OVERVIEW
The
"Certificate for Online Adjunct Teaching"
project was initiated to fill a need of MarylandOnline
member institutions for professional development opportunities
for adjunct faculty. This inter-institutional project
provides training for adjunct faculty members who are
transitioning to teaching online.
In
2008, research conducted of Maryland higher education
institutions showed there was a need for, and an interest
in, a state-wide training program for adjunct instructors
to develop online teaching competencies. Using data
from the Maryland survey of institutions, and additional
research of current literature in the field of online
education, an online professional development course
was developed that encompassed the major competencies
needed in order to successfully teach online.
A pilot version of the course was conducted in the spring
of 2010, with positive results. Beginning in the fall
of 2010, the course was made available to any interested
adjunct faculty members, regardless of institutional
affiliation. As of August 31, 2011, 125 people from
ten states and twenty-three institutions have taken
the course.
The
Certificate for Online Adjunct Teaching (COAT) is one
of several of MarylandOnline
(MOL) programs. MarylandOnline is a state-wide,
inter-segmental consortium dedicated to championing
distance learning and develops innovative programs designed
to improve the quality of distance education. One MarylandOnline
product, Quality
Matters (QM®), addresses quality in online
course design and has received national recognition
and numerous awards. Another product, Mentoring
Quality (MQ), provides mentoring opportunities
for novice online instructors.
HISTORY
Research:
Year One - 2008-2009
Year
one was dedicated solely to performing research in order
to 1) identify key competencies needed for effective
online teaching, 2) determine interest in a state-wide
training program for online adjunct faculty in Maryland,
and 3) make recommendations for a possible state-wide
professional development certificate course/program.
A research team was created that included 7 members
from 7 institutions. (See
a list of research team members)
Research
methods included:
1)
a literature review of online teaching competencies
2) a survey of 37 Maryland higher education institutions
which gathered information about:
a)
current training content
b) current training delivery methods
c) availability of training to full time and adjunct
faculty
d) potential interest in a state-wide online teaching
certificate program
3)
a scan of the content and structure of seventeen currently
established online instructor training
programs from across the nation
Research
results included:
1)
a baseline rubric of online instructor core competencies
2) a "snapshot" of current training needs
of Maryland institutions
3) level of interest Maryland institutions had in
a state-wide training program for online adjunct faculty
The
research found there was interest in a statewide adjunct
online teaching certificate. The research results
were used to develop a plan for the creation and delivery
of an online training course for Maryland adjunct
faculty members to learn how to teach online.
Course
Development and Pilot Offering: Year Two 2009-2010
The
goal of year two was to develop and pilot an online
adjunct training course, evaluate it, and make recommendations
for the implementation of the course on a larger scale.
An
advisory board was formed which was comprised of representatives
from 10 MOL member institutions. The advisory board
provided input about the content, intended use, and
structure of the course. (See
a list of members of the advisory board).
Using
the results of the research conducted in year one and
information provided by the advisory board, an online
adjunct training course was developed that addressed
the competencies needed by online adjunct faculty. The
course was developed by an inter-institutional team
of six experienced online faculty members and instructional
designers (See
a list of development team members). All team
members were well versed in the Quality Matters (QM)
course design standards. The QM course design standards
were used to guide the development of the course.
The
course description and objectives are listed in the
syllabus.
Upon successful completion of the COAT course, participants
will have demonstrated competencies in eight major areas
which are detailed in the "COAT
Course Competencies" document.
The
pilot course was conducted in the late spring of 2010.
There was no fee for participating in the pilot course.
Sixty-five adjunct faculty members from 18 Maryland
institutions applied to participate in the pilot course.
Twenty faculty members, from 10 MOL member institutions,
were selected. Participants encompassed teaching expertise
from multiple disciplines. Dr. Diana ZIlberman, Director
of Distance Learning at Baltimore City Community College,
was the instructor for the course.
Extensive
feedback from course participants was collected. Overall,
feedback was positive, with most participants indicating
they felt the course met their needs to prepare them
to teach online. Most participants also indicated they
would recommend the course to a colleague. When asked
about the course format, most participants favored the
9 week course format (as opposed to individually delivered
modules). Participants also indicated they felt the
instructor was a positive model for online course facilitation.
Since
the number of participants was not statistically significant
(20), no major course revisions were made based upon
the data collected from the pilot course offering. Data
from the pilot course offering will be combined with
data from the course offerings in year three in order
to inform decisions on course revisions.
Implementation:
Year Three 2010-2011
The
goal of year three was to determine if there was sufficient
interest in the course, at the designated fee structure,
for the program to become financially self-sustaining.
Feedback was also collected from MOL member institutions
regarding the value of the course, and how it was being
used at each MOL institution.
In
the fall of 2010, COAT began offering the course to
any interested faculty, regardless of state of residence
or institutional affiliation. The fee for the course
was set at $300 for Maryland residents (or instructors
affiliated with a Maryland institution) and $600 for
non-Maryland residents/instructors.
The
original plan for year three was to offer one section
of the course each in fall, spring and summer for a
total of three sections. Actual demand for the course
necessitated adding two additional sections of the course
for a total of five sections.
Interest
in the course was expressed from outside of Maryland
as well. By the end of year three (June 30, 2011) 105
people from ten states and twenty-three institutions
had taken the course. In addition, several national
distance learning organizations highlighted the COAT
project (Distance Education Report and WCET Frontiers
Blog - see "COAT News" link on the left menu)
and an article about COAT was published in the International
Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (a
peer reviewed journal). COAT was also invited to make
presentations at a number of conferences, including
Sloan-C. (see "Conference Presentations" link
on the left menu.) Clearly, there seemed to be an interest
in the COAT program outside the MarylandOnline community.
Participants in the course also seemed very satisfied
with the course. Course evaluations indicated that most
participants:
1.
felt the course met their needs to prepare them to
teach online.
2. would recommend the course to a colleague.
3. preferred the 9 week course format (as opposed
to taking separate modules).
4. felt the instructor provided a positive model on
how an online course should be facilitated.
Expansion:
Year Four 2011-2012
With
the success of year three, recommendations for year
four (2011-2012) include an update of the research (literature
review) and COAT course competencies, revising the course
content based upon the research and course evaluation
results, and expansion of the COAT course offerings.
This
report was posted on 10/5/2011. As year three progresses,
updates will be posted.
Useful
links:
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