Graduate Education, Kaplan University Dr. Drew Ross, Dean, School of Graduate Education, Kaplan University Online Faculty Learning Communities (OFLCs): How Connected Do Part-time Instructors Feel?

2. Agenda • Measuring connectedness • Rovai’s scale and our quantitative survey • Qualitative follow-up • Interview themes • Next steps

3. Research questions Is the Classroom Community Scale developed by Rovai (2002) an effective tool for measuring OFLC connectedness? How does connectedness fit into a contextualized understanding of faculty development? Pragmatically, what lessons can we learn from faculty that will help us build a stronger sense of community among adjunct instructors?

4. Research design Mixed methodology design based on focus group interviews with participating OFLC members Qualitative pre-testing questionnaires and follow-up group interviews with OFLC members Phenomenological, audience-centered perspective

5. Measuring connectedness: Community index scale Rovai, A. (2002). Development of an instrument to measure classroom community. Internet and Higher Education 5, 197-211. Am I in control of my learning process here? Are members really being honest with me? Do I really fit in with this group? Do others value what I am saying?

6. Some survey items Mixed methodology design based on focus group interviews with participating OFLC members Qualitative pre-testing questionnaires and follow-up group interviews with OFLC members Phenomenological, audience-centered perspective I feel excited about my Online Faculty Learning Community I feel that others in my Online Faculty Learning Community are concerned about my well-being I feel that there is not much interaction with the facilitator I feel that my Online Faculty Learning Community is not learner-centered I feel that there is no group identity I trust other learning community members I feel that I am encouraged to ask questions I feel that I learn useful skills in my Online Faculty Learning Community I feel a sense of cohesion with other instructors I feel that I receive insincere feedback from other learning community members I feel that I learn a lot from other learning community members

7. Some quantitative findings: n=29 I trust other learning community members. I feel a sense of cohesion with other instructors.

8. Some quantitative findings: n=29 I feel that there is no group identity I feel that I learn a lot from other learning community members

9. Survey comments indicated gaps A qualitative follow-up was scheduled to investigate Three 30-minute focus-group interviews were held Total of 12 participants Six or seven open-ended questions in focused interview

10. Follow-up interview questions Tell me about the feedback you have received from other instructors in your learning community. What do you think about the way learning community meetings are structured? Do you recommend any changes to their set up or process? How does the learning community fit with your professional learning/development process? Talk to me about how cohesive your learning community is as a group…how important do you think this cohesion is to its (the learning community’s) success? What kind of input should members have in creating a learning community? In other words, if you had to create it from scratch, what would you do differently? How does participating in the learning community connect to your sense of feeling part of the school or university? Do you trust people in your learning community? How important is trust to the success of the learning community?

11. Qualitative data analysis Phone interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a grounded theory approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss and Corbin, 1990). ATLAS/ti 5.0 used to assist with coding Three-pass system of reading, memoing, coding, and theme-building Four overarching themes were identified

12. Participants saw their OFLCs as: A virtual place where they could go to hear a diversity of opinions about teaching and learning A virtual place where they could learn more about their colleagues and establish collaborative relationships A virtual place where they could derive benefit passively as well as actively A means of enhancing their group interactions with new modalities

13. Limitations Small sample size Not all instructors had participated in the OFLCs for the same amount of time (veterans vs. new hires) Different chairs facilitated the OFLCs, so process was different across groups

14. Findings: Do members feel connected? Many say they do, both in the survey and in the interview Connectedness may have a strong passive component Connectedness may also benefit from mild discord Increasing possibilities for interactions that are not text-based (CMC or writing) seems to breed a sense of connectedness with these instructors

15. Next steps/ mini-conclusions Encouraging openness and candor by decoupling participation from evaluation/assessment Adding opportunities to expand OFLC sessions beyond telephone Adobe Connect sessions, Blogs, Podcasts, Twitter Focus on passive participants to see how they derive benefit and if it is possible (or even wise) to convert them into active participants