Outsourced Professional Development for Online Instructors: Recommendations from research

Abstract

To improve the quality of online teaching, institutions typically provide structured professional development in the form of institutional teaching or learning center programming. This programming typically focuses on teaching and learning quality, transitions to online teaching, pedagogies, and new technologies. This article reports on the use of outsourced professional development along with faculty responses to the program. Use of an outsourced program was attractive to faculty who wanted to have another institution's name on their vita. Seventeen faculty completed the professional development program and eight shared their reflections on this inquiry. With a focus on translating research to practice, the article lays out a series of recommendations for future professional development for online instruction including attention to prior knowledge, personalizing approaches, targeting both introductory and advanced learner needs, integrating a community of practice with specific roles, reviewing all materials prior to implementation to ensure tailored program, allowing faculty choice across content, formative and summative evaluation to determine effectiveness including learner perceptions, learner analytics, and content review for current and emerging practice and innovation.