By the end of my MET program, I will be able to articulate the role of theory and evidence-based approaches through the development of a curriculum to support faculty in online teaching readiness.
Goal #1
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Format: Concept/Mind Map
Course: ETEC 500 Research Methodology in Education
In my role at VCC I am striving to improve instructor readiness for online teaching. One of the reasons I wanted to complete the MET was to understand the different research methods that could help me to meet this goal.
Early on in the first course in the program, I created a concept map to help me focus on the key questions I wanted to answer. The map provided a visual representation of the relationships between different questions and potential responses to those questions. I planned to revisit this map as my learning progressed.
Guiding Theories and Frameworks
- Critical thinking: Discerning between different research methods, and when best to apply a method in a particular situation, relies on good critical thinking skills. The introductory course to the MET provided a grounding in critical thinking techniques as they are applied to educational technology. As Yanchar et.al. state “critical thinking must undertake to uncover assumptions…embedded in a body of commonly held theories, methods, and practices “(Yanchar et. al. 2017).
- Community of Inquiry framework: The Community of Inquiry framework (Vaughan et. al., 2014) is useful for understanding the social aspects of learning and can be applied to the collaborative aspects of professional development. It will guide my efforts to build a community of practice among faculty at VCC, an essential part of fostering faculty skills and development.
Reflections
The rapid move to online and blended delivery during the pandemic led to an increase in the use of our LMS (Moodle) and an increase in faculty interest in creating and delivering online courses. However, there was a wide variety in terms of course quality, and it became clear that there was a widespread lack of understanding about the differences between face-to-face and online course design and delivery.
I wanted to see how I could counter that lack of understanding: What support and resources would help faculty to become better prepared? The concept map remains a useful tool to help bring me back to the key issues in improving teaching readiness. It will help me to plan work around creating training resources, designing evaluation instruments, measuring the current state, and implementing appropriate competency frameworks.