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You
are here: Questions for Potential Online Instructors
It only takes a look at the amount of money that universities are spending on commercial online course platforms, WebCt and Blackboard being two of the popular platforms, to understand that there is a strong demand for online courses. The demand is not something that universities have dreamed up but a reality of both student and faculty life as well as the globalization of education. As a result of the demand and often a pedagogical conviction that online teaching is not just a phase but an evolutionary step in the development of pedagogy, educators are considering teaching courses partially or completely online.
The decision to teach online requires a considerable reflection. The creating of an online course can be an overwhelming task. Translating the pedagogy of a traditional classroom, to an environment viewed as bland, faceless and without human characteristics, requires insight into not just the basics of the technology and the course material, but into ourselves as educators and members of an educational community. The sociology of the educational community, as well as personal, and interpersonal psychology along with pedagogy affect the success of the endeavor.
This paper addresses some pedagogical, sociological, and psychological issues educators need examine before they begin to create an online course. Questions that need to be asked and issues that need to be addressed are presented for instructors to contemplate. Answers are not provided.
Pedagogical Issues
What is the Instructor's teaching style of teaching?
Teaching an online course that is more than a "correspondence" course requires consideration of pedagogical styles. Teaching online is more than presenting content in a linear, non-graphic format. Knowing how the instructor facilitates learning is a first step in creating online instruction. As in a traditional classroom, online teachers employ different styles. Anthony Grasha (1996), professor of psychology at the University of Cincinnati describes the styles as follows:
Cluster 1
The expert/formal authority cluster tends toward teacher-centered classrooms in which information is presented and students receive knowledge.
Cluster 2
The personal model/expert/formal authority cluster is a teacher-centered approach that emphasizes modeling and demonstration. This approach encourages students to observe processes as well as content.
Cluster 3
The facilitator/personal model/expert cluster is a student-centered model for the classroom. Teachers design activities, social interactions, or problem-solving situations that allow students to practice the processes for applying course content.
Cluster 4
The delegator/facilitator/expert cluster places much of the learning burden on the students. Teachers provide complex tasks that require student initiative, and often group work, to complete.Before beginning to create an online course, the instructor should consider his style. How does the instructor facilitate learning? Which characteristics define the instructor's style? Which characteristics dominate? Which are supplementary? Which can be translated to an essentially non-oral medium? Can the medium be formatted to the instructor's strengths?
Most instructors do not use monolithic teaching styles. The clusters described above are combined, morphed not isolated, rigid, unilateral categories describing an actual teaching style. Instructors use aspects of each cluster depending on the material taught, students, desired outcomes, time, class size, and a myriad of other variables. Answering questions such as "Which styles are best for which material?" and "Which styles are best for which outcomes?" is essential for effective online teaching. An inchoate issue an instructor must understand is; "What is the instructor's 'essential me' in teaching? What is the instructor's teaching persona? What makes me an 'individual' in the eyes of students?" What makes the instructor an effective?" How will I share the "teachable moments" that enliven and enrich a course?
Instruction and the online environment is an animate, symbiotic relationship. It morphs with the understanding of instructional success, online technology, and the continuous advances in the technology. Understanding how the instructor facilitates learning is not enough. The individual considering online teaching also needs to understand---
What are the instructors teaching strengths?
Anyone teaching for a more than a very brief time, is likely aware of their strengths as a teacher. Teaching institutions provide validation of the instructor's perceptions. Most universities and colleges require that students fill out a course evaluation at the close of a semester or quarter. While none of the instruments used for evaluation is perfect, they do provide insight into how the students perceive the instructor's teaching skills. Synthesizing student responses over time provides substantial sagacity into the areas in which accomplishment is greatest.
Once these areas have been identified, an analysis of how success is achieved is needed. This requires some professional soul searching. Things that are intuitive when facing a class filled with students need to be purposefully established when teaching online. The future online instructor needs to ask "Why does this work? Why do students think this is good? To what are they responding positively?" before a transfer of skills to online teaching can be made.
An example of a specific skill omnipresent on course evaluation forms is organization. The evaluation survey stem is often "Is able to organize and present effectively throughout the course" or something similar to this. To carryover success of these skills requires an analysis and understanding of both what "organize" means and how organization is achieved.
How does the instructor systematize the course content? How does the instructor prioritize the content? How does the instructor verbalize the systemizing, i.e. how does the instructor explain the organization? What elements of the system are students responding to positively? How does the instructor make this work?
Asking, and answering these questions leads to the next issue. What strategies does the instructor use to facilitate learning? Can they be made to work in an online environment?
Psychological Issues
What is the instructor's technological comfort level with technology?
Despite the ubiquitous and omnipresent nature of technology in schools and on university campuses, some instructors do manage to avoid it or aspects of it. An instructor contemplating online teaching should understand his level of technology comfort. What does he use? What does he use because it is in someway better than "the old way"? What does he use because of coercion? What does he avoid? Does the instructor use what is available? Does he know what is available? Does he know where to get help in learning and using available technology? Is he willing to get help using the technology? Is he satisfied with what he already knows and uses? What is the instructor afraid of using?
Understanding what the instructor already uses to enhance learning and teaching provides an operational understanding of his level of comfort. But, there is more to consider than technology.
Is the instructor willing to take risks?
Online teaching does not afford the safe harbor of the traditional classroom. The instructor's exact words, actions, assignments, organization, and assessments are available in immutable form. Is the instructor comfortable with the level of visibility online teaching promotes? Is he willing to try new means of sharing knowledge…and possibly succeed less well than previously? Is he willing to examine himself and his teaching? Dissect and reconfigure what has been established and accepted?
Will the online classroom meet the emotional and intellectual needs of the instructor?
Most people who contemplate a career in education envision a dialogue; an inter-play of ideas; an intellectual and emotional support structure that is safe, challenging, and conducive to friendships. Part of the structure is an understanding of body language, vocal cues characteristics of immediacy. While online teaching can fill most of the needs, immediacy is not one of them. Questions regarding job satisfaction are important to the success of the instructor. Will the instructor be happy in this isolated work environment? How much do the laughter, anger, and joy of the classroom influence the instructor's job satisfaction? How important is it to see the light bulb glow when a concept is understood? How dependent is the instructor on the grimaces, smiles, and vacant stares of students?
None of these aspects of psychological issues reflects the issues that may arise from the community. While they reflect concerns beyond the individual, they will with certainty, affect the instructor.
Sociological Issues
On the university, college and department level? On the school level?
While university administration promote online teaching, faculty are often not as open to the idea. Is the instructor willing to oppose the detractors, the people who consider online teaching second rate instruction? Online teaching screams CHANGE. Will the educational community be accepting of change and its proponents? Will they be threatened by the change? Will members of the community feel marginalized by the technology and/or its use? Does the instructor understand the challenges that bringing or supporting change entail?
On the student level?
Students come into online courses with the notion that the work and the process will be less rigorous than traditional courses. When faced with a course and technology that may be more time consuming and challenging than the course they expected. Is the instructor willing to accept blame for aspects of the course beyond his control? Is the instructor aware that students feeling isolated, angry, and confused will not know they are not alone in these feelings?
There are a myriad of questions that an instructor should consider before devoting the time, energy, and resources necessary to creating a successful online course; many more than are discussed in this article. Deciding to teach online requires soul searching. The decision is often made without regard to the instructor's needs as a human who wants to perform at his best and who needs job satisfaction. These issues are the focus of this article but are not the only areas that affect online teaching success. Issues such as, the understanding and availability of technology, course design, the change in the locus of learning, and access are also important.
The issues discussed here are the ones that if not addressed and understood, can turn the creation of a positive educational experience into a source of teacher burnout.
References
Berge, Zane L, Muilenburg, Lin. (2001) Obstacles faced at various stages of capability regarding distance education in institutions of higher education. TechTrends, v. 45 no. 4 p. 40-5.
Berge, Zane L, Mrozowski, Susan. (2001), Review of research in distance education, 1990 to 1999. American Journal of Distance Education, v. 15 no. 3 p. 5-19.
Care, W. Dean and Scanlan, Judith, M. (2000). Meeting the challenge of developing courses for distance delivery: two different models for course development. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, v. 31 no. 3 p. 121-8.
Dede, C. (2000). "Emerging influences of information technology on school curriculum." Journal of Curriculum Studies, v. 32 no. p. 281-303.
Dewar, T. (2000). "Online learners and their learning strategies." Journal of Educational Computing Research 2000. v. 23 no. 4 p. 385-403.
Fischer, G., R. McCall, Ostwald, B. Reeves and F. Shipman. (1994). Seeding, Evolutionary Growth and Reseeding: Supporting the Incremental Development of Design Environments., Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '94), Boston, MA.
Fosnot C.T. 1993. In Search of Understanding the Case for Constructivist Classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Grasha, Anthony. (1996). Teaching with Style. Alliance Publishers, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Hall, G. and S. Hord (2000). Implementing change : Patterns, principles, and potholes. Boston, MA, Pearson Allyn & Bacon.
Harasim, L. (2000). "Shift happens: Online education as a new paradigm in learning." Internet and Higher Education v. 3 no.1-2 p. 41-61.
Sherry, L, Billing, S,H., and F. Tavalin. 2000. Good Online Conversation: Building on Research to Inform Practice. Journal of Interactive Learning Research v.11 no.1 p.85-127.
Willis, E.M., Raines, Peggy A. Technology in secondary teacher education. T.H.E. Journal v. 29 no. 2 p. 54-64.
Nancy Prince-Cohen has been a New York City K-12 teacher and graduate educator at Hunter College, New York City. She is currently at California State Polytechnic University. Nancy is the author of numerous archaeology and history articles written for children. Her work in online education has been presented at conferences in California. She is currently developing an online MAT for use in California State Universities and working on a series of videos for young children.
Nancy received a doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Masters from City College, City University of New York. She is a proud member of Kappa Delta Pi. You can reach her at nprincecohean@csupomona.edu.
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