Outreach Scholarship Conference 2004

Outreach Scholarship: Research Initiatives in On-

Line Faculty Engagement

Dr. Melody Thompson and Dr. Larry Ragan, Penn State University

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

• Presenters: Melody Thompson, Director, American Center for the Study of Distance Education; Director, Planning and Research, Penn State Continuing & Distance Education, and Assistant Professor, College of Education

• Larry Ragan, Director-Instructional Design and Development, Affiliate Faculty AEE and research associate for the ACSDE

• Participants . . .

PROGRAM AGENDA

• 1:00 Introductions and Expectation Setting• 1:10 Intro to Outreach Scholarship• 1:15 Overview of Outreach Scholarship Initiatives

--Managing Faculty Workload Project--Best Practices--Sloan-C Best Practices--Faculty Workload Research Project--Future Initiatives at Penn State

• 2:00 Barriers and Solutions Exercise--Small-group Exercise --Set-up, Categories, Process

• 2:10 Small-group Teamwork• 2:30 Small-group Team Report Outs• 2:55 Wrap-up and Adjournment

WHAT IS “SCHOLARSHIP”?

Scholarship is more than basic research and publication. Scholarship is the “thoughtful discovery, transmission, and application of knowledge.”

• Scholarship of Discovery• Scholarship of Integration• Scholarship of Application• Scholarship of Teaching

STANDARDS FOR SCHOLARLY WORK

• Clear goals • Adequate preparation • Appropriate methods • Significant results • Effective presentation • Reflective critique

WHERE DO OUTREACH AND SCHOLARSHIP OVERLAP?

Outreach scholarship is the engagement of a faculty or staff member--or student--in discovery, integration, application, and/or teaching activities to address important societal problems and improve the quality of life.

FORMS OF SCHOLARSHIP

• Traditional research form (qualitative, quantitative)

• Non-traditional formats (applications within practice, collaborations etc…)

• Others

OVERVIEW OF OUTREACH SCHOLARSHIP INITIATIVES

•Strategies for Managing Faculty Workload Project-- SMOW

•Sloan-C Effective Practices

•Faculty Workload Research Project

•Future Initiatives at Penn State

STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING THE ONLINE WORKLOAD

• Funded by the Sloan foundation• Interested in examining why online

learning (ALN) was not more widely accepted

• Develop/capture strategies from experienced faculty

• Publish outcomes

RESEARCH PROBLEM

• Real or perceived barrier to faculty participation in online learning:

Online education is MUCH MORE WORK than face-to-face instruction

SMOW PROJECT PURPOSE

To identify and refine those strategies, techniques, and

resources that enable faculty to manage their workload in the online teaching and learning environment.

RESEARCH METHODS

• Conducted a broad survey of expert users• Distilled results into categories and

topics• Consolidated input into workshop

document• Refined/improved data at the invitational

conference• Generate SMOW document• Disseminate findings--collect feedback

and improve

ORIGINAL INVITATION LIST

• The Sheffield College, University of Catalunya, Open University of the Netherlands

University of Illinois, Chattanooga State, University of Wisconsin, University of California, State University of New York Empire State College (SUNY), University of Illinois-Urbana, Drexel University, UC Berkeley, Kansas State University, John Hopkins, Rogers State, Penn State

WORKSHOP OUTCOME

• Generate a document which captures the most effective workload management strategies for an online environment, in order to reduce faculty workload.

• Share experiences through demonstrations and discussions

CATEGORIES OF SMOW

• Authoring Strategies• Teaching Strategies• Revision & Improvement Strategies • Institutional Strategies

PROJECT RESULTS• Collection of strategies organized into four categories (9 to 11

strategies/category)• I. CATEGORY: (Authoring Strategies)

– A. Strategy 1: Title• 1. Explanation

• The strategy is described to provide focus, definition, and context.

• 2. Benefits– a) Benefits of using the strategy are listed here.

• 3. Limitations– a) Limitations of using the strategy are listed here.

• 4. Rating– a) The strategy rating on a scale of 1 to 5 is

presented here.

AUTHORING STRATEGIES

• Adopting a course development model, • Identifying and acquiring existing learning resources, • Establishing and distributing reusable templates, • Providing the course author with a sample online course, • Providing students with specific instruction for

assignments, • Applying project planning and management methods to

the course development process, • Establishing a course development team, • Designing balanced instructional activities• Finalizing one module or unit before developing the

remainder of the course, • Developing rubrics for each graded student assignment,

and • Creating a learning object database

TEACHING STRATEGIES

• Clarifying and enhancing students’ technical skills before registration,

• Providing a detailed syllabus, • Defining the operating parameters of the course, • Creating feedback rubrics, • Establishing a routine, • Incorporating a learning management system for

recording course transactions, • Fostering group dynamics within the course, • Beginning the course with an activity that encourages

interaction, and • Establishing consistent, effective methods of electronic

communication

Revision & Improvement Strategies

• Projecting the volume and frequency of revision necessary and budgeting accordingly

• Conducting multiple evaluations of the courses, • Conducting a pilot run or initiating an expert

internal review before release of the course, • Managing the revision cycle as an integral part of

the course, • Developing methods for managing dynamic course

elements (updates), • Inviting student feedback at the close of the

course, • Developing and maintaining a course history, • Involving the original course author in the revision

process, and • Rewarding students for reporting errors in the

course material

INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Ensuring faculty access to instructional design and systems support,

• Providing adequate faculty development opportunities, • Providing technical support for faculty and students, • Providing an adequate learning management system, • Establishing institutional parameters for online operation, • Integrating institutional administrative systems and tools, • Providing clear institutional policies on intellectual

property rights, • Defining the role of online education in the mission of the

institution, • Developing institutional policy for compensating and

rewarding faculty and academic units, and • Providing copyright and permissions support and policies

DESIRED NEXT STEPS

• Publish current findings

• Conduct additional workshops/gather more input

• Seek additional funding to support subsequent research

– Options:

• Expand number of items in each category (only used 10-20% of collected data) or

• Select new input on additional strategies within existing categories

• Create additional new research questions

SLOAN-C EFFECTIVE PRACTICE INITIATIVE

Societal problem: Need new ways to provide higher education and maintain quality

• Effective practice initiative addresses this goal in five dimensions of online education :– Access– Learning effectiveness– Student support and satisfaction– Program sustainability– Faculty satisfaction

SLOAN-C EFFECTIVE PRACTICES

• Criteria for selection– Innovation– Replicability– Potential Impact– Supporting data/documentation– Scope re: 5 dimension of online

education

• These examples of application scholarship provide the raw material for generating new theories, research questions, and teaching content

FACULTY WORKLOAD RESEARCH PROJECT

• The problem: Ability to extend access through online education was compromised by insufficient levels of faculty participation and satisfaction

• Underlying reason: Perception that the online workload was greater than the face-to-face workload

• Additional concern: An increased work load would negatively effect other responsibilities traditionally more highly valued by the institution (basic research and publication; resident instruction)

GOALS OF THE PROJECT

• To increase faculty commitment to online teaching and outreach scholarship by

– enhancing understanding of the faculty experience in teaching online

– providing faculty members an opportunity to contribute to improved practice within the “scholarship” framework recognized and rewarded by the institution (i.e., bringing in research funds, conducting research, and publishing results).

PROJECT OUTCOMES

• Better understanding of online workload

• Discovery that time spent online wasn’t greater, although “chunking” of time was different

• Discovery of strategies to decrease online workload

• Application of pedagogical and/or technological strategies (personally and World Campus ID&D)

• Contributions to the larger knowledge base through presentations and publications

FUTURE INITIATIVES AT PENN STATE

• Collaborative research projects among faculty and Outreach staff through the American Center for the Study of Distance Education (ACSDE)

• International programming and research collaboration with US and UK partners through the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN)

Barriers and Solutions Exercise