THE IMPACT OF ONLINE TEACHING ON HIGHER EDUCATION FACULTY’S PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY AND THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY: THE COMING OF AGE OF THE VIRTUAL TEACHER: By EDWIGE SIMON M., Université Lille III, 2000 M., Indiana University, 2005 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ATLAS Institute 2012 UMI Number: 3508146 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent on the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3508146 Copyright 2012 by ProQuest LLC.
All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 This thesis entitled: The Impact of Online Teaching on Higher Education Faculty’s Professional Identity and the Role of Technology: The Coming of Age of the Virtual Teacher: written by Edwige Simon has been approved for the ATLAS Institute _______________________________ John K.
Bennett _______________________________ Sarah Hug _______________________________ Diane E. Gunawardena Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline.6 iii Edwige Simon (ATLAS Institute) The Impact of Online Teaching on Higher Education Faculty’s Professional Identity and the Role of Technology: The Coming of Age of the Virtual Teacher Thesis directed by John Bennett, Archuleta Professor of Computer Science This dissertation employs a mixed method approach to investigate the impact of online teaching on higher education faculty’s professional identity, and the role played by technology in this process. Previous work on faculty preparation to teach online does not recognize that before changing practices, it is necessary to examine the values and belief systems that underlie those practices. I examine the results of two qualitative studies that compare different groups of teachers.
The first group was comprised of teachers who teach both online and face-to-face, but who expressed a clear preference for the face-to-face classroom, and who reportedly experienced difficulty enacting their professional identity in the online classroom. The second group was comprised of online teachers with a record of online teaching excellence, and who reportedly enjoyed both modalities equally. I then examine the results of a survey of 223 higher education faculty that considers the degree to which findings from the first two studies can be generalized. This research helps identify how online learning is changing both teachers and the teaching profession within higher education, why many faculty remain ambivalent about online teaching, and suggests ways to address these challenges.
iv CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION. 3 CHAPTER II: RELATED WORK. Online Teaching and Learning .2 Face-to-Face Learning .4 Blended/Hybrid Learning. Brief History of the Field.
Online Learning in 2012 .2 The Main Actors of Online Learning. Practical Barriers to Online Teaching .1 Pedagogy and Technology .3 Time Commitment and Compensation .4 Perceptions of Online Learning. Identity, Teaching Identity and Online Identity .1 The Social Construction of Identity .2 Importance of Teaching Identity. From Classroom to Online Identity .1 Embodied and Disembodied Identities .2 Online Teaching Selves .3 Identity Enactment Online.
Technologies of Distance Learning. History of Distance Learning Technologies History .1 Garrisson and Anderson’s Model .1 The Course Management System. From Text to Virtual Reality .1 Text-Based Technologies .2 Audio-Based Technology .3 Video-Based Technology: Exploring Telepresence .4 Virtual Reality: Exploring Identity Construction. Limitations of Previous Work.
39 CHAPTER III: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK. Teaching Identity and Communities of Practice. Why Look at Teacher Identity?. Identities within Communities of Practice.
Identity Challenges of the Transition to the Online Classroom. Challenges to Cores Values and Beliefs. Challenges to Traditional Modes of Enactments. Challenges to Professional Fulfillment.
Dealing with Dissonance. 48 CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND PILOT STUDY. The Choice of Mixed Methods. Research Strategy: Collective and Instrumental Case Studies .1 Characteristics and Selection.
Data Collection and Recording .4 Audio-Visual Material. Data Analysis and Interpretation. Organization and Preparation of the Data. Findings and Discussion.
Strategies for Findings Validation .1 Role of the Researcher.2 Triangulation of Sources .3 Presentation of Negative Findings. Quantitative Research Methods. Choice and Purpose of the Survey. Population and Sample.
69 CHAPTER VI: CASE STUDY ONE. Case Study One Findings. Finding 1: Participants' Professional Identities are Dominated by Teaching Identities 70 1.1 Participants are Professionally Fulfilled Classroom Teachers .2 Participants’ Sources of Professional Fulfillment are Tied to the Face-to Face Nature of Classroom Teaching .3 Participants Have Mostly Stable Classroom Identities. Finding 2: Participants' Teaching Identities are Dominated by Classroom Teaching .1 Most Participants Prefer Face-to-Face Teaching .2 Few Participants Prefer Online or Report No Preference .3 Participants Find Online Teaching Time Consuming .4 Participants Report No Significant Difference Between their Classroom and Online Evaluations.
Finding 3: Participants Teach Online for Practical Reasons .1 Participants Enjoy the Flexible Teaching Schedule .2 Participants Enjoy Being a Part of Something New .3 Participants Enjoy the Financial Incentives .4 Participants Enjoy Creating Access. Finding 4: Participants Encountered Significant Challenges but Made Minimal Adjustments to Their Online Teaching .1 Participants Struggled with Many Asynchronous and Non-F2F Aspects of Online Teaching.2 Participants Changed their Assessment Methods but Ported their Classroom Practices Online .3 Online Teaching Had an Impact on Participants’ Classroom Teaching Identities. Finding 5: Participants Have Fragmented Online identities .1 Participants Have Fragmented Online identities at the Pedagogical Level .2 Participants Have Fragmented Online Identities at the Persona Level. Finding 6: The Issues Experienced in the Online Classroom Have Negative Repercussions .1 Participants are Not Able to Use Familiar Teaching Practices Online .2 Participants are Not Able to Enact their Persona Online .3 The Constraints of the Online Classroom Have a Negative Impact on Students Expectations.
Finding 7: Participants Hold Negative Beliefs about Online Education.1 Participants Believe Face-to-Face Teaching is Better .2 Participants Hold Negative Beliefs About Students’ Motivation to Study Online 105 7.3 Participants See Some Benefits in Online Teaching. Finding 8: Online Teaching Presents Affordances Aligned with Participants' Professional Identity. Finding 9: Participants Derive Limited Professional Fulfillment from Teaching Online 110 9.1 The Anonymity of the Online Classroom Hides Participants' Identity .2 Participants Derive Some Satisfaction from Online Courses. Finding 10: Participants are Moderately Engaged with Technology .1 Participants Use Traditionnal Technology in Class and the CMS Online.2 Participants Report Average Levels of Technological Self-Efficacy .3 Participants are Moderately Engaged with Technology .4 Participants Display Ambivalent Attitudes Towards Technology.
Finding 11: Participants are Reluctant to Experiment with Technological Solutions 120 11. Case Study One Summary. 123 CHAPTER VII: CASE STUDY TWO. Purpose of the Study.
Case Study Two Findings. Finding 1: Participants Had Well-Developed Face-to-Face Teaching Identities.1 Participants Are Dedicated Classroom Teachers .2 Participants’ Sources of Fulfillment Are Tied to the Nature of Classroom Teaching 130 1.3 Participants’ Dissatisfaction Are Also Tied to the Nature of Classroom Teaching 132 1.4 Participants Have Stable Face-to-Face Teaching Identities. Finding 2: Participants Are Professionally Fulfilled by the Affordances of the Online Classroom .1 Participants’ Sources of Professional Fulfillment Tied to Unique Affordances of the Online Classroom. Finding 3: Participants Have Difficulty Reporting a Preference for One Modality .1 Participants Report Ambivalent Preferences.
Finding 4: Participants Overcame the Challenges of the Online Classroom .1 Participants Transferred Their Content Online and Adjusted Their Teaching Practices .2 Participants Adjusted to the Time Commitment and Pace of Online Teaching .3 Participants Moved Beyond Text .4 Participants Overcame Technical Challenges .5 Participants Were Able to Create Community .6 Participants Resolved Academic Dishonesty Issues .7 Participants Overcame Negative Perception of Online Courses .8 Participants Still Face Unresolved Challenges. Finding 5: Face-To-Face and Online Teaching Are Similar at the Macro Level but Different at the Micro Level .1 Participants Are the Same Teachers at the Macro level .2 Participants are Different at the Micro Level .3 Online Teaching Had an Impact on Participants’ Face-to-Face Identity. Finding 6: The Support of the Community Plays a Determining Role in a Successful Transition Online .1 Participants Benefit from Institutional Support .2 Participants Benefit from Faculty Support .3 Participants Benefit from Faculty Collaboration. Finding 7: Case Study Two Participants Were Intrinsically Proud of their Online Teaching .1 Participants Are Intrinsically Proud To Teach Online .2 Participants Received Negative Feedback from the Public .3 Participants Believe that Online Teaching is Stigmatized.
Finding 8: Participants Held Positive Views of Online Teaching and Learning .1 Participants Believe in the Benefits of Online Learning .2 Participants’ Views of the Risks and Issues of Online Education.3 Participants Blame the Lack of Training for the Negative Perceptions of Online Education .4 Participants Blame Low Quality Programs for the Negative Perceptions of Online Education. Finding 9: Case Study Two Participants Used Traditional Technologies in the Classroom and Emerging Technologies Online .1 Participants Reported Moderate Levels of Technological Self-Efficacy .2 Participants Used Traditional Technology in the Classroom .3 Participants Used Non-Traditional Technologies in the Online Environment .4 Participants Reported Ambivalent Attitudes Towards Use of Synchronous Tools 173 9. Finding 10: Technology Played a Determining Role in Teaching Identity Growth .1 Participants Displayed General Signs of Engagement with Technology .2 Participants Displayed a Pioneer Spirit and Attitude Towards Technology .3 Participants Displayed a Pragmatic, Realistic and Positive Attitude Towards Technology .4 Participants Used “Bricolage” Strategies to Solve Many of the Issues Encountered Online. Finding 11: Participants Were Not Able to Solve All the Issues Encountered.1 Participants Had Issues with the CMS.2 Participants Reported Non CMS-Related Technical Issues .3 Four Participants Are Satisfied with the Technology.
Case Study Two Summary and Discussion. 189 CHAPTER VIII: DO THE CASE STUDY RESULTS GENERALIZE?. Summary of Survey Results. Factors Impacting Professional Fulfillment And Enjoyment Online.
Impact of Classroom Experience. Impact of Online Experience. The Role of Beliefs. Impact of the Community .1 Overall Comparison Between Attitude and Community Support .2 The Role of Training and Professional Development Efforts .3 The Role of Colleagues and Supervisors.
The Role of Technology.1 The Use of Additional tools .2 Satisfaction with the CMS. 228 CHAPTER IX: CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK. Contribution of this Research. 234 xiii TABLES Table 1: Challenge of Putting the Course Online and Identifying Teaching Practices.
146 Table 2: Challenges of Time Commitment and Pace of Online Courses. 147 Table 3: The Challenge of Moving Beyond Text. 148 Table 4: The Challenge of Technical Problems. 149 Table 5: The Challenge of Creating Community.
150 Table 6: The Challenge of Academic Dishonesty. 150 Table 7: The Challenge of the Prejudice Against Online Teaching. 151 Table 8: List of Technical Issues Encountered and Their Solution. 183 Table 9: Mean Scores for the Variables OnlineSatisfaction and Online Effectiveness.
205 Table 10: Correlation Between Respondents' Online and Face-to-Face Satisfaction. 206 Table 11: ANOVA of Online Satisfaction and Years of Online Experience. 208 Table 12: Cross-Tabulation of Experience and Skepticism. 208 Table 13: ANOVA of Current Level of Skepticism and Online Experience.
209 Table 14: Correlation Between Beliefs about Effectiveness and Satisfaction Online. 211 Table 15: Correlation Between Online Satisfaction and Initial Levels of Skepticism. 212 Table 16: Correlation Between Initial Positive Beliefs and Online Satisfaction. 213 Table 17: Correlation Between Online Satisfaction and Current Levels of Skepticism.
214 Table 18: Correlation Between Online Satisfaction and Community Support. 216 Table 19: Correlation Between Online Satisfaction and Pedagogical Training. 218 Table 20: Correlation Between Online Satisfaction and Technical Training .