Faculty Q&A

Abstract

<table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" width="550"> <tbody><tr> <td><p></p><h3>Send in your questions for Faculty Q&A!</h3> <p>We want your questions not only about issues related to how to teach and instructional strategies, but also about other issues faced by faculty (both new and established). Here’s an example: </p> <p>“I was shocked to have a student accuse me of sexism. The student is male and says there is an inherent bias against male students, as I have answered questions posed to me by female students when we were in the change room preparing for a clinical shift. How can I guard against this type of unintentional problem in the future?” </p> <p><b>Here’s what you need to know: </b></p> <ol> <li> Questions need to be short and, preferably, include a specific scenario or examples.</li> <li>Submit questions that address practical issues faced by faculty and can be answered in a few paragraphs (see example above).</li><li>E-mail your questions, along with your full name and credentials, to Karen G. Stanwood, ELS, Executive Editor, at <a href="mailto:kstanwood@slackinc.com">kstanwood@slackinc.com</a>.</li></ol></br></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h4>EXCERPT</h4> <P>Although our Web-based graduate program is completely online (no face-to-face meetings), our undergraduate classes meet face to face weekly. However, in the undergraduate program, every teacher puts up a “Web shell” on the Internet so that students can print copies of the syllabus and class notes, as well as communicate with the teacher. A few of our graduate faculty who also teach in the undergraduate program have begun to move more of their undergraduate courses to the completely online format. In one case, the students are now meeting face-to-face only three times during the semester. This alteration has caused some tension among faculty members who strongly believe that the students in the undergraduate program need face-to-face classes. Is there any literature to support the use of one method versus the other when working with undergraduate nursing students?</P> <P>As a new faculty member, I am having difficulty maintaining control in the classroom. What tips can you offer to faculty for establishing a classroom climate that fosters learning?</P> <P>On-campus courses usually have a set of expectations between students and faculty about the flow of communication. However, in online courses, even when it is not explicitly stated, students tend to assume that professors will always be online to respond to their various needs or questions as soon as possible, even though such an expectation would not apply in an on-campus program. I have been teaching in a distance-learning format even before the Internet and have gotten ideas from other faculty at internal department meetings, but I am ready for fresh ideas from my colleagues outside of my university. How can I manage communication expectations while teaching an online course?</P> <P>I have been trying to help students determine how to select appropriate citation sources. Recently, one of my students referenced Wikipedia to support his assertions. How confident can I be that resources such as wikis are reliable references?</P>