ERIC Number: EJ1011260
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-May
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0736-7627
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Available Date: N/A
If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them: Emphasizing Writing Instruction and Online Learning in Faculty Professional Development
Good, Jennifer; Shumack, Kellie
Journal of Faculty Development, v27 n2 p5-10 May 2013
Innovations in faculty development, particularly those that make the most of available technologies, are essential. "Learning is a social activity and we are social beings; and everything is connected" (Trammel & Bruce, 2008). Finding methods for creating these faculty connections is a challenge--one that can be met by technology. Yancey (2009) argues that new technologies must be embraced by instructors of writing to meet the needs of our current generation of students. Some writing programs are innovatively incorporating technology into writing-intensive instruction (Anstendig & Richie, 2003), yet this connection needs to trickle into faculty training. This faculty development model shares the instructional strategies employed in a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) faculty training program. This two-part
WAC faculty training model, which embeds the use of technology in the second part of the curriculum, consists of ten three-hour sessions. To
evaluate its effectiveness, faculty members (N = 14) who completed all ten sessions were asked to respond on a 7-point scale to a nineteen-item
satisfaction survey, with higher ratings indicating more positive experiences. Description of and responses to the faculty training model will be shared. The training was well received by the faculty, as the strong majority of the mean ratings fall above a 6.0. An analysis of items and open-ended responses from the survey revealed a need for reform in the training program, specifically in the following areas: (a) additional sharing among colleagues and (b) more interaction with online instructional mediums. This evaluation can be used to inform and improve a Web-accessible approach to faculty training that models the use of technology in writing-intensive instruction. (Contains 1 table.)
Descriptors: Faculty Development, Writing (Composition), Writing Instruction, Online Courses, Educational Technology, Teaching Methods, Writing Across the Curriculum, Program Effectiveness, Teacher Attitudes, College Faculty, Web Based Instruction, Teacher Collaboration, Communities of Practice, Observation, Peer Evaluation, Program Evaluation, Teacher Improvement, Teaching Skills
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A