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Wednesday, 14 July 2004: 11:00 AM-12:15 PM | |||
Northern A-2 (Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel) | |||
G-6: How Faculty Really Learn to Teach Online: Implications for Trainers | |||
| Detailed Description: | Many institutions of higher education offer well-developed workshops and training sessions for online faculty. However, these meetings often have low attendance, and may meet the needs of only a small proportion of faculty. This session will present findings of research conducted at the University of West Georgia which surveyed faculty to find out exactly how they gain skills to teach online, which techniques lead to classroom success, and what faculty really need from development programs. | ||
| Presentation Format: | Roundtable | ||
| Topic: | Empowering educators: Professional development models and methods | ||
| Target Audience: | Course Designers, Faculty and Other Instructors, Senior Administrators, E-learning Managers | ||
| Appropriate Audience Level: | Beginning or new users of WebCT, Experienced WebCT users | ||
| Abstract Text: | Like many institutions, the University of West Georgia has developed a comprehensive faculty training program, including regular workshops, for those teaching through WebCT. Many approaches have been used to develop and market these programs, and reward faculty for attending. However, the workshops tend to attract many of the same faculty time after time, and fail to reach the majority of faculty on campus. Literature and informal discussions reveal that other institutions experience similar problems. Research was conducted in early 2004 to determine exactly how faculty prepare to teach online, whether through workshops, one-on-one training, taking an online course themselves, mentorships, or self-guided discovery. The research included approximately 50 faculty who taught distance courses (50 percent or more online) in the Fall of 2003. Mailed surveys were followed up with telephone calls to ensure a high return rate. This session will present the results of this study, including which techniques faculty most use to prepare to teach online, which methods they prefer, and which ones they would like to utilize more. The discussion will also include an analysis of the obstacles faculty face in getting the preparation they need, as well as the correlation between the types of preparation utilized and the faculty perception of course success. The final segment of the session will look at the implications for institutional training programs, including suggestions for what types of hybrid or alternative programs should be developed to provide faculty with the preparation and support that they need to teach online. | ||
| Session Leader: | Melanie N. Clay University of West Georgia | ||
| Co-presenters: | Janet P. Gubbins University of West Georgia Christy E. Talley University of West Georgia | ||
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