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Scaling Up Quality: A Five-Year-Plan for QM Professional Development at a Large Public University
No full textAre you looking for ideas on how to expand quality assurance at your institution? How do you design a flexible, sustainable plan that meets institutional goals and faculty needs?
The Course Quality (CQ) Program began in 2017 with an ambitious goal: Improve the quality of online education at a large public university where professional development is not required for teaching online. Goal-setting and getting stakeholder buy-in were vital to developing our quality assurance plan. Feedback based on faculty needs and preferences helped grow professional development offerings and support resources. Five years later, we reflect on the successes and challenges of our program implementation. We will share a sample five-year quality assurance plan and collaborate with attendees on a shared document that will serve as a resource after the session.
Highlights of our five-year quality assurance plan:
Year 1: Launch a cohort-based, intensive semester-long professional development program designed specifically to help experienced faculty prepare courses for official QM review and certification.
Year 2: Certification of APPQMR facilitators and peer reviewer training to help to build a solid foundation for QM knowledge and course design support.
Year 3: Launch of a second semester-long professional development program focused on helping experienced online instructors meet QM essential standards in their course and initiate a process for internally reviewing courses.
Year 4: Creation of additional support pathways for instructors with limited experience teaching or designing online courses and pilot of cohort-based Teaching Online Certification.
Year 5: Development of short, asynchronous, just-in-time training modules focused on applying best practices based on the eight QM General Standards.
Cultivating a culture of quality assurance requires considerable engagement, feedback, and support from faculty. During the session, we will share faculty testimonials and review the overall impact the Course Quality Program has had to date. As we reflect on the components of our quality assurance plan, we will engage audience members in activities designed to identify needs and spark ideas for growing QM-based professional development at their institutions
Against All Odds? Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Asynchronous Online Courses : Lessons Learned from the Student Experience Project
No full textUNC Charlotte is one of six access- oriented universities engaged in the Student Experience Project, a three year research project that produced the PERTS ASCEND survey instrument. This survey is administered by faculty to their classes at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester and solicits information on the seven learning conditions that have been linked to student retention and success in higher education: belonging certainty, trust and fairness, identity safety, institutional growth mindset, self-efficacy, social belonging, and social connectedness. The purpose of the survey is to support all students, and in particular those in historically underrepresented populations.
Conventional wisdom holds that these students benefit the most from face to face classes. In addition, much has been written about the loss of social connectedness and social belonging in online classes and especially in asynchronous courses. However, as the data in this presentation shows, there is strong evidence that a well-constructed and conducted online, asynchronous instructional context in fact fosters the growth of all seven learning conditions for learners who identify as women, as having high financial stress, and as belonging to historically excluded racial and ethnic groups
The State of Childcare: Exploring Childcare Center Directors\u27 Perceptions on the Past, Present, and Future
No full textThe purpose of this exploratory study was to examine childcare directors’ perceptions of the state of childcare centers throughout southwest Ohio. Seventeen directors were surveyed regarding the changes they have witnessed over the past decade, and how they envision the future of childcare. The results indicated that the childcare field has experienced many challenging issues such as, teacher retention, a lack of professionalism, and an increase in children’s behavior problems. In addition, directors discussed the need for higher pay to attract (and keep) qualified teachers. With added requirements from Ohio’s quality rating improvement system, programs were feeling overwhelmed and stressed. The COVID-19 pandemic also put a significant financial strain on programs, however, some directors believed that the pandemic helped to recognize the importance of childcare. The article concludes with recommendations for the future, and strategies to address the concerns discussed by the directors
Childcare Director Perceptions of the Past Decade and What the Future Holds
No full textIn an effort to learn more about childcare directors’ perceptions, this study surveyed seventeen directors in southwest Ohio. The participants were asked about specific challenges they have experienced over the last decade, and how they envision the future of childcare. The results revealed that the topics most commonly discussed by directors were related to teacher shortages, retention of staff, and an increase in children’s behavior problems. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many of the issues mentioned by directors, especially with the addition of new state, federal, and licensing requirements. Many also feared the permanent closure of centers due to financial strains and a lack of resources at the state and federal level. The article concludes with implications for childcare directors to be able to move forward and continue providing high-quality care and education for children and families.  
Building Community and Leveraging Technology to Improve Student Outcomes: Teams + Tech = Flexibility + Community
No full textStudents working together in preassigned, semester-long teams results in a strong sense of community in the classroom, which in turn improves course outcomes. How the teams are formed and what type of activities use teamwork will greatly affect student success (positive, negative, or neutral). By balancing team activities that are graded individually vs. as a team, you show the students that everyone needs to pull their own weight, which is beneficial for both the stronger and weaker students.
This poster focuses on technology I typically use for activities graded as a team: Ziteboard and YouTube. Ziteboard, an online shared whiteboard, originally facilitated teamwork in real-time for synchronous courses. However, I’ve continued using it for face-to-face classes since it allows for flexibility (ie: sick or out-of-town students can still participate) as well as for personal contact from instructors for each team, regardless of class size or location of the students in the room since the instructor can see each team’s work in the app. I’ve used YouTube playlists for out-of-class team (video) presentations. This allows for both reduced anxiety for presentations as well as a course resource the students can reference
ZOOMERS & ROOMERS: A Case Study: Successfully Transitioning Faculty From Traditional to Hybrid Courses
No full textThe landscape of education has evolved significantly with the advent of technology, leading to the emergence of hybrid instruction as a prominent pedagogical approach. This abstract presents findings from a qualitative study conducted within the EdTech Unit of the Watson College of Education (WCE), which aimed to explore faculty experiences and perspectives on transitioning between fully online, in-person, and hybrid teaching formats. Four faculty members were interviewed to gather insights into their experiences during these transitions and the support provided, including instructional design assistance and technological resources such as laptops and hotspots.
The definition of hybrid instruction has evolved in diverse ways among instructors. The interpretations include a combination of in-person and asynchronous sessions, a semester beginning with in-person interactions and concluding asynchronously, simultaneous in-person and online engagement, and maintaining consistent expectations across both formats. The study underscores the importance of educators\u27 comfort with technology and their ability to adapt to its use effectively. Additionally, the research highlights the significance of addressing students\u27 social and emotional needs in the hybrid learning environment, emphasizing the importance of synchronous learning experiences and the role of technology in facilitating these interactions.
Interestingly, the findings reveal that faculty members continue to utilize their online course platforms even in face-to-face teaching scenarios, indicating the integration of digital tools as a pedagogical norm rather than an exception. The research advocates for the continued implementation of hybrid instruction, suggesting that classrooms should be intentionally designed to accommodate this blended mode of learning. The study emphasizes the indispensable role of a dedicated technology support team in ensuring the successful implementation of hybrid instruction, underscoring the necessity of ongoing technical assistance to both educators and students.
In conclusion, this study sheds light on the multifaceted nature of hybrid instruction and its integral place in modern education. By delving into faculty experiences and perspectives, the research underscores the significance of technology competence, social-emotional support, synchronous learning, continuous technological integration, and robust technical support teams. As education continues to evolve, embracing hybrid instruction and its associated implications will be pivotal in providing an enriched and adaptive learning experience for students
A Kick-start for First Year Faculty: The Faculty Forward Program
No full textTeaching and learning centers are poised to equip new faculty with tools needed to be successful during their first year of teaching (and beyond). Approaches to faculty development for new faculty members during the first year are varied and diverse across institutions. Some institutions extend their new faculty orientation with special seminars, workshops and mid-semester course analyses or plug new faculty into their existing services and events. Our interactive presentation will highlight the structure of Faculty Forward, a teaching and learning program series for new faculty during their first year at Western Carolina University. We will discuss the pilot program (2021-2022) and changes made to the current iteration (2022-2023), including the updated “anchors” of the program and our resource book selection. We will also discuss cultural and contextual considerations in the current academic climate and how we incorporated a faculty fellow into the program. Attendees will have an opportunity to connect and discuss their ideas for designing and implementing successful programs for first-year faculty at their own institutions. 
“Hush it up!”: Silence as a Pedagogical Resource in a Language Immersion Mathematics Classroom
No full textFrequently, the silence of students whose first language is not the language of instruction is interpreted as indicative of lack of knowledge or language proficiency. I propose an alternative interpretation, illustrating how both teacher and student silence can be a pedagogical resource that respects students’ sense-making, honors the multimodal nature of mathematical activity, and follows principles from research on second language learning. I draw on an example from a geometry task in a third-grade Spanish immersion classroom and invite readers to consider how teachers and students can use silence as a pedagogical resource in their bilingual contexts
Antiracist Care in a Linguistically Diverse Mathematics Classroom: A Case Study
No full textIn a case study of one high school mathematics teacher in a Midwestern public high school, we present findings on the ways in which she draws on her cultural wealth as a Middle Eastern woman to make her teaching both effective and caring across multiple racial-ethnic groups. While many of her students share her ethnic background, her classroom is linguistically and culturally diverse. Her effectiveness is explained not by role model effects alone, but by three specific features of her practice: reflection, responsivity, and a quality we have termed strategic caring