This qualitative case study was created to explore with experienced online adjunct faculty in higher education their perceptions of the ways they learned to stay competent within their discipline to continue to be proficient in their online instruction. Their experience teaching online ranged from five to 17 years and all participants taught online for both private and public institutions. Some participants taught for one institution while others taught for as many as three to six institutions. All participants taught a variety of courses and learned informally to develop the competencies they needed to become proficient in online instruction.
The study was based on the following assumptions: a) experienced online adjunct faculty need continuing opportunities for professional and personal development and growth; b) experienced online adjunct faculty need professional development support from their institutions to create experiences that support their professional and personal development growth; c) professional development programs will help adjuncts keep their knowledge and skills current to help them to remain competent in their online instruction to continue to be proficient in their online instruction.
The source of data for this study was interviews with 15 experienced online adjuncts who had at least five years of experience teaching online.
This research study was designed to explore the competencies experienced online adjuncts (EOAs) perceive they need to remain competent, the way they learn those competencies, and factors that help and hinder them from remaining competent to continue to be proficient in their online instruction. Three major findings revealed that: a) technological and pedagogical competencies were the most important to be proficient in their online instruction; b) EOAs learned these competencies informally, through experiential learning, dialogue with colleagues, trial and error and self-directed learning; c) engaging in the institution’s decision-making process for online instruction helped them to remain competent.
The principal recommendations for administrators in institutions of higher education who support EOAs who teach online are to offer meaningful specialized professional development and training, foster practices that acknowledge the expertise of EOAs and compensate them for expenses incurred from the purchase of technology products, and participation in opportunities that advance their competencies.
The principal recommendations resulting from this research study for EOAs who gain technological and pedagogical competencies through informal learning to continue to be proficient in their online instruction are to advocate to develop their own professional development and training programs, establish opportunities for collaboration with their colleagues, initiate more interaction with the administrators, and acknowledge their hard work and professional growth in gaining exceptional competencies for their online instruction.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:columbia.edu/oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/7hck-fr63 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Black-Smith, Pinara Dene |
| Source Sets | Columbia University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Theses |
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