Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Call For Manuscript, Todd Pagano, Sami Kahn

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

December 2020 / January 2021

The CETL Correspondent

Our last 5C’s and R presentation, Relevance is in a new format. We decided to ask faculty and staff how they made changes to help with the “new normal” we have faced this year. Ashley Walkup created a great PowerPoint to highlight information we received. The PowerPoint is in Faculty Commons, just click on the 5C’s and R link found on the homepage. Thank you to everyone that contributed! SWOSU faculty and staff provided excellent instruction and assistance even in these challenging times!

Faculty Focus Groups: Experiences Teaching Flexsync And Online Synchronous During Fall 2020, Brooke N. Burk

Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Department Publications

In Fall 2020, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) recruited faculty and staff who were teaching FlexSync and online (synchronous and asynchronous) courses to participate in focus groups about their experiences. Recruitment emails were shared in the Provost Weekly Announcements twice and the CETL weekly announcements four times between October and November.

A total of 19 faculty, staff, and graduate students indicated an interest in completing the focus groups, and 18 of those participated in focus groups that were scheduled in November and December. Five focus groups were conducted in total with the size of the groups …

Faculty Focus Groups: Experiences Teaching Flexsync And Online Synchronous During Fall 2020, Brooke N. Burk

All Resources

In Fall 2020, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) recruited faculty and staff who were teaching FlexSync and online (synchronous and asynchronous) courses to participate in focus groups about their experiences. Recruitment emails were shared in the Provost Weekly Announcements twice and the CETL weekly announcements four times between October and November. A total of 19 faculty, staff, and graduate students indicated an interest in completing the focus groups, and 18 of those participated in focus groups that were scheduled in November and December. Five focus groups were conducted in total with the size of the groups …

Assessment As A Learning Opportunity: Feedforward With Multiple Attempts, Emily Faulconer

Publications

High quality feedback is well-known to provide multiple student benefits, especially if students are provided the opportunity to apply the feedback. It reasons, then, that we can support student success on summative assessments by combining multiple attempts with high-quality immediate feedback. This study explores student behaviors, performance, and perspectives regarding this strategy.

A Snapshot Semester: Students’ Reflections Of Performance And Mental State Throughout A Graduate Course, Bradley D. Borges

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Graduate students are anecdotally reputed to be among the most stressed groups of young adults. Common sources of stress for graduate students have included coursework, assistantships, finances, career preparation, and family (Wyatt & Oswalt, 2013; Mazzola, Walker, Shockley & Spector, 2011; Oswalt & Riddock, 2007). Guided reflection can be used by educators to assist students in both learning (Boud, Keogh & Walker, 2013; Kolb, 1984) and managing stress (Shoulders, Whitehead, & Morrison, 2018). By understanding how students’ progress through a semester in terms of both their learning and their management of stress, instructors and academic advisors can better anticipate times …

Students’ Meaning-Making Journeys Towards Self-Authorship Through Self-Designed Gap Year Experiences, Erin Garcia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological, qualitative study addressed student perceptions of their meaning-making process towards self-authorship in a self-designed gap year experience and was conducted in a public higher educational institution in the Southeast. Data was gathered through interviews from a purposeful sample of gap year program participants and program administrators. Emerging themes and categories were identified by coding and analyzing the interview data, such as continual reflection reinforces the value of individual meaning-making, self-expectations versus self-worth, the influence of societal expectations are minimized, and self-designed learning helps to solidify changes in self-authorship. The data showed a strong connection between multiple meaning-making contexts …

It’S The Experience Not The Format: Successful Techniques To Transition Social Justice Coursework To A Distance Delivery Format, Peter L. Kranz, Paul Sale, John Lowdermilk

Counseling Faculty Publications

“Research on multicultural learning has focused on formal and local settings, such as schools, but young people are interacting with, and therefore learning from, informal settings and nonlocal contexts, including online platforms.” (Kim, 2016, p. 1). The instructor must be vigilant in selecting online teaching pedagogy when offering sensitive topics of courses because face-to-face intimacy is usually a component of more traditional courses in diversity (Matloob Haghanikar, 2019). The purpose of this current paper is to align critical parts of an experiential race relations curriculum (Clarke, 2019; Kranz & Lund, 2004) in a face-to-face setting with digital technologies available for …

The Remote Learning Experience At Portland State University In Spring 2020, Liana Bernard, Phoebe Brown, Peter Chaille, Brenden Clenaghen, Joshua Eastin, Andrea Garrity, Sherril B. Gelmon, Carolina Gomez-Montoya, Laura E. Jacobson, Susan Lindsay, Maya Mcgill, Nate Midgley, Stephen Percy, Judith A. Ramaley, Risto Rushford, Gayle Y. Thieman, Luis Balderas Villagrana

Office of the President Publications and Presentations

It is an endeavor to understand what we have and will learn about the impact of remote instruction on faculty, students and relevant academic support teams. Simply put: We want to learn from an experiment foisted upon us by a health crisis. We have engaged in an incredibly innovative response. And now, we ask what have we learned? How might we improve? And, most importantly, are there implications from this experiment for the future of instruction at PSU and throughout higher education?

The project was organized around two stages in the Spring 2020 term.

• Stage One: Out of the Gate: …

Exploring Student Perceptions Of Flipgrid In Online Courses, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Robert L. Moore

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Asynchronous video-based discussions have affordances that can address some of the constraints of asynchronous text-based discussions. However, little research has been conducted on the use of asynchronous video-based discussions in online courses. As a result, the purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate students’ perceptions of using Flipgrid for asynchronous video-based discussions in fully online courses. We used a cross-sectional survey design to survey 79 students who used Flipgrid in a fully online course. Students overall reported that they liked using Flipgrid, it was easy to use, and that it helped improve social presence. In this paper, we will …

Students Can Still Assimilate Different Cultures Via Virtual Learning, Yuanto Kusnadi, Gary Pan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The year 2020 has been unique and exceptional. The Covid-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to economies and societies across the world. Universities too had to pivot and adapt, with lessons and examinations moved online, for example. One of the challenges faced by universities is how to equip their students with the relevant skillset of gaining exposure to different cultures through internships and exchanges when international borders are largely closed. To overcome the constraint posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, a recent initiative by the Singapore Management University (SMU), called SMU-X Overseas (virtual), has allowed students to work on real-world projects …

University Course Evaluations: A Study Of The Influence Of Faculty, Student, And Course Variables, Tyesha De’Shuan Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Course evaluations impact faculty’ annual evaluations and have become somewhat controversial, yet course evaluations in faculty evaluations persist as a common practice across universities. While many scholars find this success-based tool effective in assessing teaching effectiveness, others question the validity and reliability of this measurement and are opposed to using this tool as a mean of determining faculty members’ success. The purpose of this study is to provide a more in-depth examination of course evaluations by analyzing faculty, student, and course variables. Analyses were performed to address the following research question: “To what degree do faculty gender, faculty race, faculty …

Effects Of Gatekeeper Course Modality, Age, Gender And High School Gpa On Kaplan Subject Area Exam Scores, Vernon Hoffman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The question of equivalency regarding course modality has plagued and intrigued educators for as long as multiple modalities have existed. In the modern world of academia, the two prevailing modalities are face-to-face or traditional courses and online courses. A multitude of factors have contributed to the increase in online course offerings, including increasingly dependable technology and fiscal pressures on institutions of higher learning.

A great deal of scholarly research has compared modalities using within-course measures such as course grades and comprehensive final exams. Most of these studies have found the two modalities equivalent. However, a dearth of research exists which …

Jesuit Colleges Meet Market Forces: How Ought We To Respond?, Anamaria Conley, Aimee Wheaton

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Jesuit higher education is struggling to respond to changes in market conditions while maintaining its mission. Fiscal pressures arise from declining public support for higher education and increased competition. New technologies are enabling e-learning and distance learning environments, often in a for-profit context. Institutions of higher education are adapting to these external pressures in part by changing the work conditions of faculty. The challenge for Jesuit institutions is to ensure their response to the increasingly complex environment is consistent with Jesuit values. This paper focuses on the tensions caused by changing market conditions, faculty work conditions, and the Jesuit mission.

Stem Education In College: An Analysis Of Stakeholders’ Recent Challenges And Potential Solutions, Santanu De, Georgina Arguello

FDLA Journal

A vast majority of academic disciplines and curricula in the college center around Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), which are critical to developing the skills necessary for a global workforce. Rapid changes in pedagogical setups, educational modes, and advances in instructional technology entail diverse challenges for key stakeholders (i.e. students, faculty, and the organizations). This paper highlights the most relevant challenges and potential solutions in STEM higher education at the college level, reported in the last decade. The holistic analysis combining the three stakeholders’ perspectives would help elucidate significant contemporary aspects impacting the fields. The goal is to further …

Best Practices Of Virtual Advising: The Application Of An Online Advising Portal, María G. Méndez, Georgina Arguello

FDLA Journal

Online education has taken precedence worldwide, not only temporarily due to the COVID-19 new reality, but also because higher education institutions have realized the importance of meeting the needs of all types of students. As higher education institutions increase their online offerings, we need to take into consideration the importance of quality in online student support services, such as academic advising. Virtual advising is a way to provide vital, sensitive, flexible, and innovative services, which may support distance education students in achieving their educational goals. Implementing best practices of virtual advising will help break down the existing barriers of time …

Topr Turns 10! Celebrating 10 Years Of Curating Ucf’S Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository, Aimee Denoyelles, Sue Bauer, Shelly Wyatt

FDLA Journal

In this paper, the editors of the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository (TOPR) will share global insights derived from the last ten years of pedagogical entries. What technologies and techniques of online teaching and learning were “hot” a decade ago, and what is currently trending? What are the most visited entries? TOPR’s value in relation to the COVID-19 crisis will be explored, as many educators were forced to teach in remote and online learning environments for the first time. Finally, readers will learn about the process of submitting their own strategies to TOPR, along with an update on the peer-review process …

Covid-19 Induced Transition From Classroom To Online Mid Semester: Case Study On Faculty And Students’ Preferences And Opinions, Sudipta Roy, Bonnie Covelli

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate faculty and students’ reactions to the COVID-19 emergency move to online classes. The goal was to better inform instructional strategies to be used in similar circumstances and to inform best practices in online pedagogy.

Method: Online surveys were administered to students and faculty near the end of the semester to evaluate different aspects of the transition. Classes included in the study were scheduled as full-semester, on-campus classes but made an emergency switch to online post-spring break, after eight weeks.

Results: Students’ and faculty’s comfort levels at the time …

University Faculty Design-Thinking Personas For Online Course Development: A Q Methodological Study, Jennifer Margaret Morrisette

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

To overcome the inherent complexities of planning and implementing effective online learning experiences at scale, it has been suggested that design-thinking tools and practices can be leveraged by faculty and collaborative support staff (e.g., instructional designers). However, little is known about what design-thinking approaches are perceived by faculty to be important to the online course design process, and what tools and practices might be prioritized or avoided given planning stage and individual context. Understanding these nuances would provide much needed insight to align support directly with faculty needs. This study used Q methodology to explore the subjective viewpoints of 20 …

November 2020, Lisa Friesen

The CETL Correspondent

The CETL Correspondent is a monthly newsletter by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

Doctoral Student Online Learning: Addressing Challenges Of The Virtual Experience, Dejuanna M. Parker, Kent Willis, Barbara D. Holmes

Education Doctorate Faculty Works

Doctoral student attrition is a major problem in higher education. This qualitative study sought to understand student beliefs and perceived confidence levels in a primarily online professional doctoral degree in education. Before accessing course material and formal instruction, respondents assigned scores to a Likert-style survey and answered open-ended questions about their understanding of basic educational research methodology. The rise of distance education follows the rapid growth of technological advancement. Yet, much is still unknown about pedagogical practices that contribute to improved learning outcomes for students in the virtual environment. Themes that emerged from this study suggest that (1) student expectations …

Doctoral Student Online Learning: Addressing Challenges Of The Virtual Experience, Dejuanna M. Parker, Kent Willis, Barbara D. Holmes

Journal of Research Initiatives

Abstract

This qualitative study sought to understand student beliefs and perceived levels of confidence in a primarily online professional doctoral degree in education. Before accessing course material and formal instruction, respondents assigned scores to a Likert-style survey and answered open-ended questions about their understanding of basic educational research methodology. The rise of distance education follows the rapid growth of technological advancement, yet, much is still unknown about pedagogical practices that contribute to improved learning outcomes for students in the virtual environment. Themes that emerged from this study suggest that (1) student expectations do not align with prior preparation, (2) student …

Leveraging The Science Of Learning To Enhance Student Success: An Application Of Syfr Learning’S Principles Of Practice, Jennifer S. Jones, Christopher L. Thomas

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of the current article is to describe a set of empirically validated principles of practice with the potential to enhance student learning and academic performance. Specifically, we provide an overview of Syfr Learning’s principles of practice – a collection of scalable instructional techniques derived from decades of research in the domain of learning science. Further, we provide an illustrative example of the benefits of Syfr Learning’s principles of practice when incorporated into existing curricula in a K-12 setting.

Pandemic Pivoting: Unf’S 2020 Soars Virtual Conference, Karen Cousins, Andrew Rush, Courtenay Mcleland

Florida Statewide Symposium: Best Practices in Undergraduate Research

The Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS) is the University of North Florida’s highly-anticipated research poster event, organized by the Office of Undergraduate Research and held each April during Research Week – that is, until the pandemic changed our plans last spring. The members of this panel will share why we decided not to cancel the event; how we transitioned from an in-person conference to a virtual conference; how we created the website, uploaded the content, and integrated a judging component; how we later archived the 2020 projects for posterity; how we reaped some unexpected benefits, not …

Nouvelles Approches Didactiques À L’Université Libanaise, Rima Mawloud

Al Jinan الجنان

Nous présenterons les méthodologies d’enseignement dans les soixante-quatre facultés de l’Université Libanaise en mettant en relief la rénovation qui a eu lieu depuis 2004 avec le projet FSP(1) ayant pour fnalités le renforcement de la langue française comme langue d›enseignement supérieur ainsi que le renforcement de la position de l›U.L. comme université francophone. Nous développerons les points suivants : la formation des formateurs selon les méthodologies les plus récentes, l›élaboration d›une banque de données basée sur des besoins spécifques répondant aux nécessités et aux tendances des étudiants de chaque faculté (DDIFOS(2)) avec la collaboration de la CCIP(3), la conception d›un …

October 2020, Lisa Friesen

The CETL Correspondent

The CETL Correspondent is a monthly newsletter by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

Distance Education Connection Newsletter, Fall 2020, Dena Laton

Distance Education Connection

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Oer In Teacher Education, Denise Cummings-Clay

Publications and Research

The purpose of this research study, which employed a quantitative research design, was to determine if there was a difference in the grades achieved by students who were enrolled in an entry-level Foundations of Education course using Open Educational Resources (OER) versus the grades achieved by students who used textbooks in other course sections. The goal was to find out whether OER was of the same or higher quality as textbooks in our minority-serving higher education institution. The outcomes revealed that there was no significant difference in grades for course sections that used OER when compared to course sections that …

Practicing What They Preach: A Case Study Exploring The Experiences Of Instructional Designers As Educators Of An Online Teaching Certificate Program, David Uibelhoer

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The rapid integration of online education has led to faculty challenges in teaching online. Research shows that faculty online professional development that focuses on pedagogical inquiry can lead to better teaching of online courses. This qualitative case study was conducted to explore the experiences of a team of eight instructional designers who developed a four-course online teaching certificate program at a large public research university. In addition, this study sought to better understand how instructional designers describe university support for leading this faculty online professional development initiative and determine whether their expertise in online pedagogy can lead to improved online …

“Onlaing” A Distance Learning Management Information System Platform With Heutagogy Approach In Industrial Revolution 4.0: A Design, D. Djadir, R. Rusli, Ansari Saleh Ahmar, Abdul Rahman, Helmi Abdullah

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of this study was to design distance learning platform using heutagogy approach. This study is expected to help to improve the quality of student learning outcomes and to motivate students to learn. This type of research is the development of research, known as research and development (R&D). The design of this study adapting by the SDLC model. The aim of this study is to design an online platform in Industrial Revolution 4.0 using Heutagogy Approach. The design will use the website programming namely PHP and MySQL as databases. Result of this study: the design and development of distance …