1. HOW TO SUCCEED ONLINE BY REALLY TRYING: COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS FOR ONLINE TEACHING SUCCESS Lawrence C. Ragan Penn State World Campus 1

2. Research Team Principal Investigator: Lawrence C. Ragan Co-Investigators: Paula Bigatel, Janet May, Shannon Kennan Statistics Consultant: Brian Redmond 2

3. Operating Principle 3 IfThen

4. Support the Development of World Class Online & Blended Instructors 1. What are the skills and competencies necessary for online and blended teaching success? 2. At what point in the instructor's career should these competencies be developed? 4

5. Competencies for Online Teaching Success Framework Competencies at NOVICE, INTERMEDIATE or EXPERT levels? What competencies are necessary for online teaching success? Phase 1 Phase 2 OL 1000 OL 1200 OL 1700 OL 2000 OL 2700 OL 3000 OL 4000 OL 1500

6. 6 NoviceExpert CSI Welcome to WC Accessibility Serving the Military Effective Teaching Can You Hear Me Now? Just2It! World Class Teaching Using the LMS Orientation

7. Definition of Competency a theoretical construct that represents a constellation of behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs. 7

8. Competencies for Online Teaching Success (COTS) Phase I Conduct COTS Phase I survey Conduct factor analysis to look for grouping of tasks into competencies Examine survey data for task importance responses Operationalize the survey outcomes to our faculty development 8

9. Phase I Process and Results Used 7 point Likert Scale survey of “Not Very Important” to “Very Important” 200+ individuals completed survey 106 fit criteria of “5 or more years of online teaching experience” Interesting datapoint: No significant difference between respondents according to years of teaching experience 2:1 Females:male Cross discipline domains represented Over ¾ reported serving as online instructors 9

10. Phase I Results Competency Categories 10

11. Data Results (Factor Analysis) Way to statistically organize data (tasks) into categories (competencies) Reduce number of tasks (64) to manageable amount Exploratory groupings Produced multiple 7 reliable categories * Note that several factors have only 2 items

12. Multimedia Technology Administration/Leadership Active Learning Classroom Decorum Policy Enforcement Technological Competence Active Teaching/Responsiveness 12

13. What Do You Think of Ranking? Multimedia Technology Administration/Leadership Active Learning Classroom Decorum Policy Enforcement Technological Competence Active Teaching/Responsiveness COTS Worksheet Activity 13

14. Factor Analysis by Category Mean 1. Active Learning 2. Administration/Leadership 3. Active Teaching/Responsiveness 4. Multimedia Technology 5. Classroom Decorum 6. Technological Competence 7. Policy Enforcement 14

15. Competency 1: Active Learning The instructor encourages students to interact with each other by assigning team tasks and projects, where appropriate. (r=.819) The instructor includes group/team assignments where appropriate. (r=.766) The instructor encourages students to share their knowledge and expertise with the learning community. (r=.721) The instructor encourages students to participate in discussion forums, where appropriate. (r=.682) The instructor provides opportunities for hands-on practice so that students can apply learned knowledge to the real-world. (r=.582) The instructor provides additional resources that encourage students to go deeper into the content of the course. (r=.574) The instructor encourages student-generated content as appropriate. (r=.531) The instructor facilitates learning activities that help students construct explanations/solutions. (r=.506) The instructor uses peer assessment in his/her assessment of student work, where appropriate. (r=.472) The instructor shows respect to students in his/her communications with them. (r=.427) 15

16. Competency 2: Administration/Leadership The instructor makes grading visible for student tracking purposes. (r=.683) The instructor clearly communicates expected student behaviors. (r=.682) 16

17. Competency 3: Active Teaching/Responsiveness The instructor provides prompt, helpful feedback on assignments and exams that enhances learning. (r=.741) The instructor provides clear, detailed feedback on assignments and exams that enhances the learning experience. (r=.714) The instructor shows caring and concern that students are learning the course content. (r=.514) The instructor helps keep the course participants on task. (r=.429) The instructor uses appropriate strategies to manage the online workload. (r=.426) 17

18. Competency 4: Multimedia Technology The instructor uses a variety of multimedia technologies to achieve course objectives. (r=.788) The instructor uses multimedia technologies that are appropriate for the learning activities. (r=.749) 18

19. Competency 5: Classroom Decorum The instructor helps students resolve conflicts that arise in collaborative teamwork. (r=.761) The instructor resolves conflicts when they arise in teamwork/group assignments. (r=.680) The instructor can effectively manage the course communications by providing a good model of expected behavior for all course communication. (r=.533) The instructor identifies areas of potential conflict within the course. (r=.431) 19

20. Competency 6: Technological Competence The instructor is proficient with the technologies used in the online classroom. (r=.884) The instructor is confident with the technology used in the course. (r=.724) 20

21. Competency 7: Policy Enforcement The instructor monitors students' adherence to policies on plagiarism. (r=.847) The instructor monitors students' adherence to Academic Integrity policies and procedures. (r=.803) 21

22. PHASE I RESULTS Task Importance—general observations 22

23. Task Importance Rankings No task ranked below 4.59 (on a 7 point scale) 37 tasks (of 64) ranked 6.0 or higher 23 of the top 37 reflected an aspect/dimension of communications More than half of the task items that were rated as 6.0 or higher did not load into categories using factor analysis. 23

24. Top 10 Task Importance Rankings 1. The instructor shows respect to students in his/her communications with them. 2. The instructor provides students with clear grading criteria. 3. The instructor clearly communicates course goals. 4. The instructor clearly communicates course content. 5. The instructor shows enthusiasm when interacting with students. 24

25. Top 10 Task Importance Rankings 6. The instructor provides clear, detailed feedback on assignments and exams that enhances the learning experience. 7. The instructor communicates with students about course changes, reminders of due assignments, relevant additional resources through announcements/emails. 8. The instructor can effectively manage the course communications by providing a good model of expected behavior for all course communication. 9. The instructor provides prompt, helpful feedback on assignments and exams that enhances learning. 10. The instructor clearly communicates expected student behaviors. 25

26. WHEN TO DEVELOP COTS IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT So much to teach and so little time 26

27. Behavioral Competency Statement Placement Activity In teams of 2-3, review the list of TOP 20 competencies and discuss where along the professional development continuum we should consider teaching these skills 27 Behavioral Competency Statements by Average Means

28. 28 1 st experienceMultiple experiences3-5 experiences

29. YOUTUBE: KEYWORD SEARCH “COTS WORLD CAMPUS” COTS WORLD CAMPUSCOTS WORLD CAMPUS Additional resources 29

30. Guiding Principles for Faculty Development Provide the “student experience” Provide “safe” environment Address “potential failure” of system Set realistic expectations Survive before thrive Create a learning community Model best behaviors Connect F2F 30

31. Questions/Suggestions 31

32. Recruitment for Stage 2 32 evaluation@outreach.psu.edu

33. Contact Information Larry Ragan – lcr1@psu.edu Janet May – jam11@psu.edu Paula Bigatel – pmb6@psu.edu Shannon Kennan – ssk168@psu.edu Brian Redmond – bfr3@psu.edu 33