abstract: This research works from in an institutional ethnographic methodology. From this grounded approach, it describes the dialectic between the individual and the discourse of the institution. This work develops a complex picture of the multifarious ways in which institutional discourse has real effects on the working lives of graduate teaching associates (GTAs) and administrative staff and faculty in Arizona State University's Department of English. Beginning with the experiences of individuals as they described in their interviews, provided an opportunity to understand individual experiences connected by threads of institutional discourse. The line of argumentation that developed from this grounded institutional ethnographic approach proceeds thusly: 1) If ASU’s institutional discourse is understood as largely defined by ASU’s Charter as emphasizing access and academic excellence, then it is possible to 2) see how the Charter affects the departmental discourse in the Department of English. This is shown by 3) explaining the ways in which institutional discourse—in conjunction with disciplinary discourses—affects the flow of power for administrative faculty and manifests as, for example, the Writing Programs Mission and Goals. These manifestations then 4) shape the training in the department to enculturate GTAs and other Writing Programs teachers, which finally 5) affects how Writing Programs teachers structure their courses consequently affecting the undergraduate online learning experience. This line of argumentation illustrates how the flow of power in administrative faculty positions like the Department Chair and Writing Program Administrator are institution-specific, entangled with the values of the institution and the forms of institutional discourse including departmental training impact the teaching practices of GTAs. And, although individual work like that done by the WPA to maintain teacher autonomy and the GTAs to facilitate individual access in their online classrooms, the individual is ultimately lost in the larger institutional conversation of access. Finally, this research corroborates work by Sara Ahmed and Stephanie L. Kerschbaum who explain how institutions co-opt intersectional terms such as diversity and access, and that neoliberal institutions' use of these terms are disingenuous, improving not the quality of instruction or university infrastructure but rather the reputation and public appeal of the university. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2019

This study examined existing K-12 online teacher preparation programs in the United States to ascertain the degree to which teachers are prepared to function in online/blended classroom learning environments. This study used a content analysis approach. Research specifically targeted online teacher preparation programs implemented in institutions of higher education. The researcher collected data from state offices of education and institution deans through email surveys inquiring about the existence and capacity of K-12 online teaching endorsements, course descriptions and other course documents.

This multiple case study provides a description and explanation of what, why and how instructional strategies have the potential to promote learning-centered synchronous dialogue online, specifically in the synchronous web-based course system (SWBCS), Elluminate Live! This research was guided by the theory of transactional distance, specifically the dialogue component. Qualitative data collection techniques were employed, including, interviews, observations, researcher's reflective journal, surveys and Delphi. Three cases were examined, consisting of the instructor, their students and the synchronous sessions during the course. Data were analyzed iteratively to garner themes. Member checks were conducted to maintain an active corroboration on the interpretation of data between the researcher and those who provided the data. This study suggests that instructors can promote learning-centered dialogue in the SWBCS by: (a) building social presence, (b) facilitating discussions, (c) providing feedback, (d) assigning group work, (e) respecting diverse talents and perspectives, and (f) emphasizing time on task. The main tools used to implement these strategies in the SWBCS were the duplex audio (VOIP), direct messaging (text chat) and whiteboard. Unique aspects of promoting dialogue in the SWBCS are that it can allow for: (a) relief of communicative anxiety, (b) convenient, inexpensive invitation of guest speakers, (c) facilitation of multiple threads of discussion and (d) extended opportunities to offer office hours. The main tools used to implement these strategies in the SWBCS were the duplex audio (VOIP), direct messaging (text chat) and whiteboard. Two of the three instructors and a majority of the students whom were interviewed perceived the SWBCS effective for implementing instructional strategies that promote dialogue. Further research may examine a greater variety of content areas, more in depth questions of why particular instructional strategies are implemented using the SWBCS or the relationship between dialogue, structure and learner autonomy in the SWBCS.

A growing trend in counselor education in the United States is to accommodate current technological change by including more online academic opportunities. Slow to emerge in the counselor education literature is information that highlights how instructors have negotiated the move from land-based teaching to online teaching. A lack of knowledge about this transitional experience is concerning because counselor education programs might overlook important opportunities to support indeed, facilitate the transitional process. The purpose of this research study was to illuminate the experiences of counselor educators who have transitioned from land-based to online teaching. A transcendental phenomenological approach provided the framework and guided the methodology. This study highlighted the experiences of 6 counselor educators from small universities across the United States who transitioned from teaching counseling courses in the classroom to teaching them online. Semistructured interviews provided the data for this study; analysis used Giorgi's systematic process of data reduction. Four major themes of common experience emerged from the data: (a) high expectations and low support from university leaders, (b) limits to transitional enthusiasm among counseling faculty, (c) solutions for transitional success for counseling faculty, and (d) support essential for the counselor educator's transition. Results of this study confirm a need for greater attention to the transitional process. Counselor educators requested more opportunities for experience and support. When considering social change, understanding the needs of counselor educators in this transition can help inform much needed training strategies and supportive services in counselor education programs.

With the advances in technology, there has been a steady and unstoppable expansion in online education, and as technology has kept changing, so has online education. These changes have impacted the experiences of the faculty members, which has led to a growing interest in examining what online faculty members’ lived experiences are. To have a better understanding of the prior status of the research conducted on online education, this dissertation included a systematic literature review between the years 2000-2018. The systematic review of the literature demonstrated that the major issues examined in prior studies included online faculty motivation, inhibitors, online faculty course design, implementation practices and roles, and online faculty satisfaction. Researchers have attempted to explain online faculty motivation, satisfaction, workload and role changes mostly through quantitative studies. Some researchers also implemented mixed methods and qualitative research to examine online faculty members’ perceptions of online education, best practices in designing and implementing online courses. These studies were limited in terms of their data relying mostly on context bounded self-reports. Moreover, as technology evolves swiftly, so does the online education due to the changing affordances of available technology. Therefore, this study aims to describe the lived experiences of the online faculty members through a qualitative research design, namely multiple descriptive case study, collecting data from two rounds of interviews and an online course observation. In addition, a review of the literature demonstrated that only one study attempted to examine online faculty experiences through the lens of a distance learning theory (Bair & Bair, 2011). Therefore, there was also a need to analyze and explain the experiences of the online faculty members through a distance learning theory. While depicting the lived experiences of the online faculty members, the current study aims to portray a detailed picture of the online faculty members’ course design and implementation strategies in relation to Michael Moore’s (1989) Three Types of Interaction Framework. The findings of the study demonstrate that online faculty motivation and satisfaction are dynamic. As the initial experiences of the faculty members wear out, the factors impacting their motivation and satisfaction change. The factors impacting faculty members’ motivation and satisfaction also vary from one faculty member to another faculty member. In addition, the experiences of the faculty members in designing and implementing online courses change as they become more experienced. The faculty members implement several strategies to facilitate student interaction with other students, the course content and the course instructor while they design and teach online courses. They also improve their strategies as they face challenges while they teach online. The findings of the study in relation to Michael Moore’s (1989) Three Types of Interaction Framework demonstrate that while the faculty members design their online courses, they pay utmost attention to having a consistent structure of their online courses in order to avoid student disorientation. They use a variety of content materials to cater for the needs of their online students, and design several activities to enhance student interaction with the content. They prefer to chunk the content into modules, in which they design a consistent pattern of course activities. The faculty members while designing the course activities also pay attention to creating opportunities for learner-learner interaction such as discussion boards and group projects. The study also show that faculty design their online courses in ways help them communicate with the students, for instance, they design home pages, orientation modules, or provide several alternative ways of contact. The study also indicates that while the faculty teach online courses, they use different strategies to facilitate student interaction with their classmates, the course content and the instructor. The strategies implemented to enhance learner-learner interaction include mostly discussion forums. The faculty members paid attention to provide variety of assignments for discussions such as reflecting on peer’s work, discussing case studies as well as checking if the students read the assigned materials. Due to student complaints about the challenges faced while completing group projects, they were rarely used. Some faculty chose to drop the group projects completely whereas some faculty used them sparingly. As for the student interaction with the content, most faculty members prefer to roll out the whole course upfront and allow students to see the whole course, be able to make connections and see the expected outcomes. Some faculty, however, also prefer releasing the course content module by module and using pre-requisites to control student interaction with the content as well as their peers. As for student interaction with the course instructor, the faculty members implement various strategies such as on-campus course orientations, announcements, e-mails, discussion boards, one-on-one synchronous sessions and phone calls to communicate with their students. Finally, the study presents a more detailed picture of the lived experiences of the online faculty through the lens of distance learning theoretical framework. It helps to better understand how the online faculty design and facilitate student interaction with their classmates, course content as well as the course instructor. It provides several pedagogical and empirical implications in line with and addition to prior research.

Since the introduction of the Internet, there has been an increase in the adoption of this technology for educational purposes. This development and widespread availability of Internet technologies, alterations in the needs of clinical practice and the characteristics of students, have all inspired changes in nursing education (Mallow & Gilje, 1999). In response, nursing education has embraced the opportunity this communication medium offers to the diverse groups of students in nursing. These students may be studying at a distance, or due to other constraints such as time or professional commitments, studying in flexible ways where students may or may not be in the classroom. In other instances, Internet technologies are being used with the aim of enriching learning in nursing. However, despite widespread development and implementation of these innovations, the effects on nursing education have not been extensively researched (Cheek, Gilham & Mills, 1998; Gillham, 2002; Mallow & Gilje, 1999) and little is known about how the Internet contributes to teaching and learning, what learning outcomes are, or what support is required by teachers and students (Billings, 2000). At this time of rapid development of Internet-based and Internet-supported courses in the Australian nursing education system, there is a need to ensure such courses are educationally effective, clinically relevant, and that resources are appropriately assigned. This exploratory study aimed to contribute to effective discipline-specific use of internet learning environments through increased understanding of students’ and academics’ experiences of teaching practices and learning processes. There were two phases to this mixed-method study, a survey of course coordinators, and secondly, interviews with eleven students and sixteen academics. The survey of diverse schools of nursing across Australia provided foundational information about the ways the Internet was integrated into nursing education, and the preparation and supports that were offered to students for Internet-based or Internet-supported learning. Guided by a constructivist theoretical framework, and analysed thematically, the key findings of this study were drawn from the academics’ and students’ experiences in a variety of nursing courses in universities located across Australia. The Internet was employed in these courses in a variety of ways. At the time of data collection for both the survey and the interviews, more courses were Internet-supported than Internet-based. A variety of Internet information and communication features were used in courses. The survey findings provided both a context for the interview findings, and a degree of confirmation of these findings. The context reported was diverse, consistent with an emergent educational environment that has few precedents to guide its implementation. The academics’ experiences revealed that teaching in online environments was vastly different to face-to-face teaching and required different practices of teaching and learning that took into consideration the separation of teachers from learners, and learners from each other. While often enthusiastic about the new environment, many teachers needed specific preparation, support, and adequate resources to teach in this new environment. Similarly, students experienced a dislocation from the learning environments to which they were accustomed. Significant shifts were apparent in the students’ constructions of both individual and collaborative learning that were contingent upon the separation of teachers and learners, and the necessity of communicating in a written medium. Both teachers and learners revealed how, consequent upon their dislocation, they were relocating to a new interpretation of time, place and relationships in Internet learning environments, and were reconstructing teaching and learning. The reconstructions of learning included ways of relating that built learning communities predicated on a shift in focus from teaching to learning. These included both a shift in individual student’s learning, and a constructed understanding that arose variously from shaping a fundamental comprehension or challenging thinking, to expand comprehension in the group. Through new understandings and practices, the participants were beginning to construct a place for students and teachers to realise the possibilities for enriched learning that online communities can provide. The findings of this study are discussed in terms of the possibilities for teaching and learning in nursing education, and recommendations are made.

This phenomenological study explored the experiences of public health faculty, who developed and taught online courses, at one particular school of public health from 2006 to 2009. The goal was to explore and document the experiences of faculty involved with this phenomenon. A criterion sample was used to identify and select participants. Five public health faculty participated in the study. Data were analyzed in two ways. Written narratives, observational field notes, and artifact data were analyzed using the inducted grounded analysis technique. Interview data were analyzed using the phenomenological data analysis method, Stevic-Colazzi Keen Method. Findings revealed that the experiences of public health faculty, who develop and teach online courses were similar to those in other subjects and were described as difficult, daunting, painful, and time consuming, leaving the public health faculty feeling frustrated and exhausted. While negative feelings described the experience pertaining to the development of online courses, the experience in the teaching phase was seen as positive, enjoyable, joyful, refreshing, and fun. These experiences were found to be contingent upon instructional and organizational support, availability and quality of resources and faculty development and training. Three overarching themes emerged from the study in relation to the experience. These themes included the rhetoric of fear, transformation, and support. The rhetoric of fear described the participants’ sense of being afraid or apprehensive toward developing and teaching online courses. Transformation described the transition participants made as they emerged as online instructors. Support described the structures needed to engage in the activities of developing and teaching online courses. The study also revealed five types of barriers to developing and teaching online courses at this particular school of public health. These barriers included psychological, organizational, technical, instructional, and time barriers. Benefits for developing and teaching online courses were identified. They included availability for students, access and penetration into global markets, instructional innovation, design innovation, and new methods of instructional delivery. This study provides data that can be used by institutions and faculty as they design and implement social, political, and technical infrastructures to support the activities of online teaching.

Online teaching and learning has grown rapidly in current educational contexts. Whereas once, the role of faculty was primarily a classroom instructor, in online classrooms, the role has been expanded to one of facilitator, organizer, and supporter. The more efficiently that faculty can adopt online technology and apply it to their teaching and instruction, the better students academic results will achieve (Goktalay & Huguet, 2006). The purpose of this literature review is to help faculty members to adopt new online technologies more effectively and successfully. This literature review identifies important factors that contribute to faculty members’ adoption of technology in higher education. Among these factors are: reliability of online technology, faculty’s perceived usefulness of technology, institutional support of online technology, time constraints in implementing online technology to instructional methods and developing effective goals for the use of technology, and then provides recommendations based on these affecting factors. / text

This dissertation reports on the key findings of an exploratory study of online education in anthropology. The study was designed to collect information on the extent and types of online offerings at four-year and above degree-granting public institutions in the US. It was also designed to report on the teaching strategies and methods that anthropologists employ online, and to inquire into the conditions and institutional structures that encourage or discourage the development of online education in anthropology. Recent growth in online education has been explosive in many disciplines, but little is known about anthropology's participation in the trend, or lack thereof. An exploratory research design was used to examine this little-understood topic. Because participation in online education relies upon collaboration within departments, the perspectives of both department chairs and online instructors were collected. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to gather these perspectives. In particular, an online survey of department chairs and semi-structured e-mail interviews with online instructors were conducted. The research findings indicate that the participation of anthropology departments in online education is fairly low, and plans for future growth are limited. The findings also show that the primary barrier to online education is a lack of faculty interest or technical expertise, although concerns surrounding the efficacy of online pedagogy and increased workloads appear to limit its growth as well. Significant differences of opinion between online instructors and department chairs regarding the efficacy of online pedagogy were revealed, but there was general agreement that online education is an important educational resource for nontraditional students.The contrasting, and sometimes conflicting, perspectives that the research revealed point to a need for a conversation about online education in anthropology departments, whether or not they have plans to participate in the larger trend. In the concluding chapter, these divergent views inform a framework for conducting such a conversation. Finally, the research findings are applied to an outline for the development of a department-specific "best practices" guide to online teaching and course design in departments that wish to initiate or increase their participation in online education.

This qualitative study used a narrative inquiry approach to conduct in-depth interviews of eight distributed learning educators who designed and offered online English courses in British Columbia during the 2011/12 school year. There were three research questions: (1) How do teachers describe their professional experiences of teaching in a full time online environment? (2) What are the enablers and inhibitors for online teacher development? (3) Do teachers feel their teaching practice has changed over their career as online educators? Findings were examined through the lens of Korthagen’s (2004) Onion Model. Six themes that comprised this model, provided a framework for data analysis and insight into the process by which teachers made sense of their lived experience. The findings revealed that online educators valued their online experience because it removed the constraints of a regular classroom. They expressed frustration with some aspects of the current model of online education in BC because it prevented them from engaging in synchronous, highly connective learning projects with their students. Recognition of the fact that online educators work in a different milieu with a different set of environmental pressures is necessary to ensure the success of distributed learning in BC.