nursonator: 2014

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“Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not preparation for life but is life itself." John Dewy

John Dewy

This posting was created for my graduate nursing class. Here, the issues concerning the current practice of hiring part time adjunct faculty to teach e-courses, but offering no opportunities for professional development many devalue the intellectual content of instruction and hamper the development of future instructors.

Faculty Development via E-Instruction

Faculty development and support within online nursing school programs tend to focus on technical and course delivery issues (Vitale, 2003) (Barker, 2013). Current institutional trends of hiring online adjunct professors, used as a cost effect measure to expand enrollment and reduce faculty costs, threaten the foundations of the college’s philosophy and standing as a non-profit institution. This change in instructional focus from service to profit may be ignored by many in the rush to accommodate more students and income (Vitale, 2010) (Lerner, 2012). A quick reminder of the IRS investigations of unrelated business income, which the IRS defines as an activity qualifies as a trade or business if the taxpayer engages in the activity with the intent to make a profit (Lerner, 2012). A glaring feature of the current for profit movement is that faculty development may not be offered to these new cohorts that should include topics such as professional ethics, academic freedom, and foundation theories and career development (Monks, 2009)(AAUP, 2012). In such a situation, the academic atmosphere becomes stale and infertile, as that discovery, discourse and interactions amongst faculty are stymied if existent at all. This presence course of action prevents the continuing development of a robust field of knowledge, which needs an open exchange of ideas and experiences that test ideas and theories, in order to grow. Remediation of the situation could be offered through creation of asynchronous e-learning format created exclusively for faculty development, demonstrating the reinvestment of monies into the future of education and new staff.

Faculty Composition

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP, 2009) reported that in 2005 part-time faculty represented approximately 48 percent of all faculty members in the United States. This highlights a trend in faculty composition from 1975, when only 30.2 percent of faculty were employed part time (AAUP, 2009). Another major trend in distance education is the use of asynchronous computer-based instruction, with 90% of the institutions now offering courses online over the Internet (Barker, 2013). Couple the novice online instructor with academic isolation of the part time instructor has created concerns about the quality of education offered, and conversely, the role collegiate neglect of faculty development may contribute to that dilemma (Bedford & Miller, 2013). Staff development and peer review are denied to almost half of the active faculty can only further fuel questions regarding the adjuncts’ ability to meet the needs of the students and comply with academic standards (Bedford & Miller, 2013) (Barker,2003). It is in the best interests of the academic community to foster professional development and provide peer mentoring for all staff, but most especially the online adjunct professor.

Proposed Solution: Faculty Online Community and Forums

This writer proposes the formation of an online community for staff development, community dialog and education (SloanConsortium[Sloan-C], 2009). The online community forums will enable the exchange of ideas and concerns as faculty seeks to test and review e-pedagogical theories utilizing the very pedagogical principles involved in student instruction (Horton &Wohl, 1956).

This writer wishes to propose to both the faculty and administrators that this institution undertake the process of creating a faculty development program for online instruction (Barker, 2003). The formation of an online community for staff development, community dialog and education as the proper venue as the collaborative learning format for this institution (Sloan-C, 2009). A creation of an online faculty development program utilizing the theories constructionism and problem based learning, will develop staff while providing firsthand experience of community based learning (Sloan-C, 2009). Asynchronous learning methods will enhance cognitive participation of the novice educator by providing a format for three types of communication: (a) content related communication, (b) Task Planning (c) Social support (Hrastinski, 2008) This format will provide a cost effective and efficient format for faculty development activities to be offered on an ongoing basis (Barker, 2008).

Proposed Solution: Thematic Concerns

The learning paradigm has changed from the the traditional, information processing approach to the alternative approach based on constructionist principles. (Seamans, 1990) (Bedford & Miller, 2013). The shift is where a learner actively constructs an internal representation of knowledge by interacting with information (Bedford& Miller, 2013).This is the cognitive environment recreated in the online format, where situated cognition (Streibel, 1991)(Brill, 2001), problem-based learning (Savery & Duffy, 1995),and para-social relationships (Horton & Wohl, 1956) are the dominant theories guiding e-learning courses. Faculty development needs help each instructor to understand an incorporate these theories into their professional practice. Cognitive tools must be understood before they can be transmitted to students in this complex, interactive and evolving information systems (Bedford & Miller, 2013).

Proposed Solution: Coordinator and Staff Mentors

The creation of a coordinator of online learning position and a mentoring system for novice educators will facilitate staff development. The major duties of the coordinator would be to oversee faculty development activities, create and guide a mentoring system that pairs the novice and expert educator, and coordinate online facilitators (Barker, 2003). The objective to assist in personalized professional development is met using the best educational practices (Barker, 2003). Advantages of the creation of mentoring pairs are numerous: novice faculty members observing an expert instructor learn how to manage the discussion board; participate in building a learning community; observe supportive networking and collaborative learning; and establishment of facilitator tone (Barker,2003) (Savery& Duffy,1995). Novice faculty need to understand and utilize teaching conventions that summarize discussions, direct focus on important issue, theory and its application, provide feedback, and direct analysis and synthesis of arguments.(Barker,2003)(Vitale,2010) Transforming the novice educator into an experienced instructor can be accomplished in a rapid and effective manner with the online staff development that combination of the personal mentor and online community.

Renewed commitment to Academic Excellence

Reinserting faculty development and support within online nursing school programs will place emphasis the priority of a quality education(Avery, Cohen, Walker, 2008). Skilled educators are nurtured within the academic environment with institutional support, a tradition well over a thousand years old. The changing emphasis within the instructional role is no less complicated or less advanced than the traditional model (Barker, 2004). Nurturing future expert educators needs foresight and careful planning now. John Dewy reminds us that what we have known we have forgotten and must learn over again. “Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not preparation for life but is life itself" (Dewy, J, 2008).

References