Faculty Perspectives on Context,Benefits,and Challenges in Fully Online Graduate Adult Education Programs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of adult education faculty toward developing and teaching online adult education courses in their master’s programs to assist in our own transition to online adult education and to offer insight to others who may be interested in doing the same. Ten participants who work in fully online programs agreed to take part in this interpretive interview research. We coded and analyzed the data using the constant comparison and thematic analysis methods. Community of Inquiry was the framework guiding this study. Data analysis led to themes describing the contexts of these programs, meaningful benefits, noteworthy challenges, and insights and recommendations for instructors new to online adult education graduate programs. Implications and conclusions drawn from the study’s findings are presented.

Keywords

online adult education graduate programs online instruction teaching and learning online faculty perspectives

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allen

I. E.

Seaman

(2013). Changing course: Ten years of tracking online education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group. https://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/changingcourse.pdf

Anderson

(2001). The hidden curriculum of distance education. Change Magazine, 33(6), 28–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380109601824

Annand

(2011). Social presence within the Community of Inquiry framework. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12, 40–56. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v12i5.924

Baack

Jordan

D. R.

Baack

D. W.

(2016). Evolution and revolution in higher education: Catastrophe theory’s applications and implications. Midwest Quarterly, 57(2), 105–125.

Barberà

Layne

Gunawardena

C. N.

(2014). Designing online interaction to address disciplinary competencies: A cross-country comparison of faculty perspectives. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 15(2), 143–169. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v15i2.1418

Bender

(2012). Discussion based on-line teaching to enhance student learning: Theory, practice and assessment. Stylus Publishing.

Blackmon

S. J.

(2016). Teaching online, challenges and motivations: A research synthesis. Education Matters: The Journal of Teaching and Learning, 4(1), 66–83. http://em.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/em/article/view/130

Bolinger

Inan

(2012). Development and validation of the Online Student Connectedness Survey (OSCS). The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(3), 41–65. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v13i3.1171

Bowen

W. G.

(2013, March 25). Walk deliberately, don’t run, toward on-line education. The Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/article/Walk-Deliberately-Don’t-run/138109

10.

Chang

Shen

Liu

(2014). University faculty’s perspectives on the roles of e-instructors and their online instruction practice. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 14(3), 73–92. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v15i3.1654

11.

Chiasson

Terras

Smart

(2015). Faculty perceptions of moving a face-to-face course to online instruction. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 12(4), 231–240. https://doi.org/10.19030/tlc.v12i3.9315

12.

Cleveland-Innes

Gauvreau

Richardson

Sanjaya

Ostashewski

(2019). Technology-enabled learning and the benefits and challenges of using the Community of Inquiry theoretical framework. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education, 34(1), 1–18.

13.

Conceição

S. C. O.

(2016). Faculty lived experiences in the online environment. Adult Education Quarterly, 57(1), 26–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601106292247

14.

Crawford-Ferre

H. G.

Wiest

L. R.

(2012). Effective online instruction in higher education. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 13(1), 11–14. http://www.infoagepub.com/quarterly-review-of-distance-education.html

15.

Farber

R. S.

(2013). Distance education and teaching online: My journey from mystery to mastery. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 27(3), 272–279.

16.

Garrison

D. R.

Anderson

(2003). E-learning in the 21st century: A framework for research and practice. Routledge.

17.

Garrison

D. R.

Anderson

Archer

(2001). Critical thinking, cognitive presence, and computer conferencing in distance education. American Journal of Distance Education, 15, 7–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923640109527071

18.

Garrison

D. R.

Cleveland-Innes

Fung

T. S.

(2010). Exploring causal relationships among teaching, cognitive and social presence: Student perceptions of the Community of Inquiry framework. The Internet and Higher Education, 13, 31–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.10.002

19.

Garrison

D. R

Vaughan

(2013). Institutional change and leadership associated with blended learning innovation: Two case studies. The Internet and Higher Education, 18, 24–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2012.09.001

20.

Glaser

Strauss

(1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Aldine Kress.

21.

Graham

(2019). Benefits of online teaching for face-to-face teaching at Historically Black colleges and universities. Online Learning, 23(1), 144–163. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i1.1435

22.

Gutierrez

(2018, April 24). Adult learning theories every instructional designer must know. Sh!ft, Disruptive Elearning. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/adult-learning-theories-instructional-design

23.

Hentz

B. S.

(2015). Sustainability and transitional learning: Exploring the influence of adult learners’ mental models on adaptive change. In Holtz

Springer

Boden-McGill

(Eds.), Building sustainable futures (pp. 253–268). Information Age.

24.

Johnson

Wisniewski

M. A.

Kuhlemeyer

Isaacs

Krzykowski

(2012). Technology adoption in higher education: Overcoming anxiety through faculty bootcamp. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(2), 63–72. http://olc.onlinelearningconsortium.org/publications/olj_main

25.

Kentnor

(2015). Distance education and the evolution of online learning in the United States. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 17(1), 15–41. http://www.infoagepub.com/ctd-journal

26.

Kress

Thering

Lalonde

Kim

Cleeton

(2012). Faculty reflections on online course development and implementation for teacher education. The International Journal of Technology, Knowledge, and Society, 8(1), 73–84. https://doi.org/10.18848/1832-3669/cgp/v08i01/56263

27.

Kuo

(2015). Online learning and application of active learning strategies: Adult learners in online settings. In Holtz

Springer

Boden-McGill

(Eds.), Building sustainable futures (pp. 157–182). Information Age.

28.

Mascolo

(2020). Transforming higher education: Responding to the coronavirus and other looming crises. Pedagogy and the Human Sciences, 7(1). https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/phs/vol7/iss1/2

29.

Merriam

S. B.

(2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.

30.

Patton

(2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd. ed.). Sage.

31.

Rogers-Shaw

Carr-Chellman

D. J.

Choi

(2018). Universal design for learning: Guidelines for accessible online instruction. Adult Learning, 29, 20–31.

32.

Saldaña

(2009). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.

33.

Serdyukov

(2015). Does online education need a special pedagogy? Journal of Computing and Information Technology, 23(1), 61–74. https://doi.org/10.2498/cit.1002511

34.

Skinner

(2016). Perceptions of adult professional studies instructors regarding developing and transitioning online courses [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses global (UMI NO. 10241883)

35.

Sword

T. S.

(2012). The transition to online teaching as experienced by nurse educators. Nursing Education Perspectives, 33(4), 269–271. https://doi.org/10.5480/1536-5026-33.4.269

36.

Tisdell

E. J.

Redmon Wright

Taylor

E. W.

(2016). Adult education faculty and programs in North America: Faculty background, work, and satisfaction. Adult Education Quarterly, 66(1), 76–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741713615618781

37.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Digest of education statistics (2015, Table 311.15). https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d15/tables/dt15_311.15.asp?current=yes

38.

University of Washington. (2013). Exploring the pros and cons of online, hybrid, and face-to-face class formats. http://www.washington.edu/provost/files/2012/11/edtrends_Pros-ConsClassFormats.pdf

39.

Vaill

A. L.

Testori

P. A.

(2012). Orientation, mentoring and ongoing support: A three tiered approach to online faculty development. Online Learning, 16(2), 111–119. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v16i2.256

40.

Wingo

N. P.

Peters

G. B.

Ivankova

N. V.

Gurley

D. K.

(2016). Benefits and challenges of teaching nursing online: Exploring perspectives of different stakeholders. Journal of Nursing Education, 55(8), 433–440. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20160715-03