Master Online Teacher Competencies

eLearning Conference 2007

Virgil E. Varvel Jr.

Quality – What Is It?

• Student• Services

• Library• Tutor• Accessibility• Sport & Fitness• Counseling• Advising

• Outcomes• Satisfaction• Enrollments, Retention, and Degree Time• Total Numbers• Alumni Programs

Quality – What Is It?

• Institutional• Library

• Size• Reference Services

• Students• Total Enrollments• Retention and Transfers• Time to Completion

• Degree Programs• Number• Type• Total Courses• Transferability• Course Quality

• Endowments• Alumni Support• Technology Infrastructure• Physical Infrastructure & Campus Facilities• Sports Success

Quality – What Is It?

• Faculty• Support Services

• Library• Instructional Design• Accessibility• Publishing• Equipment

• Pay• Research• Awards• Grants• Publications• Total Number• Full-time v. Adjunct

Quality – Instructional Level

• What makes one course better than another?• Student outcomes, support,

satisfaction, etc.

• But these depend on…• Support services overall which

affect all courses at one institution versus another.

• Course quality or rubric alignment• Instructor quality or competency

What is a competency?

a competent individual is:

one who effectively and efficiently accomplishes a task [instructs] in a given context [digital distance education] using appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes, and abilities that have adjusted and developed with time and needs.

Why a competency document?

• Functionally characterize those with competence.

• Speaks to the quality of the program, its instructors, and any courses offered.

• Help lay out professional development plans.

• Help define the goals in the program aimed at developing the competencies.

What issues are involved in implementation?

• Goal setting or requirement setting?

• Administrative support of competency model development, implementation, and support.

• Incentives for competency development.

• Importance of historical context of the individual.

What issues are involved in competencies?

• How will the competencies be organized, chosen, updated, etc.?

• Which competencies and how many competencies are needed for the given context?

• What are core competencies?• How will the competencies be

evaluated?

Competencies

Administrative Roles (Systems, Ethical and Legal Issues)

• Institutional Context• Intellectual Property Issues and

Regulations• Student Issues and Management• Additional Legal and Ethical

Issues• Instructor Selection and

Evaluation• Support Mechanisms

Personal Roles (Personal Qualities and

Characteristics) • Content Knowledge• Teaching Commitment• Communication Ability• Time Management• Patience• Relative Objectivity

Technological Roles (Technology Knowledge and

Abilities) • Access• Technical Proficiencies• Technical Assistance

Instructional Design Roles (Instructional Design Processes, Knowledge,

and Abilities)

• Syllabus and Introductory Materials

• Materials Selection, Modification, and Evaluation

• Variability and Flexibility of Content and Activities

• Rational Planning of Activities

Pedagogical Roles (Teaching Processes, Knowledge,

and Abilities) • Education and Learning Theory• Cognitive Presence• Instructional Processes /

Pedagogy / Presence (5 pages of sub-competencies)

Assessment Roles (Assessing Student Learning and

Abilities) • Purposeful Assessment• Select, Construct, and Utilize

Assessment Strategies• Varied, Authentic Assessment• Feedback Provisions• Utilize Appropriate Technologies• Academic Honesty Issues

Addressed• Privacy Issues Addressed

Social Processes and Presence (Social

Roles) • Community of Learners• Community of Practice• Cultural Competency• Conflict Management• Social Presence• Socializing Agent