scholarly journals The H.E.R.O.s of Online Education: What makes students succeed despite the odds?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charmaine Bissessar ◽  
Debra Black ◽  
Mehraz Boolaky
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Online Instructors

The study of psychological capital (PsyCap) is prevalent in organizations globally and is part of the movement towards attaining positive organizational behavior. This concept is slowly being transferred to the education realm with teachers becoming more mindful of students’ inner H. E. R. O. (Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism). Little research, however, has been conducted upon the PsyCap of university students in fully online programs. The purpose of this study was to determine what aspects of students’ psychological capital lead to success despite adversity. An exploratory qualitative methodology was used to interview five participants from the United States, Canada, Africa, France, and Serbia in order to determine whether or not PsyCap influenced their drive to complete their online graduate programs of study at the University of Liverpool. This convenience sample yielded compelling results for future research and indicated similarities in hope and efficacy as well as differences in gender regarding participant resilience and approach to challenges. Further research is needed to determine whether gender does play a critical role in online students’ PsyCap, especially resilience. Another revealing result was that the participants credited their online instructors for motivating and discouraging them based on their feedback, grading, and overall communication. This points to a possible relationship between the students’ PsyCap and the three online teaching presences in communities of inquiry (cognitive, teaching, and social).

scholarly journals BRIDGES AND BARRIERS TO TEACHING ONLINE COLLEGE COURSES: A STUDY OF EXPERIENCED ONLINE FACULTY IN THIRTY- SIX COLLEGES

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Shea
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Education Student ◽  
Online Faculty ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Barriers To Teaching

This paper reports on initial findings from a research study of factors that enable and constrain faculty participation in online teaching and learning environments. It is noted that demand for higher education continues to grow in the United States. It is argued that the nature of the higher education student population will likely continue to transform towards a non-traditional profile. These two trends drive an increased demand for alternative routes to a college degree and have fueled dramatic growth in online learning recently. The study identifies faculty acceptance of online teaching as a critical component for future growth to meet this demand and ensure quality. Through analysis of data from 386 faculty teaching online in 36 colleges in a large state university system, the most significant factors that support and undermine motivation to teach online are identified. The top motivator is a more flexible work schedule. The top demotivator is inadequate compensation for perceived greater work than for traditionally delivered courses, especially for online course development, revision, and teaching. However, respondents in this study chose to teach online for a wide variety of reasons many of which were associated with demographic and contextual differences. These distinctions are reviewed in light of their implications for future quality of online education. Additionally, through factor analysis, underlyingconstructs for online faculty motivations are identified. Finally, recommendations are made for policy, practice, faculty development and future research.

Positive Workplaces

2009 ◽  
pp. 578-588
Author(s):  
Fred Luthans ◽  
Carolyn M. Youssef
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Organizational Behavior ◽  
Performance Impact ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Psychological Capacities

Over the years, both management practitioners and academics have generally assumed that positive workplaces lead to desired outcomes. Unlike psychology, considerable attention has also been devoted to the study of positive topics such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment. However, to place a scientifically based focus on the role that positivity may play in the development and performance of human resources, and largely stimulated by the positive psychology initiative, positive organizational behavior (POB) and psychological capital (PsyCap) have recently been introduced into the management literature. This chapter first provides an overview of both the historical and contemporary positive approaches to the workplace. Then, more specific attention is given to the meaning and domain of POB and PsyCap. Our definition of POB includes positive psychological capacities or resources that can be validly measured, developed, and have performance impact. The constructs that have been determined so far to best meet these criteria are efficacy, hope, optimism, and resiliency. When combined, they have been demonstrated to form the core construct of what we term psychological capital (PsyCap). A measure of PsyCap is being validated and this chapter references the increasing number of studies indicating that PsyCap can be developed and have performance impact. The chapter concludes with important future research directions that can help better understand and build positive workplaces to meet current and looming challenges.

scholarly journals Online Teaching With M-Learning Tools in the Midst of Covid-19: A Reflection Through Action Research

10.28945/4761 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minh Q. Huynh ◽  
Eraj Khatiwada
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Frame Work

Aim/Purpose: In the midst of COVID-19, classes are transitioned online. Instructors and students scramble for ways to adapt to this change. This paper shares an experience of one instructor in how he has gone through the adaptation. Background: This section provides a contextual background of online teaching. The instructor made use of M-learning to support his online teaching and adopted the UTAUT model to guide his interpretation of the phenomenon. Methodology: The methodology used in this study is action research through participant-observation. The instructor was able to look at his own practice in teaching and reflect on it through the lens of the UTAUT conceptual frame-work. Contribution: The results helped the instructor improve his practice and better under-stand his educational situations. From the narrative, others can adapt and use various apps and platforms as well as follow the processes to teach online. Findings: This study shares an experience of how one instructor had figured out ways to use M-learning tools to make the online teaching and learning more feasible and engaging. It points out ways that the instructor could connect meaningfully with his students through the various apps and plat-forms. Recommendations for Practitioners: The social aspects of learning are indispensable whether it takes place in person or online. Students need opportunities to connect socially; there-fore, instructors should try to optimize technology use to create such opportunities for conducive learning. Recommendations for Researchers: Quantitative studies using surveys or quasi-experiment methods should be the next step. Validated inventories with measures can be adopted and used in these studies. Statistical analysis can be applied to derive more objective findings. Impact on Society: Online teaching emerges as a solution for the delivery of education in the midst of COVID-19, but more studies are needed to overcome obstacles and barriers to both instructors and students. Future Research: Future studies should look at the obstacles that instructors encounter and the barriers with technology access and inequalities that students face in online classes. NOTE: This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the journal Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, 18, 173-193. Click DOWNLOAD PDF to download the published paper.

Online Instructors as Distance Education Experts

2015 ◽  
pp. 167-189
Author(s):  
Libi Shen
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Technology Standards ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Online Teachers ◽  
National Educational Technology Standards

An expert is a person with content knowledge and professional skills in a field. Are online teachers distance education experts? What are the main behavioral, cognitive, and emotional characteristics of distance education instructors? What competencies should online instructors possess in order to be distance education experts? In this chapter, the researcher examines National Educational Technology Standards for teachers, National Standards for Quality Online Teaching, and empirical research on teachers' roles and competencies to seek a definition for online instructors as distance education experts. Several issues related to online teachers' competencies and technology standards are discussed. Future research studies are recommended.

The Mediating Effect of Psychological Capital on the Budget Participation-Job Performance Relationship

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roopa Venkatesh ◽  
Jennifer Blaskovich
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Setting Process ◽  
Positive State

ABSTRACT This study draws from the literature in positive psychology and organizational behavior to examine the role of an individual's psychological capital (PsyCap) on the budget participation-job performance relationship. PsyCap is an emerging construct that represents an individual's positive state of psychological development, and is characterized by the individual's hope, efficacy, optimism, and resiliency. We surveyed 109 employees working in organizations across the United States who are actively involved in the budget-setting process or have budgetary responsibilities. The results of a mediation analysis show that budget participation is significantly and positively associated with employees' levels of PsyCap, which is in turn significantly and positively associated with higher levels of job performance. Supplemental analysis using a structural equation modeling technique also supported the hypotheses of this study.

Using factor-cluster analysis to segment patrons of casual dining establishments in the United States

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 1377-1398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Duncan ◽  
Bharath M. Josiam ◽  
Young Hoon Kim ◽  
Alexandria C. Kalldin
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Demographics ◽  
Casual Dining ◽  
Diverse Groups ◽  
Push And Pull

Purpose – Focussing on behaviors and attitudes of casual dining patrons, the purpose of this paper is to use a factor-cluster approach to segment patrons into market groups and attempts to determine if differences exist in motivational factors among segments. Design/methodology/approach – Factor-cluster analysis is an alternative segmentation method to more traditionally used methods based on consumer demographics. Push and pull motivators were analyzed through factor analysis to determine important groupings. Then, to identify homogenous subgroups, k-means cluster analysis was conducted to segment 559 survey respondents based on factor importance. Findings – Three diverse groups were identified: Fraternizing Kitchen Fearfuls, Functional Feasters, and Foodie Fanatics. The various push and pull factors appeared to affect segments differently, with each cluster ascribing various importance levels to each of the factors used in the clustering approach. Research limitations/implications – Limitations include the use of a convenience sample and on-campus sampling. Future research should use random sampling methods and obtain surveys from sites not associated with a college campus. Practical implications – Though not often used in hospitality research, factor-cluster analysis can be useful to segment diners based on behavioral intentions and attributes, allowing marketers to more accurately target these diverse consumer segments. Marketing implications for casual dining restaurants are suggested. Originality/value – Using the involvement construct with push/pull motivators, this study groups respondents though factor-cluster analysis. Though used in tourism studies, factor-cluster analysis has yet to be studied in the context of casual dining restaurant patrons.

The Challenge of Distance Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-152
Author(s):  
Michael E. Meagher ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
The United States ◽  
Liberal Arts Institutions ◽  
New Beginning ◽  
Midwestern University ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Silver Lining ◽  
Remote Learning

This essay explores the sudden shift from residential higher education to remote learning in the United States, a consequence of the novel coronavirus. It is a personal account of experiences as a professor at a Midwestern university. Many instructors had no training in online teaching. For university faculty, Covid-19 meant having to transform courses from in-person instruction to a remote platform practically overnight. Among the student comments I received were that I managed the online transition well. Over the next academic year, 2020-21, universities face challenges in resuming on-campus teaching, and the possibility that a new outbreak of the virus might bring a repeat of the Spring 2020 semester. Although that possibility sounds dire, there is hope that the shift to remote learning may offer a silver lining in the form of expanding course offerings beyond geographic areas and reaching a wider audience. For liberal arts institutions that are struggling financially, a rise in the use of remote learning and online education may offer a new beginning, and for public universities, potential new revenue given declining state support, a silver lining.

Substance Use Among a Sample of BSW Students: An Exploratory Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 361-384
Author(s):  
Patricia Chapman ◽  
Kathi R. Trawver
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Social Work Programs

This exploratory study used a convenience sample of 792 currently enrolled BSW students drawn from across accredited social work programs within the United States who completed a 60-item electronic survey to identify the occurrence, types, frequency, and severity of their substance use. More than 93% (n=742) of the study participants reported having used alcohol, and 62% (n=445) reported using drugs on one or more occasions. Reported types of use, frequency of use, and severity of use as measured by AUDIT and DAST scores showed BSW students' substance use similar to or above other national samples of college students. Recommendations for future research and implications for social work educators in addressing substance use and stress management and promoting destigmatized help-seeking among their BSW students are discussed.

scholarly journals Clinical Inertia and Outpatient Medical Errors

2008 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-29
Author(s):  
Patrick J. O'Connor ◽  
JoAnn M. Sperl-Hillen ◽  
Paul E. Johnson ◽  
William A. Rush ◽  
George Biltz
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Events ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
The United States ◽  
Clinical Inertia ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Treatment Intensification ◽  
Heart Attacks ◽  
Premature Deaths ◽  
Medical Care Costs ◽  
Patients With Diabetes

ABSTRACT Clinical inertia is defined as lack of treatment intensification in a patient not at evidence-based goals for care. Clinical inertia is a major factor that contributes to inadequate chronic disease care in patients with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemias, depression, coronary heart disease and other conditions. Recent work suggests that clinical inertia related to the management of diabetes, hypertension and lipid disorders may contribute to up to 80 percent of heart attacks and strokes. Clinical inertia is, therefore, a leading cause of potentially preventable adverse events, disability, death and excess medical care costs. This paper addresses three specific objectives: (1) to present a conceptual model of clinical inertia that takes into account recent developments in human factors research, cognitive science and organizational behavior; (2) to operationally define clinical inertia and propose simple clinical protocols that can be used to identify and map its incidence across populations of patients and physicians; and (3) to propose future research to reduce clinical inertia by specifically targeting the root causes of the problem. Ultimately, a better understanding of clinical inertia and the development of specific interventions to reduce it may be a productive strategy to reduce passive errors that contribute to hundreds of thousands of adverse events and tens of thousands of premature deaths annually in the United States.

scholarly journals Current Practices of Suicide Risk Management Protocols in Research

Crisis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Vannoy ◽  
Ursula Whiteside ◽  
Jürgen Unützer
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Background: Participant safety is an important concern in mental-health-oriented research. Investigators conducting studies in the United States that include potentially suicidal individuals are often required to develop written suicide risk management (SRM) protocols. But little is known about these protocols. It is possible that such protocols could serve as templates for suicide risk management in clinical settings. Aims: To elucidate common (best) practices from mental health intervention researchers. Methods: We conducted a systematic descriptive analysis of written SRM protocols. A convenience sample of studies funded by the United States’ National Institute of Mental Health in 2005 were scanned to discover projects in which investigators were likely to identify and take responsibility for suicide risk in their participant pool. Qualitative methodology was used to create a checklist of tasks perceived to be operationally significant for insuring the safety of suicidal participants. The checklist was applied to all protocols to determine the variability of patient safety tasks across protocols. Results: We identified 45 candidate studies, whereof 38 investigators were contacted, resulting in the review of 21 SRM protocols. Three main categories emerged: overview, entry/exit, and process. Overall, 19 specific tasks were identified. Task frequency varied from 7% to 95% across protocols. Conclusions: The SRM checklist provides a framework for comparing the content of SRM protocols. This checklist may assist in developing SRM protocols in a wide range of settings. Developing guidelines and standard methodologies is an important step to further development of suicide prevention strategies. More research is necessary to determine the impact of SRM protocols on participant safety.

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