Good professors excel at engaging groups of students face-to-face, but few are prepared to develop online learning courses. In addition, their pedagogy is often implicit – developed over years through trial and error.

Online course development challenges faculty to become explicit about their teaching because e-courses force them to “put it in writing” (or into multimedia). In so doing, their role shifts from “instructor” to “designer” -- creator of a coherent web-based environment that sets the stage for learning.

Online course development challenges faculty to become explicit about their teaching because e-courses force them to “put it in writing” (or into multimedia). In so doing, their role shifts from “instructor” to “designer” -- creator of a coherent web-based environment that sets the stage for learning.

In the past two years, the Pottruck Technology Resource Center at Simmons College has worked with faculty to develop two fully online graduate certification programs. In so doing, we have identified patterns of need among the faculty who developed courses for these programs -- recurring areas in which scaffolding and intervention were critical to course success.

These patterns of need were used in developing a framework for mentoring faculty who are developing online courses for the first time. The framework includes guidelines, suggested tips, and processes for addressing faculty concerns in relationship to online course development.