Exploring Essential Practices for Online Instruction: A literature-based instrumentVirtual Presentation – June 26-29, 2012Jenni Hayman, Athabasca University

Finished Thesis CC Byhttp://tinyurl.com/l5mauby

Presentation Abstract

This presentation describes a literature review and comparison analysis developed as part of a proposed Delphi Method study (Fall 2012 completion expected) to populate a preliminary instrument for the Method. The proposed study will explore essential practices for online instruction at a higher education institution.

The focused literature review supported the development of a preliminary instrument for a Delphi Method, and was achieved through a qualitative comparison analysis across 18 works from the literature of online learning.

The instrument will be used to support a web-based survey with expert online instructors to determine which of the practices they agree are essential at their institution.

Change in Higher Education

Web-based, instructor-led, online learning is a new delivery mode for higher education institutions. Online delivery, as a student choice, has demonstrated significant growth over the past 5-10 years

2005-2010

Number of Students Taking at Least One Online Course (millions)Source: Allen & Seaman for Sloan Consortium (Annual Reports 2006-2011)

Change in Higher EducationTwo of the most influential higher education learning relationships, that of student to instructor, and that of student to student, are significantly impacted by online learning as a new delivery mode. A Distance Education model of the past (Community of Inquiry) describes practices that contribute to success when students and instructors are distant from each other.

Effective online instruction requires professional development for online instructors to successfully transition from classroom-based instructional strategies to the strategies available (opportunities) in online delivery.

Effective institutional support for online instructors may require the identification of essential practices (on an institution-by-institution basis) to ensure that training in those practices is consistently offered (professional development) and that the essential practices are followed by all online instructors as an issue of institutional quality assurance for students (evaluation).

The ProblemThere is strong literature-based agreement that many (not all) skills required for online teaching differ from those for traditional classroom teaching

Online instructor training and evaluation is a vital aspect of successful online learning programs

Online instructor training is not effectively offered by institutions (in many cases), or taken up by online instructors (Pagliari, Batts & McFadden, 2009)

There is little agreement on “essential” or even “recommended” practices in the literature of online learning.

With few guidelines, institutions and online instructors may need to forge their own guidelines

PurposeThe purpose of the master’s thesis study, in which the literature-based instrument is situated, will be to confirm a set of essential practices for online instruction at a higher education institution

Research QuestionGiven a literature-based set of recommended practices for online instruction, what practices would a group of expert online instructors agree are essential for their institution?

Full Literature Review – One SlideInstitutions and instructors are learning simultaneously, in partnership with researchers, about the new field of online learning. There is strong agreement across the literature that support and professional development for online instructors is key to the success and quality of online programs.

Online instructors and institutions may benefit from a set of recommended practices for online instruction to establish or improve support and professional development for instructors, to contribute to institutional hiring criteria for online instructors and more effectively and objectively evaluate the work of online instructors as an element of institutional quality assurance.

While historic higher, adult and distance education practices have a rich history of research and theory, that may inform methods of online instruction, there is little empirical research, or consensus, clearly defining a recommended set of practices for online instruction.

Methodology – What is a Delphi Method?“an iterative process to collect and distill the anonymous judgments of experts using a series of data collection and analysis techniques interspersed with feedback”

(Skumolski, Hartman & Krahn, 2007)

Use of the Delphi Method for quantitative education research was described by a number of researchers as an effective choice (convenient and valid) where the purpose of the research was to articulate, distill and confirm expert opinion on focused issues

It is typically conducted via web-based survey with a new instrument developed specifically for the study

Need for literature-based recommendations as a starting place

In order to conduct a successful Delphi Method, it is helpful to present a preliminary instrument as a basis from which experts may begin the process of consensus (Skumolski, Hartman & Krahn, 2007; Franklin & Hart, 2007; Manizade & Mason, 2011; Larcara, 2010).

As a response to indications found across the majority of the literature, that there is no “standard” set of recommended practices for online instruction, one may be developed in a variety of ways. For purposes of the proposed master’s study, aligning with recommended Delphi Method practice, the development of a new literature-based instrument was undertaken.

Preliminary Instrument for a Delphi Method

18 works from the literature including book chapters, research reports and practitioner-experience articles (reports and articles all from peer-reviewed journals)

80-85 codes representing practices in online instruction - reduced to 70

1,115 phrases coded

frequency analysis used to develop set of recommended practices (range is from minimum of 10 references across the 18 works, to a maximum of 57 references)

The list of recommended practices

The following set of recommended practices, presented in categories, represents the findings of a qualitative comparison analysis of 18 works from the literature of online learning: 

Facilitation/Direct Instruction

•Consciously engineer and support the building of a learning community among students.

•Model appropriate, expected behaviours and posting requirements for discussion boards and other participatory activities.

•Make sound pedagogical use of available technology to engage and immerse students in the learning experience.

•Exhibit passion, enthusiasm and commitment to your discipline, the students and online learning.

•Allow students to manage their own learning and lead others in group projects and discussion participation.

•Contribute current resources from your experience and work in your discipline.

The list

Facilitation/Direct Instruction (continued)

•Guide students to resources for information, teach them to discern validity and ultimately generate new knowledge for themselves.

•Facilitate critical and active reflection from the learners about what they are learning and how it is applied in their own practice.

•Emphasize the importance of regular work, steady applications, sound self-pacing and scheduling.

•Ensure direct instruction is targeted to the known course level of the students and course in the context of its program.

•Adopt a facilitative role within the learning community.

•Maintain appropriate communication behaviour in the learning environment and manage disruptive students.

•Maintain momentum in the course by being proactive and modeling diligence in completing tasks.

•Recognize conflict in student discussion boards and groups, know when and how to intervene.

The list

Assessment

•Provide constructive, supportive feedback with concrete suggestions for improvement.

•Monitor student activity and performance. Know when, at what level and how to intervene when students are struggling.

•Align assessments with course objectives and subject aims to enhance student vocational and disciplinary skills.

•Provide assessment activities that are project- and workplace-based and are constructed collaboratively. Encourage students to provide real-life examples.

•Gain an understanding of student prior knowledge, including any misconceptions to establish new knowledge generation.

•Provide students a choice of assignments, instructional path and activities when possible.

•Utilize recommended analysis methods to determine whether effective learning is occurring in participatory activities.

The list

Instructional Design

•Apply instructional strategies appropriate to the delivery technology, the students and the learning objectives.

•Create and select learning materials and experiences that align with adult learning theory.

•Assess and discuss learning styles among students. Use a variety of audio, visual and kinesthetic instructional strategies to support findings.

•Strategically motivate students with interesting, relevant and current content and activities.

•Ensure that learning activities provide opportunities for students to present, challenge, analyze and reflect on real life situations.

•Develop and utilize activities and group work that foster collaborative and cooperative learning.

•Choose appropriate content presentation styles according to student-centred learning recommendations and discipline best practice.

The list

Instructional Design (continued)

•Continually evaluate the effectiveness of the course through student and peer feedback.

•Design and utilize student-centred, discussion-oriented pedagogy.

•Maintain the currency, comprehensiveness, applicability and interaction level of the course.

•Devise activities that encourage social and learning interaction student to student.

•Embed frequent opportunities for students to self-assess their learning progress using a variety of activities.

•Model and ensure academic integrity in all course materials and communication.

•Ensure that all materials in the course are copyright compliant, model legal and ethical use of copyright.

The list

Student Support

•Provide program and course orientation to prepare students for learning in an online environment.

•Assist students with incentive and opportunity to share their understandings, their culture, and the unique aspects of themselves at the beginning of the course.

•Assist students to set challenging goals for their own learning and communicate your high expectations for the achievement of learning objectives.

•Assist students with the technology used in the course. Accommodate students with disabilities.

•Convey compassion, humanity, patience and empathy with students.

The list

Communication

•Provide clear student expectations for all aspects of the course including participation, assignments, assessments and communication.

•Engage in frequent and meaningful communication with students, invite them to contact you.

•Model consistency, clarity, cohesiveness, conciseness and academic standards in all communications.

•Provide students with your rationale for pedagogic choice of materials and assessments.

Administration/Organization

•Carefully plan and organize all course elements, the outline, the content, communication places, activities and assessments.

•Effectively administrate the course through the tools of the learning management system.

•Ensure that your philosophical and academic approach to course design and teaching are in line with that of your institution.

The listProfessional Development

•Master the skills required to effectively facilitate and manipulate the online environment including current and emergent technologies.

•Participate in frequent professional development to ensure pedagogic excellence.

•Set and communicate the intellectual climate of the course, maintain personal expertise in your discipline.

•Develop a presence in online learning and discipline-specific communities of practice, teach and learn with peers.

The 18 works

• Anderson, T. (2008a). Towards a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson (Ed.) The Theory and Practice of Online Learning (pp. 45-74). Athabasca, AB: AU Press.

• Anderson, T. (2008b). Teaching in an online learning context. In T. Anderson (Ed.) The Theory and Practice of Online Learning (pp. 343-365). Athabasca, AB: AU Press.

• Aubteen Darabi, A., Sikorski, E., & Harvey, R. (2006). Validated competencies for distance teaching. Distance Education, 27(1), 105-122.

• Bangert, A. (2008). The development and validation of the student evaluation of online teaching effectiveness. Computers in the School, 25(1-2), 24-47.

• Bates, C., & Watson, M. (2008). Re-learning teaching techniques to be effective in hybrid and online courses. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 13(1), 38-44.

• Bawane, J., & Spector, J.M. (2009). Prioritization of online instructor roles: Implications for competency-based teacher education programs. Distance Education, 30(3), 383-397.

• Cobbett, S. (2010). Pedagogical evaluation of online courses. In Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2010, 2324-2329. Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

The 18 works (continued)

• Egan, T., & Akdere, M. (2005). Clarifying distance education roles and competencies: Exploring similarities and differences between professional and student-practitioner perspectives. The American Journal of Distance Education, 19(2), 87-103.

• Fish, W., & Wickersham, L. (2009). Best practices for online instructors: Reminders. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 19(3), 279-284.

• Gaytan, J., & McEwen, B. (2007). Effective online instructional assessment strategies. The American Journal of Distance Education, 21(3), 117-132.

• Henry, J., & Meadows, J. (2008). An absolutely riveting online course: Nine principles for excellence in web-based teaching. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 34(1), 75-90.

• Pagliari, L., Batts, D., & McFadden, C. (2009). Desired versus actual training for online instructors in community colleges. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 12(4). Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter124/pagliari124.html

• Smith, T. (2005). Fifty-one competencies for online instruction. The Journal of Educators Online, 2(2), 1-18. Retrieved from http://www.thejeo.com/Ted%20Smith%20Final.pdf

The 18 works (continued)

• Swan, K. (2010). Teaching and learning in post-industrial distance education. In M. Cleveland-Innes and D. Garrison (Eds.), An Introduction to Distance Education: Understanding Teaching and Learning in a New Era (pp. 108-134). NY: Routledge.

• Tallent-Runnels, M., Thomas, J., Lan, W., Cooper, S., Ahern, T., Shaw, S., & Liu, X. (2006). Teaching courses online: A review of the research. Review of Educational Research, 76(1), 93-135.

• Varvel, V. (2007). Master online teacher competencies. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 10(1). Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring101/varvel101.htm

• Yang, Y., & Cornelious, L. (2005). Preparing instructors for quality online instruction. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 8(1), Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/%7Edistance/ojdla/spring81/yang81.pdf

• Zsohar, H., & Smith, J. (2008). Transition from the classroom to the Web: Successful strategies for teaching online. Nursing Education Perspectives, 29(1), 23-28.