What skills are essential for success in teaching online? Insights from long-term online instructors

Streamed Session Leadership

Watch This Session

Brief Abstract

As online programs grow, the need for skilled instructors persists. But what skills are valuable? This presentation shares results of a study with experienced instructors who answered a question about the most valuable ed skills for online teaching. Results provide insights for the professional development of new and continuing online instructors.

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Naomi Aguiar, Oregon State University

Naomi Aguiar, PhD is the Assistant Director of Research for Oregon State University Ecampus. She is involved in designing and conducting research studies on online teaching and learning and producing tools to promote research literacy. She also directs the Research Fellows Program that provides support for faculty research on online education. Her background is in developmental psychology and in communication sciences, with a specialization in qualitative and quantitative methodologies, survey design, and statistical analysis.

Co-presenter: Mary Ellen Dello Stritto, Oregon State University Ecampus

Mary Ellen Dello Stritto is the Director of Research for Oregon State University Ecampus, where she designs and conducts research studies on online teaching and learning, provides support for faculty research on online education, and produces tools to promote research literacy. Her background is in psychology with a specialization in quantitative methodologies, survey design, and statistical analysis.

Extended Abstract

With the sharp pivot to remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities for online learning continue to evolve. However, there is a variation in quality of online programs, courses, and instruction due in part to faculty preparation. The degree of faculty training to teach online differs between institutions (Morh & Sheldon, 2017), which may impact the quality of online instruction. In addition, instructors at some institutions lack access to instructional designers, and instead can only rely on peers who may also have limited experience as to how to improve the quality of their online courses (Jaschik & Lederman, 2019). As online programs grow there is a sustained need for skilled instructors who can deliver high quality online courses to a growing number of online students. Therefore, it is important to assess what skills are needed to successfully teach courses online.

According to Martin, Ritzhaupt, Kumar & Budhrani (2019), seasoned experts are an “untapped source” of information (pp. 34), offering valuable insights on “best practices, standards, and competencies” (pp. 34) for excellence in online teaching. Therefore, this presentation is designed to share the results of an interview-based study of 33 faculty who have taught online for 10 years or more at a highly ranked R1 institution for online education. A qualitative analysis of participant responses to the following question, “What skills do you think are most valuable for online instructors to have?”, will be discussed.

Learning objectives

By attending this session, attendees will be able to: 

  1. Describe the 6 key skills identified by experienced faculty for success in online teaching
  2. Describe at least two ways these skills can be applied to the professional development of both new and experienced online instructors
  3. Discuss at least two ways these skills can enhance the quality of online education

Study Overview

The instructors in this study had taught online at their current institution for an average of 14 years, with one who had taught online for 31 years. The largest percentage (45%) of the instructors were in the 55-64 age range and 59% identified as female. The majority (67%) were full time faculty/instructors.

Data were collected in two stages. First, participants filled out a pre-survey that asked for basic demographic information and some information about their online teaching history. The next stage included a series of three, one-hour virtual interviews in which instructors were asked to reflect on their experiences as an online educator and how their perspectives have changed over time.

A qualitative analysis of the responses to the following question was conducted: What skills do you think are most valuable for online instructors to have? Responses were initially coded by a member of the research team. After initial coding and codebook generation for the question, a second member of the research team double-coded each of the responses. Then, the two researchers met together to discuss coding until they reached full agreement on the codebook and results. The results of the qualitative analysis revealed six major themes that will be presented and discussed in the plan described below.

Presentation Overview and Audience Engagement Plan

Part 1: 10 minutes of presentation & 5 minutes of discussion

The presentation will begin with a theoretical framework to ground this qualitative research, along with information about who the participants were and the method for conducting the interviews with participants. Then we will share the coding and analysis of participant responses to the question, “What skills do you think are most valuable for online instructors to have?” Following this section, attendees will be invited to ask questions about the study design and study methods. The presenter will also ask attendees to predict what skills they think might emerge from participant responses. Attendees will be encouraged to share questions/ideas both verbally and in the chat.

Part 2: 10 minutes of presentation & 5 minutes of discussion

The second section will reveal the results of the qualitative analysis, which yielded 6 valuable skill themes. Direct quotes from participant responses will be shared to illustrate each of these skills. Following this section, attendees with be invited to share their reactions to the skills that emerged from this analysis, as well as the extent to which the study findings might or might not have aligned with their expectations. Attendees will be encouraged to share questions/ideas both verbally and in the chat.

Part 3. 15 minute interactive discussion

Attendees will be asked to consider and discuss the following questions:

  1. How can the study findings can be applied to the professional development of new and experienced online instructors?
  2. In what ways can these findings help promote the quality of online courses?

During this discussion, one presenter will lead, while the second presenter will follow the discussion in the chat. Ideas emerging in the chat will also be shared verbally. At the conclusion, key ideas that emerged from the discussion for both professional development and promoting quality will be summarized.

References

Jaschik, S. & Lederman, D. (2019). 2019 survey of faculty attitudes on technology. Inside Higher

            Ed & Gallup. 

Martin, F., Wang, C., Jokiaho, A., May, B., & Grübmeyer, S. (2019). Examining Faculty Readiness to Teach Online: A Comparison of US and German Educators. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-learning, 22(1), 53-69.

Mohr, S. C., & Shelton, K. (2017). Best practices framework for online faculty professional development: A Delphi study. Online Learning Journal, 21(4), 123-140.