A professional learning program for novice online teachers: Application of professional development guidelines using threshold concepts and online learning perceptions

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i4.1573

Keywords:

threshold concepts, online teaching, professional development curricula

Abstract

The professional development of online teachers is now commonplace in most universities. Alongside the relatively straightforward decision to provide professional learning support for novice and experienced online educators within universities, decisions about the nature and content of such support are not always as clear cut. The study aimed to gather evidence about the experiences and views of current students and staff which, in turn, informed a set of pedagogical guidelines that could be used as the basis of professional learning programs for novice online teachers. Using a mixed methods research design, data were gathered using questionnaires, reflective journals and focus groups to determine the threshold concepts about online teaching, and perceptions of ideal online learning contexts. As well as identifying threshold concepts about online teaching and perceptions of teachers’ and students’ ideal views of online learning contexts (reported elsewhere), the study produced curricular guidelines to inform the design of professional development outputs for online teachers in higher education contexts. This article reports on an example of how these professional development guidelines were implemented at one higher education institution to provide wide-scale implementation of a professional development program for academic staff engaged in online teaching.

Author Biographies

Maria Northcote, Avondale College of Higher Education

Maria Northcote is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, Business and Science at Avondale College of Higher Education in New South Wales Australia. She is an experienced higher education teacher, leader and researcher and is involved in undergraduate and postgraduate education, and professional development.

Kevin P Gosselin, HonorHealth Research Institute

Kevin P. Gosselin is the Director, Academics and Biostatistics at HonorHealth Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona. His research interests involve online teaching and design, faculty development and applied performance psychology. His research related to this project includes psychometric development and evaluation of online teaching self-efficacy instruments, institutional research focused on online course design and instruction, and teacher development.

Peter Kilgour, Avondale College of Higher Education

Dr Peter Kilgour is the Director of the Christian Education Research Centre and a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Business and Science at Avondale College of Higher Education. His research areas include teacher education, innovative learning and teaching, assessment in work integrated learning, cultural awareness and mathematics education. He is an educator of 35 years’ experience in four different countries. As a former secondary mathematics teacher, school principal, and school system CEO, he has a passion for innovative learning and has worked to implement this in the higher education setting, in online and on-campus modes. His current teaching responsibilities include multicultural education and professional development for pre-service teachers.

Daniel Reynaud, Avondale College of Higher Education

Associate Professor Daniel Reynaud lectures principally in History, and also in Media and Literature. His primary research has been in Anzac cinema and Anzacs and religion, in which he has authored monographs, scholarly articles and television documentaries. He has also published in history pedagogy and in online learning.

Catherine McLoughlin, Australian Catholic University

Catherine McLoughlin is an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Education at the Australian Catholic University, Canberra. With over 30 years of experience in higher education in Europe, South East Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, she has experience and expertise in a variety of educational settings, with diverse students and across a wide range of cultural contexts. Catherine’s research focuses on e-learning, technology enabled pedagogy in higher education, curriculum design, and global trends in education and teacher professional development. Her current research interests include the use of social networking tools to support learning, networked learning in higher education and knowledge creation processes.

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Published

2019-12-01

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 4 (2019)

Section

Section II

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