Online Adjunct Faculty Perceptions of Professional Development to Support Personal and Professional Academic Growth During COVID-19

Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand what online adjunct faculty value as support services, specifically professional development opportunities, provided by their respective higher education institutions. Method: This qualitative narrative inquiry study centered on exploring perceptions and experiences of online adjunct faculty members from higher education institutions and their experiences and expectations of professional development (PD), prior to and during COVID-19. Results: The study resulted in the identification of possible improvements and enhancements to existing PD content that would further support faculty personal development, mental health, wellbeing, and academic growth. Conclusions: This study reminds us that there are numerous variables, including unforeseen crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, that need to be considered when developing, implementing, and presenting PD for online adjunct faculty professional and personal growth. Because faculty want to be listened to and heard, the PD development and implementation process needs to be interactive to support online adjunct faculty, regardless of whether the university is for-profit or not-for-profit. Implication for Practice: The results based on online adjunct faculty experiences could lead to updating professional development opportunities employed in different higher education institutions to promote faculty self-actualization and ultimately, student success.

Multimedia Open Educational Resource Materials for Teaching-Online Diversity and Leadership: Aligning Bloom’s Taxonomy and Studio Habits of Mind

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore, develop, test, and refine processes to incorporate meaningful and equitable use of open educational resources (OER) in online classrooms. Method: The intent of this qualitative study was to use an action research process of interactive discussions between higher education practitioners to shape collective understanding of how to teach in an online learning environment using OER. Results: The study resulted in the identification six exemplar learning opportunities which could be incorporated into the blended pedagogical model. Each exemplar OER included all four types of knowledge as defined by Bloom's taxonomy and required skills of observe and envision as defined in the Studio Habits of Mind (SHoM). A second criteria for our purposive selection was that each exemplar could be used to teach in multiple contexts for multiple purposes across a spectrum of higher education online courses. Conclusion: This study reminds us that educators need a new mindset to work with multimedia and visual resources. The blended pedagogical model provides scaffold teaching and learning opportunities that were not visible in either Bloom's taxonomy or SHoM alone. This blended pedagogical model scaffolds the “how” when using a visual approach to curriculum development that may enrich the learning experiences of students when presented in online higher education classrooms. Implication for Practice: Educators might replicate this study or transfer findings for purposes of comparing and testing further the use of OER in their online higher education classes to further engage student learning. Applying new understanding in a project that is shared with the larger learning group is essential as students understand and begin to own new skills and insights. The blended pedagogical model presented in this paper could be helpful to educators to maximize the benefits from the integration of technology and OERs to support online higher education.

Students’ and Faculty Members’ Perceptions and Experiences of Classroom Assessment: A Case Study of a Public University in Afghanistan

Objective: The primary goal of the study was to examine students’ perceptions of classroom assessment at a public university in Afghanistan. Exploring current assessment practices focused on student and faculty members lived experiences was a secondary goal. The study also sought to collect evidence on whether or not the new assessment policy was effective in student achievement. Method: Authors used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design to conduct the study. Initially, we applied the Students Perceptions of Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ), translated into Dari/Farsi and validated, to collect data from a random sample of 400 students from three colleges: Agriculture, Education, and Humanities. Response rate was 88.25% (<em>N</em> = 353). Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from a purposeful sample of 18 students and 7 faculty members. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and <em>t</em>-tests were used to analyze quantitative data, and NVivo 12 was used to conduct thematic analysis on qualitative data. Results: The quantitative results suggest that students have positive perceptions of the current assessment practices. However, both students and faculty members were dissatisfied with the grading policy, reinforcing summative over formative assessment. Results support that the policy change regarding assessment has resulted in more students passing the courses compared to in the past. The findings also suggest improvements in faculty professional skills such as assessment and teaching and ways that they engage students in assessment processes. Implication for Policy and Practice: Recommendations include revisiting the grading policy at the national level to allow faculty members to balance the formative and summative assessment and utilizing assessment benchmarks and rubrics to guide formative and summative assessment implementation in practice.

A Conceptual Continuous Improvement Framework to Examine the "Problems of Understanding" Applied Research

Objectives: Improving performance to meet strategic priorities, such as teaching balanced with increased applied research activities, has developed into a central, though contentious, discourse for faculty in Ontario colleges. The aim of this article is to analyze and better understand why faculty are not engaged in applied research practices. Method: This article draws from social cognition theory and a social constructivist perspective. The literature review examines the evolution of colleges in Ontario, including the political factors and symbolic artifacts that shape values and organizational practices. This study sought to explore how a conceptual continuous improvement (CI) framework might advance our understanding of the policy shifts between applied research discourses within Ontario colleges in Canada and barriers that faculty face to enact applied research practices. Results: Underpinned by a set of simple principles, including improving through communication, learning through collaboration, and changing through coordination, the conceptual CI processes and systematic method provide opportunities to bridge the different contexts and unveil the varied on-the-ground realities of faculty teaching and research tasks. Conclusions: The findings reveal developmental needs and adaptive institutional challenges related to applied research practice changes have been influenced by political, cultural, and socio-cognition contexts and tasks. Implication for Practice: The inventive conceptual CI framework provides a viable means to analyze the fragmented state of applied research practices across Ontario colleges, which may ignite conversations and inform decision-making as well as suggest approaches to change at other global postsecondary education institutions. The innovative conceptual CI framework analysis tool will be of interest to faculty, institutional leaders, faculty unions, and policymakers.

Audio - Article Summaries Volume 11, Issue 1 (English)

As an added service to those visiting the journal, the HLRC provides in English and Spanish a brief audio summary of the articles published in the issue. This is the English version.

Audio - Resúmenes de artículos del HLRC Volumen 11, Número 1 (español)

As an added service to those visiting the journal, the HLRC provides in English and Spanish a brief audio summary of the articles published in the issue. This is the Spanish version.

Impact of Technology on Higher Education

We are pleased to publish the first regular issue of <em>Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC)</em>, which follows the Special Issue, <em>Implications of COVID-19 on Higher Education</em>. The pandemic continues to impact higher education; in many parts of the world, it is still resulting in classes being held remotely, while in other regions, classrooms are slowly reopening to face-to-face or hybrid instruction. As the manuscripts in the special issue, as well as those in the current issue, reflect, the implications of the pandemic on higher education will be far-reaching. We continue to encourage authors to submit empirical research and essays that document ways that higher education will be different as we emerge from the pandemic. The focus of the HLRC is on issues whose importance has been magnified by the pandemic, including digital teaching and learning, higher education and the public good, and the preparation of students in key 21st-century employability skills.

Self-Perceived Digital Competencies in Educational Online Migration Due to COVID-19 Confinement

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to validate a measurement scale to assess self-perceived digital competencies of Mexican university students who have migrated from a mixed school-digital system to a fully digitalized educational environment because of COVID-19 confinement. The instrument was based on the European Union Digital Competence Framework. Method: 1,118 participants aged between 18 and 47 years completed the assessment. This included 677 females (60.6%) and 429 males (38.4%). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess scale structure. Results: Results of the CFA showed an excellent fit to the data, C²/<em>df </em>= 3.27, <em>p</em> = .01, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.97, root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.05. Cronbach’s a values for the scale and subscales ranged from .78 to .83. Three of the four subscales predicted number of assignments completed and submitted, a measure of predictive validity. Conclusions: The Digital Competence Scale for Online Migration is a valid scale for Mexican students and demonstrates predictive validity. Implication for Theory and/or Practice: The scale may be useful in planning activities for the reinforcement of digital competencies and to identify difficulties and support specific pedagogy for online teaching/learning processes.

Online Classrooms During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Industrial Engineering Instructors in Indonesia

Objectives: The purpose of this descriptive study was to understand the instructional methods, quality, and challenges in online instruction as industrial engineering instructors in Indonesia transitioned from face-to-face to fully online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Instructors were invited to complete a survey that requested perceptions on methods, perceived quality, and challenges regarding course delivery and assessment in their online classrooms. Results: Despite the fact that more than half of the participants (59%) had some training, the majority (63%) reported that they had no experience in conducting online classrooms. Furthermore, more than 50% of the participants described the quality of the course delivery and assessment as the same or inferior to traditional classrooms. Most participants reported having an issue with measuring student involvement or gaining class interaction. Regarding the course assessment, the vast majority of the participants reported concerns about integrity issues associated with assignments and exams. Implications for Practice and Conclusion: Since instructors reported intention to continue online instruction post-pandemic, industrial engineering programs can begin strengthening the online learning infrastructure and providing some training to the instructors to minimize the discrepancies between face-to-face and online instruction.

Design, Development, Implementation, and Support (DDIS): A Curriculum Supporting Online Doctoral Candidates

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively describe and justify the case design of an approach for the integration of synchronous virtual meetings to support nontraditional online doctoral candidates. As more nontraditional doctoral students are completing their degree programs virtually through online universities, the nature of their degree progression and the development of critical knowledge and skills differ from traditional on-campus programs. Method: The case design of an approach to integrating synchronous online interactive meetings to support these learners is identified and justified through references to research in the learning sciences including sociocultural learning, heutagogy, and constructivist instructional design methods. The instructional design process resulted in a scaled schedule of interactions linked to the development of specific cognitive processes, academic skills, and expert knowledge required by doctoral candidates for successful completion of their degree programs. Results: This case design study resulted in identification of developmentally phased synchronous interactions designed to support online nontraditional doctoral candidates. The interactions identified were linked to the development of critical processes, skills, and knowledge to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the candidate’s progress. Conclusions: The results identified how the integration of synchronous virtual meetings to support online nontraditional doctoral candidates throughout their programs can both increase the development of the advanced knowledge required by these learners and the collaboration needed between mentor and mentee for the online learners to be successful.