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The Hidden Value of Virtual Teams (Part II) - DE Oracle
No full textDE Oracle @ UMUC
An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty
Center for Support of Instruction
The Hidden Value of Virtual Teams (Part II)
Lucia Worthington
Collegiate Faculty
School of Undergraduate Studies
Published: July-August 2006
Category: » Online-pedagogy » Group-team-projects
Part I |Part
II
In Part I of this two part series Professor Worthington discussed the importance of team work and why
students need to understand the value of learning to manage themselves as well as the team process
in getting commitment from team members and overcoming resistance. In Part II Professor
Worthington presents useful tools and support materials to aid the team process as well as describes
how teams learn from evaluating their team process.
Support Materials for Virtual Teams
Teams need to manage a project and should be reminded of the project management process, which is
to:
Define objectives
Identify activities and resources
Establish sequences of events
Estimate time and activities
Determine project completion date
Compare objectives
Determine additional resource requirements
It is helpful to give assignments that are structured and broken down into specific components such as:
an introduction, sections a, b, c, d, etc and a summary so that students can break the project into
tasks, roles. This allows the group to easily divide the project tasks among all the members.
A Gantt Chart
A simplified Gantt Chart can serve a team well. By outlining due dates and project tasks each member
is made aware of their responsibilities to the project. This adds accountability to the process and also
provides a comprehensive overview of the project.
Example of a Gantt Chart for a hypothetical team and their project
June 1 to 7 June 8 to 14
Stage 1
June 15 to
18
Stage 2
June 19 to
20
Stage 3
June 21
Stage 4
June 24
Stage 5 -
Finish
Entire Team
Introductions:
Start up of
work
Results
should be
posted
Finalization
of tasks
First draft –
everyone
reads and
Finished
document -
everyone
The Hidden Value of Virtual Teams (Part II) - DE Oracle
members
post their
strengths and
weaknesses
as they
pertain to the
project and
choose their
preferred
tasks.
comments signs off.
The
document
is
submitted
Initiator &
Researcher
Task A -
Introduction
and Task B -
Soliciting
Comments
Outline the
Introduction,
post for all
team members.
Solicit
comments
Add
research in
progress
Add
research in
progress,
combine
and submit
Read first
draft and
make
comments
Read final
document
and sign
off
Researcher
Task C -
Research
Start research
and post your
findings
Continue
research
and solicit
responses
from team
Add
research in
progress,
combine
and submit
Read first
draft and
make
comments
Read final
document
and sign
off
Researcher
Task D -
Research
Start research
and post your
findings
Continue
research
and solicit
responses
from team
Add
research in
progress,
combine
and submit
Read first
draft and
make
comments
Read final
document
and sign
off
Coordinator
Task E -
Coordination
of tasks and
editing
Monitor tasks
and encourage
the team
Monitor
tasks and
encourage
the team
Monitor
tasks and
encourage
the team
Announce
to team
that first
draft is
posted
after you
have edited
the first
draft to
correct
grammar
and
spelling
Ask
members
to read
and sign
off on the
final draft.
Prepare
the group
activity
report that
evaluates
each team
member
and send
to the
instructor.
The Hidden Value of Virtual Teams (Part II) - DE Oracle
Senior
member or
project
leader
First draft
and final
document
copy and
paste
member
contributions
and adjust
with
appropriate
transitions.
Add the
summary and
distribute
final
document to
the team
Review first
research
postings
Consider the
appropriateness
of the
introduction
Review
research
posting
Prepare the
first draft
of the
document
and submit
to the
Coordinator
Revise the
first draft
according
to member
suggestions
and
prepare the
final draft
Post the
final draft
to the
appropriate
Conference
in the
Classroom
Progress
report option
Coordinator
sends a
progress report
to faculty
member and
reports inactive
members
Coordinator
sends a
progress
report to
faculty
member
and reports
inactive
members
Coordinator
sends a
progress
report to
faculty
member
and reports
inactive
members
Coordinator
sends a
progress
report to
faculty
member
and
reports.
Advises
that the
group
project has
been
posted
Group
activity
report is
sent to the
instructor
A Gantt Chart template can be posted in the Course Content area of the classroom. I also post a group
activity report template so that teams know how they will be evaluated. Below is a sample of the group
activity report.
Group Activity Report
State the group number and industry category
State the activity and the date
List each member in alphabetical order with surname first
Briefly – in once sentence establish the member's contribution and the value. Example: member X
participated fully (100%) by providing ideas and coordinating the information from the group. Or,
member Y participated partially (80%) by contributing ideas but was unable to proofread and approve
final project.
The Hidden Value of Virtual Teams (Part II) - DE Oracle
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In my class the person responsible for the group activity for a particular week submits the groups work
to the discussion area but also submits the group's activity report to me privately by email. When the
student sends a group activity report to me, I ask to use the email subject line stating the name of the
group and activity. For example: Subject line: BMGT …. Group 1 week 3 report.
Managing Dysfunctional Teams
I make it a rule to visit each team area periodically and post a message in their team space to cheer
them on and encourage team spirit. This also serves as a deterrent for students to ignore their team
and their project responsibilities because they know I am monitoring participation. Unfortunately, some
students may disappear from the group or become a passive drag on the team. When this happens, it
is time to take action. A reminder is sent to the whole class that the team process needs to be
managed to keep momentum and that free riders will not be tolerated. Inactive members will be
removed and will lose the opportunity for the group credit which generally results in a loss of one or
two grade points for the course because of the group point loss.
This reminder message to the class usually serves as a catalyst to rouse inactive members to
participate. If a member of a group continues not to participate then I get in touch with the offending
student to let them know that they will be removed from the group. In the majority of cases, inactive
members are already in the process of withdrawing from the class because of other contingencies.
Assessment of Process and Results
I set up one final group conference titled "lessons learned". This allows students to reflect on the
process and consider what they have learned and what they can improve in future team projects.
These conferences give me valuable information in planning future group activities, while giving the
students a chance to make constructive suggestions and become actively engaged in recommending
group process strategies. Students frequently show a more assertive style when assessing the process
and tend to speak with conviction on what they have learned about managing time, tasks and
responsibilities as a team. Overall, these assessment conferences reveal that students often become
convinced that team processes can be managed effectively and with enthusiasm.
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Online Participation as an Instrument of Learning and Assessment - DE Oracle
No full textDE Oracle @ UMUC
An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty
Center for Support of Instruction
Online Participation as an Instrument of Learning and Assessment
Stella Porto
Program Director
Graduate School of Management and Technology
Published: September-October 2006
Category: » Online-pedagogy » Classroom-communication
Introduction
Asynchronous computer conferencing has enabled a more interactive form of distance education,
retaining the initial flexibility of time and space (Bullen, 1998). Engagement in an online course
depends on the use of a system that promotes continuous student interaction (Edelstein & Edwards,
2005). Such interaction is commonly and effectively implemented through the use of 'threaded
discussions' The instructor will be the one to design and manage such discussions "to direct students in
achieving the intended learning outcomes" (Edelstein & Edwards, 2005, p.1). Requiring students'
participation in the online discussion through regular contributions is a way to determine if students are
keeping pace with the ongoing learning activities, their commitment with the learning community and
their necessary involvement with course content. This article discusses the goals and learning
objectives of online discussions, the instructor's role in such interactions and provides insights,
guidelines and examples of how to assess students' performance in online conferencing.
The goals of threaded discussions and instructor's role
Before discussing how we should assess our students' participation in the online classroom, we should
have in mind that during those 10 or 15 weeks of class, we need to create an "effective online
educational community" (Anderson, 2004, p.273). Such 'community of learning model' is built upon
three essential kinds of 'presence': cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence. The
cognitive presence refers to the "study of a particular content" (p.274); the social presence refers to
the existence of an environment where student feel confident enough to express themselves freely and
openly; and finally, the teaching presence represents the formal education or instruction.
The discussions that take place in the online environment should allow for social presence, but should
aim at the opportunities for teaching presence. This is the dimension, which addresses the effective
learning that results from interaction among students and between students and instructor throughout
the course. Anderson et al. (2004) list three roles that an instructor needs to perform in order to
achieve effective teaching presence, namely: the "design and organization of the learning experience"
(p. 274); encouraging "discourse between and among students" (p.274); and going beyond the
e-moderation to sharing expertise through direct instruction. Lecture notes, personal reflections and
insights, full descriptions of one's experience, can all be characterized as part of the teaching presence
category of interaction between instructor and students. These serve to stimulate and motivate
students. In many cases, especially at the university level, students will take turns in assuming a role
of teaching presence as well, sharing their professional and personal experiences. The myth of the
'guide on the side' might not serve well to make the point to instructors that the teaching presence is
the kind of interaction that students are most eager to hold with instructors. The 'guide' symbol was
brought into play as a reaction to the 'sage on the stage', which has served as the negative paradigm
associated to traditional face-to-face teaching practices. These are two extremes of the same
spectrum, none of them in fact reflecting best teaching practices, be it online or in class. Nonetheless,
Online Participation as an Instrument of Learning and Assessment - DE Oracle
'the sage on the stage' tends to better fit the traditional prototype, while the 'guide on the side' evokes
the image of 'a companion through the journey of learning&', which has been used frequently in the
more superficial recent literature in distance education. We need to have in mind that the end result
should be the same, students' learning. It is true, however, that online education does require more
autonomy from the student. The instructor should be an instrument towards this autonomy, not losing
sight of the teaching presence opportunities that a classroom based scenario provides, even if the
classroom is a virtual environment.
Formative and summative participation assessment
Besides the roles mentioned above, in a formal education environment, there is the role of evaluation
and assessment, which substantiates the institution with its own role of certifying students' learning. In
essence, with the use of online education, assessment has not changed its conceptual framework of
verifying if learning objectives are met and determining students' performance in achieving those
objectives. As part of the overall assessment, in the online environment, we confront ourselves with
assessing students in their participation in the online community of learning, through their own
'presence' in the threaded discussions. Thus, there is an intrinsic connection between our assessments
of students' participation, how we organize the threaded discussions and our own participation model,
which we define as we interact with students online. The main issue that needs to be considered when
designing threaded discussions is to determine how threaded discussions will contribute to the
completion of other assignments and students' overall learning.
Any assessment should be an integral part of the learning process. Assessment should be an evaluation
of students' performance through their "demonstration of the ability to apply knowledge in real-life
settings" (Edelstein & Edwards, 2005, p.2). The goals need to be clearly communicated to the learner,
so s/he understands how s/he will be evaluated. These principles should serve the instructor when
creating the structure for the threaded discussion. One important guideline during this process is to
assess how much time students will need to participate effectively. By the same token, the demand on
the instructor's time for participating and assessing students' participation authentically should be
considered. Thus, it is important to consider how important the threaded discussions are in the learning
process, so workload is balanced and time is used efficiently.
Requiring student participation is a question that does not have a solid single answer, although more
frequently than not, participation plays some part in students' final grade in every course. A possible
rule of thumb is to consider participation between 15% and 20% of the grade (ATC, (http://www.wpi.edu
/Academics/ATC/Collaboratory/Idea/gradingdiscussions.html) nd.). However, this does not constitute a
research-based guideline, and thus should not be taken too strictly. Depending on the course, these
values might be justifiably higher, and thus participation even more carefully graded. The context of
the course, and the activities proposed as part of the online discussions can change the assessment
dramatically. Another often found rule is that instructors should participate in the discussions at the
same level or above the one requested from students. Instructors should be defining the benchmark of
participation with their own behavior. The lack of instructor presence (Winter, 2002) in the discussions
is very often negatively mentioned in students' evaluations as a trait that shows lack of involvement
and concern with students' learning. Instructor's presence, as we have discussed before, should be a
mix of social and teaching presence.
There is certainly no one single assessment method. But, in all cases, having a clear set of criteria and
expectations, sharing these with students and using them consistently during the assessment
procedure are basic requirements in the process. The use of rubrics can be a significant tool to achieve
these goals. It helps in defining and describing what is being assessed, it supports clarifying
expectations when communicating with students and streamlines the grading process, reducing the
workload associated to this task for instructors. Rubrics are a scoring tool that helps assess the
performance of executing a certain task or completing an assignment. In this tool, performance levels
Online Participation as an Instrument of Learning and Assessment - DE Oracle
are associated to scores, streamlining the process of grading the execution of this particular task
(Porto, 2005). Rubrics also serve as effective feedback to students about their performance. Rubrics
used for online participation vary. One important differentiator is if the rubric will be used in summative
form, after the course has ended, or it will be done in a formative way, throughout the semester, and
with intermediate results reported back to the student. Other differences relate to the quantitative and
qualitative sets of criteria, as well as the level of student involvement in the assessment process. The
next section lists several examples of such rubrics. You will certainly find some good ideas to build your
own.
Grading participation: criteria and rubrics
Assessment criteria for online participation follow mainly one of two major categories, namely
quantitative and qualitative. Under the quantitative dimension, rubrics include elements such as
minimum number of contributions (including self originating posts and responses to others) per
learning module, frequency of postings during a certain timeframe, the size of posts, and timeliness of
postings. As part of the qualitative criteria, rubrics will include aspects related to writing quality,
research reference, quality of expression, relevancy of the content and how much the post supports the
learning community, the dialogue and the collaboration among students (Edelstein & Edwards, 2005).
An interesting technique is one that where students are directly involved in the process of assessing
their own participation and analyzing their contributions to the conference area. (Murphy & Jerome,
2005)
The best way to develop a more personalized rubric is to use examples and then customize them
according to your own learning objectives. Below you will find a list of annotated rubrics from distinct
sources. These will certainly provide enough input to help you build your own. Rubrics are also a
dynamic tool in the sense that they change with our own experience and use of the tool. So, be ready
to update your rubric every term. Here are the examples:
Example of use of general criteria not in rubric format (http://www.stedwards.edu/ursery/discuss.htm) .
In this rubric, the author instead of providing a standard table provides a holistic rubric in which levels
of overall participation performance are provided. Each level is carefully described in paragraph mode,
and is applied several times during the course, instead of a one time grade at the end of the term.
1.
Example of students' self-assessment of participation (http://www.usq.edu.au/electpub/e-jist
/docs/vol8_no1/commentary/stu_contrib_ansynch.htm) (Murphy & Jerome, 2005). Students receive clear criteria,
and are provided with instruction in the beginning of the course about how they will be graded. They
are also informed that after the course is complete they will have to work on an analysis of their
contributions according to the described criteria. The analysis provided by students includes both
qualitative discussion as well as quantitative considerations about their work. This assignment, in itself,
should also be graded as an integrated part of participation or separately. (Other versions of this kind
of approach involve students writing pieces of work about their learning in which they cite exclusively
their own contributions to the discussion area.) This kind of approach may alleviate the workload of
grading participation, but will need clarity with instructions and purposefulness in the activity in order
to engage students.
2.
Assessing effectiveness of student participation in online discussions (http://www.westga.edu
/~distance/ojdla/spring51/edelstein51.html) (Edelstein & Edwards, 2005). This example includes general
assessment guidelines, some of them mentioned previously. Also includes an example of this type of
rubric with criteria based on: (i) Promptness and initiative; (ii) Delivery of post; (iii) Relevance of post;
(iv) Expression within the post and (v) Contribution to the learning community. You will also find an
example of the use of such rubric in a specific student case.
3.
Grading online discussions from Academic Technology Center (http://www.wpi.edu/Academics
/ATC/Collaboratory/Idea/gradingdiscussions.html) (ATC, nd). Here one finds general guidelines and examples of
both formative and summative approaches. A few are based on scoring weekly contributions, which can
4.
Online Participation as an Instrument of Learning and Assessment - DE Oracle
be very detailed. Then there is a summative approach using several general performance levels.
Grading Online Discussion Participation from The Educational Technology Center
(http://www.edtech.neu.edu/teach/use_blackboard/managing_your_course/documents/sample_rubric.pdf) (Northeastern
University Academic Technology Services, nd). One holistic summative rubric represented.
5.
Porto's participation rubric (Porto, 2005). A sample of a participation rubric, which can be qualified
as being summative and analytical, considering several aspects of students contributions throughout a
full semester. It can be used, however, in a formative mode, per learning module.
6.
Conclusion
It is clear that participation has gained a different meaning within the online education model.
'Showing-up for class' is not enough for students to demonstrate their involvement. This represents a
significant opportunity to re-design the learning process, to include online threaded discussion as an
activity that contributes to students' overall learning, as well as a way to counteract the lack of 'high-touch'
that might result from the asynchronous online education model. There needs to be some
thought and planning to utilize threaded discussions as an integral part of the course. Students in most
cases should be required to participate and should be told how they will be assessed in their online
contributions. Rubrics are the most direct and objective way of communicating with students on how
they will be assessed, and they provide a way to streamline the process of grading students as well.
Participation rubrics should consider both quantitative and qualitative aspects of online discussions,
with all the specifics that will be used during the grading process. The best way to create a rubric is to
start out from a few examples and change them according to one's needs. Then after a few iterations
of using such tool, tweaking can be done as necessary to dynamically adapt the tool to one's
convenience.
References
Anderson, Terry (2004). Teaching in an online learning context. Chapter 11 in Theory and Practice of
Online Learning. Retrieved from http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/ch11.html
(http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/ch11.html) on August 1st, 2006.
ATC (nd). Grading online discussions. WPI Teaching with technology collaboratory. Retrieved from
http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/ATC/Collaboratory/Idea/gradingdiscussions.html
(http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/ATC/Collaboratory/Idea/gradingdiscussions.html) on August 25th, 2006.
Bullen, Mark (1998). Participation and Critical Thinking in Online University Distance Education. Journal
of Distance Education. Retrieved from http://cade.athabascau.ca/vol13.2/bullen.html
(http://cade.athabascau.ca/vol13.2/bullen.html) (http://cade.athabascau.ca/vol13.2/bullen.html) on August 1st, 2006.
Edelstein, Susan and Edwards, Jason (2005). If you build it, they will come: building learning
communities through threaded discussions. Online Journal of Distance Education Administration.
Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring51/edelstein51.html
(http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring51/edelstein51.html) on August 1st, 2006.
Murphy, Elizabeth and Jerome, Tami (2005 ). Assessing student's contributions to online asynchronous
discussions in university-level courses. E-Journal of Instructional Science and Technology. Vol.8, no.1.
Retrieved from http://www.usq.edu.au/electpub/e-jist/docs/vol8_no1/commentary
/stu_contrib_ansynch.htm (http://www.usq.edu.au/electpub/e-jist/docs/vol8_no1/commentary
/stu_contrib_ansynch.htm) on August 25th, 2006.
Northeastern University Academic Technology Services (nd). Grading online discussion participation: a
sample rubric. Retrieved from http://www.edtech.neu.edu/teach/use_blackboard
/managing_your_course/documents/
Online Participation as an Instrument of Learning and Assessment - DE Oracle
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discussion_guidelines_students.pdf (http://www.edtech.neu.edu/teach/use_blackboard/managing_your_course
/documents/discussion_guidelines_students.pdf) on August 25th, 2006.
Porto, Stella C.S. (2005). An introduction to the power of rubrics. DE Oracle Retrieved
from http://deoracle.org/online-pedagogy/rubrics/an-introduction-to-the-power-of-
rubrics.html.
Winter, Robert H. (2002). How much communication is enough in online courses? – exploring the
relationship between frequency of instructor-initiated personal email and learners' perceptions of and
participation in online learning. International Journal of Instructional Media v29 i4 p377 (18).
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_Be My Guest__ Guest Lectures Enhance Student Learning & Provide Faculty Support - DE Oracle
No full textDE Oracle @ UMUC
An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty
Center for Support of Instruction
"Be My Guest": Guest Lectures Enhance Student Learning & Provide
Faculty Support
Darlene Smucny
Academic Director for Social Sciences, SCIP
School of Undergraduate Studies
Published: September-October 2006
Category: » Online-pedagogy » Teaching-strategies
Instructors face a number of challenges, as they plan their courses for each coming semester:
First of all, instructors are constantly faced with the challenge of keeping courses relevant and current,
teaching important basic content, and providing the students with examples of practical application of
course knowledge in the real world. An instructor may have subject expertise in a particular field, but
may want to provide additional perspectives to students.
Secondly, life happens. As a semester proceeds, an instructor may be faced with a sudden absence
(e.g., due to illness, family emergency), which can affect the progress of a face-to-face or online class.
Faculty also may want to participate in professional development opportunities, such as a national or
international professional meeting. Adjunct faculty, with full-time jobs outside academe, may be
required to attend particular conferences and meetings by their employers. This has particular impact
on f2f teaching responsibilities. In many introductory undergraduate courses, cancelling a week of class
(to attend a professional meeting) may impede progress in the course. Without instructional support (in
terms of guest lecturers), instructors may find themselves in a professional dilemma.
Guest Lectures Benefit Students and Faculty
What can an institution, with a large and diverse faculty, such as UMUC, do to assist faculty in meeting
such challenges? Guest lectures are a practical and feasible solution. Inviting guest lecturers into the
classroom offers a great opportunity for students to learn other viewpoints within a discipline, and to
hear about current research and practical applications. Guest lecturers also allow courses to proceed
smoothly, in spite of faculty absences for professional development or due to unexpected
circumstances.
Guest lectures are not a new teaching tool. They’ve been used in higher education for years;
instructors have brought in colleagues and experts, from outside the university, into their classrooms.
As students, we can recall our own memories and experiences with guest lectures in our college and
university courses. Face-to face classes can be enhanced by guest appearances of renowned experts
(Jamilah 2005), international colleagues (Maehr 2002), and real-life practitioners (Mazur 1999). There
are many examples in the higher education literature. For example, a class in political science at a
community college in Northern Virginia was made more dynamic and current with guest lectures
featuring national politicians, media experts, and political observers (Jamilah 2005). An international
lecturer exchange enhanced student learning and understanding of conservation biology at the
University of Kentucky (USA) and Karlstad University (Sweden) (Maehr, 2002). Social work
practitioners, as guest speakers, provided real-life perspectives in an undergraduate human
development course on nontraditional families at Eastern Kentucky University (Mazur 1999).
Online
"Be My Guest": Guest Lectures Enhance Student Learning & Provide Faculty Support - DE Oracle
Classrooms Offer Dynamic Opportunities for Guest Speakers
Face-to-face guest lectures often occur in "real-time" during the class period. This may place
constraints on who can visit the classroom as well as in terms of scheduling guest lectures. The online
classroom offers a dynamic and creative platform for guest lectures, usually without the time
constraints found in the f2f classroom. Online guest lectures can occur asynchronously and a guest
conference (in WebTycho, Blackboard, etc.) can be available over a longer time period (e.g., several
days to a week). The online classroom also allows for easy implementation of guest lectures, providing
courses with (possibly reusable) learning objects (e.g., powerpoint presentations) and/or interactive
online conferences or chats with guest lecturers (Julian 2004).
Call for UMUC Faculty Guest Lecturer Network
Guest lectures enhance student learning and offer faculty support. At UMUC, I suggest that we focus
within the UMUC faculty community for possible guest lecturers. I propose a Faculty Guest Lecturer
Network consisting of UMUC faculty. UMUC has literally thousands of faculty members, all with rich
experience and expertise in many subject areas and fields. As faculty, we tend to be familiar only with
those instructors who teach in our particular discipline or even across sections of the same course.
Which faculty members are willing to provide a guest lecture in f2f or online classroom? The majority
of faculty members may have little idea of the guest lecture possibilities even within their own
disciplines.
Ideally, the UMUC Faculty Guest Lecturer Network would consist of an interactive database of possible
guest lecturers. However, initially, it will consist of a static listing of faculty members and their areas of
expertise and possible guest lecture topics, lecture format (online or f2f), and contact information (i.e.,
email address).
How would the UMUC Faculty Guest Lecturer Network operate? Let's use a hypothetical example.
Undergraduate Instructor A is planning her course syllabus for ANTH 343 (Physical Anthropology and
Archaeology) for the coming semester, and wants to enhance the class (and her own subject
expertise) to have a guest lecturer visit the online classroom to talk to students more about
archaeological research. By looking through the listing for the UMUC Faculty Guest Lecturer Network,
Instructor A could locate information for Instructor B, who teaches at UMUC and also specializes in
archaeology. Instructor A then may contact Instructor B to ask about a possible guest lecture.
A major advantage of a Guest Lecturer Network within UMUC? All the guest lecturers, as UMUC
instructors, are familiar with the university, our students, as well as with WebTycho (UMUC's online
platform), so f2f and online classroom visits would be very easy to arrange and implement.
How to initiate the UMUC Faculty Guest Lecturer Network? The first step is to tell us your interest in
such a project. Contact your Academic Director (in School of Undergraduate Studies) or your Program
Director (in Graduate School of Management and Technology) to indicate that you’re interested in such
a network. Guest lecture lists can be initially maintained by the Academic Units or Programs, but could
later be more available University-wide, across UMUC. Initial faculty interest is needed to get the
network started.
Why a UMUC Faculty Guest Lecturer Network?
Students really appreciate hearing from guest lecturers, especially if such lectures are integrated well
into the course materials. Guest lectures can make courses more dynamic, show additional
perspectives, and also real-life applications of subject matter.
Students can become more familiar with a number of UMUC instructors, and also may be inclined to
take additional UMUC courses from faculty who have guest-lectured in their f2f and online classrooms.
Instructors benefit from having additional areas of expertise represented in their courses.
Overall, UMUC students and faculty would benefit from a greater sense of community at the
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university and an appreciation for each other’s academic and professional specializations.
References
Jamilah, E. 2005. The Ragin' Cajun in the Classroom. Chronicle of Higher Education. 11/15/2005. Vol
52. Issue 14, p. A56.
Julian, J. 2004. Online guest lectures add to the learning experience. Online Cl@ssroom: Ideas for
Effective Online Instruction. September 2004, pages 1-2.
Maehr, D.S. 2002. International guest lectures promote conservation learning. Conservation Biology 16
(5): 1179-1183.
Mazur, E. 1999. Teaching about nontraditional families and individual development. Teaching of
Psychology 26(2): 110-114.
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Quality Matters_ Assuring the Quality of Online Courses - DE Oracle
No full textDE Oracle @ UMUC
An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty
Center for Support of Instruction
Quality Matters: Assuring the Quality of Online Courses
Chris Sax
School of Undergraduate Studies
Published: July-August 2006
Category: » University-showcase » Papers-studies
Quality assurance of online courses is of prime importance to all the stakeholders in higher education:
students, faculty, administrators, institutions, accrediting agencies, and legislators all benefit from a
rigorous process of quality assurance and control. In the interest of defining and assessing quality in
online courses, in September 2003, the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of
Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) awarded MarylandOnline (MOL; http://MarylandOnline.org)
(http://marylandonline.org/) a three-year Quality Matters (QM) grant to arrive at consensus among these
stakeholders and to develop the tools, process, and infrastructure to assure the quality of online
courses.
Presently, as the Quality Matters team wraps up its three year project, it has received a series of
significant recognitions: WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Award (2005), the United States Distance
Learning Association’s (USDLA) 21st Century Best Practice Award (2005), and the Maryland Distance
Learning Association’s Program of the Year Award (2005).
Thus, it seems a propitious moment to present the concept, process, and recent experiences of Quality
Matters to the whole UMUC community.
Quality Matters: The Concept
FIPSE funded Quality Matters as an innovative project that pushes the boundaries of higher education
quality assurance in the following ways:
Institutional participation is voluntary. The grant project involves multiple institutions with shared
project tasks and responsibilities.
The focus is on course improvement, not evaluation. The QM project is crafted to provide faculty
with feedback on their course design for continuous improvement, rather than definitive evaluation of
faculty performance.
The Peer Review process is inter-institutional. The QM rubric and process were created by teams
representing a variety of higher education segments and intended for use by all levels of the education
community. In addition, guidelines dictate that review teams include at least one member (preferably
two) from outside the course's home institution.
QM can serve as a national model. The collaborative, academic, research-based discussions,
processes, and tools of QM make it a model amenable to national adoption.
The challenge in this project has been to create a process that can be endorsed by all institutions
without compromising institutional autonomy. Similarly, it has been crucial to communicate strongly
and unequivocally to all participating faculty members that their academic standards and individual
teaching approaches will be respected and embraced.
Quality Matters: The Process
The QM grant project (http://www.QualityMatters.org (http://www.qualitymatters.org/) ) has created an
Quality Matters: Assuring the Quality of Online Courses - DE Oracle
inter-institutional continuous improvement process for assuring the quality of online courses. The
credibility, reliability, and strength of this process stems from three core features of the project. In the
first place, a process has been created that has been vetted by faculty experts. Second, all review
criteria and the extensive Quality Matters rubric are based on solid research literature, eleven national
standards of best practice, and instructional design principles. Finally, participation by faculty,
instructional designers, and institutions is voluntary, collaborative, and supportive. The Quality Matters
team has worked hard to communicate these principles to all participants and to establish strong
collaborative guidelines.
Concretely, a team of three peer reviewers is trained to use the QM Rubric to review the quality of each
online course. The rubric consists of 40 weighted review elements shown in the research literature to
positively impact student learning. Each review team includes one content expert and at least one
member from an institution other than the course's home institution. Review team members work both
individually and collaboratively, and in communication with the faculty member who developed the
course. The reviewers provide feedback on the exceptional elements of the course, and provide positive
recommendations for improving the course.
The backbone of the Quality Matters rubric, and another aspect of its strength, lies in the integration of
review elements that touch upon learning objectives, assessments, and activities. Through this
integrated approach, faculty reviewers take a holistic view of the course design. For example, reviewers
are asked to consider whether the assessments and activities are indeed driven by the learning
objectives. Even if a course clearly states learning objectives, the course cannot meet the stated
criteria unless those learning objectives are clearly linked to assessments and activities.
Quality Matters Recognition: Standards and Recent Experiences
The QM course review process is not seen as having a win/lose or pass/fail outcome. Rather, the
expectation is that each course reviewed will eventually meet QM quality expectations. To receive QM
Recognition, a course must demonstrate all essential review elements (the most heavily weighted
elements) and receive a combined total score of 68 out of 80 possible points. This represents a
required minimum score of 85%. If a course does not meet these standards after initial review the
faculty member may make changes and improvements and submit the course for an expedited review.
To encourage a continuous improvement process, the QM project provides instructional design support
for implementing the review team's recommendations if no such support exists at the faculty member’s
institution. QM has reviewed over 100 courses from 18 different Maryland schools and 10 different
schools outside Maryland. Upon initial review, approximately 50% of the courses do not meet QM
expectations. The vast majority of these courses subsequently undergo minor revisions in a short
period of time to receive QM Recognition.
The QM project is a complex venture that involves and benefits constituencies at institutions across
Maryland and the United States. First, Faculty gain solid recommendations for refining course design
and materials, thus leading to improving the teaching and learning process, while also benefiting from
access to professional development activities and an expanded and diversified peer network. Second,
Instructional designers and technologists and distance education staff gain access to shared resources,
training, and a widened professional network. Third, Institutions gain access to a quality assurance
activity that will inform their programmatic decisions and strengthen their accreditation credentials, to
activities that foster collaboration and resource sharing across institutions, and to expedited articulation
pathways. Finally, most importantly, students benefit from improved courses and increased access to
postsecondary learning opportunities.
QM has moved beyond the point of Maryland-only activities, it is now a nationally-recognized project.
In addition to a number of national partners, individuals and programs from 130 different institutions of
higher education across 28 different states are participating in QM. Over 600 faculty have been trained
to use the rubric to review online courses. Ninety-seven percent of faculty who have gone through
Quality Matters: Assuring the Quality of Online Courses - DE Oracle
training have agreed (28%) or strongly agreed 69%) that "the Quality Matters project will positively
impact teaching and learning at my institution." Two-thirds of the trainees indicated that they intended
to make improvements in their own course based on their exposure to the rubric, while an even higher
number (71%) planned to use the rubric as an aid in their own course development activities.
Participants in the course review process have indicated that it is a positive and valuable professional
development experience. A significant number of peer reviewers have indicated continued interest
serving in this capacity, and faculty who have had their course reviewed have indicated an interest in
becoming a peer reviewer. Peer reviewers have indicated a number of benefits to them personally,
including attainment of:
an increased awareness of the standards of best practice
insights to improve their own course
guidelines for developing a new course
ideas and approaches from other courses, adaptable to their own course
To date, over 100 UMUC faculty, staff, and program administrators are participating in QM. The QM
project is co-Directed by Christina Sax, Collegiate Professor in Biology and Assistant Dean of Social,
Behavioral, Natural, and Mathematical Sciences in UMUC's Adelphi division. Additionally, Richard
Schumaker of UMUC's Center for Teaching and Learning has served on the QM project in a number of
different capacities, and recently became certified as an official QM Trainer. Eighteen different
undergraduate courses have undergone QM review.
During the Center for Teaching and Learning's (CTL) 2006 Summer Institute, the QM Rubric will be
linked to CTL's and GSMT's Expectations documents and lay the foundation for the Using Self-Review
for Continuous Improvement of Your Teaching track. This track will be adapted for a global online
CTL workshop set to debut in spring 2007. The QM rubric has also been incorporated into the School of
Undergraduate Studies online course development guidelines, and future plans call for the inclusion of
the QM rubric as a resource in CTLA201 WebTycho training (http://www.umuc.edu/distance/odell
/ctla/training.html) .
We welcome your questions and suggestions about Quality Matters and would be pleased to provide
you with more information on it. For more information or, of course, to participate in the QM project,
contact Christina Sax ([email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ) or Richard Schumaker
([email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ).
About the Author(s)
Chris Sax began teaching for UMUC as an adjunct biology faculty member in 1997. She accepted the fulltime position of
Academic Director of Science in UMUC's Adelphi division in 1998, and then in 2004 became the Assistant Dean of Social,
Behavioral, Natural, and Mathematical Sciences. She has authored six online science courses for UMUC's undergraduate and
graduate programs, two of which received the University of Continuing Education Association’s Program of Excellence Award
in 1999, and was named Distance Educator of the Year by the Maryland Distance Learning Association (MDLA) in 2004. She
holds a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in Genetics from the Medical College of Virginia.
Richard Schumaker is the manager of UMUC Worldwide Training for the Center for Teaching and Learning. Before
assuming this position in March 2004, he taught philosophy, English, and French classes for the European Division of UMUC in
Italy, Germany, Belgium, and Spain for two decades. He holds three graduate degrees from the University of Paris
IV-Sorbonne. Over the last two years, he has given numerous presentations at the Sloan-C, MDLA, USM Diversity Iniatives,
and NUTN (Minneapolis) conferences on using multimedia to teach online. His next round of conference presentations will
focus on using emerging technologies such as Breeze and Synchrotext to teach socially and politically sensitive issues.
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Quality Matters: Assuring the Quality of Online Courses - DE Oracle
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© University of Maryland University College
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