Seven strategies for enabling faculty success in distance education

Many challenges associated with distance education and technology integration initiatives focus on faculty issues and concerns. This article analyzes these difficulties by identifying from the literature current trends affecting faculty, faculty motivators, and faculty challenges. Then, following this review and analysis, the article presents seven strategies for university administrators and faculty to consider as part of their own strategic plan to mitigate faculty concerns and ensure program success. The seven strategies discussed include the following: (1) enable colleges and departments to accept more responsibility for distance education activities; (2) provide faculty more information about distance education programs and activities; (3) encourage faculty to incorporate technology into their traditional classrooms; (4) provide strong incentives for faculty to participate in distance education; (5) improve training and instructional support for distance education faculty; (6) build a stronger distance education faculty community; and (7) encourage more distance education scholarship and research.     

Attitudes of higher education faculty toward distance education: A national survey

Abstract

Although distance education is growing in importance in the United States, little research has focused on the attitudes of American college and university teachers toward college‐level distance education and toward the use of specific media in distance education provision. The attitudes of both participating and nonparticipating faculty toward distance education need further examination, since teaching innovations cannot succeed without their support. This study examines the receptivity to college‐credit distance education of faculty members in two‐ and four‐year higher education institutions. The research questions focused on general receptivity to distance education, the relationship between professional characteristics and attitude toward distance education, the connection between previous distance education experiences/ familiarity and receptivity, and on attitudes toward different distance education media and methods.     

Instructional support for distance education and faculty motivation, commitment, satisfaction

The purpose of this study is to examine the faculty perceptions of instructional support in relation to faculty members' motivation, commitment, and satisfaction associated with distance teaching. Findings indicated that faculty motivation and commitment toward distance teaching were strong in general. However, faculty motivation and commitment were higher in the institutions with well-provided instructional support.     

Examining faculty questions to facilitate instructional improvement in higher education

Many of the innovations that show promise for improving outcomes for underprepared community college students require instructors to make changes to their teaching practice. Little research explores the experiences of faculty teaching in reformed courses as related to their professional learning needs. Drawing on a multi-year qualitative study, this paper uses data from 100 faculty interviews to explore the questions they ask when teaching a new course. A key outcome of the analysis is a typology of questions that mirrors the stage of implementation. Through analysis of 20 observations of implementation activities, this paper also documents the learning opportunities made available to instructors and examines the extent to which these activities addressed their questions.     

远程教育教师行为浅析

教师行为是教师素质的外在表现,是教师专业发展水平的重要标志。关注远程教育教师的行为的内涵和表现,对于促进远程教育教师的专业发展,提高远程教育的质量具有一定的现实意义。     

A Delphi study on collaborative learning in distance education: The faculty perspective

This paper focuses on the factors that influence collaborative learning in distance education. Distance education has been around for many years and the use of collaborative learning techniques in distance education is becoming increasingly popular. Several studies have demonstrated the superiority of collaborative learning over traditional modes of learning and it has been identified as a potential solution to some of the weaknesses of traditional distance education courses. There are a rapidly growing number of technologies in use today and educators and practitioners face an increasingly difficult challenge to successfully implement collaborative learning in distance education; precipitated not only from technical advances but also from wider social and organisational concerns. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the factors that influence collaborative learning in distance education, by eliciting the opinions of an expert panel using a Delphi survey. The aim was to produce an integrated list of the most important implementation factors and to investigate the role that technology is perceived to contribute. The findings identified 17 of the most important factors; these factors cover a range of themes including course rationale and design, instructor characteristics, training, group dynamics, the development of a learning community and technology. The potential of technology, however, does not seem to be fully realised and newer technologies such as multi‐user environments would seem to be of limited use in practice according to the expert panel.     

电大远程教育虚拟团队师资整合模式探索

在借鉴电大远程教育师资整合其他模式基础上,依据虚拟团队的3个主要特征和电大远程教育教学的特点,构建了电大远程教育虚拟团队师资整合模式,并详述了该模式的运行机制,从宏观和微观两个角度分别论述了虚拟团队师资整合的关键因素。认为,虚拟团队师资整合,不能依靠行政手段等外力实现,不能牺牲任何个体利益,而要依靠一种内在的吸引力维系,建立一种制度信任,实行任务目标考核进行激励和控制。     

Media and adult learning: A forum: The role of the faculty member in distance education

Abstract

This article argues for understanding distance education as a community of practice that must acknowledge and accommodate diversity in the context of increasing economic globalization. It asserts that any community of practice is embedded in a larger social context that influences values and practice. It also examines the historic and contemporary social, economic, and political forces that inform and influence distance education practice. This is followed by reflections on the implications for distance education practice and its current capacity to be sensitive to diversity and to meet the needs of culturally diverse learners.     

Attitudes of business college faculty and administrators toward distance education: a national survey

Educators’ attitudes towards distance education are known to be influenced by many factors. This study incorporated survey data that measured business educators’ attitudes toward distance education at both the baccalaureate and masters levels of instruction. Two simultaneous equations models were developed that described the relationship between the respondents’ attitudes and other factors relevant to their receptivity and support of distance education. Key influential factors were found to be the experience of the respondent and their perception of difficulties with and appropriateness of distance education. Key differences between the models were based on the teaching role and age of the respondent.     

浅论高校教育管理工作者绩效提升路径

随着社会的呼吁和国家的改革政策,高校管理被更加重视,管理工作者的绩效也更被关注,高校教育管理和管理工作者的各种问题显得更加突出和迫待解决。因为,解决这些问题才能最直接的提升高校教育管理工作者的工作绩效,而想要解决问题就必须先了解问题出现的原因。因此,本文将针对高校教育管理工作者,对其的绩效提升路径进行深入的分析和探究。     

When performance is the product: Problems in the analysis of online distance education

This article examines two ideologies that have been prominent in recent, if not current, education thinking. The first is that means can be separated from ends (or processes from products); the second is that learning is merely a process of knowledge acquisition. Attention to these ideologies arises from two projects in the overlapping fields of information and communications technology (ICT) and instructional design. Both projects attend to conversation as an educational resource. They are animated by the questions: should a conversation be regarded as an activity in context or can it be decoupled from the circumstances that define it as a conversation? In other words, does a conversation take place within an environment, or by means of the environment? Relating these questions to the changing view of ICT held within the European Community, the article uses a bricolage of ideas from economic history, communication theory and discourse analysis to summarise how such inherited ideologies might be realigned in the analysis of online conversation.     

Clienteles for distance education in Australia

We present data from an array of sources on the characteristics of external (distance education) students in Australian higher education in comparison with internal full‐time and part‐time students. Profiles of the three populations are drawn up in terms of age, gender, marital status, home location, social background, education and employment history, field of study, and level of course. Also examined are students’ reasons for studying externally, the relationship between employment and study and various effects of education on employment, attitudes and life‐style.     

澳大利亚职业教育的师资队伍建设

师资是制约职业教育发展的重要因素。高质量、多渠道培养职业教育师资，运用竞争激励机制来管理职业教育师资，采取灵活多样的形式来培训职业教育师资，是澳大利亚职业教育师资队伍建设的显特点。     

高等学校教师绩效评价指标研究

建立一个适合高校办学目标的教师绩效评价体系,评价指标的设计是其关键。目前高校教师绩效评价指标中普遍存在的主要问题是,无法将短期目标与长期目标平衡,评价的导向结果与预定目标的初衷存在差距。基于教师绩效的特性和发展性评价的理论基础,本文从教学、科研、服务、师德四个方面出发,设计了一套综合的高校教师绩效评价指标体系,以供高校人事部门参考。     

Support for distance learners in a Nigerian distance education programme

This paper reports on a research study that draws on the perceptions of students, tutors, field centre coordinators and central management to evaluate the support services provided to students in the National Teachers’ Institute’s distance teacher training programme. Within a conceptual framework that built upon models of teaching and learning at_A_distance, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used for data collection and analysis. Although the major forms of support provided were found to be relevant to students, the study highlights the need to improve the current level of student satisfaction by strategies that will improve the supply of course materials and tutorial support, enhance students networking and exploit the use of multimedia.