An analysis of instructional design and technology departments

In this paper we explore the academic productivity of universities in the field of Instructional Design and Technology according to three types of publically available data: (1) publication in 20 leading journals, (2) representation in the Handbook of Educational Communications Technology, and (3) reception of professional organization awards. We then identified five of these programs and analyzed the attributes of these departments to better understand the trends in how they are preparing the instructional technologists of tomorrow. While previous studies have compared leading instructional design and technology (IDT) programs by looking at publication in a single journal, we believe our approach provides a well-rounded perspective. In addition, we hope this study helps IDT departments learn from each other by discussing trends in department curricula.     

Factors explaining faculty technology use and productivity

This study examines factors related to technology use in teaching by university faculty. An EFA analysis of multiple questions of technology use in the classroom found two factors: one loaded with Web use and the second with email use. Therefore, three research questions were asked: What factors explain faculty use of the Web or email? Are these factors the same for both Web and email use? What is the relationship of technology use to faculty productivity? The sample included full-time faculty at doctoral and research institutions selected from the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty:1999 (NSOPF:99) dataset. Independent variables included measures of teaching, research, and service productivity, along with other contextual, demographic, and professional variables. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to prepare eight models (email and Web use for Doctoral I, Doctoral II, Research I, and Research II institutions). Results confirmed that age and Internet access were important factors related to faculty technology use. The relationship between email and Web use to teaching productivity in particular is intriguing and may indicate that productive faculty use technology to help them be more productive or that technology use impacts productivity. Research and service productivity also exhibited distinctive patterns with email and Web use.     

Differential instructional productivity indices

Teaching load formulas to provide for differential program productivity ratios are in wide use. However, the various sets of differential weights on student credit hours (SCH) in use tend to be the result of historical accident, negotiation, or limited cost studies. To bring a unity into these formulas, a new statistical methodology applied to three years of teaching load data from 21 major public universities has yielded an objective, broadly applicable set of SCH weight factors. Those weights give promise of providing comparison of instructional productivity via unobtrusive measures. A table of optimum weighting factors for upper division and graduate SCH (relative to lower division) is presented by NCES Code discipline division. The weights derived from analysis are then compared with those developed by more traditional means.     

Correlates of faculty publication productivity: A cross-national analysis

This study is a cross-national empirical analysis ofthe correlates of faculty publication productivity ina ten-country sample. The countries included in thestudy are as follows: Australia, Brazil, Chile, HongKong, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the UnitedKingdom, and the United States. Publicationproductivity was measured as number of articlespublished over a three-year period. By reviewing thefindings of related literature on the professoriate inthe developed world, the study seeks to determine theextent to which these hold for less developed academicsystems as well, and more broadly, to identifysimilarities and differences in the patterns ofpublication productivity across the examined nations.The statistical analyses conducted for each countryreveal differences that clearly challenge theunqualified application of established researchproductivity models to other national contexts.     

An analysis of the integration of instructional technology in pre-service teacher education in Zimbabwe

In the context of continuous innovations in information and communication technology (ICT) and its impact on higher education, this study explored the integration of instructional technology (IT) by university lecturers in pre-service secondary school teacher education programs in Zimbabwe. Specifically, the study examined how lecturers integrate IT into their instruction, and the constraints they face. Twenty-one lecturers in the colleges of education at three universities participated. The data collection methods used are questionnaires, interviews and analysis of documents. Analysis of data was inductive, employing Miles and Huberman’s interactive data analysis model. Findings show that lecturers’ computer proficiency and competencies were at the basic level in Internet usage, with little confidence shown in basic productivity software skills and in IT integration tasks and processes. The lecturers’ integration of IT was at the Entry and Adoption stages. Institutional support was characterized by poor availability and access to appropriate technological tools by both lecturers and students, and in the context of a hyper-inflationary operating environment, constraints ranged from lack of institutional funding, to the absence of an IT integration policy framework, and the lack of appropriate initial and continuous staff development. This study is part of the nucleus of instructional technology research in the Zimbabwean context. It is hoped that insights gleaned will influence policy, practice and future research. From a global perspective, this study will add to the limited knowledge and literature on instructional technology integration in “developing” and/or low-income countries like Zimbabwe.     

Research productivity and scholarly accomplishment of college teachers as related to their instructional effectiveness: A review and exploration

This analysis reviews the research that has been done on the connection between research productivity or scholarly accomplishment of faculty members and their teaching effectiveness (as assessed by their students). On average, there is a very small positive association between the two variables. To understand this relationship better, extant research was explored for factors that might mediate either positive or inverse associations between research productivity and teaching effectiveness and those that possibly could be common causes of them. Pedagogical practices and dispositions of faculty members, as well as certain course or class characteristics (size of class, electivity of course), were examined as potential mediating factors. Potential common causes investigated were academic rank and age of faculty members, their general ability, their personality characteristics, and the amount of time or effort they spend on research activities. The association between research productivity and teaching effectiveness was explored further by considering whether its size and direction varies by career stage of faculty members, their academic discipline, and the type of college or university in which they teach.     

Indicators of exemplary programs in instructional design and technology: faculty and student perspectives

This exploratory study investigated what faculty and current students in Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) programs perceive as indicators of an exemplary program. We surveyed a sample of the faculty and students and asked them to identify the most important indicators of an exemplary program and rank their own programs according to those indicators. We contacted programs from 11 different countries, though the majority of contacted programs were from the United States of America. We coded and analyzed the respondents’ 941 indicator statements and created 35 thematic indicators. The frequency and percentage of occurrence of these themes across the programs for both faculty and students were analyzed. Their mean rating of their programs for each theme was also calculated. The paper presents the results of this analysis and examines the differences across students/faculty and program types. The findings of this survey, albeit limited due to the low response rate, could benefit IDT programs in terms of performance improvement and assist students by offering criteria by which they can select a graduate program.     

Faculty socialization and instructional productivity

Difficult financial times appear to lie ahead for higher education, and efforts to increase instructional productivity may be required. What kinds of efforts will faculty members support or at least condone? The answer would appear to lie in awareness of the process of faculty socialization. It is argued that through the collegiate experience, the future college professor is socialized to a conventional teaching role, which is grounded firmly in a traditional instructional model, and that efforts to increase instructional productivity must be cognizant of and consistent with this role and model. Empirical data from faculty in eight Pennsylvania colleges supported the hypothesis—with one important refinement: adjustments must be made for the implications of enlightened faculty self-interest.     

Workplace correlates and scholarly performance of clinical pharmacy faculty

The workplace, especially the academic department or division, provides an intriguing research site for study of correlates of scholarly performance. The objective of this study was to estimate a correlate model of three-year scholarly performance of clinical faculty in colleges of pharmacy. Two-hundred and ninety-six clinical faculty in pharmacy responded to an author-developed questionnaire. The scholarly performance items factored into three dimensions: “Refereed Research,”, “Grants/Books Research,” and “Nonresearch Scholarship.” A fourth single-item variable, “Contracts,” was also used as a dependent dimension. Eight correlates, including two related to the departmental workplace, emerged as factors significantly explaining the variation in scholarly performance. The two most significant were “Off-Campus Conversations” and “Department: Percent Time in Research.” These results as well as others were contrasted with prior correlate studies and suggestions were made for future additional study.     

An analysis of a decade of research in 10 instructional design and technology journals

In this paper, we review findings from an analysis of the past decade (2001–10) of research in 10 major journals in the field of instructional design and technology. Each research paper published in these journals during this decade was categorized according to its focus or methodology, topical keywords, authorship and citation trends; and the findings were aggregated across all of the journals to show trends over the last decade. We found there is a strong emphasis on technology‐related issues, distance education, communication strategies and instructional methods over cognitive‐related topics and learning issues. There is a strong history of theoretical inquiry and a fairly even balance of qualitative and quantitative research being published, with other research methods emerging. However, there are distinct differences in methodological stances among the journals. We also found some evidence that the Institute for Scientific Information Impact Factor may not be the best indicator of impact quality for journals in our field.     

Romanian scholarly productivity: recent history and recommendations

Romanian scholars, and others, have decried the quality and quantity of scholarly productivity from Romania. However, Romanian scholars face challenges of both tradition and resources as they try to westernize their higher education system. We analyzed data from two sources to compare Romanian scholarly productivity to that of other countries from Central and Eastern Europe that have similar histories, as well as to worldwide publication rates. We found that Romanian scholarly productivity is weak compared to other countries in psychology, sociology, environmental sciences, linguistics, geology and medicine. However, Romanian scholarly productivity has been comparable to other countries in agriculture and computer sciences. We also found that Romanian scholarly productivity has shown gains in engineering and economics compared to other countries over a 20-year period. We conclude this paper with research-based recommendations for improving scholarly productivity.     

The importance of faculty attitudes in the planning for instructional development

Instructional development has been a recent innovation in higher education, responding to the needs of the new American model of universal higher education. Misconceptions and misapplications of instructional development have been frequent, especially its confusion with media service. A fundamental obstacle to success in any instructional improvement program is hypothesized to be lack of concern with faculty attitudes in the planning of methods to serve them. This study discusses the background of the problem and reports on a survey designed to investigate faculty attitudes toward instructional development on one campus. Tentative conclusions are drawn in order to guide further study. The data presented appear to indicate that there is a need to rethink the basic model of instructional development as currently used when applying it to the unique circumstances of higher education.     

New research paradigms in instructional technology: An inquiry

In this paper, we review the current state of research paradigms in the field of instructional technology from the perspective of research standards and paradigms recommended by Leslie J. Briggs in the early 1980s. Our analysis of articles published in Educational Technology Research and Development from 1992 to 1996 revealed that relatively few research paradigms were used and that studies did not, for the most part, adhere to Briggs's (1984) Culture Four standards. Perhaps the most startling result was that more than half the articles published were not empirical studies at all. We discuss some reasons for these findings and suggest that instructional technology (IT) researchers make a renewed commitment to Briggs's standards. IT researchers can again advance knowledge in the field in significant ways by collaborating with partners in the field and focusing on questions related to instructional design processes, questions that require the use of more developmental research methods. She is President Elect of AECT and will assume the presidency in February 2000.     

Perceptions of art and design faculty on the instructional value of iPads

The widespread use of iPads in higher education brings to the forefront questions about the contribution of these computer tablets towards teaching and learning. However, there is a noticeable gap in research on the educational potential of iPads in higher education. This article describes the second stage of a research project on the use of iPads in undergraduate art and design disciplines, and in particular the views and experiences of faculty in two different art and design schools over a period of one semester. The first stage of the project investigated the perceptions of art and design students about the educational value of iPads. For the second stage, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model was used to gauge adoption of the iPad for teaching and learning, and the participants provided qualitative data that was used for this phenomenographic study. The outcomes of this investigation provide an overview of challenges and obstacles from the perspective of art and design faculty in embedding the use of iPads in teaching and learning.     

Philosophical and methodological beliefs of instructional design faculty and professionals

The purpose of this research was to probe the philosophical beliefs of instructional designers using sound philosophical constructs and quantitative data collection and analysis. We investigated the philosophical and methodological beliefs of instructional designers, including 152 instructional design faculty members and 118 non-faculty professionals. We used the Philosophy of Social Science Inventory, a 52-item questionnaire, to measure 20 beliefs within four categories. We probed four ontological beliefs (ontological realism, ontological relativism, physicalism, and idealism); five epistemological beliefs (epistemological relativism, fallibilism, epistemological objectivity, rationalism, and empiricism); three axiological beliefs (ethical realism, ethical relativism, and valueneutrality in research); and eight methodological beliefs (nomothetic, idiographic and critical methods, scientific naturalism, humanism, and quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods). Our research questions included (a) What are the predominant philosophical and methodological beliefs of instructional designers? (b) Do instructional design faculty and non-faculty instructional designers, identifying with different research methodologies, hold different sets of philosophical beliefs? and (c) What relationships exist between philosophical beliefs and age, gender, ethnicity, level of education, and/or years of service? Overall, the philosophical profile of instructional designers can reasonably be described as pragmatic. Belief characterizations of methodological subgroups (e.g., those identifying with qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research) generally supported our hypotheses. Although demographic variables (except gender) were not singularly important, our analyses suggest that a combination of ethnicity, gender, research preference, and level of education can be used to predict philosophical and methodological beliefs.