Implicit Curriculum in DE programs Looking ahead to EPAS 2015 Andrew Quinn, Phd, Department of social work, assessment coordinator, University of North Dakota

Defining Distance Education A mode of delivering education and instruction to students who are not physically present in a traditional setting such as a classroom. Distance learning provides access to learning when the source of information and the learners are separated by time and distance, or both

Types of Distance Education Deliveries Asynchronous Students and instructors do not communicate in real time; parties do not need to be in the same space simultaneously Emails, discussion groups, posting to social media site Synchronous Students and instructors interact in real time; parties are in the same space simultaneously FaceTime, Adobe Connect Professional, Skype, Interactive Television (ITV/IVAN), chatrooms Hybrid A combination of asynchronous and synchronous whether contact is virtual or combined with an on campus experience

Distance Education Programs A program can be defined as a distance education program that uses synchronous and/or asynchronous technologies to deliver the majority (greater than 50%) of their curriculum online* Caveat is field. Above definition refers to curriculum offerings up to field. * Quinn and Barth, 2014

Defining the Implicit Curriculum Came out of education (Jackson, 1968) Called the Hidden Curriculum Focuses on the other 3 r’s RULES, REGULATIONS, and ROUTINES that help students and instructors be successful in the SOCIAL aspects of a scholastic institution. Has been discussed in several professions Medical Teacher education Music education Athletics Psychology

Defining Implicit Curriculum CSWE introduced the need to consider the implicit curriculum into EPAS 2008 the educational environment in which the explicit curriculum [the content of our classes] is presented Refined for EPAS 2015 The Educational Environment (as defined by CSWE, 2015) Diversity Student development Faculty Administrative structure Resources

Operationally Defining the Implicit Curriculum for the DE program

Diversity Reflected through the learning environment Institutional settings (context the institution is grounded in) Consider populations served Consider the mission of the University, of the College, Program De program offerings can support or distract Faculty Employ diverse faculty Distance education technologies allows for faculty displaced from campus to teach Outside Content Use World Wide Web to expose students to diversity Use YouTube to expose students to diversity Bring in guest speakers who can provide content regarding diversity Make up of student body Distance Programs can admit students from all over the world Distance Program opens education to those who are not able to attend on-campus classes EG: Physical issues, distance to campus

Student Development Policies Advising Handbooks distributed online In-person or virtual orientation Advising Virtual Advising Email, phone, SMS, conferencing software (Skype, Adobe Connect Professional), chat In Person Participation in Faculty Governance (Committee structure) Virtual connection Participation in Campus Events Live Stream Events (allows for real time Q&A) Post recorded events Participation in Social Work Clubs Social Media Streaming meetings Use CMS to connect students to club postings Culture of Human Exchange CMS Traditional Ways of Communicating

Faculty Teaching on-line Competency Supports Is it more work? Balancing with Campus Classes Competency Assure that faculty are familiar with the technology Pedagogy drives technology choices Competent to teach assigned content Supports Course development IT Support Instructional Design Conferences A FACULTY COMFORTABLE AND COMPETENT WITH TECHNOLOGY WILL IMPROVE THE DELIVERY OF THE IMPLICIT CURRICULUM

Administrative and Governance Structure Admit # of students that technology supports Balance student: teacher ratio based on what the technology can support If synchronous and cameras are on, more bandwidth is used, need smaller classes Consider the role of a Distance Coordinator Makes sure classrooms are available Provides tech support to faculty Provides orientation to students Serves as the initial contact for distance students Makes sure faculty are trained Makes sure department is considering the most current technology

Resources Provide current and working technology to instructors Access to real time technical support Assure Access to Campus Events, clubs etc Make training available for faculty teaching in DE Support continuing education efforts Access to libraries Meet and great librarian

Affecting the Implicit Curriculum Things that can effect Implicit curriculum in DE programs (and in turn effect the explicit curriculum) Spotty technology Faculty challenged by technology Not taking advantage of the full capacities of the technology Focusing on technology more so than pedagogy Access to field Lack of institutional support Lack of diversity in field choices Aging platforms (CMS, Synchronous platforms, others?) Use of adjuncts vs. tenured/tenured track professors Class sizes pushing the limits of the technology (especially in synchronous DE offerings) Age old Question: can all SW content be taught using a DE platform De student body makeup doesn’t reflect the diversity expressed in mission statements OTHERS? Implicit curriculum is not mutually exclusive from explicit curriculum Poor implementation of the Implicit Curriculum will have bearing on the Explicit Curriculum Poor implementation of the Explicit Curriculum will have a bearing on the Implicit Curriculum

EPAS 2015 Competencies are holistic Performance and knowledge, values, critical thinking, affective reactions, and exercise of judgement Assessment must be multi-dimensional Accounts for learning outcomes and demonstration of competencies Assessment also involves gathering data regarding the Implicit Curriculum Which MAY include but NOT limited to assessment of diversity, student development, faculty, administrative and governance structure, and resources Look at aspects of the implicit curriculum in conjunction with the explicit curriculum as possible culprits if there appears to be substandard achievement of competency attainment

Research on Assessing the Implicit Curriculum Holosko et al (2010): created a glossary of terms, FAQ for advisors, and a FAQ for field problems and resources for students and field instructors Assessment: use of a flexible framework that is mixed methods and both simple and systematic in its approach Petracchi and Zastrow (2010): offered some suggestions on how to assess implicit curriculum Advising survey, course evals, assessment of field experience, exit survey Grady et al (2011): Reported on Implicit Factors Survey Questions about community, diversity, faculty advising, and support services Miller (2013): Examined Professional Socialization Used several scales to examine outcomes related to values, attitudes, and professional identity Peterson et al (2014) used components of the implicit curriculum as predictors of students professional empowerment Diversity of faculty and staff, supportive faculty, opportunity role structure, access to information, feeling valued, and sense of community

Research on Assessing the Implicit Curriculum Quinn and Barth (2014): asked distance education programs about how implicit curriculum was operationalized in their DE programs Poses the question should implicit curriculum for distance education programs be assessed differently then their on-campus counterparts?

Ways to Assess the Implicit Curriculum Self report of students Faculty rate students Employee Surveys Field placement quality evaluations Educational climate ratings Instructor effectiveness ratings Advising Ratings Statistical Models Path SEM

Challenges to Assessment How do we assess implicit curriculum if students are not connected to campus? Synchronous vs Asynchronous Courses How do we assess implicit curriculum if we don’t see the students (Asynchronous classes)? How do we create a culture of Human Exchange similar to campus experience? When in the students’ career do we assess the implicit curriculum Different for Cohort vs non-Cohort Model

Questions How does your program operationalize the implicit curriculum Does it differ from the on campus operational definition What are some challenges in seeing the implicit curriculum in synchronous, asynchronous, and/or hybrid deliveries What are some ways you have considered assessing the implicit curriculum?