Technology and Education – Best Practice for University Departments and Faculty

Professor Richard LadyshewskyCurtin University

Perth, Western Australiarick.ladyshewsky@gsb.curtin.edu.au

http://business.curtin.edu.au/schools/cgsb/staff_profiles.cfm/Rick.Ladyshewsky

Global and Canadian Issues in Online Learning

• Growth rates in online enrolments in higher education have increased up to 35- 50 per cent (Sun, Tsai et al. 2008) and continue to grow.

• During 2007 – 2008, online course enrolments in the United States of America increased by 12.9 per cent in excess of total higher education student enrolments (Baker 2010).

• “Enrolments are growing, although likely more slowly and at lower levels

than our competitors” • “… unlike nearly every other country in the OECD, Canada does not have

a national strategy to support e learning or the use of technology in ‐teaching. As a result Canada has lost its lead in e learning and is slipping ‐behind countries such as Australia and the UK.” - Dr Tony Bates to the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology

Online University Education in Canada: Challenges and Opportunities (2012) http://www.cvu-uvc.ca/Online%20University%20Education%20%20jan17%202012.pdf

Online versus Traditional

There is now ample evidence that learning online can be as effective as traditional forms of education (Ladyshewsky, 2004) and perhaps even superior in terms of learning outcome (Schachar & Neumann, 2010; Yuki Toyama, Murphy, Bakia, & Jones, 2009).

The ‘no significant difference’ perspective between fully online learning and traditional face-to-face instruction is fairly well established, and research is now exploring what instructional strategies are most effective for online learning.

MOOCs - Massive Online Open Courses

PT Practice and the Canadian Health Care System

Moving to more Fully Online/Blended Delivery

What does the instructor need to do in online learning?• Ladyshewsky R (2013) Instructor Presence in Online

Courses and Student Satisfaction. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 7:1; 1-23.

Measuring and Monitoring Quality of an Online Program• Ladyshewsky, R & Ling, Siew Liem (2013) A Quality

Framework for Improving Teaching and Learning Outcomes in a Fully Online MBA Program, EdMedia Conference, June, Victoria BC.

What does the instructor need to do in online learning?

• This case study explored the role of the online instructor and how they influence student satisfaction.

• While there has been a substantial body of literature on what impacts on student satisfaction when students study online, there is far less literature focusing on how the instructor mediates this satisfaction, in particular satisfaction related to quality of feedback and teaching. The role of the instructor has been neglected in much of the online education research, especially conduct factors (Arbaugh et al., 2009) (Bair & Bair, 2011).

In the researcher’s course (Post Graduate Leadership and Management) they noticed a big difference in student satisfaction scores between an associate faculty (sessional) member and a tenured faculty member.

This difference (lower sessional; higher faculty) was consistent over time.

What does the instructor need to do in online learning?

* Not a performance management issue

To explore differences … data captured across 6 deliveries of course (2 years):• Course evaluation data - student satisfaction

system (eVALUate)• Academic grades• Instructor and student postings– number of postings– social network maps– qualitative comments

What does the instructor need to do in online learning?

• Social Presence: Because of lack of a physical presence in online classes, building a community is important to heighten participation and motivation to learn. Evidence suggests that online classes can be designed in such a way that students’ satisfaction rates regarding perceptions of social interaction are similar to a classroom (Hostetter & Busch, 2006).

• Cognitive presence: Constructing and confirming meaning through critical conversations and reflection (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) which are facilitated by the instructor is cognitive presence. Cognitive presence is linked to perceptions of learning.

• Teaching presence: Teaching presence includes how the design and organization of the course has been laid out, how it is facilitated and how much direct instruction takes place.

What does the instructor need to do in online learning?

Study Period (SP) SP 1 SP 2 SP 3 SP 4 SP 5 SP 6

Number of Responses / Course Enrolment

23/36 18/35 15/26 16/25 10/23 19/31

Response Rate 64% 51 % 58% 64% 43% 61%

Mean Grade (2 Major Assignments) 76.2 73.6 72.9 75.2 75.1 73.8

What does the instructor need to do in online learning?

Study Period (SP) SP 1

SP 2

SP 3

SP4

SP5

SP 6

Percentage Agreement with Each Evaluation Item 1 - Learning Outcomes (LOs) Clearly Identified 93 100 93 100 80 100

2 - Learning Experiences Help Achieve LOs 86 78 100 100 70 100

3 – Learning Resources Help Achieve LOs 100 78 93 100 70 954 – Assessment Tasks Evaluate Achievement of LOs 71 78 87 100 90 100

5 – Feedback in Course Helps Achieve LOs 79 53 80 100 60 956 – Workload in Course Appropriate to Achieve LOs 71 72 87 81 67 100

7 – Quality of Teaching Helps Achieve LOs 64 61 80 100 50 1008 – Am Motivated to Achieve LOs 86 78 80 100 80 1009 – Make Best Use of Learning Experiences in Course 79 78 87 88 60 100

10 – Think About How Can Learn More Effectively 79 78 87 91 80 100

11 – Overall Am Satisfied with Course 93 78 93 100 70 100Instructor 1 1 2 2 1 2

Section 1: Instructor and Student Posting Frequency

Feedback Forum: Number of Instructor Posts 38 50 106 69 28 72

Feedback Forum: Number of Student Posts 73 60 174 99 19 60

Discussion 1: Number of Instructor Posts 11 16 8 37 11 39

Discussion 1: Number of Student Posts 124 159 118 112 95 159

Discussion 2: Number of Instructor Posts 6 9 7 25 14 26

Discussion 2: Number of Student Posts 134 148 114 118 106 125

Discussion 3: Number of Instructor Posts 4 9 7 24 13 25

Discussion 3: Number of Student Posts 99 167 110 106 109 134

Section 2: Total Instructor Posts / Total Student Posts

Feedback Percentage Ratio (FPR) 13.7 15.7 24.8 35.6 20 33.8

Instructor 1 1 2 2 1 2

Instructor 2 – Study Period 6 (33.8 FPR)

Qualitative Comments - Instructors

Instructor 1 - Teaching/Cognitive/Social Presence

• “Some very good points in your post about 'asking questions' and differentiating your coaching when dealing with younger versus older staff and different experience levels. Your description describes a manager who values learning on the job.”

• “Hi All, results posted with the exception of a couple of late submissions...Specific detailed feedback is provided in feedback sheets attached to your results. General feedback: average grade is 74%, some individuals did not reference properly, please refer to referencing guide....Regards Mary (pseudonym)

Qualitative Comments - Instructors

Instructor 2 - Teaching/Cognitive/Social Presence

• “ You made a very good point about trust in a 'manager as coach' relationship and the fact that sometimes, managers, don't get to choose their staff. ... We can have compassion for our direct reports and co-workers, even though we don't choose them. Having compassion, or basically caring about your staff, will produce all sorts of signals within your team. ... I remember a great story on TV about the Captain of a Women's Basketball team. It was very clear that she didn't like her coach from the way she talked about him, however, she had great respect for him (compassion). ... Good post, very rich conceptually. Thanks.”

• “Thank you for your posts. The coaching discussion room is now closed. Very interesting reading and nearly everyone had a story to tell about coaching in the workplace – positive and negative – which says a lot about the state of affairs of coaching and the Manager as Coach role. ... I will be posting discussion grades today. Our next discussion... Best wishes, John (pseudonym).

Qualitative Comments - Students

Re: Instructor 1• “I felt there needed to be more interaction with the teacher

on a weekly basis. Each week there were recommended readings & lengthy online lectures reinforced through peer discussion boards yet given our inexperience I wanted more regular interaction with the teacher.”

Re: Instructor 2• “I really enjoyed the discussions. John (instructor

pseudonym) gave very encouraging and provoking comments in a respectful manner. I felt it was a very safe discussion environment.”

What does the instructor need to do in online learning?Some Conclusions…

• Feedback Percentage Ratio of 25%+ (1:4) linked to 80 per cent student satisfaction.

• Balance is needed as excessive teaching presence by the instructor can reduce student satisfaction due to the extra reading work it creates (Arbaugh, 2010) (An, et al., 2009; Rollag, 2010) . (Arbaugh, 2010). HOWEVER …..

• Students often perceive instructors who post often, as enthusiastic and possessing greater expertise, and this translates into higher levels of student satisfaction (Mazzolini & Maddison, 2002).

• Prestige posting (Shea et al., 2010). • Students themselves can also increase social presence within a course by

increasing their interaction with one another, however, this type of interaction does not necessarily lead to higher levels of student satisfaction (Kim, Kwon, & Cho, 2011)

• The instructor’s positive attitude towards technology, their interactive teaching style and control over the technology were important factors contributing to learning effectiveness (Baker, 2010) - RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION – TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT.

How do you know your running a quality online/blended program?

Standard Module LayoutWelcome to Module – ObjectivesModule Overview – Lecturer NotesReadings – direct links (required & supplemental)i-Lecture/VideosWeblinksPractical ActivitiesDiscussion Forums

Discussion Board1. Question and Answer2. Assignments3. Can I ask a Question4. Graded Discussion Forums5. Café6. Help us to Help You

Learning Hub Student Home Journal

Standardized School Template – Cognitive Load

How do you know your running a quality online program?

• Historical surveys of student satisfaction demonstrated a lower level of satisfaction for fully online courses in comparison to the same courses that were delivered in face to face mode.

• To improve these lower ratings a strategic plan for technology enhanced learning was developed.

Ladyshewsky and Soontiens (2013) Maastricht School of Management 3rd Annual Research Conference, Sept

Strategic Plan - Technology Enhanced Learning

Curtin Graduate School of Business, Perth, Australia

Course design and delivery elements Online Presence

A welcome message by the course controller in an audio-visual format

Social

A minimum of six audio/audio-visual i-lecture captures on course content

Cognitive & Teaching

Expansive multi-media content from diverse sources Teaching & Cognitive

A LMS journal tool for student biographies Social

Communication strategy – announcements (not emails) Social & Teaching

Communication strategy - discussion forums Cognitive

Communication strategy - Blackboard Collaborate live session

Teaching & Cognitive

Sign - posting Teaching

Communication strategy - assignment submission and feedback through Blackboard Grade Centre and Turnitin

(system compliance)

Audit 1 – Trimester Courses

CGSB Staff Orientation and Support Staff Learning Hub

Staff Learning Hub‘Help sheets’ on how to perform the most common functions in Blackboard.

These were developed by the instructional design team based on input from Online MBA program leader ……………. • Building content in Blackboard – linking, cutting and pasting, etc…• Communicating with Students on Blackboard• Effective Online Discussion• iLecture capture on Blackboard• Scheduling a Blackboard Collaborate Live Chat Session• Blackboard Group Tools• Online Assignment and Submission Links• Printing and Marking Online Assignments• Archiving Content in a course• Netiquette

Live Blackboard Collaborate Training Session: Whole School (55% - 100%)

Audit 2 – Instructor Presence

• To explore instructor interactivity as part of this second audit, social network analysis was undertaken using the SNAPP (Social Networks Adapting Pedagogical Practice) tool.

• (http://research.uow.edu.au/learningnetworks/seeing/snapp/index.html)

Instructor Presence – Q & A Forum

Instructor Presence : Graded Discussion

Mean Student Satisfaction Data (9 courses)

Conclusions for University Departments and Faculty

• Academic staff may not necessarily have the skills to teach on line effectively.

• Good classroom teachers are not necessarily good online teachers• In the online world academics require advanced skills which they

may not even know they lack.• Recruitment, retention, training and development, performance

management questions…• Unless there are systems to manage and monitor uptake of new

technologies and quality, an online / blended course can quickly fall behind industry standards.

Conclusions for University Departments and Faculty

• A strategic plan for technology - framework and benchmark for expected quality and performance.

• Academic freedom vs. Bureaucracy - a university must ensure that its products are up to date, relevant and using the most appropriate teaching technology available.

• Intellectual Property• Centralisation versus Decentralisation of instructional design and

LMS support.• Impact on client satisfaction *