Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 114

Advanced Faculty Professional Development for Online Course Building: An Action Research Project
Category 1: Faculty voiced concern with how
long it took to complete modules.
When introduced to the idea of
“The Project,” a leading concern for most
of the faculty involved the time needed to
complete the modules and to create their
individual modules. One participant voiced
this concern in a response to survey item 1,
“Given increasingly large loads and tenurerelated
expectations, the number one
concern was time. I did, however, learn a lot
about online teaching and distance learning
so the extra effort was worth it.” This
concern for the amount of time it would
take to participate in the learning modules
and create a module may have also impacted
the participants' level of enthusiasm upon
beginning work on “The Project.” Initially,
50% of the participants reported feeling
“neutral” with regards to completing “The
Project.”
Category 2: Faculty found advanced training
beneficial and timely.
Several of the participants indicated
that the project can potentially be used
for “faculty development and communitybuilding
among colleagues.” Specifically,
they enjoyed reading the experiences of
other online teachers and coordinators, and
they appreciated the online delivery of "The
Project." Multiple participants commented
on “the variety of the modules,” indicating
they were able to gather new information
related to a spectrum of topics as presented
in the individual learning modules.
In particular, 60% of the participants
appreciated the modules that focused on
the pedagogy of online teaching, while 30%
valued the technology-based modules.
It is also important to note that upon
completing the learning modules presented
in “The Project,” the level of enthusiasm
had increased significantly from the
50% reported initially. After completion,
90% of the participants reported feeling
“somewhat enthusiastic” or "enthusiastic,"
while only 10% remained “neutral.” Perhaps
most importantly, 90% of the participants
reported they were better online teachers
after completing “The Project,” and
70% reported they were better online
coordinators. One participant referenced
this apparent change in the way he or she
viewed “The Project,” “Once I started seeing
the very interesting contributions, I thought
it was brilliant.”
Category 3: Faculty identified what needed
revision in the program.
Although there were several
successes experienced throughout the
implementation of “The Project” and
everyone referenced the potential benefit of
its activities, there was also an obvious need
for revisions of several of the components.
One participant reported, “I see potential
for this, but it needs refinement.” One
constant theme among the needed revisions
relates to the consistency and quality
of the learning modules. The following
suggestions taken from the end-of-project
survey reference the disparity that existed
among the modules:
• “It needs to be put together as a more
consistent product. Some of the
modules will not work for this purpose
-- those should be removed. Additional
modules with technology (how to use
some of the tools addressed in the other
modules) should be added.”
• “Some modules were better developed
than others. Also, discussion boards
alone don't reflect good practice in my
opinion.”
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