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| 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
American Association of
University Professors [AAUP]. (2009) Statement on professional
ethics. Retrieved February 19, 2014 from:
http://www.aaup.org/report/statement-
professional-ethics
Avery, M., Cohen, B.,
Walker, J. (2008). Evaluation of an online graduate nursing curriculum:
Examining
standards of quality. International
Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship,5(44).Retrieved February 18, 2014
from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920736/
Barker, A. (2003).
Faculty development for teaching online: Educational and
technological issues. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 34(6), 273-8.
Retrieved
February 18, 2014 from: http://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=nurs_fac
Bedford, L. &
Miller, H. (2013). All adjuncts are not created equal: An exploratory study of
teaching
and professional needs of online adjuncts. The
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Situated Cognition. Emerging perspectives
on learning,
teaching, and technology.
Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Situated_Cognition
Dewy, J. (2008) Project
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http://romancecovers.blogspot.com/search/label/Roswell%20Keller
Monks, J. (2009) Who
are the part time faculty? There’s no such thing as a typical part-timer.
American Association of University
Professors. Retrieved February 18, 2014 from:
http://www.aaup.org/article/who-are-part-time-faculty#.UwONmfldUno
Prawat, R. and Floden,
R.E. (1994). Philosophical perspectives on constructivist views of
learning. Educational
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Savery, J.R., &
Duffy, T.M. (1995). Problem based learning: An instructional model and its
constructivist
framework. Educational Technology,
35(5), 31-38. Retrieved February 18, 2014 from:
http://www.ouwb.ohiou.edu/this_is_ouwb/papers/savery-duffy.pdf
Seniorties. (2014). John Dewy. Retrieved February 19, 2014
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http://www.etsy.com/shop/senioritis?ref=l2-shopheader-name
Shann, R. (1941). Student Nurse. New York: Dell. Retrieved
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/1940s-Dell-Romance-Novel-Student-Nurse-Paperback-Book-Art-Deco-Cover-/360511982667
Sloan Consortium
[Sloan-C]. (2013). Pillar reference manual. Sloan
Consortium.
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teaching strategies. Journal Of Continuing Education In Nursing, 41(12), 549-556.
Retrieved
February 18, 2014 from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20704095
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