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Faculty Perceptions of Online Student Engagement:
        California Community Colleges and
          The California State University




                       STUDIES BY
           Jory Hadsell, Sacramento City College
               Tracy Kent, CSU Sacramento
                      December 1, 2011
                     DET/CHE Conference
Changing Times




Question:
Do we really understand how to actively
engage our students in a changing world?
Introduction

• Student engagement is commonly viewed as a key element in
  predicting and ensuring the success of online learners.

• It can be difficult to separate effective engagement strategies
  from ancillary course administration activities.

• Researchers have taken multiple approaches to defining
  student engagement -- the universe of elements construed as
  contributing to engagement of online students can seem very
  broad.

• Is student engagement in the "eye of the beholder" -- in this
  case, the faculty teaching online? If so -- how do faculty define
  and perceive engagement?
Background
• Purpose:
  o   Exploring faculty attitudes and perceptions of student
      engagement in online courses
        California Community Colleges (Hadsell)
        California State University system (Kent)

• Scope:
  o   Mini-qualitative research projects
  o   Comparative analysis:
        Sacramento City College
        CSU Sacramento

• Focus:
  o   Explore the faculty perspective of student engagement in the
      online learning environment.
Online Engagement
• The instructor may use his or her role to evoke student motivation
  and spur students to persist in online learning
  environments. (Christian & John, 2010)

• Students who feel disconnected or physically isolated from their
  classmates are more likely to drop out of online
  programs. (Angelino, et. al, 2007)

• Maki and Maki (2007) found that students were often required to do
  more in online courses than in traditional courses. They wrote that to
  be effective, online instructors need a strong methodology and
  opportunities for students to interact with each other and the
  instructor.

• Synchronous tools can assist in humanizing the classroom with
  interaction between student-student and instructor (Kolsaka, 2001).
Preliminary Research
            Approach
• Preliminary Research
  o   Qualitative interviews
  o   Comparative analysis of interviews and artifacts

• Data collection
  o Interviews with faculty who teach online (at least two years
    experience); Los Rios CCD and CSU Sacramento
  o Limited by a small sample size
  o Conducted a review and analysis of artifacts (Syllabi,
    assignments, related articles, etc.)
  o Identification of emergent themes in each study
FIVE EMERGENT THEMES
BASED ON PRELIMINARY RESEARCH
Emergent Themes
• Background / Mental Models
  o   Who the faculty member is
  o   Background
         Training and certifications
         Relating to experiences as an online student
  o   Instructional Mental Models
         Interest in student learning & progress
         Interest and tendencies relating to technology
          experimentation

• Structure and Content
  o   Organizational strategy
  o   Variety and clarity of assignments
  o   Construction of syllabus
  o   Multi-modal approach (videos, podcasts, textbook, etc.)
Emergent Themes

• Community/Interaction
  o Frequency and depth of interaction
    (faculty-student, student-student, whole class presence)
  o Fostering of creativity and expression
  o Encouraging participation
  o Overall availability of faculty member

• Assessment
  o   Grading features
  o   Timeliness and frequency of feedback to students
  o   Use of statistical reports or analytics
Emergent Themes

• The Online Learning Experience
  o   Faculty awareness of their actions
  o   Assumptions on the part of all parties
  o   Clarity of expectations (both faculty and student)
  o   Faculty assumptions/perceptions of student patterns
      of behavior
  o   Challenges and barriers for students
      (e.g., deadlines, maintaining focus, motivation)
Questions Raised
• Questions raised by the preliminary research:
  o How do personal experiences, traits, and the attitude of the
    instructor impact the instructional approaches online?

   o   Do the personal values of faculty differ from what is
       projected to students via course materials?

   o   How can faculty best create clarity in the organization of an
       online course? (assignments, grading scheme, online
       classroom, etc.) How is this impacted by experience as an
       online student?

   o   How can faculty be more active in seeking engagement with
       students, rather than passively expecting it to happen?

   o   How do learning analytics inform/impact engagement?
Contact Information

Jory Hadsell
Sacramento City College
jory.hadsell@scc.losrios.edu
@joryhadsell


Tracy Kent
CSU Sacramento
kentt@saclink.csus.edu
References

Angelino, L., Williams, F., & Natvig, D. (2007). Strategies to
engage online students and reduce attrition rates. The Journal of
Educators Online, 4(2), 1-14.

Christian, G., & John, G. (2010). Interaction in Online Courses: More
is NOT Always Better. Online Journal of Distance Learning
Administration, 13(2).

Kosalka,K. (2001, August 10). Using synchronous tools to build
community in the asynchronous online classroom. Faculty
Focus. Retrieved from www.facultyfocus.com

Maki, R.H. & Maki, W.S. (2007). Online Courses. In F.T. Durso
(Ed.), Handbook of applied cognition (2nd ed., pp. 527-552). New
York: Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Hadsell, Kent Faculty Perceptions of Online Engagement

  • 1. Faculty Perceptions of Online Student Engagement: California Community Colleges and The California State University STUDIES BY Jory Hadsell, Sacramento City College Tracy Kent, CSU Sacramento December 1, 2011 DET/CHE Conference
  • 2. Changing Times Question: Do we really understand how to actively engage our students in a changing world?
  • 3. Introduction • Student engagement is commonly viewed as a key element in predicting and ensuring the success of online learners. • It can be difficult to separate effective engagement strategies from ancillary course administration activities. • Researchers have taken multiple approaches to defining student engagement -- the universe of elements construed as contributing to engagement of online students can seem very broad. • Is student engagement in the "eye of the beholder" -- in this case, the faculty teaching online? If so -- how do faculty define and perceive engagement?
  • 4. Background • Purpose: o Exploring faculty attitudes and perceptions of student engagement in online courses  California Community Colleges (Hadsell)  California State University system (Kent) • Scope: o Mini-qualitative research projects o Comparative analysis:  Sacramento City College  CSU Sacramento • Focus: o Explore the faculty perspective of student engagement in the online learning environment.
  • 5. Online Engagement • The instructor may use his or her role to evoke student motivation and spur students to persist in online learning environments. (Christian & John, 2010) • Students who feel disconnected or physically isolated from their classmates are more likely to drop out of online programs. (Angelino, et. al, 2007) • Maki and Maki (2007) found that students were often required to do more in online courses than in traditional courses. They wrote that to be effective, online instructors need a strong methodology and opportunities for students to interact with each other and the instructor. • Synchronous tools can assist in humanizing the classroom with interaction between student-student and instructor (Kolsaka, 2001).
  • 6. Preliminary Research Approach • Preliminary Research o Qualitative interviews o Comparative analysis of interviews and artifacts • Data collection o Interviews with faculty who teach online (at least two years experience); Los Rios CCD and CSU Sacramento o Limited by a small sample size o Conducted a review and analysis of artifacts (Syllabi, assignments, related articles, etc.) o Identification of emergent themes in each study
  • 7. FIVE EMERGENT THEMES BASED ON PRELIMINARY RESEARCH
  • 8. Emergent Themes • Background / Mental Models o Who the faculty member is o Background  Training and certifications  Relating to experiences as an online student o Instructional Mental Models  Interest in student learning & progress  Interest and tendencies relating to technology experimentation • Structure and Content o Organizational strategy o Variety and clarity of assignments o Construction of syllabus o Multi-modal approach (videos, podcasts, textbook, etc.)
  • 9. Emergent Themes • Community/Interaction o Frequency and depth of interaction (faculty-student, student-student, whole class presence) o Fostering of creativity and expression o Encouraging participation o Overall availability of faculty member • Assessment o Grading features o Timeliness and frequency of feedback to students o Use of statistical reports or analytics
  • 10. Emergent Themes • The Online Learning Experience o Faculty awareness of their actions o Assumptions on the part of all parties o Clarity of expectations (both faculty and student) o Faculty assumptions/perceptions of student patterns of behavior o Challenges and barriers for students (e.g., deadlines, maintaining focus, motivation)
  • 11. Questions Raised • Questions raised by the preliminary research: o How do personal experiences, traits, and the attitude of the instructor impact the instructional approaches online? o Do the personal values of faculty differ from what is projected to students via course materials? o How can faculty best create clarity in the organization of an online course? (assignments, grading scheme, online classroom, etc.) How is this impacted by experience as an online student? o How can faculty be more active in seeking engagement with students, rather than passively expecting it to happen? o How do learning analytics inform/impact engagement?
  • 12. Contact Information Jory Hadsell Sacramento City College jory.hadsell@scc.losrios.edu @joryhadsell Tracy Kent CSU Sacramento kentt@saclink.csus.edu
  • 13. References Angelino, L., Williams, F., & Natvig, D. (2007). Strategies to engage online students and reduce attrition rates. The Journal of Educators Online, 4(2), 1-14. Christian, G., & John, G. (2010). Interaction in Online Courses: More is NOT Always Better. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 13(2). Kosalka,K. (2001, August 10). Using synchronous tools to build community in the asynchronous online classroom. Faculty Focus. Retrieved from www.facultyfocus.com Maki, R.H. & Maki, W.S. (2007). Online Courses. In F.T. Durso (Ed.), Handbook of applied cognition (2nd ed., pp. 527-552). New York: Wiley & Sons, Ltd.