FACULTY DEVELOPMENT FOR ONLINE LEARNING USING A COGNITIVE APPRENTICESHIP MODEL

Abstract

This study examined the experiences and perceptions of a group of sixteen faculty members who participated in a comprehensive faculty development process for online teaching and learning developed using a cognitive apprenticeship theoretical framework and implemented at the outset of a new online graduate certificate program. The study documented faculty membersʼ self-reported levels of: professional development; changes in instructional approaches; student learning and competency attainment, and impressions of the overall translation of teaching expertise from classroom to the online format. Faculty data regarding their experiences in the program were captured using a 26-question web-based instrument. Data were analyzed using a combination of descriptive statistics and a two-phase qualitative process involving cluster and thematic analysis. The results of this study revealed that the majority of these faculty members credit program infrastructure and their ongoing consulting relationship with the programʼs instructional designers as having substantial positive and ongoing effects on their online teaching practices. Additionally, this study found that the embedding of experienced instructional design support at all levels of this academic programʼs operations led to the creation of a number of pedagogical and programmatic polices, services and informal supports that helped to clarify faculty roles, allowing faculty to focus on student learning and their own ongoing development of online teaching expertise. The findings from this study are discussed in the context of a cognitive apprenticeship framework and have