Best Practices: Theory, Policy, and the DE Organization
Leadership in higher education is about “orchestrating the interaction of all the stakeholders” (Otte and Banke, 2019, p. 23).
Leadership in online higher education is about support systems for reaching out to distance students by improving services rather than compartmentalizing services like the services for on-campus-based services.
Multiple roles of leadership in an online program:
Advocacy and integration – “a new means of instructional delivery and interaction; a means of practicing sound pedagogy; upholding quality by accomplishing longstanding goals and the general mission” (Otte and Banke, 2019, p. 24).
Academic and Curricular Leadership – courses offered must meet the same goals and satisfy the same requirements as traditional courses.
Program Building and Change Management – online instruction is partly a response to demand, and partly of technological change.
Liaising with Information Technology – means working with technologists. An integrated system allows for greater use and performance by faculty and others, but at times threatens data security.
Faculty Development – the challenge with higher education is that it does not have a culture of professional development.
Organizational Models for Change – the Possibility of Convergence
Outward-reaching vs. inward-focused
The institution itself is a determinant of the direction
Modeling change throughout levels/units
How academic uses of technology get defined and supported
The bridging function of online education
The need to bring all the stakeholders in
The critical need to engage in strategic planning
New models for faculty
Centralization vs. Decentralization (Consolidation vs. Differentiation)
Consolidation maximizes efficiency and control; Differentiation heightens innovation and a sense of local ownership.
Mapping patterns and direction – Bottom-up, Top-down, and both
Bottom-up tends to be more centrifugal but innovative.
Top-down tends to be more centripetal in effect but also more generic, and more homogenizing.
Ideal distribution
According to Bates (2019):
‘Learning environment refers to the diverse physical locations, contexts, and cultures in which students learn. Since students may learn in a wide variety of settings, such as outside-of-school locations and outdoor environments, the term is often used as a more accurate or preferred alternative to classroom, which has more limited and traditional connotations—a room with rows of desks and a chalkboard, for example.
The term also encompasses the culture of a school or class—its presiding ethos and characteristics, including how individuals interact with and treat one another—as well as the ways in which teachers may organize an educational setting to facilitate learning….’
Components of an effective learning environment:
- the characteristics of the learners;
- the goals for teaching and learning;
- the activities that will best support learning;
- the assessment strategies that will best measure and drive learning
- the culture that infuses the learning environment.
Quality in distance learning is defined as “teaching methods that successfully help learners develop the knowledge and skills they will require in a digital age” (Bates, 2019).
Quality in distance learning elements (Bates, 2019):
Institutional and degree accreditation
Government involvement (federal and state)
Ensuring minimum standards to fulfill, which includes quality of delivery, academic integrity, administration, and related services.
The difference between accreditation in the United States of America vs the rest of the world
United States of America – federal govt has little power and outreach in comparison to the state govt.
The internal (academic) quality assurance process
Commonly including elements, such as content, instructor, instructor’s qualifications, required readings, assessments, and outcomes.
What is not included is the method of teaching. Why?
Chickering and Gamson (1987) Classroom teaching method for undergraduate education:
- Encourages contact between students and faculty.
- Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students.
- Encourages active learning.
- Gives prompt feedback.
- Emphasizes time on task.
- Communicates high expectations.
- Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
The difference in quality assurance between traditional classroom teaching and online and distance education.
Jung and Latchem (2102), on quality assurance processes for online and distance education within institutions:
- focus on outcomes as the leading measure of quality;
- take a systemic approach to quality assurance;
- see QA as a process of continuous improvement;
- move the institution from external controls to an internal culture of quality;
- poor quality has very high costs so investment in quality is worthwhile.
The relationship between quality assurance processes, innovation, and learning outcomes.
Mostly focus on input rather than output. Why?
QA tends to be backward-looking instead of forward-looking. Why?
Is there anyone or any institution that is challenging this old fashion way of QA-ing in education? What is the state and federal government’s stake in this process? Why does it not included in the accreditation process element?
QA process, generally, covers: general performance measures – completion rate, time to degree completion, and grades.
Meeting the goals of education in the digital age, “fit for purpose”.
The essences of teaching and learning? Human connections – powerful element of the motivational learning process.
At the end of the day, the best guarantees of quality in teaching and learning fit for a digital age are:
- well-qualified subject experts are also well-trained in both teaching methods and the use of technology for teaching; (technology literacy through training is crucial to successful digital learning)
- highly qualified and professional learning technology support staff;
- adequate resources, including appropriate teacher/student ratios;
- appropriate methods of working (teamwork, project management);
- systematic evaluation leading to continuous improvement.
Nine steps to quality teaching in a digital age:
Step 1: Decide how you want to teach
Consider teaching philosophy.
What is my role as an instructor?
Subject matter expert – behaviorist – didactic teaching, learners as recipients, passive model? Teacher center; or guide the learner to acquire, store, analyze, and apply knowledge – cognitivist – teacher center; or facilitator – constructivist – inquiry-based learning (Socrates) to question; or a combination of two or more learning philosophies.
What can I improve in my teaching style?
Is it the content? Is it my teaching style? How to better engage the learners? How to assess the learning? And all other questions that would help to the betterment of learning delivery, process, and outcomes.
How can I use technology to help my delivery?
How can I build a rich learning environment for the course?
What NOT to do
Step 2: Decide on the mode of delivery
Blended:
F2F – classroom aid vs. hybrid – fully online (distance)
No technology vs. all technology
Elements to consider when choosing the mode of delivery:
- your preferred teaching philosophy – how you like to teach
- the needs of the students (or potential students)
- the demands of the discipline
- the resources available to you.
Step 3: Work in a Team
Unlike in the F2F traditional classroom teaching, blended and/or fully online teaching requires a range of skills, meaning that teamwork help to achieve a more successful outcome.
Online learning important elements that demonstrate the need for teamwork are:
- Instructional design
- Pedagogical/learning theory
- Workload
Step 4: Build on existing resources
Moving the content online but in ways that enable students to learn better, including alteration or repackaging content materials.
Using the existing online content from reputable institutions such as:
- OpenCourseWare (MIT)
- iTunesU
- OpenLearn (U.K. Open University)
- The Open Education Consortium (courses in STEM: science, technology, engineering, math)
- Open Learning Initiative (Carnegie Mellon)
Use Google search, “open educational resources” or “OER” for more source findings.
Open resources from institutions such as the UK Open University or Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learn Initiative usually combine quality content with good instructional design.
Simulations in science subjects such as biology and physics can be found here: PhET, or at the Khan Academy for Mathematics (I love Khan Academy!)
Step 5: Master the technology
A few commonly available learning technologies:
- learning management systems (such as Blackboard, Moodle, Desire2Learn, and Canvas);
- synchronous technologies (such as Blackboard Collaborate, Adobe Connect, and Big Blue Button);
- lecture recording technologies (such as podcasts and lecture capture);
- tablets and mobile devices, such as iPads, mobile phones, and the apps that run on them;
- MOOCs and their many variants (SPOCs, TOOCs, etc.);
- other social media, such as blogging software, wikis, Google Hangout, Google Docs, and Twitter;
- learner-generated tools, such as e-portfolios.
A more important question to consider is whether you need to use an LMS at all. (Good point!)
Synchronous web technologies – Blackboard Collaborate (good for group work), Adobe Connect, or Big Blue Button.
The short time period for video recording lectures (cognitivism – information is delivered in chunks).
Step 6: Set appropriate learning goals
Skills needed in a digital age (Bates, 2019):
- modern communication skills;
- independent learning;
- ethics and responsibility;
- teamwork and flexibility;
- thinking skills;
- digital skills;
- knowledge management.
Assessment is key to helping students to develop and progress.
Step 7: Design course structure and learning activities.
(Bates, 2019):
Three dictionary definitions of the structure are as follows:
- Something is made up of a number of parts that are held or put together in a particular way.
- The way in which parts are arranged or put together to form a whole
- The interrelation or arrangement of parts in a complex entity.
The teaching structure would include two critical and related elements:
- the choice, breakdown, and sequencing of the curriculum (content);
- the deliberate organization of student activities by teacher or instructor (skills development; and assessment).
The three main determinants of teaching structure are:
- the organizational requirements of the institution;
- the preferred philosophy of teaching of the instructor;
- the instructor’s perception of the needs of the students.
Key principles in structuring a course:
- there must be some notional idea of how much time students should spend each week on the course;
- students should be clear each week about what they have to do and when it needs to be done.
Designing students’ activities:
- assigned readings;
- simple multiple-choice self-assessment tests of understanding with automated feedback, using the computer-based testing facility within a learning management system;
- questions regarding short paragraph answers which may be shared with other students for comparison or discussion;
- formally marked and assessed monthly assignments in the form of short essays;
- individual or group project work spaced over several weeks;
- an individual student blog or e-portfolio that enables the student to reflect on their recent learning, and which may be shared with the instructor or other students;
- online discussion forums, which the instructor will need to organize and monitor.
Step 8: Communicate, communicate, communicate
Collaborative learning depends on high-quality discussion, meaning communication between instructors and learners.
In online collaborative learning, communication ought to be continuous.
Choice of media for instructor communication:
- face-to-face, such as set office hours, scheduled classes, or serendipity (bumping into each other in the corridor);
- synchronous communication media, including voice phone calls, text and audio conferencing over the web (e.g. Blackboard Collaborate), or even video-conferencing;
- asynchronous communication media, including e-mail, podcasts or recorded video clips, and online discussion forums within an LMS;
- social media, such as blogs, wikis, text or voice messages on mobile phones, Facebook, and Twitter.
Step 9: Evaluate and innovate
Summative evaluation (the current vs. older courses):
- Completion rates – quantitative judgment
- Grades — quantitative judgment
- Students’ communication skills – knowledge management – qualitative judgment
Formative evaluation:
- Were the learning outcomes or goals clear to students?
- What learning outcomes did most students struggle with?
- Was the teaching material clear and well-structured?
- Were the learning materials and tools students needed easily accessible and available 24 x 7?
- What topics generated good discussion and what didn’t?
- Did students draw appropriately on the course materials in their discussion forums or assignments?
- Did students find their own appropriate sources and use them well in discussions, assignments, and other student activities?
- Which student activities worked well, and which badly? Why?
- What of the supplied learning materials did students make the most and least use of?
- Did the assignments adequately assess the knowledge and skills the course was aiming to teach?
- Were the students overloaded with work?
- Was it too much work for me as an instructor?
- If so, what could I do to better manage my workload (or the students’) without losing quality?
- How satisfied were the students with the course?
- How satisfied am I with the course?
Innovate – redesign and make changes for the next version.
What do students need in learning?
- well-defined learning goals;
- a clear timetable of work, based on a well-structured organization of the curriculum;
- manageable study workloads appropriate for their conditions of learning;
- regular instructor communication and presence;
- a social environment that draws on, and contributes to, the knowledge and experience of other students;
- a skilled teacher or instructor;
- other motivated learners to provide mutual support and encouragement.
References
Bates, A. W. (2019). Teaching in a Digital Age. Victoria, BC: BCcampus. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/
Fiock, H. S. (2020). Designing a community of inquiry in online courses. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 21(1), 134-152.
Otte, G. (2019). Online learning: New models for leadership and organization in higher education. Online Learning, 10(2). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.24059/olj.v10i2.1761
Otte, G. (2019). Online learning: New models for leadership and organization in higher education. Online Learning, 10(2). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.24059/olj.v10i2.1761
