Post on 15-Apr-2017
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION? A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE INTERACTION EXPERIENCES OF PROFESSORS AND INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNERS DURING ONLINE COURSE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Debra ChitturPepperdine University
Kay Davis, Ed.D., ChairPaul Sparks, Ph.D.Maria Brahme, Ed.D.
Overview of Presentation
• Background of Problem
• Foundations of Study
• Study Design and Methodology
• Questions
Higher Education TodayTransformational moment in higher education (Fink, 2013)
19th century
Establishment of land grant universities
Turn of the 20th century
Departmentalization of academic disciplines
Mid-20th century
Call for access for nontraditional students
Higher Education TodayGrowth of competition (Newman, et al., 2010)
Rise of for-profit
education
Changing student
characteristics
Deregulation by federal
government
Technology creates new
delivery systems
Higher Education Today
Problem Overview
Faculty teach the way they were taught
Few incentives for them to use research-based practices
Online course design shows promise as a mechanism for rethinking teaching
Purpose of Study
To understand how
• working with an instructional designer (ID) designing an online course
• influences a professor’s pedagogical practice.
Research QuestionsThe central guiding research question of the study is:
How do the experiences of professors and instructional designers who collaborate together to develop an online course positively influence the pedagogical practice of the professors? Sub questions:
What are professor perceptions regarding improvements to their pedagogy specific to the guidance and input from the instructional designer? How are improved pedagogical practices described and are there clear references to instructional design principles and student-centered pedagogical practices (Merrill, 2002)? How do professors and instructional designers explain how emotions and threats were handled throughout the process considering the threat management model (Williams, 2007)?
Conceptual Frameworks
Merrill’s First Principles
(2013)
Threat Regulation
Model of Trust (Williams, 2007)
College Teaching
Faculty use traditional
teaching methods
• College instructors have autonomy in the classroom (Martin, 2009)
• Most use lecture or Socratic method (Cutler, 2013)
College Teaching
Research supports active learning
pedagogy (Bonwell & Eison, 1991) in college classroom
(Prince, 2004; Code, et. al, 2014; Michael,
2006).
• Lectures segmented with interspersed student reflection activities
• Positive environment for discussion
• Targeted use of media
• Inclusion of activity types such as cooperative learning, debates, role playing, simulation, peer teaching
College Teaching
At institutional level, few incentives for faculty to adopt student-centered methods• Lack of model that can be used nationwide
(unlike U.K., for example)• Faculty development centers not as effective
as hoped (Lee, 2010)• Research skills more valuable than teaching
(Brownell & Tanner, 2012; Allgood & Walstad, 2013; Finelli, et. al., 2013)
College Teaching
At personal level, barriers to change by professors (Bonwell & Eison, 1991)• Prefer teacher centered teaching methods
(Dancy & Henderson, 2010)• Risk to identity as experts (Post, 2011)• Fear of change (Ahmed, 2013)• Lack of training, time, and incentives
(Brownell & Tanner, 2012)
Online TeachingQuality
indicators that align
with active learning (Chaney,
et. al., 2009) (OLC
Scorecard, Quality
Matters)
Greater personaliz
ation of interaction between students
and professors (Sandeen,
2013)
Opportunity to rethink what is in courses
(Scagnoli, et. al., 2009)
CAVEAT: If professors and
instructional designers do
not design course
together, opportunity to use student-
centered methods is lost (McQuiggan,
2007; Lawrence &
Lentle-Keenan, 2013)
Research QuestionsThe central guiding research question of the study is:How do the experiences of professors and instructional designers who collaborate together to develop an online course positively influence the pedagogical practice of the professors? Sub questions:
What are professor perceptions regarding improvements to their pedagogy specific to the guidance and input from the instructional designer? How are improved pedagogical practices described and are there clear references to instructional design principles and student-centered pedagogical practices (Merrill, 2002)? How do professors and instructional designers explain how emotions and threats were handled throughout the process considering the threat management model (Williams, 2007)?
Instructional Design in Higher Education
IDs used in faculty
development and online
course design (You,
2010)
• Trained in student-centered teaching methods (Akella, 2015)
• IDs could act as change agents during online course design process (Pan, et. Al, 2003)
• Use instructional design models to guide practice (Sims & Koszalka, 2008)
Merrill’s First Principles (2013)Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction
Problem-Centered Learning is promoted when learners acquire skills in the context
of real-world problems
Activation Learning is promoted when learners activate existing
knowledge and skill as a foundation for new skills
Demonstration Learning is promoted when learners observe a demonstration of
the skill to be learned
Application Learning is promoted when learners apply their newly acquired
skill to solve problems
Integration Learning is promoted when learners reflect on, discuss, and
defend their newly acquired skill
Research QuestionsThe central guiding research question of the study is:How do the experiences of professors and instructional designers who collaborate together to develop an online course positively influence the pedagogical practice of the professors? Sub questions:
What are professor perceptions regarding improvements to their pedagogy specific to the guidance and input from the instructional designer? How are improved pedagogical practices described and are there clear references to instructional design principles and student-centered pedagogical practices (Merrill, 2002)? How do professors and instructional designers explain how emotions and threats were handled throughout the process considering the threat management model (Williams, 2007)?
Interaction Between Faculty and IDs
Standards for exemplary practice by IDs include application of interpersonal skills to work with SMEs (IBSTPI)• Humor, humanity, patience,
empathy (Pan, et. al, 2003)• Willingness to help others
(Barczyk, et. al., 2010)• Respectful of professor’s
teaching style (Stevens, 2012)
Interaction Between Faculty and IDs
A few studies about successful subject matter expert qualities in industry.• Choose SMEs who
exhibit collegiality, humor and collaborative skills Mattoon, 2005)
Could not identify any which examined
faculty SMEs.
Threat Regulation Model of Trust(Williams, 2007)
Boundary spanners play an active role in creating an environment of
trust
Threats: Opportunism, neglect of interests of others, loss of identity
Self-management: Anticipate threats, plan interactions, respond
to behavioral cues
Trust
(Pan, et. al.,
2003)
Research QuestionsThe central guiding research question of the study is:How do the experiences of professors and instructional designers who collaborate together to develop an online course positively influence the pedagogical practice of the professors? Sub questions:
What are professor perceptions regarding improvements to their pedagogy specific to the guidance and input from the instructional designer? How are improved pedagogical practices described and are there clear references to instructional design principles and student-centered pedagogical practices (Merrill, 2002)? How do professors and instructional designers explain how emotions and threats were handled throughout the process considering the threat management model (Williams, 2007)?
Qualitative Research
Social constructivism
Rely on interpretation of participant
Ideal for understanding interactions between people
(Creswell, 2013)
Phenomenology
“Lived experiences” of participants
Distill the essence of a phenomenon
Hermeneutics allows use of theories to shape exploration
(Creswell, 2013; Husserl, 2008; Lueger, et al., 1994; Tavallaei & Talib, 2010)
Data Collection
Instructional designers:
Trained (degree or certificate in ID or related field)
Professors:Teach college courses online and
on groundSay their teaching has improved as a result of interaction with IDs
Identify professor/instructional designer pairs to interview
Data Collection
Purposive sampling method (Gray, 2013)• Personal network of ID and
professor colleagues• LinkedIn and other social media
groups
If necessary, snowball sampling (Gray, 2013)
Data Collection
Semi-structured interviews
(Gray, 2013)
Participants interviewed separately (Starks & Trinidad,
2007)
Held in Zoom, 60-90 minutes long
Stored in Dropbox account
Data Collection
• Explain step-by step process of course building/conversion
• Describe interactions during the process
• Preconceptions about the process
• Challenges that emerged
Interview questions
:
Data Collection - ID QuestionsPlease describe the process, step-by-step, you engaged in while working with this faculty member to convert his/her course to an online format.
Did you use a particular instructional design approach to guide this process? If so, which one? Can you tie the steps you described previously to this approach?
Have you created any tools to use with faculty to explain your process? If so, would you share them post-interview?
What were the methods of communication you used to work with this faculty member – for example, face-to-face meetings, email, telephone, etc?
How would you describe this faculty member’s responses initially to your suggestions for employing instructional design methods structuring this course for an online format?
Did the initial tone of your interaction change over time? If so, would you describe the change?
Did you have any concerns going in to this process about how the faculty member would handle the interaction? If so, what were they? How were you prepared to respond?
Were there any “bumps along the way” in these interactions? If so, how did you handle them?
At any time during these interactions, did the faculty member express to you an interest in adapting his/her classroom practices as a result of interacting with you? If so, would you describe this/these expression(s)?
Data Collection - Faculty QuestionsPlease describe the process, step-by-step, you engaged in while working with this instructional designer to convert your course to an online format.
What written materials (syllabus, etc.) did you share with the instructional designer to help guide this process? Would you share them post-interview?
Have those written materials changed since you converted the course to an online format? If so, would you share them post-interview
What were the methods of communication you used to work with this instructional designer – for example, face-to-face meetings, email, telephone, etc.?
Did the instructional designer suggest restructuring the course for online delivery? If so, what was your initial reaction to this suggestion?
If your course underwent restructuring for online delivery, how did your feelings about these changes develop over time, if they did?
Did you have any concerns going in to this process about how the instructional designer would handle the interaction? If so, what were they? How were you prepared to respond?
Data Analysis
(Creswell, 2013)
Data Analysis
Interviews will be transcribed (Gray, 2013)
Codebook initially will include codes based on the two frameworks (Merrill, 2013; Williams, 2007)
Additional codes added as they emerge
HyperRESEARCH used to analyze
Data Analysis
• As topics emerge, will be clustered into categories
• Interrelationships between categories explored
• Multiple passes through data to be sure all topics and themes are captured
Topical approach
(Creswell, 2013)
Validity
Pilot of interview questions
Peer Reviewer for coding consistency
Interviewee review of findings
Human Subjects Considerations
Minimal risks (embarrassment, concern for reputation)
Interviewer will seek to build rapport and use neutral tone
Informed consent by participants
Exempt 2 category (de-identified, not asked for sensitive information)
Only researcher will know names of participants
Summary
Is there a “golden opportunity” for
faculty development through interactions
between IDs and professors during the online course design
process?
How can IDs take advantage of these
“teachable moments?”
Questions