1. Mentoring Online Faculty
Dr. Dianna Rust
Ms. Layne Bryant
Middle Tennessee State University

2. Overview Mentoring Peer Observations Faculty Training
Faculty Evaluations
Communication Plans
Other Resources
Important to mentor new and regular online faculty.  This session will discuss how MTSU University Studies department has developed an ongoing mentoring program for online faculty.​ ​
According to Feiman-Nemser and Remillard (1995), teaching expertise sufficient for educators to be considered experienced enough to move out of a mentoring relationship, or move onto autonomy without a great deal of professional support and development, does not occur until after they have taught for 5 to 7 years (p. 4). These authors categorized the development of faculty members into several stages, beginning with an initial period of survival and discovery, which leads into a time of experimentation and consolidation, and finally, a point of mastery and stabilization (p. 4).​
Rogers et al, 2009 identified four cornerstones that comprise an effective program. Those four cornerstones are "professional development, active communication, building balance, and forming relationships" 

3. Department Profile 3 Full time tenure track 2 Full time temporary
17 Adjunct faculty
1050 University Studies majors Fall 2018
35 sections

4. Mentoring Best Practices
Institutions should assign new online faculty members mentors who are not their direct supervisor.
Another good practice is for mentees to have access to mentors’ classes. 
Mentors should review their mentees’ class prior to the start date; offer weekly meetings; review discussion forum participation and reinforce best practices; and review grading and feedback.
Mentoring is categorized into 3 elements emotional, technical and instructional (Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2009). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong)
Baldacci and Moore-Johnson (2006) wrote that newer faculty members not receiving supportive and collaborative motivational support from mentors will change schools or leave the profession altogether. ​ ​
Additionally, Moir (2004) described how the crucial capacity of the mentoring faculty member is to care for the emotional and professional needs of the mentee in a timely and responsive manner. ​  ​
Montemayor and Romero (2000) recommended that the key concept of this relationship is to understand that all students and mentees are inherently good and worthy of being treated with dignity and respect. Imparting this belief concerning faculty mentees is invaluable in the mentor and mentee relationship.

5. Mentoring Online Faculty at MTSU
Content Mentoring
Online Teaching Mentoring
Mentees are new to teaching course content
Mentors have taught course content multiple semesters
Content is pre-developed and loaded into online sections
Mentors determine frequency of meetings
Mentors use standard checklist
Mentees are new to teaching online
Mentors have earned the Certified Online Instructor designation
Mentors may be from different academic departments
Mentors required to meet three times in the semester
Mentors use standard checklist

6. Peer Observation Best Practices
New teachers should be observed two or three times in their first term and then once or twice in subsequent terms.
Observation should be followed up with written feedback. 
Feedback should be provided about the faculty member’s leadership of the discussion forum, response to student assignments/grading, response time to s etc.

7. Peer Observation at MTSU
Faculty observers are from the same academic department
Faculty and adjuncts are observed once per academic year
Faculty observers may meet in person or conduct review in the LMS
Peer observation form includes faculty reviewer feedback and opportunities for instructor self reflection

8. Online Faculty Training Best Practices
Institutions should establish goals for:
Must haves:
Orientation and ongoing professional development
Load and compensation
Responsibility for course features, such as creating a syllabus, plagiarism information, introduction, welcome and unit introductions and summaries
Timeliness
Tone and type of interaction with students
Orientation for online faculty 
Include information about the University and the student population they will be teaching
Include expectations
Principles of quality instruction
Demonstrate the technology
Provide course overview
Institutions should set expectations in three areas: discussion forum participation, grading student assignments, and office hours. ​ ​
Types of Faculty Development Programs​
1.    Instructor-led courses are effective for in-depth exploration of major topics that require interaction with other participants and the faculty member. ​
2.    Webinars and seminars are live, synchronous events used to teach a simple topic or single tool. Institutions can record them for others to view at a later time. Institutions can also extend webinars by assigning readings in advance and using discussion forums before and after.​
3.    Archived papers are papers that faculty members and staff write about topics unique to the institution. Bibliographies can also provide links to published articles on topics of interest to online faculty members. A number of journals now focus on online teaching.​
5.    Faculty meetings can include discussions about online teaching. Center staff or academic department leaders can organize such meetings.​
6..    Brown-bag discussions via telephone with small groups permit a different type of interaction. Discussions of books or articles can educate and build community.​
7.    Online conferences are becoming more common. ​
8. Tutorials are especially effective for learning about new technology tools and LMS features because they can include screenshots and step-by-step graphics with the opportunity to practice.

9. Online Faculty Training at MTSU
Departmental Faculty Training
Institutional Faculty Training
Semi-annual faculty meetings
Report curriculum or course design changes for upcoming term based on student learning outcomes assessment
Discuss faculty feedback and determine next steps
Review departmental and university policies
LMS training specific to courses
Brown bag luncheons
Optional MTSU LMS boot camp
Required best practices in online teaching week-long workshop for faculty new to online teaching

10. Online Faculty Evaluation Best Practices
Institutions should conduct performance reviews at least annually
Performance reviews should include observation feedback and also include student satisfaction, achievement and performance data
If student evaluations of teaching are administered online, implement strategies to increase the response rate:
Explain purpose of evaluation
Explain how evaluation results are used
Provide incentive for completion (extra credit, ungraded requirement)

11. Online Faculty Evaluation at MTSU
Written Annual Evaluation includes:
Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET)
Grade distribution and retention reports
Adherence to departmental policies

12. Online Faculty Communication Plans at MTSU
Faculty feedback survey
Start of semester instructions
Bi-weekly s
Semester wrap-up instructions
If interaction from the institution to the online faculty is absent, then professional isolation is likely to prevail. 

13. Other resources for online faculty development
Course delivery rubric available in Clinefelter, D. (2012) Best Practices in Online Faculty Development. The Learning House, Inc. Faculty-Development_Web_Final.pdf
Peer Observation Form Kingsborough Community  College, Peer Review of Online Teaching.
Tobin, T., Mandernach, B., & Taylor, A. (2015).  Evaluating online teaching: Implementing best practices. San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass. 
Williams, T., Layne, M., and Ice, P. (2014). Online Faculty Perceptions on Effective Faculty Mentoring: A Qualitative Study. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 17(2).
Professional organizations