An Increase in the Number of Tertiary Institutions That Offer Online Courses - Essay Example

Scientific Merit Form, Sections and 2 Section Learner and Topic Information 1 Learner Information Learner Raul Mendez Learner Email: rmendez1@capellauniversity.edu Learner Phone number: 731-715-1017 Mentor Name: Dr. Sonja Irlbeck Mentor Email: sonja.irlbeck@capella.edu Mentor Phone Number: 1-888-capella, ext. 6124 Specialization: Instructional Design for Online learning Specialization Chair: Dr. Nan Thornton 1.2 Proposed Dissertation Title: (Usually a statement based on the research question--short and to the point.) Instructional Development Skills and Competencies required by Postsecondary Faculty designers who Develop Online Courses 1.3 Research Topic Describe the specific topic to be studied in a paragraph. (Be certain that the research question relates to the topic.) Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the number of tertiary institutions that offer online courses and the rate of enrollment for these courses has also increased. This has created a situation where faculty who have skills for developing online learning are needed in greater numbers, but this training is often lacking. Lack of proper instructional design skills could lead to the use of traditional face-to-face approaches by teachers in their online courses, a practice that tends to have negative consequences on the effectiveness of the course contributing to student failure. Teachers need opportunities to learn basic skills in instructional design to further their development as competent online instructors and developers, capable of playing the roles outlined by Goodyear, et al., (2001). Designers, developers and administrators of online courses must perceive learning from the point of view of learners, which is a change from the traditional ‘sage on the stage’ approach in many traditional classrooms. The tone of writing, course structure and presentation should receive special attention (Pickett, Shea, & Fredericksen, 2001). Differences between face-to-face learning and online learning require special training for designers, developers and instructors. Faculty members are faced with challenges in developing these courses without formal training in many cases. Therefore, the specific topic for this research is to investigate the skills that are required by the faculty responsible for online course development in terms of training since this initiative is quite unique. 1.4 Research Problem Write a brief statement that fully describes the problem being addressed. Present this in one sentence or no more than one clear concise paragraph. Faculty are often responsible for creation, development, and management of online classes without formal preparation for performing these tasks (Carliner & Driscoll, 2009). This lack of knowledge indicates a need for increased knowledge and skill building for faculty developing and teaching online course. The tasks, skills, and competencies need to be identified for faculty designers who are faced with tasks related to developing and managing course content, facilitating and recording student activity, providing consultation sessions for students with questions and concerns and developing meaningful learning activities (Ally, 2008). 1.5 Research Purpose Write a brief statement that fully describes the intent of the study or the reason for conducting the study. Present this in one sentence or no more than one clear concise paragraph. The purpose of this study is to understand the needs of faculty designers who develop and teach online courses. The findings from this study will provide insight into instructional development skills used by faculty-designers of online higher education courses. It will also provide information about skills required to develop and manage online courses from the faculty-designer perspective. 1.6 Research Question(s) (What do you really want to know? The rest of this form derives from and should constantly be guided by your research question. Always consider your research question in addressing all following components of this design form.) List the research questions and any sub questions that the proposed study will address. A qualitative study should be led by one open-ended question. Additional questions can be added in the proposal. The research will address the following quantitative questions 1. What development skills enable the faculty to develop online classes in higher education? 2. What instructional design skills do faculty-designers of online higher education courses use? 3. What skills should faculty-designers possess? This research will address the following qualitative questions: 1. How do teachers differentiate online teaching materials from classroom setting materials? 2. How do faculty-designers develop online courses? 1.7 Literature Review Section Provide a brief overview of the conceptual framework upon which your study is based. Identify the seminal research and theories that inform your study. Discuss the topics and themes that you will use to organize your literature review. Attach the most current list of references with the SMR. Role of online instructors in higher education The theoretical basis for designing online courses rests in content expertise, understanding education and instructional design. These theories are associated with the conceptualization of how learning theories support adult learning. Many theories are visualized into models to more clearly provide information about the theories (Whitmyer, 1997). Central to the design of an online course is an understanding of the need and purpose of what the course is to teach. Issues to be taken into consideration are the institution’s culture, students that will be served by the online course, pre-course knowledge level of students who will take the course and available resources to construct the course. The materials and method of delivery are also an important aspect of the course design (Whitmyer, 1997). According to Parrish (2009), instructors and instructional designers do not just direct learning online but they also serve as guides, facilitators, confidants, provocateurs, motivators, and role models. Instructional designers and online faculty could easily feel removed and isolated from the experience, so they need to exert effort to remain connected and be an active part of the experience. Competent online faculty also plays roles of content facilitators meaning that they are the subject matter experts. Learners look to them to facilitate the learning process. Faculty designers are also technologists, because in case of technical hitches during learning, they are the first point of contact for learners. Instructors are also developers, who determine what will be learned, at what time, and learning activities that will be included. Instructors assume roles of administrators, managing learning resources, discussion boards and student performance. Instructors also assume the role of assessors, administering tests, analyzing them, grading learners and evaluating the course and program. Finally, instructors work as researchers, looking for the validity and accuracy of learner’s ideas, emerging issues in the course as well as new learning and teaching methods (Goodyear, et al., 2001). These roles require training and ongoing support. Instructional development for faculty developing online courses Many higher education institutions that offer online courses rely on faculty members (i.e. faculty-designers) to create appropriate materials and activities for online offerings. Relevant development programs that would help them perform the job efficiently and effectively do not always accompany this added responsibility for faculty. Proper training and development is necessary for faculty-designers to acquire skills needed to effectively design, manage, and maintain their own online courses. These skills include instructional development skills, online pedagogy skills, learning management systems (LMS) skills, skills in the use of e-mail and discussion boards, among more complex management skills that encourage student and teacher interactivity online (Wilson & Stacey, 2004). Some approaches that are useful in training faculty-designers include the use of accredited courses, which have the benefit of certification upon completion. Another approach is the use of online programs, with the advantage being that faculty-designers have the learner experience in an online program and can be self-paced. Another one is use of localized support efforts, in which the institution employs experts to work alongside faculty-designers to provide them with necessary support. Finally, Wilson and Stacey suggest that choice of an approach should consider the level of need for the staff and their stages in learning. One example of faculty development was documented in a case study of the (State University of New York (SUNY) which involved Learning Network (LN) course design process done by faculty-designers who are new to online instruction development. According to Pickett, Shea, and Fredericksen (2001) first get access to the course developer gateway where they learn course development processes and participate in online learning through online conferences. This helps them network with other instructional designers in an online community. An instructional design/development partner works with the faculty through the first course design and delivery cycle. Helpdesk support is also available to them to assist them with matters of technology. Development Processes for Online Courses Most online faculties take on some responsibilities of instructional development by developing course materials and strategies (Baran, Correia, and Thompson, 2011). Working as instructional developers of online courses is a demanding endeavor. Thus, instructional development helps dictate quality of online education. A well-designed course requires coordination between individuals with expertise in subject matter, instructional design and development, and technical aspects of online learning. Pickett, Shea, and Fredericksen (2001) describe the course design process that the State University of New York (SUNY) uses. In this process, faculty re-think traditional course structure and come up with new learning activities and objectives in the e-learning asynchronous context. The process has seven main steps, which revolve in a cycle. The first step after training includes reflecting on the course and conceptualizing it anew. The second step involves creating orientation programs, which include welcoming messages, contact information, course overview, required reading material, the syllabus, learning activities, methods of evaluation and teacher’s expectations. The third step is dividing the course into modules. Course modules are chunks of content aggregated and put together. The fourth step is the creation of learning activities for each course module, taking into consideration that online learning is different from face to face learning. The fifth step involves walking through the course and evaluating it. Both internal evaluators and external evaluators can evaluate the work together or independently. The sixth step involves getting ready to teach. The last step is the evaluation of the course. This last step occurs after the first learning cycle. At this stage, the input of both the students and the designers trigger the process all over again. The place of Teacher in the Development Process- Emerging Role of Faculty designer Faculty are an important factor in the whole process of design, development, administration and delivery of online courses. In most situations, the development of online courses involves more than one person, one of whom is a special combination of instructional developer and subject matter expert (for instance, the teacher). De Vries (2007) emphasizes the need to involve subject matter experts in the process. This makes it easier for for the faculty-designer to gather learning resources, develop course outlines, learning activities and administer them online, than an instructional designer who has little knowledge of the subject. For successful integration of faculty-designers in the development process, De Vries suggests that instructional designers train faculty-designers and provide support on software and tools they are using, and that work processes involved should make the best use of time for everyone to ensure sustained motivation. Pickett, Shea, and Fredericksen (2001) also say that faculty (faculty-designers) are involved in the design and development of online courses offered by SUNY. Faculty are in a unique position to provide essential contributions during design, development, administration and delivery of online courses, but they often lack the skills that are needed to contribute to the desired level. 1.8 Need for the Study Describe the need for the study. Provide a rationale or need for studying a particular issue or phenomenon. Describe how the study is relevant to your specialization area. As technology develops at an ever faster pace and online teaching continues to demonstrate an approach that is valid and viable, there is a need for faculty to gain skills to develop high quality effective learning materials. This study may help determine current skills faculty-designers have in developing materials for online courses, determine skills that will enable them to complete development tasks and to determine the processes used faculty-designers to develop online learning. These three points will attempt to answer the research questions raised above. Section 2: Methodology 2.0 Methodology Describe the qualitative methodology and research model you propose to use. Briefly identify the method(s) will you use to collect the data, such as: open-ended conversational interviews, journaling, letters, pictures, observations, field notes, focus groups. The study will use a quantitative approach with a skills survey administered to faculty-designers in the northeastern United States. An existing survey is being sought to be used or revised. The study will also use a qualitative approach and it will rely on open-ended interview questions. These interviews will be done with faculty who are currently developing online courses. The strategy of using interviews is designed to solicit ideas from the respondents about what they think should constitute the skills required in developing online courses. This strategy of collecting data has many advantages over other methods given that it mainly focuses on obtaining personal opinions from people involved in this initiative which can lead to reliable results of the study. The sample will be chosen through purposive sampling. Ten (10) faculty from a state university system in the eastern United States will comprise the sample. Participants will need to meet certain criteria to be included in the study, which include the following: They should have at least three years of experience in course development, running and teaching both online and traditional face-to-face courses, and may or may not have had instructional design training. This is important since it enables the researcher to establish the knowledge gap that may exist between the people who have experience and those who do not have experience in online instructional development training. Data Collection Qualitative data will be collected via unstructured interviews. Participants will first be contacted through e-mail to explain the study to them and request participation. After participants give consent and the schedule set, the researcher will meet participants individually in their own offices or a place comfortable to the participant for the interview. Interviewing participants in the workplace will allow for deeper explanations and descriptions of experiences as higher education faculty-designers. This setting maintains the natural setting for the faculty-designers, which benefits the data collection and validation process. Quantitative data will be collected through an online survey that will be adapted from existing surveys if permission is granted. Data Analysis Analysis of qualitative data will follow the procedure described by Walliman (2011) and use qualitative data analysis software for complete analysis. Walliman described three sequential actions employed in data analysis of qualitative studies. The first activity is data reduction. The researcher cannot present all information gathered from the interview, as it would be confusing and overwhelming for readers. The researcher has to condense information into less complicated configurations to allow a better understanding. The method to accomplish this is through coding information, clustering and writing a summary of the findings (Walliman, 2011). A qualitative data analysis software (e.g., NVivo) will be used to facilitate coding. The process of coding involves development of typologies and taxonomies from the interviews. What then follows is grouping the taxonomies into categories. The second step is to present the condensed information in compact form, such as figures and tables. Figures and tables not only present findings in a simplified manner but also allow interpretation of findings. The third step is analysis of results. To ensure validity of collected data, the researcher will use corroboration, in which ideas and data by one interviewee is seen in light of the data produced in other interviews through the analysis using the software. Though the interviews will be unstructured, the interviewer will have set questions to help lead the interviews. The next step will involve quantitative analysis of data through statistical methods. The data collected will be analyzed using statistical software (e.g., Excel or SPSS) which will describe the data in terms of frequency, measures of central tendencies, co-relations and standard deviation. References Allen, I.E. & Seaman, J. (2011).Going the distance: Online education in the United States. Newburyport, MA: Sloan. Retrieved from http://sloanconsortium.org Ally, M. (2008). The impact of technology on education. In Commonwealth of Learning (Ed.) Education for a Digital World: Advice, Guidelines, and Effective Practice from Around the Globe (pp. 57-66). Retrieved from http://www.colfinder.net/ Baran, E., Correia, A. & Thompson, A. (2011).Transforming online teaching practice: critical analysis of the literature on the roles and competencies of online faculty. Distance Education, 32(3), 421–439. Carliner, S. & Driscoll, M. (2009). Whos creating the e-learning? In M.W. Allen (Ed.), Michael Allens (2009) E-learning Annual (pp. 43-56). San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer. De Vries, J. (2007). Involving SMEs in rapid eLearning authoring. San Jose: Adobe. Goodyear, P., Salmon, G., Spector, J. M., Steeples, C. &Tickner, S. (2001). Competencies for online teaching: A special report. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(1), 65-72. Parrish, P.E. (2009). Aesthetic principles for instructional design. Educational Technology Research and Development, Volume 57, 511–528. Pickett, A., Shea, P. and Fredericksen, E. (2001).The SLN Course Design Process. NY: SUNY. Walliman, N. (2011). Research methods: The basics. New York, NY: Routledge. Wilson, G. & Stacey, E. (2004).Online interaction impacts on learning: Teaching the faculty to teach online. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 20(1), 33-48. Whitmyer, C. (1997). Instructional design for online learning. Retrieved from http://instructional_design_for_online_learning.pdf STOP: Submit Sections 1 and 2 of this form to 1) mentor for approval, and 2) if approved, mentor will submit to specialization chair/SOE specialization reviewer for approval. [Mentor: Please send to CompDissSupport@capella.edu for distribution.] If you do not obtain Specialization Chair approval, collaborate with your mentor to make appropriate revisions until you obtain specialization chair topic approval. Once topic approval from your Specialization has been obtained, complete the sections on advancing the scientific knowledge base and contributing to research theory (Sections 3 & 4) and collaborate with your mentor until you obtain approval for sections 3 & 4. Mentor Approval: My submission of the topic section to the specialization chair/school reviewer indicates my approval of the mentee’s work. This indicates I have consulted with the mentee and approve of the topic and basic methodology. I have worked with my mentee to fully polish Sections 1 & 2 before submitting for topic approval. Mentor Topic Approval Mentor Signature ________________________ Date _____________________ Specialization Reviewer: Please review the sections on dissertation topic and basic methodology (sections 1 & 2) and make a determination as to whether or not this topic is appropriate for the field of education and the specialization area. If the topic is not approved, please check no and provide comments and return to mentor. If the topic is approved, please check yes, then insert your electronic signature and date the form below. Return to mentor and CompDissSupport@capella.edu Specialization Chairs/Designee: are the dissertation title, topic and basic methodology appropriate for the field of education and the specialization area? Please comment if not approved. _____YES or____ NO Reviewer Comments: Specialization Topic Approval Signature ________________________ Date _________________________ Scientific Merit Review Section 3: Advancing the Scientific Knowledge base Your study should advance the scientific knowledge base in your field by meeting one or more of these four criteria: A. The study should address something that is not known or has not been studied before. B. The study should be new or different from other studies in some way. C. The study should extend prior research on the topic in some way. D. The study should fill a gap in the existing literature. Specifically describe how your research will advance scientific knowledge on your topic by answering all of these 3 questions. Include in-text citations as needed. 3.1 Advancing Scientific Knowledge Demonstrate how the study (a) will advance the scientific knowledge base; (b) is grounded in the field of education; and (c) addresses something that is not known, something that is new or different from prior research, something that extends prior research, or something that fills a gap in the existing literature. Describe precisely how your study will add to the existing body of literature on your topic. It can be a small step forward in a line of current research but it must add to the body of scientific knowledge in your specialization area and on the topic. To respond to this question you will need to: 1. Provide a paragraph that describes the background for your study and how your research question relates to the background of the study. 2. Then, in a second paragraph discuss previous research and demonstrate exactly how your study (answering research question) will advance the scientific knowledge base on this topic. Include in-text citations and place the references in the reference section. 3.2 Theoretical Implications Describe any theoretical implications that the proposed study may have for understanding phenomena. For example, will the study generate new theory, provide a description of the lived experience of the participants or provide a description of a cultural phenomenon? 3.3 Practical Implications Describe any practical implications that may result from your research. Specifically, describe any implications the research may have for understanding phenomena for practitioners, the population being studied, or a particular type of work, mental health, educational, community, stakeholders or other setting. Section 4: Contributions of the Proposed Study to the Field 4.1 Contributions to the Field Your study should make a contribution to your field based on the approach used to conduct the research: A. Ethnography – The study should produce a description of some educational dimensions of a culture. B. Case Study - The study should develop an educational lesson to be learned. C. Grounded theory - The study should generate new educational theory or an emergent theory. D. Phenomenology - The study should yield a description of the lived experience of the participants. E. Heuristics - The study should yield a description of lived experience which includes the experience of the research as well as those of the participants. F. Generic Qualitative Research – The study should answer the research question using qualitative data. G. Other H. Describe how your study is grounded in and/or adds to knowledge in the field of education. Section 5: Methodology Details 5.1 Purpose of the Study Describe the purpose of the study. Why are you doing it? (The answer must be grounded in the literature in what has been done--hasn’t been done or needs to be done.) How will the methods to be used actually answer the research question? 5.2 Research Methodology The qualitative methodologies accepted for education are ethnography, case study, grounded theory, phenomenology, heuristics and generic qualitative research. Describe the qualitative methodology (for example phenomenology) and research model that you propose to use, supported and referenced by primary sources. Describe in detail the method(s) will you use to collect the data, such as: open-ended conversational interviews, journaling, letters, pictures, observations, field notes, focus groups – focus groups are only used for ethnography, grounded theory, case study, and generic qualitative research only. Briefly describe how the study will be conducted. (Describe how you are going to carry out the study.) 5.3 Population and Sample to Selection of the Research Site Describe the characteristics of the larger population from which the sample (study participants) will be drawn. Next describe the sample that will participate in the study and the sample size. Justify the sample size with support from the literature. Note: In qualitative research, the setting of the study is selected because the purpose of the study and the research questions can best be answered in that setting particular setting. Qualitative research makes use of what is known as purposive sampling. That is, the study will take place in a carefully selected setting and using participants that have been chosen for specific reasons or characteristics. For example, the setting may be representative of the phenomenon or problem for study (what is typically found), or one where the phenomenon exists in the extreme (making it easier to identify critical concepts, variables or themes). The setting may represent a critical event where the phenomenon may suddenly emerge. However, the site is not randomly selected as is frequently done in quantitative research. (The learner may want to locate and review resources on “purposive sampling” in qualitative research.) 5.4 Sampling Procedures to Selection of Participants Describe how you plan to select the sample. Be sure to list the name of the specific sampling strategy you will use. Describe each of the steps from recruitment through contact and screening to consenting to participate in the study. Note: What criteria will you use to select the participants for your study? What is the process you will use to select them? How many participants do you intend to include in the study and why? 5.5 Data Collection Procedures Describe where and how will you get the data and describe the exact procedure(s) that will be used to collect the data. This is a step-by-step description of exactly how the research will be conducted. This should read like a recipe for the data collection procedures to be followed in your study. Be sure to include all the necessary details so that someone else will be able to clearly understand how you will obtain your data. 5.6 Guiding Interview Questions Describe the interview method will you use and how you will conduct the interviews. List the guiding interview questions to be used to guide the open-ended qualitative interviews with the participants. Provide a rationale for how and why you are using the interview technique you will use to address the primary research question. Be sure to discuss the results of any field test that was conducted as a part of the process of developing the final version of the guiding interview questions. 5.7 Other Data Collection Procedures For those studies in which alternative data will be collected and used such as: archival data, pre-recorded data, sent or unsent letters, journaling, poems, passages from literature, descriptive essences, objects or images, etc., describe the methods you will use to collect and analyze this alternative data. Provide a rationale for how and why you are using this alternative data. If you use observations for data collection:   What will be your role in the setting?  How will you record your observations? Provide an observation protocol or guide that reflects the behaviors that you plan to observe. 5.8 Proposed Data Analyses Provide a step-by-step description of the procedures to be used to conduct the data analysis. Support this process by identification and reference to primary descriptive sources. Check that the data analysis process is consistent with the accepted analytical steps for the specific qualitative methodology chosen to conduct this study. If you plan to use Qualitative data analysis software, list the software you will use and describe how it will be used. 5.8 Role of the Researcher Provide a description of the researcher’s pre-understandings, preconceptions and biases about the topic and about how the researcher will set them aside? 5.9 Credibility, Dependability and Transferability 5.9 Credibility, Dependability, and Transferability Present a strategy to ensure credibility, dependability, and transferability in the proposed study. Because the researcher is the primary instrument of research in qualitative studies, describe how you will establish credibility for the research. Describe the training and experience you have in regards to your methods for collecting and for analyzing your data. Credibility refers to confidence in the accuracy of the data as reported as well as a systematic and thorough interpretation by the researcher.  Credibility involves carrying out the study in a way that enhances the believability of the findings of the data over time and over conditions. Credibility is assessed by how well you demonstrate your understanding of your research methodology and how well you apply the methodology to data collection and data analysis. Credibility is assessed by how well you demonstrate your understanding of your research methodology and how well you apply the methodology to data collection and data analysis. Describe how you will demonstrate your expertise in regards to your research design. Transferability is demonstrated by showing that the sample fairly represents the target population, as well as by showing that the sample participants have the knowledge, experience, or expertise necessary to provide information that the discipline or field and the target population would find meaningful in regard to the topic. Dependability is demonstrated by providing clear, detailed, and sequential descriptions of all procedures and methods, such that another researcher could repeat each of them faithfully. 6.0 References Provide references for all citations in APA style. Submit your reference list below. STOP: Mentor to review and comment on form contents. Return to learner if necessary. If approved by you, please be sure learner copies and pastes all information to into appropriate SMR Review Responses Form and mentor sends to CompDissSupport@capella.edu for distribution to scientific merit reviewers. Mentor Approval Signature _____________ Date: ______________ Submitted to comps/diss for distribution to SM reviewer on ____________ (date) Read More