Abstract
In this qualitative study, we examine the experiences of seven tenure-track and non-tenure track current/future online faculty through the conceptual lenses of sense of community (McMillan & Chavis, 1986) and collegiality (Gappa, Austin, & Trice, 2007). We found: (1) participants reported that their sense of community and collegiality around online course development and teaching was lacking, (2) participants’ communities for online teaching, if available, primarily focused on technical support, and (3) participants desired greater community and collegiality for philosophical and psychological concerns with the medium of online teaching. We conclude with recommendations for practice for online faculty professional growth.
Highlights
With an increase in the number of online courses being offered in higher education, college and university faculty face growing pressure to develop and teach online courses (Allen & Seaman, 2011, 2013)
We ask ‘How are faculty being prepared for this professional endeavor?’ The past two decades have seen significant growth in the creation of teaching and learning centers and professional development offerings for online faculty, as well as knowledge-sharing consortiums, recognition programs for exemplary models (e.g., Sloan-C Excellence in Faculty Development for Online Teaching), and scholar/practitioner journals dedicated to online education (Meyer & Murrell, 2014)
Transcripts, we asked ourselves the following analytical questions: (a) Do faculty members talk about a sense of community/collegiality around online course development and teaching, and if so, how do they do so? (b) If applicable, what do faculty discuss as sources of support for their current or future involvement in online education? (c) Do faculty share what areas of online education they feel the most in need of support through a sense of community/collegiality? We developed a list of potential code names to describe common ideas and actions
Summary
With an increase in the number of online courses being offered in higher education, college and university faculty face growing pressure to develop and teach online courses (Allen & Seaman, 2011, 2013). We ask ‘How are faculty being prepared for this professional endeavor?’ The past two decades have seen significant growth in the creation of teaching and learning centers and professional development offerings for online faculty, as well as knowledge-sharing consortiums, recognition programs for exemplary models (e.g., Sloan-C Excellence in Faculty Development for Online Teaching), and scholar/practitioner journals dedicated to online education (Meyer & Murrell, 2014). Despite this noted progress, a majority of faculty remains dissatisfied with their institution’s support for professional development in online teaching.
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