Conference Presentations

This session will provide a discussion and evaluation of the redesign of an upper-level hybrid research methods course intended to enhance students’ mastery of written communication and critical thinking skills. The hybrid format offers unique opportunities for providing feedback and continued practice, and the course redesign involved the use of online resources and incorporating learning activities aimed at engaging students. Both direct and indirect evidence of student learning suggest that this interactive approach is effective at promoting competency-based learning.

Find out about Salisbury University's COLT course (Certificate for Online Learning and Teaching) and how the COLT course can be used as a module for training instructors to achieve quality in online programs at your institution.

Find out about Salisbury University's COLT course (Certificate for Online Learning and Teaching) and how the COLT course can be used as a module for training instructors to achieve quality in online programs at your institution.

 It sometimes feels as though we are awash in a sea of research on online learning. Of course, QM and those who are interested in quality assurance want to know not only the tools and techniques available for online education but their role in creating a quality online learning experience - and what the most recent research has indicated about this.

How do we engage faculty in training and QM? We know when online instructors do not receive proper training to transition from applying traditional best practices to applying online best practices that promote and encourage engagement, socially, cognitively, and with the instructor, students may disengage. As leaders, we must continue to develop and define transition plans, and best practices as technology changes. We must also encouraging a working relationship between instructional designers and faculty. Let's discuss what this looks like.

With the exponential growth of online programs, there is an added challenge of balancing reach with quality, at scale. Managing quality, at scale, compels a combination of “micro” (classroom) and “macro” (curricular) level efforts, that are grounded in institutional values, professional standards, and universal design for learning principles. Social work concepts can inform instructional design strategies; facilitating movement beyond traditional objectivist and behaviorist orientations.

Between 2015 and 2017, UMB's Graduate School added 50 new online courses to its curriculum. This was accomplished with a very small support team (two IDs and a media specialist.) To meet our goal of having each course meet the essential QM Standards from the first delivery, the team created a system to build QM compliance into the course development process. By using a combination of templates and course design worksheets, we are able to coach our faculty through the basics of course alignment and learner engagement without lengthy faculty training workshops.

Ever since the concept of course design emerged as part of a course's creation, faculty's perceptions of design have ranged from adapting to extra work added to teaching, to feeling somewhat robbed of academic freedom, to experiencing frustration at lacking ownership of their classes.  

This session discusses ways in which faculty's buy-in can be obtained through an honest discussion of what models of design they need to pursue in collaboration with instructional designers while taking ownership of the courses they teach.