1. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 1 What Successful Distance Mentors Do: An Exploratory Study Presented by Dr. Barbara K. McKenzie, Dr. Linda Haynes, & Dr. Alison Shook University of West Georgia and Dr. Betul Ozkan – Long Island University

2. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 2 Introduction DE programs have increased greatly the past 10-15 years Impacted by student needs and demands for more flexible and convenient classes Today most institutions with degree granting institutions either have or plan to have DE courses and/or programs

3. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 3 Preparing Online Instructors Training and development is required in advance In the areas of Designing online classes Effective online teaching practices  i.e., Engaging the learner, Providing feedback Using the technology Evaluation

4. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 4 Preparing Online Instructors Online courses must be rethought They are NOT face to face classes put online in their present format with just text documentation Course content must be carefully planned for electronic environment Wide variety of technology is used to engage learner Many factors must be considered Faculty and student training & support, Student services Copyright

5. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 5 Faculty Training Many techniques have been used Meetings with distance experts – formal and informal Faculty development workshops Conferences Reading journals and/or books Online training programs (business & university) Online mentoring Mentoring (group & peer-to-peer)

6. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 6 The Study Purpose To identify types of behaviors exhibited by successful distance mentors who work with new distance instructors Data will be used to improve existing distance training programs

7. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 7 Literature Review (Mentor) Mentor Behaviors Ridout reported 12 important distance mentoring behaviors Responsive to mentee’s needs Good listener Open & honest Non-judgmental Approachable Problem solver Good observer Patient Sets expectations Communicates effectively Helps mentee Has time to do the job

8. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 8 Literature Review (Mentor) Puzziferro-Schnitzer and Kissinger (2005) after examining a virtual mentoring program for online adjunct faculty member identified these behaviors Acts as liaison between the administration and new distance instructor Develops a professional relationship with the mentee

9. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 9 Literature Review (Mentor) Puzziferro-Schnitzer and Kissinger (2005) (continued) Provides help by sharing resources and ideas Facilitates the required online orientation course with the mentee Answers questions Creates courseware and knowledge modules as needed

10. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 10 Literature Review (Mentee) Mentee Behaviors Hunter and Kierman (2002) found effective mentees were Open to learning from mentors Good listeners Knew learning was continuous and he/she should continue to enhance his/her skills over time

11. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 11 Literature Review (Mentee) Ridout (2006) reported mentees Must have a positive attitude towards DE Interested in getting help from a DE mentor Non-judgmental trustworthy A good listener

12. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 12 Literature Review (Mentee) Ridout (2006) continued Take the initiative to be a mentee Ask for feedback from the mentor Acknowledge the mentor’s experience in DE Let the mentor know of outcomes of the activities and the course Is aware of the mentor’s time constraints

13. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 13 Research Questions (addressed in this paper) 1. What are the behaviors of successful distance mentors? 2. What factors cause faculty members to become interested in teaching online? 3. What factors deter faculty from teaching online? 4. What steps should be taken to provide increased support to new online instructors so they will continue teaching online? 5. What are the behaviors of successful distance mentees? 6. What is the impact of the mentoring program?

14. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 14 Participants 20 selected individuals 11 distance mentors, 7 distance mentees, 2 distance administrators Coordinator of program approached participants and asked for their involvement Based on their experience as a mentor or mentee All were volunteers All had time to be interviewed

15. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 15 Participants Gender 14 females, 4 males Departments Media & IT = 8 participants; Special Education & Speech Pathology = 4; Counseling & Ed Psychology = 3; Distance Office = 3; Ed Leadership = 2

16. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 16 Data Interview and questionnaire techniques utilized Questionnaire - written responses provided Interview – audiotaped and transcribed

17. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 17 Data for the Study Open ended interviews e-mailed to participants in advance Took place Dec. 2006 & Jan. 2007 Interviews took 15-30 minutes Taped and later transcribed Reports were read and read by the team Patterns were looked for across the data Preliminary findings and frequency of occurrence for the statements are reported

18. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 18 Types of Behaviors Exhibited by Successful Mentors Patience (N=6), Communicated effectively (N=5), Listens (N=4),

19. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 19 Types of Behaviors Exhibited by Successful Mentors Meets the distance mentee as needed (N=3) Models the effective use of technology Guides in the mentee’s selection of technology Provides support as needed

20. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 20 Types of Behaviors Exhibited by Successful Mentors Understands that glitches happen with distance learning and remains calm (N=2) Problem solves Uses technology effectively Passionate about distance learning

21. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 21 Types of Behaviors Exhibited by Successful Mentors Good instructional designer Has a fearless let’s try it attitude Honest Provides feedback to mentee

22. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 22 What factors cause faculty members to become interested in teaching online? Enjoys improving their technology and/or online teaching and design skills (N=6) Wants to share their ideas in distance education with others (N=5)

23. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 23 What factors cause faculty members to become interested in teaching online? Faculty have seen the impact of distance education (N=4) Enjoy helping others learn Believe that distance education classes enable students to obtain an education that would not otherwise be possible

24. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 24 What factors cause faculty members to become interested in teaching online? Students requested online classes delivered from faculty member (N=3) Serving as a distance mentor provides an opportunity to get to know peers better (N=2)

25. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 25 What factors cause faculty members to become interested in teaching online? Has a vested interest in the distance program Funding from the mentor/ mentee program has enabled the faculty member to attend conferences and purchase needed technology, Wants to provide support to other faculty members

26. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 26 What factors deter faculty from teaching online? The fear of technology (N=11) The amount of time it takes to develop an online course (N=8) The perception by some faculty members that online courses are not quality educational courses (N=5)

27. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 27 What factors deter faculty from teaching online? Work load issues (N=4) Faculty are not familiar with the new developments in technology Faculty need to be trained on how to design and teach online courses (N=3) Fear of change Worried of losing interaction with students

28. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 28 What steps should be taken to provide support to new OL instructors? Provide time for faculty to explore new technologies (N=4) Provide money for OL training and development

29. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 29 What steps should be taken to provide support to new OL instructors? View DE pursuits as legitimate scholarly work Report to administrators the work of mentors and mentees and their positive impact on distance learning

30. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 30 What steps should be taken to provide support to new OL instructors? Continue to provide a quality mentor to interested mentees (N=3) Continue to provide software and hardware to explore the technologies Recognize mentors and mentees Provide certificates Write letters of recognition for their participation

31. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 31 What steps should be taken to provide support to new OL instructors? Provide small group meetings for collaboration (N=3) Give reassigned time for substantial OL work so the necessary time is available for course development (N=2)

32. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 32 What are the behaviors of Successful Distance Mentees? Willing to learn OL teaching and learning techniques in order to be an effective instructor (N=9) Organized (N=6) Willing to devote the time needed to teach OL Interested in learning OL teaching practices

33. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 33 What are the behaviors of Successful Distance Mentees? Asks for help and ideas in the development of their OL course (N=5) Persistent Patient (N=4) Open to ideas Plans ahead Desires to do what is best for students (N=3) Flexible

34. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 34 What is the Impact of the Mentoring Program? The program helps to improve the quality of OL courses (N=12) Provides a forum for experienced distance instructors to share some of their past problems and mistakes with other distance instructors (N=5)

35. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 35 What is the Impact of the Mentoring Program? Program is a good start for faculty who wish to teach OL classes (N=3) Participants have an opportunity to share their ideas with others Program provides beneficial prof. development opportunity for distance mentors and mentees Distance mentees enhance their technology and distance skills (N=2)

36. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 36 Results & Future Directions All participants were supportive and indicated the program had a positive impact on both their teaching and their students Next year it is likely the program will continue 300 F2F class sessions/meetings were put online in fall 06 and spring 07 Data from the study will be used for evaluative purposes for distance mentor and mentees. Self reflection Screening purposes

37. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 37 Results and Future Directions Data will be disseminated to administrators To make improvements in distance programs and faculty support Study will be continued and expanded

38. DL Administration Conference ~ June 2007 38 What Successful Distance Mentors Do: An Exploratory Study Any Questions? Presented by Dr. Barbara K. McKenzie – bmckenzi@westga.edu,bmckenzi@westga.edu Dr. Linda Haynes – lhaynes@westga.edulhaynes@westga.edu Dr. Alison Shook – ashook@westga.eduashook@westga.edu Dr. Betul Ozkan – bozkan@liu.edubozkan@liu.edu