Faculty as Authors of Online Courses: Support and Mentoring

Faculty as Authors of Online Courses:Support and Mentoring Gail Matthews-DeNatale, Ph.D. Senior Instructional Designer Deborah Cotler, Ed.M. Instructional Designer Simmons College Educause, 2004

Overview of Today’s Presentation • Introduction • Preliminary concerns of faculty (video) • What first timers need to know • Faculty perspective (video) • Support Framework (developed out of patterns of need) • Two case studies • What’s helpful? • Faculty perspective (video) • Support Strategies (building on what faculty say is helpful) • Institutional framework (roles and guiding questions) Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Our Present Context • It’s not just pioneers – “second wave” are asked/expected to develop hybrid and fully-online courses • It’s not an either/or • Faculty who are “second wave” in relationship to technology may be pedagogical “pioneers” • We need listen to mainstream faculty to hear that perspective and identify patterns of need Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Mary Jane Treacy, Honors Program Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Vicki Bacon, SHS (Adjunct) Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Bob Goldman, Mathematics Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Preliminary Concerns Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Faculty: Preliminary Concerns • Loss of quality • Loss of control • Failure • The person with few preliminary concerns was taken aback by the difference between her expectations and the actual experience. Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Online Authoring: What’s Different? • Posting of a session is distinct/separate from “teaching” the session • Metaphor: session as musical score • Tone • Part • Timing • Structural flow • Requires faculty to develop a new skill set Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

What First Timers Need To Know Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Faculty: What Peers Need to Know • You’re teaching in a new medium • Look at models, consider what will/won’t work for you • Your writing needs to be both explicit and inviting • Because this is authorship, revisions and versioning are part of the process • Think ahead and clarify the plan • Your role will feel different Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Online Courses Require New Skills • be explicit in writing up assignments • write with a familiar tone that conveys both meaning and personality • sequence online learning activities • phrase and sequence questions that prompt meaningful discussion • integrate formative assessment into pilot offerings, and use that assessment to make constructive revisions Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Support Framework (patterns of need) Instructional Designer helps faculty learn: • How to author a coherent, integrated learning experience • What needs to be composed in advance and what can be improvised • How to attend to emotional needs of online learners • How to keep students engaged and oriented online • To consider what the course looks like from the students’ perspective (formative assessment) Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Formative Assessment Questions • How many hours did you spend working on this module? • What are your suggestions for improving this module? Please also fill us in on problems you encountered with technology, directions, or organization of material. • Considering the objectives for this module, what do you think is the most important thing you learned? What questions remain? Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

The Framework in Action Two Case Studies: • Sports Psychology (Vicki Bacon) • WebStat (Bob Goldman) Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Sports Psychology Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Pilot: Formative Feedback • Student engagement lagged • Key concepts not grasped • Students unclear about tasks Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

The Evolution of an Activity First Assignment: Construct Your Genogram Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Sample Genogram Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

WebStat Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Pilot: Formative Feedback • Minor in-line modifications made to sequencing • Course lacked “community” • Technology underutilized Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Revised Version • Focus on interactivity and community • Required group assignments • Chat and “whiteboard” tools incorporated • Increased use of multimedia Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Version Two Improvements Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Faculty: What helped? • Planning, guidance, feedback, editing • Feedback from instructional designer who’s knowledgeable, but not a subject matter “expert” • Mapping things out • Formative assessment • Moral support (companionship) … Hear it from them Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

What Helped? Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Support Strategies Building on what faculty say was helpful: • Establish optimal conditions for dialogue • Clarify goals for students understanding and skill development • Brainstorm ideas • Work with faculty as writers and as revisers Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Suggested Authorship Process • Articulate a template • Model a sequence of authorship that begins with an analysis of students’ ideas (including misconceptions) • Encourage faculty to have someone else read material, looking for areas that need clarification • Help faculty recognize their voice and find that voice in writing • Set up a process for revision (versioning) that draws on formative assessment and peer feedback Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Avenues for Support Building a “community of practice” through: • Annual Tech Fair (with posters of exemplary faculty work) • Workshops, conferences, and a faculty institute • Theme-based Faculty Lunch Series (designing groupwork, facilitating discussions, increasing student engagement, formative assessment) • Fellowships and Mini-grants Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Final Words • Recognize that support for online learning is a systemic issue (institution-wide) • There are many questions that Academic Administrators and Program Directors may not know to ask • Be proactive in providing guiding questions and in clarifying role expectations (see handouts) Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Visit us on the web http://my.simmons.edu/services/technology/ptrc Go to “articles & newsletters” for this presentation Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, Educause, 2004

Faculty as Authors of Online Courses: Support and Mentoring