Influence of Reduced Seat Time on Satisfaction and Perception of Course Development Goals: A Case Study in Faculty Development

Authors

  • Aimee deNoyelles University of Central Florida
  • Clara Cobb University of Central Florida
  • Denise Lowe University of Central Florida

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v16i2.257

Keywords:

Blended learning, e-learning, adult learner, distance learning, professional development, faculty training

Abstract

This paper describes the redesign of a faculty development program at a large public university that transitioned from weekly face-to-face meetings to a version that reduced seat time by half. Focus is on course development activities in which individual faculty began designing and developing their online courses. Survey data was collected and analyzed from two “pre-revision” and two “post-revision” versions of the faculty development program to assess the satisfaction with the course and perceptions about faculty course development progress. Results indicate that faculty expressed a higher overall satisfaction with the “post-revision” program and expressed stronger perceptions about their ability to develop their online courses. This is attributed to three reasons; first, there was a balance of autonomy and support; second, an emphasis on adult learning principles to support content creation; and third, a shift from individual to community. Implications for practice are shared and recommendations for future research are proposed in the conclusion.

Author Biographies

Aimee deNoyelles, University of Central Florida

Aimee deNoyelles, Ed.D., became an Instructional Designer in the Center for Distributed Learning of the University of Central Florida (UCF) in June 2011. She consults with faculty members at UCF, supporting them to design and develop their blended and online courses. Her current research interests include virtual world-mediated communication, gender, and the facilitator’s role in online discussions. deNoyelles’ research has been published in several journals including Computers & Education, International Journal of Innovation in Education, and the Journal of Special Education Technology. Her research has also been presented at national and international conferences, including the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), and the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE). Prior to joining UCF, she taught online and face-to-face education courses at the University of Cincinnati while earning her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Instructional Design and Technology.

Clara Cobb, University of Central Florida

Clara Cobb, M.A,. has been a Visiting Instructional Designer at the Center for Distributed Learning of the University of Central Florida (UCF) since May 2011. She consults with UCF faculty members and assists them in designing and developing their online courses. Ms. Cobb also supports the CDL team in research and development efforts for a number of interdisciplinary projects; including UCF’s Blended Learning Toolkit project, in which she assisted participating faculty with the conversion of their F2F curricula to a blended learning format and produced learning object templates that are being used by 20 participating universities. Prior to coming to CDL, Ms. Cobb was an ISD project lead coordinating a team of instructional designers, developers and programmers in the production of online training for the Navy. Since 2005, she has developed hundreds of hours of online, blended, and enhanced F2F training for several companies in the Research Park area and designed simulations, scenarios and avatar-mediated virtual environments for civilian and military clients. She earned her MA in Instructional Technology from UCF in 2008.

Denise Lowe, University of Central Florida

Denise K. Lowe, Ed.D., was appointed Instructional Design Team Lead in the Center for Distributed Learning of the University of Central Florida (UCF) in January 2011. She joined UCF in 2007 as an instructional designer. Dr. Lowe has been a part of the online faculty professional development program, IDL6543, since coming to UCF. She has developed and facilitated sessions, consulted with faculty participants, and helped to design and develop online course content with a growing team of instructional designers, graphic artists, and technical support personnel. In 2011, she was part of a team effort to redesign the program to meet the needs of the faculty and university as UCF dealt with a growing online population. Dr. Lowe has been teaching face-to-face and online courses in the field of leadership development, interpersonal conflict management, and organizational communication for over 10 years, bringing that knowledge and experience to bear on IDL6543, projects, and research. She received her Doctorate of Education in 2006 in the field of Organizational Leadership of Higher Education. Dr. Lowe has presented at prestigious conferences such as the SLOAN-C International Conference on Online Learning (2011) and the 2nd Annual Education Technology Strategies Summit (2012).

Published

2012-03-31

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 2 (2012)

Section

Faculty Issues

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