The Excellent Online Instructor
Strategies for Professional Development
1. Edition March 2011
200 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Short Description
The hiring, training, and evaluation of good online instructors is a high priority for online institutions. This book shows what it takes to develop a new instructor in order to promote excellent online teaching and describes the qualities of a good online instructor and reveals how to evaluate good teaching online. In addition, It includes illustrative models of faculty training for online teaching based on adult learning principles and best practices in faculty training and identifies how technology can be used to facilitate and enhance the training process.
The Excellent Online Instructor is a guide for new and seasoned faculty who teach online, those responsible for training and developing online instructors, and administrators who must evaluate online faculty performance. This comprehensive resource describes the qualities of and explains how one can become an excellent online instructor. Written by Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt--noted experts in online instruction--the book
* Includes models based in adult learning principles and best practices
* Offers guidelines to test instructors' readiness to teach online
* Contains ideas for overcoming faculty resistance
* Reveals how to develop an effective mentoring program
* Shows how to establish a long-term faculty development effort
Praise for The Excellent Online Instructor
"Palloff and Pratt have a profound understanding of the online educational milieu, its complexities and challenges as well as the potential it opens up to serious educators dedicated to exploiting its full value. Practical and down-to-earth strategies are at the core of what the authors offer the reader in this engaging book."
--Michael J. Canuel, CEO, LEARN Quebec
"This book examines best practices for effective online teaching and instructor engagement and provides a concise plan for faculty development and effective training methods. Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt have provided another essential resource for the field of online teaching and learning that is a must-read for anyone working with faculty or teaching online in either higher education or K-12."
--Kaye Shelton, dean, Online Education, Dallas Baptist University
"Whether you are guiding departmental faculty or looking to improve your own online skills, Palloff and Pratt provide practical steps, tools to organize your processes, best practices to emulate, and valuable resources to help you achieve excellence online."
--Lynn Olson, dean, Graduate and Professional Studies, St. Joseph's College Online
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
The Authors.
PART ONE The Excellent Online Instructor.
ONE What Are the Characteristics of Excellent Online Teaching?
What Does the Excellent Online Instructor Look Like?
The Importance of Establishing Presence.
Engaging Learners and Creating Community.
Excellence in Course Development.
Providing Effective Facilitation When Teaching Courses Developed by Others.
Good Facilitation Online:What Is Involved?
Key Points That Define the Excellent Online Instructor.
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer.
TWO Phases of Development.
Faculty Readiness to Teach Online.
The Phases of Online Faculty Development.
The Key to Understanding the Phases.
Faculty Mentoring for Online Teaching.
Dealing with Faculty Resistance.
Key Points Regarding Training Needs and Phases of Development for the Excellent Online Instructor.
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer.
THREE Elements of Training for Excellence.
What Does Good Faculty Training Look Like?
Online, Face-to-Face, or Hybrid:Which Works Best?
Who Should Conduct Training for Online Teaching?
Key Points in Training for Excellence.
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer.
PART TWO Supporting the Movement from New to Great.
FOUR Models of Faculty Development.
A Phased Approach to Online Faculty Development.
Establishing a Long-Term Faculty Development Effort.
The Learning Community Approach to Online Faculty Development.
Working with Adjuncts at a Distance.
Training Efficiently.
Certificate Programs in Online Teaching.
Key Points Regarding Models of Online Faculty Development.
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer.
FIVE Mentoring Online Faculty.
Common Elements of Mentoring Approaches.
Approaches to Mentoring for Online Teaching.
Developing an Effective Mentoring Program.
What Organizations Can Do to Promote Mentoring.
Key Points About Mentoring Online Faculty.
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer.
SIX The Widening Gap: Professional Development for K-12 Teachers.
Online Teaching Methods in the K-12 Environment.
Characteristics of Excellent Online Teachers.
Preservice Teacher Preparation and Professional Development.
Coping Effectively with the Issues and Challenges of K-12 Online Teaching.
Key Points in K-12 Online Teaching.
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer.
PART THREE Connecting the Dots: Faculty Development and Evaluation.
SEVEN Linking Training to Faculty Evaluation.
Online Course Evaluation and Faculty Evaluation.
Managing and Evaluating Faculty at a Distance.
Key Points on Linking Faculty Development to Evaluation.
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer.
EIGHT Best Practices in the Development of Excellent Online Faculty.
Best Practices for Faculty Developers and Faculty Tasked with Faculty Development.
Best Practices for Faculty Engaged in Their Own Development.
Best Practices for Institutions.
A "Best System" for Developing Excellent Online Instructors.
Resources for Faculty Developers, Faculty, and Administrators.
Appendix A: Resources for Faculty Developers and Those Tasked with Faculty Development.
Appendix B: Resources for Faculty.
Appendix C: Resources for Administrators of Online Programs.
References.
Index.