PREPARED FOR SUCCESS: COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS REQUIRED FOR ONLINE & BLENDED TEACHING

1. PREPARED FOR SUCCESS: COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS REQUIRED FOR ONLINE & BLENDED TEACHING

2. Research Team • Principal Investigator: Lawrence C. Ragan • Co-Investigators: Paula Bigatel, Janet May, Shannon Kennan • Statistics Consultant: Brian Redmond

3. OPERATING PRINCIPLE If Then

4. Goal: Support the Development of World Class Online & Blended Instructors • What are the skills and competencies necessary for online and blended teaching success? • At what point in the instructor's career should these competencies be developed?

5. Competencies for Online Teaching Success Framework OL 1000 OL 1200 Competencies at NOVICE, INTERMEDIATE or EXPERT levels? What competencies are necessary for online teaching success? Phase 2 Phase 1 OL 1500 OL 1700 OL 2000 OL 2700 OL 3000 OL 4000

6. Can You Hear Me Now? CSI Serving the Military World Class Teaching Effective Teaching Accessibility Just2It! Using the LMS Welcome to WC Orientation Novice Expert

7. DEFINITION OF COMPETENCY a theoretical construct that represents a constellation of behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs.

8. Competencies for Online Teaching Success (COTS) Phase I • Conduct COTS Phase I survey • Conduct factor analysis to look for grouping of tasks into competencies • Examine survey data for task importance responses • Operationalize the survey outcomes to our faculty development

9. Phase I Process and Results • Used 7 point Likert Scale survey of “Not Very Important” to “Very Important” • 200+ individuals completed survey • 106 fit criteria of “5 or more years of online teaching experience” • Interesting datapoint: No significant difference between respondents according to years of teaching experience • 2:1 Females:male • Cross discipline domains represented • Over ¾ reported serving as online instructors

10. Phase I Results Competency Categories

11. Data Results(Factor Analysis) Way to statistically organize data (tasks) into categories (competencies) • Reduce number of questions to manageable amount • Exploratory groupings • Produced multiple 7 reliable factors * Note that several factors have only 2 items

12. Multimedia Technology Administration/Leadership Active Learning Classroom Decorum Policy Enforcement Technological Competence Responsiveness

13. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF RANKING? Using the polling tool rank order the following competencies: • Multimedia Technology • Administration/Leadership • Active Learning • Classroom Decorum • Policy Enforcement • Technological Competence • Responsiveness

14. COMPETENCIES BY MEAN • Active Learning • Administration/Leadership • Responsiveness • MultimediaTechnology • Classroom Decorum • Technological Competence • Policy Enforcement

15. Competency 1: Active Learning • The instructor encourages students to interact with each other by assigning team tasks and projects, where appropriate. (r=.819) • The instructor includes group/team assignments where appropriate. (r=.766) • The instructor encourages students to share their knowledge and expertise with the learning community. (r=.721) • The instructor encourages students to participate in discussion forums, where appropriate. (r=.682) • The instructor provides opportunities for hands-on practice so that students can apply learned knowledge to the real-world. (r=.582) • The instructor provides additional resources that encourage students to go deeper into the content of the course. (r=.574) • The instructor encourages student-generated content as appropriate. (r=.531) •  The instructor facilitates learning activities that help students construct explanations/solutions. (r=.506) • The instructor uses peer assessment in his/her assessment of student work, where appropriate. (r=.472) • The instructor shows respect to students in his/her communications with them. (r=.427)

16. Competency 2: Administration/Leadership • The instructor makes grading visible for student tracking purposes. (r=.683) • The instructor clearly communicates expected student behaviors. (r=.682) • The instructor is proficient in the chosen course management system (CMS). (r=.591) • The instructor adheres to the university's policies regarding the Federal Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA). (r=.509) • The instructor integrates the use of technology that is meaningful and relevant to students. (r=.454)

17. Competency 3: Active Teaching • The instructor provides prompt, helpful feedback on assignments and exams that enhances learning. (r=.741) • The instructor provides clear, detailed feedback on assignments and exams that enhances the learning experience. (r=.714) • The instructor shows caring and concern that students are learning the course content. (r=.514) • The instructor helps keep the course participants on task. (r=.429)  • The instructor uses appropriate strategies to manage the online workload. (r=.426)  

18. Competency 4: Multimedia Technology • The instructor uses a variety of multimedia technologies to achieve course objectives. (r=.788) • The instructor uses multimedia technologies that are appropriate for the learning activities. (r=.749)

19. Competency 5: Classroom Decorum • The instructor helps students resolve conflicts that arise in collaborative teamwork. (r=.761) • The instructor resolves conflicts when they arise in teamwork/group assignments. (r=.680) • The instructor can effectively manage the course communications by providing a good model of expected behavior for all course communication. (r=.533)   • The instructor identifies areas of potential conflict within the course. (r=.431) 

20. Competency 6: Technological Competence • The instructor is proficient with the technologies used in the online classroom. (r=.884) • The instructor is confident with the technology used in the course. (r=.724)

21. Competency 7: Policy Enforcement • The instructor monitors students' adherence to policies on plagiarism. (r=.847) • The instructor monitors students' adherence to Academic Integrity policies and procedures. (r=.803)

22. Phase I Results Task Importance—general observations

23. Task Importance Rankings • No task ranked below 4.59 (on a 7 point scale) • 37 tasks (of 64) ranked 6.0 or higher • 23 of the top 37 reflected an aspect/dimension of communications • More than half of the task items that were rated as 6.0 or higher did not load into categories using factor analysis.

24. TASK IMPORTANCE RANKINGS—TOP 10 • The instructor shows respect to students in his/her communications with them. • The instructor provides students with clear grading criteria. • The instructor clearly communicates course goals. • The instructor clearly communicates course content. • The instructor shows enthusiasm when interacting with students. • The instructor provides clear, detailed feedback on assignments and exams that enhances the learning experience. • The instructor communicates with students about course changes, reminders of due assignments, relevant additional resources through announcements/emails. • The instructor can effectively manage the course communications by providing a good model of expected behavior for all course communication. • The instructor provides prompt, helpful feedback on assignments and exams that enhances learning. • The instructor clearly communicates expected student behaviors.

25. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT • Provide the “student experience” • Provide “safe” environment • Address “potential failure” of system • Set realistic expectations • Survive before thrive • Create a learning community • Model best behaviors • Connect F2F

26. THE BLENDED LEARNING EFFECT Unique skills and competencies for effective blended learning instruction

27. BLENDED LEARNING CONSIDERATIONS • What are the primary differences between the three modalities? • What “special” competencies/skills are necessary for faculty success in the blended learning environment? • What adjustments to faculty development program delivery need to be accounted for?

28. Questions/Suggestions

29. Recruitment for Stage 2 evaluation@outreach.psu.edu

30. Contact Information Larry Ragan – lcr1@psu.edu Janet May – jam11@psu.edu Paula Bigatel – pmb6@psu.edu Shannon Kennan – ssk168@psu.edu Brian Redmond – bfr3@psu.edu