Faculty as Authors of Online Courses: Support and Mentoring

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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. Overview of Today’s Presentation. Introduction Preliminary concerns of faculty (video) - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Educause, 2004

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

Faculty as Authors of Online Courses, 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