An action research study is being proposed in which professional development for faculty to prepare to teach online will be intentionally designed to promote transformational learning and inform classroom teaching practices by critically reflecting on and discussing their assumptions and beliefs about teaching

McQuiggan, Carol A.

English

Kansas State University

Kansas State University Libraries New Prairie Press Adult Education Research Conference 2009 Conference Proceedings (Chicago, IL) The Transformational Impact of Learning to Teach Online Carol A. McQuiggan Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg Follow this and additional works at: https://newprairiepress.org/aerc  Part of the Adult and Continuing Education Administration Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License Recommended Citation McQuiggan, Carol A. (2009). "The Transformational Impact of Learning to Teach Online," Adult Education Research Conference. https://newprairiepress.org/aerc/2009/roundtables/9 This is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences at New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Adult Education Research Conference by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, please contact cads@k-state.edu.     430The Transformational Impact of Learning to Teach Online  Carol A. McQuiggan, D.Ed. candidate The Pennsylvania State University – Harrisburg  Abstract: An action research study is being proposed in which professional development for faculty to prepare to teach online will be intentionally designed to promote transformational learning and inform classroom teaching practices by critically reflecting on and discussing their assumptions and beliefs about teaching.   There are a number of driving forces and demands of the 21st century that are putting pressure on institutions of higher education to make changes in their traditional ways of teaching and even changing the entire environment of higher education (Langley, O’Connor, & Welkener, 2004). Perhaps the largest driving force for change is the rapid growth of the Internet enabling distance education and changing the way we gather and share information, gain knowledge, collaborate, design and deliver instruction, and changing the speed at which we can accomplish these tasks (Diamond, 2005; Jones, Mally, Blevins, & Munroe, 2003; Lezburg, 2003; Sorcinelli, Austin, Eddy, & Beach, 2006). It has spurned creative uses of new technologies, changed classrooms, and placed new and different demands on faculty (Lawler & King, 2000; Sorcinelli et al.).  As of fall 2006, almost 3.5 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in an institution of higher education in the United States. This is over double the number of student enrollees of over 1.6 million in fall 2002. Additionally, 11% of all United States higher education students took at least one online course in fall 2002, and this number increased to almost 20% by fall 2006. Much of this explosive growth was due to new institutions offering online education. Approximately one-third of higher education institutions account for three-fourths of all online enrollments, so there is still much room for continued growth (Allen & Seaman, 2003, 2007).   Some faculty have embraced online education (Allen & Seaman, 2003), but many faculty are only beginning to integrate technology into their teaching. Most have no experience with online teaching, having spent the majority of their years as a learner in a traditional face-to-face classroom (Brookfield, 2006). Their initial teaching model is typically born from that of their own teachers, and they teach as they were taught (Layne, Froyd, Simpson, Caso, & Merton, 2004). In this way, the teaching and learning environment has not changed much over the years (Conrad, 2004).   With few faculty having any online experience, it is not surprising that numerous changes have been noted in the faculty experience when teaching online. Several studies have found that when moving to the online environment, faculty note that which is unfamiliar, different, or absent and roles seem to change (Conrad, 2004; Morris, Xu, & Finnegan, 2005).   Learning to teach online may be a catalyst for faculty to reflect on and evaluate their current teaching practices. It is a potential opportunity to develop new ideas about teaching and learning (Tallent-Runnels et al., 2006), and to restructure traditional classroom roles and relationships (Jaffee, 2003). What worked for them in the past in their traditional classroom may no longer be helpful or reliable in their online classroom.  An action research study is being proposed in which professional development for faculty to prepare to teach online will be intentionally designed to promote transformational learning and inform classroom teaching practices by critically reflecting on and discussing their assumptions     431and beliefs about teaching. Additionally, the importance of relationships between the facilitator, faculty, and students in the transformation process will be explored.   During the roundtable discussion, those who design and deliver faculty professional development for online teaching, and faculty who are preparing to teach online or who have taught online, will discuss their experiences with online teaching and the implications of the proposed study. What changes in previously held assumptions and beliefs about teaching do faculty experience as they prepare to teach online?  References Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2003). Sizing the opportunity: The quality and extent of online  education in the United States, 2002 and 2003. Needham, MA: Sloan-C. Retrieved online  September 21, 2008, from   http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/pdf/sizing_opportunity.pdf. Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2007). Online nation: Five years of growth in online learning.  Needham, MA: Sloan-C. Retrieved online September 21, 2008, from  http://www.sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/pdf/online_nation.pdf. Brookfield, S. D. (2006). The skillful teacher: On technique, trust, and responsiveness in the  classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Conrad, D. (2004). University instructors’ reflections on their first online teaching experiences.  Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 8(2), 31-44. Diamond, R. M. (2005). The institutional change agency: The expanding role of academic  support centers. In S. Chadwick-Blossey & D. R. Robertson (Eds.), To Improve the  Academy, 23 (pp. 24-37). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Co. Jaffee, D. (2003). Virtual transformation: Web-based technology and pedagogical change.  Teaching Sociology, 31(2), 227-236. Jones, S. M., Mally, W., Blevins, L. A., Munroe, J. E. (2003). The U. S. Marine Corps distance  learning program. In M. G. Moore & W. G. Anderson (Eds.), Handbook of distance  education (pp. 641-654). Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Langley, D., O’Connor, T. W., Welkener, M. M. (2004). A transformative model for designing  professional development activities. In C. M. Wehlburg & S. Chadwick-Blossey (Eds.),  To Improve the Academy, 22 (pp. 145-154). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing  Company, Inc.  Lawler, P. A., & King, K. P. (2000). Planning for effective faculty development: Using adult  learning strategies. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company. Layne, J., Froyd, J., Simpson, N., Caso, R., & Merton, P. (2004). Understanding and improving  faculty professional development in teaching. Paper presented at the 34th ASEE/IEEE  Frontiers in Education Conference (pp. 1C 15-20), October 20-23, 2004. Savannah, GA. Lezburg, A. K. (2003). Accreditation: Quality control in higher education. In M. G. Moore & W.  G. Anderson (Eds.), Handbook of distance education (pp. 425-434). Mahwah, N.J.:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Morris, L., Xu, H., & Finnegan, C. (2005). Roles of faculty in teaching asynchronous undergraduate courses. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 9(1), 65-82. Sorcinelli, M. D., Austin, A. E., Eddy, P. L., Beach, A. L. (2006). Creating the future of faculty  development: Learning from the past, understanding the present. Bolton, MA: Anker  Publishing Company, Inc. 

The Transformational Impact of Learning to Teach Online

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The Transformational Impact of Learning to Teach Online

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