Mentoring has long been proven to be a successful practice; however, scant literature is available on virtual faculty mentoring. This presentation will provide research on virtual faculty mentoring as well as an overview of how a virtual faculty mentoring program from conception to operationalization could be established.
Objective: Connect online faculty members with online faculty mentors to support faculty, increase the student and faculty experience, and establish a Community of Practice to set the stage for learning.
Problem Statement: The 2015 Survey of Online Learning reported that more than one in four students (28%) now take at least one distance education course, for a total of 5.9 million students. The report demonstrates a thirteenth consecutive year of growth in distance learning enrollment. In connection with this, administrators from 65% of reporting higher education schools stated that utilizing online learning was a fundamental element of their long-term strategies (Brazina & Ugras, 2014). The increase in students enrolling in online courses naturally correlates with the increase in faculty teaching in the online modality. The percentage of faculty teaching online classes across public, private, and religious higher education institutions is increasing significantly (Eagan, Jr., Jaeger, & Grantham, 2015). The amount of faculty teaching online classes has amplified; however, the support structure in place to support this growth has not kept up with the influx.
The literature on online faculty mentoring is limited. Between 1985 and 1995, approximately 510 articles were written related to the value and effectiveness of mentoring in business and management journals (Allen & Seaman, 2016). However, a study by de Janasz & Godshalk (2013) found that there were only 250 articles available in 2013 about virtual mentoring. The problem associated with this, is that while the literature and best practices associated with mentoring in general are robust; the literature and programs surrounding online faculty mentoring are in its infancy stages and the scientific results are limited and/or incomplete.
Educators have long identified mentoring as an effective method to increase educator efficacy. Given the increased number of instructors within higher education that are delivering courses in distance programs, a virtual model of mentoring is a commonsensical progression. Virtual mentoring establishes a Community of Practice (COP), which can support faculty pedagogy. The virtual environment inherently contains challenges and unique considerations, which are present in many applications, where technology attempts to substitute for human attributes, and interaction is facilitated asynchronously. When considering a virtual mentoring program, it is important to understand the challenges a virtual environment may face so as not to undermine the traditional practices and approaches of face-to-face mentoring. In the proposed study, the authors review the existing literature to determine how virtual mentoring can be transformative to online faculty, in online learning environments, despite the challenges.
In this study, the researchers plan to conduct qualitative research, using a constructive perspective, to develop and maintain a faculty mentoring program for online instructors. At the onset of the research process, four assumptions will be established:
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The mentor/mentee relationship is voluntary.
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The mentor possesses the necessary training, skill set and experience to add value to the relationship.
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The mentor/mentee relationship would grow organically.
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The virtual mentoring benefits parallel those found in traditional face-to-face mentoring relationships.
The research supports the need for virtual mentoring programs for online faculty. The current research primarily focuses on the challenges online faculty face from a technological perspective, rather than the foundation of mentoring; the human philosophy and connections that make up a successful virtual mentoring program. The authors contend that the results of their study and the analysis of a virtual mentoring program can assist higher education leaders as well as online faculty in developing virtual mentoring relationships and programs, as well as provide a deeper understanding of the premise and opportunities associated with virtual mentoring. Building effective communities of practice fosters reciprocal learning, which in turn, benefits the student, the university, and the faculty.
References:
Allen E., and Seaman J., (2016). Online report card: tracking online education in the United States. Retrieved from https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/online-report-card- tracking-online-education-united-states-2015.
Brazina, P. R., & Ugras, J. Y. (2014). Growth and Changes in Online Education. Pennsylvania CPA Journal, 85(3), 18-21.
Buell, C. (2004). Models of mentoring in communication. Communication Education, 53, 56-73.
de Janasz S.C. Godshalk V.M. (2013). The role of e-mentoring in protégés learning and
satisfaction. Group Organization Management, 38, 743 - 774. 10.1177/1059601113511296
Eagan, M. K., Jr., Jaeger, A. J., & Grantham, A. (2015). Supporting the academic majority:
Policies and practices related to part-time faculty’s job satisfaction. Journal of Higher Education, 86(3), 448-483