Online Adjunct Research Articles

Perceptions of University Culture and Community Among Online Adjuncts

Using a qualitative survey, this study explores the perceptions of university culture and community held by graduate-level online adjunct instructors in two different schools of education. The intention of the research was to determine how the online adjuncts perceived their position within the university community and to solicit recommendations for improving the professional relationship between the schools themselves and their online adjuncts. The findings of this educational research add to the growing body of knowledge highlighting the importance and relevance of enhancing collegiality, communication, and collaboration with and among online adjunct instructors and the possible connection of adjuncts’ flourishing to student retention and persistence. Survey results suggested that communication, collaboration, respect, recognition, and systems of support were critical aspects that impacted the perceived climate and culture of adjuncts in an online teaching modality. This research demonstrates one avenue for engaging online adjunct faculty in building a framework for their support based on their own suggestions and recommendations. Universities, departments, or programs that offer multiple opportunities to collaborate may improve course content, collegiality, and connections with online adjunct instructors and the students they serve.

Enhancing Effectiveness through Faculty Development Focused on Online Adjunct Faculty: A Comprehensive Investigation

Online teaching requires faculty development and support to effectively meet the needs of students. Universities should widely recognize that having self-assured and competent online adjunct instructors greatly influences professional sustainability, learning outcomes, and student achievement. The objective of this descriptive study was to gain insights and perspectives on confidence and instructional effectiveness of online adjunct faculty as compared to those who taught on campus or in a blended format, after they participated in an online faculty orientation course. Survey data was collected, and correlational analysis was used to identify relationships between adjunct faculty’s perceived confidence and their instructional preparedness in their respective teaching modalities. Results indicate faculty may increase their confidence and instructional effectiveness after participating in an online training course.

United States of State Universities Share Leadership Theory and the Strategies Engaging Online Accounting Faculties During Cov19 in Higher Education

Contingent workforce, such as online adjunct faculty, is a crucial component interwoven in the fabric of higher education. The accessibility of technology has assisted in the expansion of online learning education in higher institutions. To support the expansion of the online platform, academic leadership hires remote, part-time faculty to fill instructional positions. Comprehending the critical role online adjunct faculty play in higher education, academic leaders must embrace the changes occurring in higher education and learn how to support online, part-time faculty. There appears to be a particular gap in the literature that rests on not knowing specific leadership strategies to aid with the participation of online adjunct faculty.

Towards Professionalism in Higher Education: An Exploratory Case Study of Struggles and Needs of Online Adjunct Professors

The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of the unique professional development needs related to the struggles of online adjunct professors. Twenty-one participants from within a purposefully selected group of online adjunct professors in the United States participated in this qualitative investigation. Data were gathered in two phases: the first phase consisted of a six open-ended-question Qualtrics questionnaire completed by the 21 respondents, and the second phase was follow-up interviews with six of the 21 participants along with the collection of pertinent documents related to professional development. Results indicate that online adjunct professors receive varied and limited professional development, and therefore need more training in the following major categories: course preparation and technology awareness, access to course materials and online resources, and improved communication interaction and engagement. The participating online adjunct professors confirmed that training within these professional development areas would be most beneficial for all stakeholders and should be provided by their employing institution or attained through self-initiated methods.

Are self-managed online interventions for depression effective in improving behavioral activation? A secondary analysis of a cluster-randomized controlled trial

BackgroundOnline interventions can effectively improve depressive symptoms. They often include behavioral activation (BA) techniques, but research on the effects on behavioral activation is scarce. This study aims to examine short- and long-term effects of online interventions on behavioral activation in routine care. MethodsThis study is a secondary analysis of a pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial (@ktiv) with a sample of N = 647 GP patients with mild to moderate depression. The intervention group (IG) received treatment-as-usual (TAU) and adjunct access to an online intervention; the control group (CG) received TAU. BA was assessed in terms of the frequency and enjoyment of pleasant activities at baseline, after six weeks and after six months. Intention-to-treat analyses were performed via multilevel mixed linear regression. ResultsThe frequency of pleasant activities was significantly higher in the IG than in the CG six months after baseline (t(1406) = 2.25, p = .024). The enjoyment of pleasant activities was significantly higher in the IG than in the CG both six weeks (t(1405) = 2.11, p = .035) and six months after baseline (t(1405) = 3.44, p = .001). Initial depressive symptoms significantly moderated the treatment effect on the enjoyment but not the frequency of pleasant activities. LimitationsBA measures have not been validated in a clinical context. ConclusionsGP patients with mild to moderate depressive symptoms profited from access to an online adjunct intervention in terms of improved behavioral activation. The findings emphasize the usefulness of online interventions as supportive options in mental health care.

Directions for 3D User Interface Research from Consumer VR Games.

With the continuing development of affordable immersive virtual reality (VR) systems, there is now a growing market for consumer content. The current form of consumer systems is not dissimilar to the lab-based VR systems of the past 30 years: the primary input mechanism is a head-tracked display and one or two tracked hands with buttons and joysticks on hand-held controllers. Over those 30 years, a very diverse academic literature has emerged that covers design and ergonomics of 3D user interfaces (3DUIs). However, the growing consumer market has engaged a very broad range of creatives that have built a very diverse set of designs. Sometimes these designs adopt findings from the academic literature, but other times they experiment with completely novel or counter-intuitive mechanisms. In this paper and its online adjunct, we report on novel 3DUI design patterns that are interesting from both design and research perspectives: they are highly novel, potentially broadly re-usable and/or suggest interesting avenues for evaluation. The supplemental material, which is a living document, is a crowd-sourced repository of interesting patterns. This paper is a curated snapshot of those patterns that were considered to be the most fruitful for further elaboration.

Online Adjunct Faculty Perceptions of Professional Development to Support Personal and Professional Academic Growth During COVID-19

Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand what online adjunct faculty value as support services, specifically professional development opportunities, provided by their respective higher education institutions. Method: This qualitative narrative inquiry study centered on exploring perceptions and experiences of online adjunct faculty members from higher education institutions and their experiences and expectations of professional development (PD), prior to and during COVID-19. Results: The study resulted in the identification of possible improvements and enhancements to existing PD content that would further support faculty personal development, mental health, wellbeing, and academic growth. Conclusions: This study reminds us that there are numerous variables, including unforeseen crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, that need to be considered when developing, implementing, and presenting PD for online adjunct faculty professional and personal growth. Because faculty want to be listened to and heard, the PD development and implementation process needs to be interactive to support online adjunct faculty, regardless of whether the university is for-profit or not-for-profit. Implication for Practice: The results based on online adjunct faculty experiences could lead to updating professional development opportunities employed in different higher education institutions to promote faculty self-actualization and ultimately, student success.

Fostering a Critical Friendship between a Program Coordinator and an Online Adjunct to Achieve Reciprocal Mentoring

ABSTRACT In this article we explore how engaging in collaborative self-study resulted in a reciprocal mentorship platform for a mathematics specialist program coordinator and online adjunct instructor. Through the use of our mutually developed norms and a reflective dialogue protocol we examined how we were able to bridge our contexts so that we could equally engage in a graduate mathematics teacher leadership course that only one was teaching. Employing a self-study methodology centered on dialogue, we co-planned and designed learning opportunities in which data was collected using synchronous online tools, agendas, notes and audio recordings from our weekly phone conversations. This ultimately influenced our understanding of what it takes to communicate clearly when conducting a self-study that spans both physical distance, heirarchial rank, and context. The pivotal learning experiences through the implementation of a reflective protocol and collaborative norms will provide other teacher educators who engage in self-study with tools to support their own learning, advance their practice, and promote critical reflection. This study also adds to the literature on adjunct professors in both higher education and self-study.

Transformational Educational Leadership and the Innovative Strategies Engaging Online Faculty for the Excellent Teaching Performance in the United States

This research paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the transformational educational leadership and the innovative strategies engaging online faculty for the excellent teaching performance in the United States. There are various leadership traits of academic leadership to assess engagement amongst online adjunct faculty in the online platform of higher education. This research study focuses on the lived experiences of academic leaders to aid online adjunct faculty in trying to increase the sense of inclusion, engagement, and support. Applying the lived experiences of academic leader could retrieve elements within online adjunct faculty so they can have a positive contribution towards the institution. Support is needed to improve engagement, to assist adequate academic leadership. Systematization of the literary sources and approaches for solving the problem the academic leadership indicates that incorporate individualized strategies when the leader recognizes the value online adjunct faculty bring to their institutions. The relevance of this scientific problem decision is that the themes within this article breakdown the vital impact leaders have with their online adjunct faculty. The wide-ranging factors discussed in this article were categorized to demonstrate the critical components that leadership strategies if implemented effectively, could aid in an engagement component and inclusion for online adjunct faculty. Factors that are vital for academic leadership could be the use of leadership strategies to promote engagement and inclusion within the online environment outlined in this scientific article. The research paper presents the results of an empirical analysis all strategies incorporated in finding the material, history of online education, remote learning environment, leadership traits, leadership support for remote, adjunct faculty, leadership characteristic inactive online adjunct faculty engagement, leadership challenges, authentic relationship, benefits of engagement, communication obstacles on the virtual platforms, and theories within leadership presented a more in-depth understanding on the topic of online adjunct faculty engagement and inclusion. The results of the research can be useful by all academic leaders from all undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate level around the world.

The Benefit of Utilizing Brain-Based Learning in Higher Education Online Environments

Higher education has experienced a significant transformation from traditional face-to-face instruction to online instruction. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine to what extent postsecondary online faculty utilized brain-based learning techniques as part of their academic practices in the online asynchronous learning environment and to assess differences in the use of these techniques between online full-time and online adjunct faculty employed by two public universities and one private university located in the Southwest region of the United States. The theoretical framework of Hart’s (1983) brain-based learning theory (BBLT) informed this study. The sample consisted of 539 accepted and completed surveys. The participants completed 55 questions based on brain-based learning. Quantitative data were collected using Klinek’s (2009) questionnaire about brain-based learning knowledge, beliefs, and practices. The data from the questionnaire measured the online faculty’s knowledge, beliefs, and practices of brain-based learning techniques. The data were analyzed using descriptive information about the sample computing frequencies of the variables. Cronbach’s alpha reliabilities were conducted to complete the descriptive statistics for the first research question. The statistical analysis used for research question two and three was Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) using a 2×2 factorial design to test the hypotheses. The researcher found that there was a significant difference between the BBLT practices of the online faculty from public (M = 3.45) and private universities (M = 3.28), F (1, 294) = 1.62, p = .004, ŋ2 = .044. The study revealed that there is a lack of knowledge about BBLT supporting the need for professional development and training.

Online adjunct higher education teachers’ perceptions of using social media sites as instructional approaches

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how online adjunct higher education faculty members perceive the role of using social media sites as instructional approaches. A purposeful sampling was used, and adjunct online higher education faculty members were invited to participate. An adjunct faculty member was defined as a person who taught part-time higher education courses; therefore, the faculty member was not hired as a full-time faculty member. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative researchers explore phenomena examining the lived experiences and participants behaviors; in this study, online adjunct instructors’ perceptions on classroom instructional social media online approaches were examined. Participants in this study were trained to teach higher education online courses and these teachers were the experts on the topic. The design for this study was an exploratory case study in which the participants were online adjunct instructors who taught at online higher education institutions in the Northeast. The case study approach was the most appropriate. The focus was the external events participants’ lives. Findings Three themes emerged from the analysis of the in-depth interview process. Based on the adjunct online higher education instructors’ perception on the use of social media teaching approaches in the classroom, the themes that emerged were uniformity of purpose vs personal beliefs need for justification importance student engagement and facilitation vs direct instruction. Themes reflected online teaching approaches higher education institutional missions and student learning and engagement outcomes. Research limitations/implications In this study, adjuncts’ perceptions expressed and themes found may not be characteristic of other adjunct instructors’ views. In qualitative studies, participants are asked open-ended interview questions, which may have been a limitation for this study. Quantitative questions, such as the impact of using social media as an instructional approach, were not asked. In this study, adjunct online higher education instructors were invited to share their views on the study topic. Additionally, qualitative researchers are limited by the data collection method and the data analysis process. Therefore, researchers who would like to repeat this study on adjunct online higher education teachers’ perspectives may be unable to duplicate the research. Practical implications The significance of this study is the need for a renewed global initiative in higher education to promote the use of social media training for online adjunct faculty members. Online higher education faculty members’ reflections on using social media tend to be recorded from a personal rather than a professional point of view. Social implications The implication for online higher education leaders is to review mission statements and reevaluate how the use of social media may impact student learning outcomes, student career readiness and student engagement opportunities. Originality/value The need for a renewed global initiative in higher education to promote the use of social media training for online adjunct faculty evolved as the significance of the study. Because inclusion requirements and workshop training for the use of social media in online higher education classrooms vary among higher education institutions, online adjunct faculty social media classroom practices and perceptions widely vary.

Full-Range Leadership as a Predictor of Extra Effort in Online Higher Education: The Mediating Effect of Job Satisfaction

Online higher education has rapidly expanded in the United States and displays a great opportunity for growth. Coupled with the growth of e-learning is the need for adjunct faculty to satisfy the need for additional online classes. Despite the importance of online adjunct faculty, little research has been performed to determine their work experiences. This quantitative, correlational study investigated the predictive relationship between the perceived use of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership behaviors on the extra effort of adjunct faculty who facilitate online classes at a for-profit university in the United States. In a further investigation, the researcher investigated the variable of job satisfaction to determine if it mediated the relationship between leadership style and extra effort. The researcher used the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and Spector’s Job Satisfaction survey to collect data used in inferential analysis. The researcher performed a stepwise multiple regression and a Baron and Kenny mediation analysis to answer the research questions. The results showed perceived transformational leadership behaviors displayed a statistically significant positive predictive relationship with extra effort, and job satisfaction was a partial mediator between the relationship of transformational leadership and extra effort. The results suggest transformational leadership is beneficial to the extra effort put forth by the sample of adjunct faculty who teach online classes.

Development of a decision aid for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and invasive mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit employing user-centered design and a wiki platform for rapid prototyping.

BackgroundUpon admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), all patients should discuss their goals of care and express their wishes concerning life-sustaining interventions (e.g., cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)). Without such discussions, interventions that prolong life at the cost of decreasing its quality may be used without appropriate guidance from patients.ObjectivesTo adapt an existing decision aid about CPR to create a wiki-based decision aid individually adapted to each patient’s risk factors; and to document the use of a wiki platform for this purpose.MethodsWe conducted three weeks of ethnographic observation in our ICU to observe intensivists and patients discussing goals of care and to identify their needs regarding decision making. We interviewed intensivists individually. Then we conducted three rounds of rapid prototyping involving 15 patients and 11 health professionals. We recorded and analyzed all discussions, interviews and comments, and collected sociodemographic data. Using a wiki, a website that allows multiple users to contribute or edit content, we adapted the decision aid accordingly and added the Good Outcome Following Attempted Resuscitation (GO-FAR) prediction rule calculator.ResultsWe added discussion of invasive mechanical ventilation. The final decision aid comprises values clarification, risks and benefits of CPR and invasive mechanical ventilation, statistics about CPR, and a synthesis section. We added the GO-FAR prediction calculator as an online adjunct to the decision aid. Although three rounds of rapid prototyping simplified the information in the decision aid, 60% (n = 3/5) of the patients involved in the last cycle still did not understand its purpose.ConclusionsWikis and user-centered design can be used to adapt decision aids to users’ needs and local contexts. Our wiki platform allows other centers to adapt our tools, reducing duplication and accelerating scale-up. Physicians need training in shared decision making skills about goals of care and in using the decision aid. A video version of the decision aid could clarify its purpose.

Online Adjunct Faculty: A Quantitative Examination of the Predictive Relationship between Leadership and Job Satisfaction

Advances in technology and the rapid expansion and affordability of the internet have helped facilitate the use of online education, or e-learning. To accommodate increased online enrollments, universities are hiring adjunct faculty to teach online courses. Despite the importance of adjunct faculty, there is a lack of research on the experiences of adjuncts, and particularly on the experiences of adjunct faculty who teach online classes. Likewise, there is a lack of research in the for-profit sector of post-secondary education in the United States. This quantitative correlational study addressed this gap in knowledge by investigating the predictive relationship between dimensions of the Full Range Leadership Theory, transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership behaviors, and the overall job satisfaction of adjunct faculty who teach online classes at a for-profit university in the United States. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and Spector’s Job Satisfaction Survey were used to collect data to measure the faculty’s perceptions of leadership and job satisfaction. The results of multiple linear regression indicated transformational leadership was a significant predictor of job satisfaction, and increased overall satisfaction when present. Transactional leadership was also a significant predictor of overall job satisfaction, but demonstrated a negative relationship. Laissez-faire leadership was not a significant predictor of overall job satisfaction.

Leading A Collaborative Effort: Providing Effective Training and Support for Online Adjunct Instructors

This article describes the design and development of a set of interventions for the training and support of adjunct instructors in a rapidly growing online graduate program at a large, Midwestern research university. These interventions were designed to improve teaching preparation and assistance provided to our adjuncts. During this effort, the online program administrator collaborated with the staff from a higher education partner (Wiley), full-time faculty, and experienced adjuncts to determine what interventions were necessary. The stakeholders were also involved to varying degrees in the design, development, and implementation of the interventions. The interventions include: modifications to the general instructor orientation; check-ins for newly hired adjuncts; creation of course expectation guides; formalization of course orientation; opportunities for adjuncts to collaborate; a mentorship program for inexperienced adjuncts; monitoring and formative feedback for individual adjuncts; the creation of an executive committee and addition of a staff member; and a formative evaluation process to evaluate adjunct training and support. The goal of these changes was to improve the performance and satisfaction of adjuncts, leading to retention of talented online instructors and higher overall student satisfaction. This article addresses the unique design considerations made during the selection of training methods and support services and the related performance measures.

Shared Perceptions of Online Adjunct Faculty in the United States Who have a High Sense of Community

Shared Perceptions of Online Adjunct Faculty in the United States Who have a High Sense of Community

Online Adjunct Faculty Support: An Innovative Use of a Learning Management System.

Adjunct faculty are being used more frequently to meet the instructional and practice experience needs of growing nursing program cohorts. While most adjunct faculty tend to have clinical expertise, many lack formal training in online instruction. This article describes how faculty used technology to develop and implement a faculty support site to provide ongoing orientation and encourage informal mentoring relationships for online adjunct faculty.

Work Factors of Importance to Adjunct Nursing Faculty.

The use of adjunct faculty has increased exponentially in the past decade. It is essential that resources to retain adjuncts are identified and made available to adjunct faculty. To identify the appropriate factors, it is essential to discover what nursing adjunct instructors perceive to be the factors of importance to their work role. The purpose of the article was to determine the perceived factors of importance and availability of work role needs of adjunct faculty. A quantitative, exploratory design was developed, using an anonymous online Adjunct Instructor Likert Scale Survey. The sample included participating adjunct instructors from a possible total of 91 midsized, midwestern baccalaureate nursing programs. Fourteen of 18 pairs were significantly different (p < .05) in adjunct perception. Using these data, colleges of nursing may be able to identify adjunct work factors in that can be improved to increase adjunct faculty recruitment, satisfaction, and retention. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(5):245-251.].

Justice Kennedy and the Fisher Revisit: Will the Irrelevant Prove Decisive?

This brief commentary, forthcoming in See Also an on-line adjunct to the Texas Law review, speculates about Justice Kennedy’s likely vote in the soon to be revealed decision in Fisher v. Texas. It specifically explores four factors that legally speaking are largely if not wholly irrelevant but may nonetheless influence Justice Kennedy’s position: These are (1) anger at the Fifth Circuit for how it handled the remand in Fisher 1; (2) Racially charged police killings and the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement; (3) arguments in amicus briefs regarding mismatch theory and science mismatch and (4) the death of Justice Scalia. The piece is highly speculative but until we know how Justice Kennedy decided it may be of interest.

Professional Development for Online Adjunct Faculty: The Chair's Role

Professional Development for Online Adjunct Faculty: The Chair's Role