Training Instructors to Teach Online: Research on Competencies/Best Practices

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1 Training Instructors to Teach Online: Research on Competencies/Best Practices Bobbi H. Dubins, M.B.A. Instructor / Instructional Designer Allegany College of Maryland Mary Beth Graham, M.B.A. Lecturer / Instructional Technologist Mount St. Mary s University Introduction / History / Objectives In 2008, Maryland Online (MOL), a consortium of higher education institutions in Maryland, awarded a grant to the Maryland Distance Learning Association s Instructional Design Affinity Group (IDAG) to research the need for, and interest in, a State-Wide Online Teaching Certificate for Adjunct Instructors in Higher Education. The primary objectives of the grant were 1) to research what online instructor certification programs and training were already available, as well as their cost, structure and content (competencies), and 2) to recommend a model (or models) that would allow the development and offering of adjunct faculty training sessions or certification courses as a state-wide group. Methodology In order to achieve those objectives, it was necessary to first identify competencies needed by effective online instructors. This was accomplished by 1) performing a literature review of current knowledge in the field of online teaching, and 2) researching what competencies were included in selected, currently available, reputable training programs. The literature review was used to identify online teaching core competencies and best practices (baseline rubric). This information was then used to systematically gather and compare data on seventeen already established online teaching programs. Research included programs throughout the U.S. Particular attention was paid to programs which received awards, were identified in the literature review as exemplary, or were administered by a higher education consortium. Summarized Results of Literature Review Competencies that appeared in the literature review encompassed eight general competency categories. Additional, more specific, competencies were identified within each general competency category. These competencies were subsequently used to compare the content of the seventeen online teaching programs. The eight general competency categories identified were: 1. Content management system skills (CMS) 2. Other technical skills 3. Instructional design 4. Social processes and presence 5. Managing assessment 6. Orienting students 7. Institutional knowledge (including basic legal such as ADA and copyright) 8. Pedagogy/Andragogy Copyright 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 1

2 Summarized Results of Program Research In-depth interviews were conducted with the seventeen identified programs. The researched programs included public institutions, independent institutions, consortiums, and commercial/for-profit programs. A comparison of the research results for the seventeen programs found the following commonalities in core competencies. 1. Most programs either required basic CMS knowledge as a pre-requisite to the training, or included it in the training. 2. Most programs did not include advanced technical skills in the initial training for new online instructors. The technical skills that were included usually related to what the instructor needed to know to operate within the CMS used by that institution. Types of technology skills ranged from basic (internet, plug-ins) to more advanced (podcasting, Flash). 3. About half of programs discussed basic course design principles. A few included instructional design components/classes separately. Most programs focused on advanced instructional design in a separate training program. 4. Most programs covered social processes and presence in online courses in detail. 5. Most programs covered grade book functions. About half covered creating/using grading rubrics. About half covered providing assessment feedback to students. About a quarter specifically addressed: 1) assessing student engagement in online discussions, groups, collaboration, 2) maintaining assessment integrity, 3) providing students with selfassessment opportunities. 6. Almost all programs covered how to orient students to online learning, guidance for new online learners, communicating technology skills, communicating information on where students can get help for academic/student/technical problems, and managing student expectations. 7. On the whole, basic institutional knowledge was either covered in the training or instructors were guided to a contact person at their home institution. Institutional knowledge was covered in various degrees of depth. Almost 2/3 (10 of 17) covered at least minimal institutional knowledge. 8. Pedagogy/andragogy was discussed in most programs, at least at the level of what is different about learning online and the importance of active learning strategies. Of those that covered pedagogy/andragogy, about half covered it in some degree of depth. The full State-Wide Online Teaching Certificate for Adjunct Instructors in Higher Education grant report may be viewed at Maryland Online s web site at References ADEC Guiding Principles for Distance Teaching and Learning. (2003, January 30). American Distance Education Consortium. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from Copyright 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 2

3 Barnstrom, L. (2006, February 1). Instructional designer s guide to working with faculty. Distance Education Report, 10(3). Retrieved October 13, 2008, from EBSCOhost database. ( ) Berge, Zane L. (1995). Facilitating computer conferencing: recommendations from the field. Educational Technology, 35(1), Boettcher, J., & Conrad, R. (1999). Faculty guide for moving teaching and learning to the Web, (League for Innovation in the Community College Monograph). Cats Assessing online facilitation. Retrieved October 21, 2008, from Community of Academic Staff TIGERS project (California State universities and colleges) site: CC Online Certificate in Online Teaching. (2002). Cerro Coso Community College. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from Codde, J. R., (2006, August 26). Applying the Seven Principles for Good Practice in undergraduate education. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from Michigan State University Web site: Conrad, R., &Donaldson, J. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. Developing online instructors requires more than workshops. (2004, November 1). Distance Education Report, 8(21). Retrieved October 13, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database. ( ) Draves, W. A. (2007) Advanced teaching online (3 rd ed.). River Falls, WI: LERN Books. E-Learning and Online Teaching Certificate. (2008, June 28). University of Wisconsin-Stout. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from The faculty center at New Jersey Virtual University. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2008, from New Jersey Virtual University Web site: Focus on distance education. (2001, March). National Education Association Update 7(2). Retrieved October 13, 2008, from Higher Education Program and Policy Council of the American Federation of Teachers. (2001, November). Distance education: Guidelines for good practice. USDLA Journal, 15(11). Retrieved October 13, 2008, Institute for Higher Education Policy. (2000, April). Quality on the line: Benchmarks for success in Internet-based education. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from Kim, K.-J., & Bonk, C. J. (2006). The future of online teaching and learning in higher education: The survey s. Educause, 29(4). Retrieved October 20, 2008, from Copyright 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 3

4 tureofonlineteachingandle/ Lee, J.-L., & Hirumi, A. (n.d.). Analysis of essential skills and knowledge for teaching online. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from ERIC database (ED485021). National Education Association. (2002, October). The promise and the reality of distance education. NEA Higher Education Research Center Update, 8(3). Retrieved October 13, 2008, from Online learning & teaching online programs. (2007, November 30). Retrieved October 13, 2008, from World Wide Learn Web site: Palloff,. & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning communities in cyberspace:e effective strategies for the online classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Pankowski, P., Ed.D. (2004, September). faculty training for online teaching. T.H.E. Journal. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from Seok, S. (2007, Winter). Standards, accreditation, benchmarks, and guidelines in distance education. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 8(4). Retrieved October 13, 2008, from EBSCOhost database. ( ) Sloan-C honors excellence in online teaching and learning. (2008, November). Sloan Consortium. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from Spector, J. M. (2001, December). Competencies for online teaching. ERIC Digest. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED ) Retrieved October 13, UMUC-Verizon virtual resource site for teaching with technology. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2008, from: Author Summaries Bobbi Dubins, Grant Co-Director. Bobbi has extensive experience teaching online and providing professional development for college faculty on how to develop and teach online courses.bobbi has a Bachelor s in Computer Science and a Master s in Business Administration. She is a certified Quality Matters Master Reviewer and Trainer. Address: Allegany College of Maryland H-12, Willow Brook Road Cumberland, MD bdubins@allegany.edu Phone: Mary Beth Graham. Mary Beth is Lecturer in the School of Business/Instructional Technologist at Mount St. Mary s University in Emmitsburg, MD. Mary Beth has a Master s and a Bachelor s in Copyright 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 4

5 Business Administration, as well as a Minor in Management Information/Decision Support Systems. She has extensive experience as an online instructor and is a certified Quality Matters Master Reviewer. Address: Mount St. Mary s University Old Emmitsburg Road Emmitsburg, MD graham@msmary.edu Phone: Julie Shattuck, Grant Co-Director. Julie is an Instructional Designer/Assistant Professor at Frederick Community College. She has a Master s degree in Linguistics, a Graduate Certificate in Teaching at a Distance, and a Bachelor s degree in English Language and Literature. She is also a certified Quality Matters Master Reviewer. Address: Frederick Community College 7932 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD jshattuck@frederick.edu Phone: Fax: Peggy Storm-Muller. Peggy is an Instructional Designer and owns Storm Consulting in Louisville, KY. She has a Master s Degree in Instructional Technology and a Bachelor s in Occupational Training and Development. Peggy s instructional design experience encompasses both corporate and higher education. Address: Sullivan University Systems Nolan Building, Suite 320, 2100 Gardiner Lane Louisville KY psmuller01@hotmail.com Phone: Suzanne Mazzenga. Suzanne is an Instructional Design Specialist at Peirce College in Philadelphia. She has a Master s degree in Instructional Technology and a Bachelor s degree in Media Arts. Suzanne is a certified Quality Matters Reviewer and Trainer, and has experience teaching online and training faculty. Address: Peirce College 1420 Pine Street. Philadelphia, PA smazzenga@peirce.edu Phone: Karen Rubinstein. Karen is an Instructional Designer/Blackboard Administrator at Morgan State University. She has extensive experience teaching online and providing professional development/training for college faculty. Karen has a Master s in Education, a Bachelor s in Communications and a Graduate Certificate in Teaching at a Distance. Address: Morgan State University Technology Training Services, Jenkins Coldspring Lane Baltimore, MD karen.rubinstein@morgan.edu Phone: Copyright 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 5

6 Jennifer Raasch. Jennifer is an Instructional Technologist and Adjunct Professor at Oklahoma City University. She has Master s degrees in Library & Information Science and Organizational Communication, Learning & Design. Her Bachelor s is in Art Education. Jennifer is a certified Quality Matters Peer Reviewer and is experienced in distance learning course design and training online faculty. Address: Meinders School of Business RM. 105, Oklahoma City University 2501 N. Blackwelder Oklahoma City, OK jraasch@okcu.edu Phone: Copyright 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 6