Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 109

Internet Learning
Gregory and Salmon (2013) contend
that too often faculty training programs are
limited because they focus on knowledge
and skills of online teaching rather than
beliefs and practices. To address this
shortcoming, Gregory and Salmon take an
intervention approach whereby a mentormentee
relationship is established during
training and continued after the training.
Their results produce four principles of
training for online instruction. They include:
(a) adapt training as needed, (b) make sure
training takes context into consideration,
(c) spread the word about training, and (d)
take steps to ensure on-the-job training.
Likewise, Roth (2014) contends
that learning communities are integral to
instructor development at the university
level. Among his points on effective
faculty training for online teaching, Roth
advances that: (a) collaboration is integral
to effective teaching development, (b)
learning communities work best when
their purpose are clearly articulated, (c)
professional development of teachers is now
needed more than ever because of increased
technology in higher education, and (d)
theory and practice are cornerstones of
effective development programs.
In sum, although some research
has been done on faculty training for
online instruction, more is needed. With
the discourse initiated here and offered by
others contributing to this line of inquiry
(e.g., Wildavsky, Kelly, & Carey, 2011),
this research extends faculty development
inquiry for online instruction. In particular,
this study examines a newly-developed
faculty training program designed for
instructors with advanced online teaching
experience (i.e., faculty who already teach
online but who are willing to adopt new
technologies and adapt new frameworks to
better serve students).
Method
This research employs action
research as its method to assess
the development of a professional
training program for faculty members with
existing online teaching experience, but
who desire further technology training.
Lewin (1946) describes action research as
“a comparative research on the conditions
and effects of various forms of social action
and research leading to social action”
(p. 202-203). Within this approach to
research is a cycle of planning, actions,
and subsequent research to determine the
effects of the “social action.” Accordingly,
this research (a) identifies a problem, (b)
plans and implements a solution, and (c)
determines the effectiveness of the solution.
In particular, the action research described
here adheres to developmental action
inquiry (Torbert, 2004) in which knowledge
is gained “through action and for action”
(Torbert, 2002, www.williamrtorbert.com/).
At Kennesaw State University
(KSU), the College of Humanities and Social
Sciences (CHSS) offers more online courses
than any other college in the university. The
CHSS Office of Distance Education (ODE)
is made up of an instructional designer,
nine departmental online coordinators (one
from each department), a mobile online
coordinator, two assistant directors, and a
director. CHSS ODE supports the faculty
by, among other things, running the “Build
a Web Course Workshop.” The workshop
is a semester-long faculty development
workshop delivered in a hybrid format and
covering online pedagogy, course design, the
Quality Matters (QM) rubric, online course
delivery, and instructional technology. A
faculty member successfully completes the
workshop when he or she has an online or
hybrid course that meets QM standards.
Faculty members who successfully complete
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