The Responsibilities of Teaching Online
The responsibilities are the same. The instructor is responsible for teaching, and the students are responsible for learning. However, the differences in the settings create great differences in the interactions that occur for a great teaching/learning environment. The participants in online education do not benefit from face-to-face communication, which often permits quicker communication of course objectives, policies, and practices. Instead, the communication depends mostly on written communication through posted information, email, and discussions. Resolution of communications issues may be more difficult, and in some cases, communications issues may not be apparent or resolvable in the online environment.
Chuck
Hi Chuck, I agree that it can be difficult to resolve issues because of the time between communications, so I encourage my faculty to request a time to talk with learners by telephone to resolve issues.
I do want to share with you a conversation that I had with an associate dean last week. At my university, chairs are being asked to improve persistence and learner success in the courses we manage. In my conversation with the associate dean I said that in a traditional course if learners didn't show up to class, the chair wouldn't be asking the instructor why they couldn't engage the learner; however, in the online environment there is a notion that somehow the instructor can do something to make the learner "show up" in class and be successful! Tina
Tina, thank you for the observations about persistence and learner success. In the past 10 years, I have held positions as a Director of Student Services at a ground campus college and Chief Marketing Officer at a 100% online university, as well as faculty positions at online and ground campus schools. Here sre my observations. Many schools today operate under the "equal access" model and do not set standards for entrance. Frankly (and being a cynic), this is designed to permit the schools to maximize access to Federal Financial Aid. When students who really have no business being in college are admitted, administration shifts the burden for retention to academic administration. When academic administration cannot figure out how to retain students, they shift the burden to faculty. At some point, administration and academic administration must come to an agreement that retention/persistence starts with admission policies and practices. This has been true at traditional on campus schools for decades. Everyone knows that sophomore enrollment will be 60% of freshman enrollment, and in fact, many campus schools seek to "weed out" freshmen who should not really be there.
"Equal access" in higher education should also mean equal opportunity to succeed or fail. Instructors play a role in this, but the full burden of responsibility is not on their shoulders.
Chuck
Thanks for sharing your perspective Chuck. You are right on!! In the school of undergraduate studies we have actually moved to a reading/writing assessment that all new learners have to pass before they can enroll at Capella. This has had a positive impact on the readiness of our learners. Tina
This makes even more sense for online learners than in-person learners. It seems to me that for some of my students, just nuts-and-bolts written communication is a challenge so trying to create and manage social relationships through their writing is almost impossible. Since a sense of connection is important for retention, these are students who are easy to lose.
I disagree, I believe both types of classroom settings have responsibilites. I think it doesn't matter the setting.
Hi Jody, can you elaborate on the differences in responsibilities? Tina
I disagree for the reasons others have mentioned. Online intructors are expected to make considerably more efforts toward student retention in online schools. That may be a constant across online institutions.
I agree that we, as teachers have to teach. We have to come to class prepared to present material and foster discussions. I agree that we must engage the students no matter what the setting.
Michael
If anything there could be more responsibility or, at the very least, they are different responsibilities. In a traditional classroom you get immediate feedback from the people in front of you; who is paying attention, who is not, who is engaged, etc. Online you do not get those cues so we have to create a way to get them.
Hi Michael, your statement about the online instructors responsibility for retention is so true! We spend a lot of time doing proactive communications to reach out to non-engaged learners. Tina
Teaching online does not equate to the same responsibilities as teaching in the classroom. As stated prior we have additional responsibilities of student retention, which can be very time consuming depending on your student population. I do believe we have a responsibility to assist with student retention, but I do not agree that we should bear the brunt of it.
Hi Martha, in your institution do you have additional support for the retention of your learners? Tina
thank you Chuck and Tina for these points.
Well stated, Chuck and I share your sentiments.
Yes, but there is a lot of pressure put on the Instructors.
Thanks for asking,
Martha
Hi Martha, that is the same situation in our institution. Although there is additional support, the instructor bears the greatest responsibility. Tina
I agree. The core responsibilites may be the same - classroom management, grading and assessment, but the method in which they are carried out and conducted are very different online when compared to on-ground. Online requires much more written communication than on-ground (which you often rely on verbal communication more). It also requires daily interaction where on-ground your course may only meet once or twice a week.
Yes, I agree Angela. Online requires a lot more monitoring of the environment. Tina
Tina, loved your story here!!
Yes, online teaching is more difficult than traditional classroom teaching because it is not face to face; hence the burden is on us to keep the course moving and prodding those students who seem to be drifting away.
Hi Chet, yes it is. When I am hiring faculty, along with looking at the credentials, I am also looking for individuals who have skills and a disposition for mentoring and coaching. Tina
Tina, that is sooooo important too. Many adjuncts do not necessarily possess the skills of mentoring or coaching and this is so critical in the teaching profession.
I act as a mentor for one of the schools that I am involved with and enjoy teaching others how to be empathetic and how to really coach students for success.
