Looking for a customizable approach to addressing the needs of online faculty? This express workshop explores the way TOPkit’s Sample Courses can be utilized to create online faculty development that is tailored for faculty who have taught online but may have gaps in skills such as online pedagogy or accessibility.
As teaching online has become more common over the last two decades (McGee, Windes, & Torres, 2017), many newly-hired faculty arrive at their new institutions with online teaching experience and, in some cases, online course development experience; a subset of these new instructors may also have completed training in online teaching and course design at other institutions. These new faculty may benefit from custom designed online faculty development that addresses any gaps in skills or knowledge. In addition, current faculty who have been teaching online for many years may also have gaps in their skills and would benefit from ongoing online faculty development.
When creating faculty development, efforts need to be made to recognize the online teaching experience and course development training of these experienced faculty members. There is a delicate balance between honoring an instructor’s online experience while also ensuring that they have the skills and knowledge to be successful online instructors (Walters, Grover, Turner, & Alexander, 2017).
In this session, the presenters will demonstrate how TOPkit’s Sample Courses can be used to deliver individualized online faculty development to faculty who already have experience teaching online. The presenters will also identify key factors to consider when developing and delivering individualized online course development to experienced faculty.
Interactivity
This express workshop will guide participants to consider the elements associated with individualized online faculty development, including ways to identify potential gaps in online faculty skills and knowledge. Participants will discover how TOPkit’s Sample Courses can be adapted to address these gaps in skills and knowledge. Finally, participants will also explore the customizable Faculty Development Checklist and Online Faculty Development Plan, highlighting ways that these resources can be used at their home institutions to address the needs of experienced faculty who already have online teaching and course development experience.
Takeaways:
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A clear understanding of how the TOPkit Sample Courses can be used to deliver online faculty development to instructors who already have experience developing online courses and teaching online
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A Faculty Development Checklist that can be modified to meet the needs of any institution of learning
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An Online Faculty Development Plan that can be customized to address the individual needs of faculty who already have experience creating online courses and teaching online but who may have gaps in their knowledge regarding pedagogy and online best practices.
McGee, P., Windes, D., & Torres, M. (2017). Experienced online instructors: Beliefs and preferred supports regarding online teaching. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 29(2), 331-352. Retrieved from ERIC database. (EJ1147627)