Uncovering the Promise of Faculty Success Online Lawrence C. Ragan, Ph.D. Penn State’s World Campus NERCOMP Boston 2005

Program Agenda 1:00Program Introductions and Expectation Setting Presenter and Participants... 1:30Elements of Faculty Success 2:30Team Assignments I 3:00BREAK 3:30Team Report Outs 4:30Summary and Evaluations

Introductions Lawrence C. Ragan... Desired outcomes... Participants...

Elements of Faculty Success What are the critical elements that must be in place for faculty to succeed in the online environment?

To be successful in the OLE faculty need... BRAINSTORM ACTIVITY motivation...

The Right Stuff are sincerely committed to providing a quality learning experience for their students... are willing to take risks and carry through when failure occurs... thrive in new “dynamics” of online learning... interested in doing things differently

Skills and Competencies Pedagogical skills of online learning Technical skills Changing dynamics of the online classroom –Social (individual and group) –rules of balance (student-to-student and students & faculty) –time and place

External Motivation/Incentives Monetary rewards Academic rewards and recognition Promotion and tenure Self-serving (saving faculty time, increasing flexibility) Balanced/reasonable workload

Internal Faculty Motivation Understanding why/what brings faculty to the OLE Addressing motivational needs –experimentation –increasing quality of instructional experience –increasing financial returns

Internal Faculty Motivation Want to improve teaching and learning Want to address specific course issue Want to reach new audiences Want to increase income

Support Services Instructional design consultation Technical support (for both faculty & students) Advising/counseling Administrivia Infrastructure Teaching (GAs/TAs)

Team Assignment Challenges and solutions

Elements and Strategies Select one or more element –See next page for list Briefly describe the issue Identify potential solutions Report out...

Elements Internal Faculty Motivation Support Services External Motivation/Incentives Skills and Competencies The Right Stuff Faculty Workload Management Instructional Support Services (working w/faculty in course production)

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Strategies for Managing the Online Workload Ways to keep faculty engaged

RESEARCH PROBLEM Real or perceived barrier to faculty participation in online learning: Online education is MUCH MORE WORK than face-to-face instruction

SMOW Project Purpose To identify and refine those strategies, techniques, and methods that enable faculty to manage their workload in the online teaching and learning environment

Workshop Outcome Create a document which captures the most effective workload management strategies for an online environment in order to help faculty manage the online teaching workload

Categories for Strategy Teams from Survey Authoring Strategies Teaching Strategies Revision & Improvement Strategies Institutional Strategies New category: Support Services

Review Team New teams were arranged to review the output of the prior teams Add/modify/refine strategies

Workshop Results Collection of strategies organized into four categories (8 to 11 strategies/category) Includes –Brief description of the strategy –Benefits –Limitations –Effectiveness rating

Authoring Strategies Adopting a course development model, Identifying and acquiring existing learning resources, Establishing and distributing reusable templates, Providing the course author with a sample online course, Providing students with specific instruction for assignments, Applying project planning and management methods to the course development process, Establishing a course development team, Designing balanced instructional activities Finalizing one module or unit before developing the remainder of the course, Developing rubrics for each graded student assignment, and Creating a learning object database

Teaching Strategies Clarifying and enhancing students’ technical skills before registration, Providing a detailed syllabus, Defining the operating parameters of the course, Creating feedback rubrics, Establishing a routine, Incorporating a learning management system for recording course transactions, Fostering group dynamics within the course, Beginning the course with an activity that encourages interaction, and Establishing consistent, effective methods of electronic communication

Revision & Improvement Strategies Projecting the volume and frequency of revision necessary and budgeting accordingly Conducting multiple evaluations of the courses, Conducting a pilot run or initiating an expert internal review before release of the course, Managing the revision cycle as an integral part of the course, Developing methods for managing dynamic course elements (updates), Inviting student feedback at the close of the course, Developing and maintaining a course history, Involving the original course author in the revision process, and Rewarding students for reporting errors in the course material

Institutional Strategies Ensuring faculty access to instructional design and systems support, Providing adequate faculty development opportunities, Providing technical support for faculty and students, Providing an adequate learning management system, Establishing institutional parameters for online operation, Integrating institutional administrative systems and tools, Providing clear institutional policies on intellectual property rights, Defining the role of online education in the mission of the institution, Developing institutional policy for compensating and rewarding faculty and academic units, and Providing copyright and permissions support and policies

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