Quality Matters or Homegrown Peer Review:
Hanna Erpestad, Amy Jo Swing, Jody OndichLake Superior
College
The Poetry of Teaching and Technology
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LSCs Online JourneyFirst online class in 1996About 30% of
enrollment onlineLSC Online Peer Review since 2004 Administrative
Online Evaluation tool in 2010Joined QM in 2012POET initiated in
2013-15
Have two QM peer reviewers on our faculty and have had 2 courses
Qm certified(1995 FTE in FY2014, 4190 students unduplicated and 121
FTE hybrid)over 20 peer reviewers and 70+ course reviewed, did
statewide workshops/trainings
(based on FIPSE Maryland Online project)
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3-part Quality Plan
Part 1: Administrative Tool for Evaluating Online
Instruction
Part 2: Comprehensive Online Instructor Training
Part 3: Online Peer Review
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Lake Superior College Program for Online Excellence in
Teaching
Reviving Online Programs Takes a VillageOnline Programs Advisory
Committee AQIP Team on Comprehensive Teacher TrainingCampus-wide
open forumsOnline Peer Review WorkgroupeCampus team (faculty,
administration, IT, student services)
Dozens of faculty members (an some staff) have been involved in
creating, revision, and implementing these ideaswell over 20
regular committee members on OPAC SC, Peer Review Work Group , and
AQIP plus open OPAC meetings
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Research Based: Sloan ConsortiumA non-profit Online Learning
Consortium (OLC) committed to sharing effective e-learning
practices
2002 Report: Five Pillars of Quality Online Education
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7Five Pillars of Quality Online Education
Adapted from OLC Quality Framework:
http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/5-pillars/
Student satisfaction Scale (InstitutionalcostEffectiveness)
Learningeffectiveness AccessFacultysatisfaction
QUALITY
Our POET program focuses on lots of these: helping faculty
(satisfaction), making courses and teaching better for students
(satisfaction), cost effectiveness (so much less than QM),
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Implementing Best Practices in Online Learning
Study from: Alliance for Higher Education Competitiveness
(A-HEC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to research into
innovation, transformation, and effectiveness in higher
education.
Must have administrative and faculty leadership. Find one
administrator to go to bat for youand then use data! Need leaders.
Weve tried eLearning without a leader and it falls apart. The more
people you get involved, the better We had a dean (who used to be
online faculty), union support, faculty, etc. 8
Online Administrative Evaluation
Traditional process designed for on-ground classes Most deans
had no experience teaching or taking online classes
New Online Evaluation Rubric
Developed by a dean-led team of facultyRubric fits online
teaching and learning best practicesFocus is on online teaching as
well as course design
See rubric at: http://www.lsc.edu/poet/online-
administrative-evaluation-rubric/
Evaluated by deans (probationary and adjunct faculty evaluated
every year)In 2010, a team of online faculty led by the Dean of
Liberal Arts and Sciences revised the faculty evaluation rubric to
fit online teaching and learning best practices
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Online Teacher Training
Training has varied greatly since 1997: Week-long workshops in
summer
Fully online Training
One-on-one with Instructional Technologist
Comprehensive online training Summer 2012
First level of training will begin Spring 2015, 2nd and 3rd Fall
2015
Quality Tied to Instructors
Slide 3 The best article I have found is Schwartzman and Tuttle,
"What Can Online Course Components Teach About Improving
Instruction and Learning?" 29 Journal of Instructional Psychology,
No. 3, p. 179-188. The authors cite research that instructor
immediacy (encouraging involvement and offering feedback) is linked
to higher levels of cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning,
not to mention student motivation. (p. 183-184).I found another
article that listed the top reasons for student attrition (drop
outs) in online courses. Five of the top eight reasons were lack of
motivation (two categories), lack of support, lack of instructor
involvement (called management oversight in the survey), and
substandard/inexperienced teaching. Two other reasons were not
related to the course or the instruction lack of time and learner
preference. The final reason was course design. Berge and Huang, "A
Model for Sustainable Student Retention," DEOS News, Vol. 13, Issue
5 (May, 2004).Both these articles provide ammunition for the
argument that student success in online courses is affected by the
quality of the teacher as much as the quality of the course design.
The premise of our peer review is that neither can be successful
without the other.
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Online Teacher TrainingThree Levels of
Training:http://www.lsc.edu/poet/online-teacher-training/
Expanded training with minimal budget increase!
14 release credits$4,500 mentor stipends$450 celebration
expenses11
Level 1: Online Teaching Basics4 week online courseTaught by
Instructional Technologist and online mentorsFocus on IMS
(D2L/Brightspace) toolsLevel One POET badge after completionOffered
3-4 times a yearCould be self-paced with flexible start dates
Level 2: Online Teaching Fundamentals 2-3 credits Focus on
designing online or hybrid class Two courses 12 week online
pedagogy/best practices: Fall semester12 week advanced IMS and
technology training Online teaching mentors Level Two POET badge on
completion
Level 3: Online Teaching Redesign One year teaching circle
Commitment to remodeling an existing online course POET peer review
to begin Bi-monthly meetings with some examples and technology
training Master level POET badge on completion
Participants who complete any level will have end of year
celebration
Online Peer Review Process
Selection of Courses to be reviewed Confidentiality Form
Instructor Worksheet and course outline Access to the course being
reviewed Reviewing a course Follow-up meeting When Peer Review is
complete When a course is evaluated as In Progress *
Online Peer Review Rubric
Sections within the Rubric include: Structure and Expectations
Course Outcomes and Expectations Resources and Materials Assessment
Methods Learner Interaction ADA and Copyright Compliance
Online Peer Review Resources
Resources for Peer Review are found at www.lsc.edu/poetThese
include, in both Word and PDF : Peer Review Process, with
explanations & instructions for each step Peer Review Rubrics
with and without Annotations Confidentiality Forms for all
reviewers Instructor Worksheets Sample review
ConclusionsExcellence in a online program needs input from all:
faculty, administration, IT, student services, studentsExcellence
in online education means looking at both online teaching and
technology/course design (research)Excellence includes creating a
program that fits your institution's needs and is
sustainableExcellence includes continuous improvement and sharing:
http://www.lsc.edu/poet
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Contact:Amy Jo SwingEnglish Instructor & Online Faculty
Development CoordinatorLake Superior CollegeDuluth,
[email protected] Evaluation link: http://bit.ly/1x1lMB5
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