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A case study: Perceptions of the induction process into college distance learning teaching
Abstract
Advances in technology have resulted in new educational delivery systems. Increasingly, college professors have the opportunity to teach courses that may include students at distant sites. The prospect of teaching a telecommunicated course may be simultaneously exciting and unsettling for college instructors who have little experience with distance delivery systems. The purpose of this study was to examine the process of learning to teach via an interactive distance learning system (IDL). The induction process was explored in a naturalistic setting using observation case study design. The focus of the study was the perceptions of the IDL teaching experience of a newly hired professor. Staff members involved in the induction process provided additional perspectives. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and analysis of visual aids and documents during one academic year. Six themes emerged that had relevance to the IDL induction experience; comfort, time, personal qualities, meeting student needs, good teacher, and institutional commitment. The induction experience and resulting themes were compared to current theoretical and practical recommendations in the field of distance learning. Role responsibilities (Thach & Murphy, 1995), learning stages (Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow, 1992), and issues relating to distance learning in higher education formed the basis of the analysis. Findings from the study confirmed many theoretical concepts and practical recommendations contained in distance learning literature. However, other widely accepted ideas and suggestions were not supported in actual practice. For example, over-simplification of the telecommunications teaching process may hinder the development of new IDL faculty, rather than encourage teachers to try distance learning technology. Two models were developed to clarify the IDL teaching/learning environment and its effect on preparing professors to successfully use the technology. In the first model, a description of the IDL environment in relation to the cultures of traditional academia and technology was proposed. The role of the novice professor in the IDL contextual setting was described by the second model. A hierarchy of teaching competencies was proposed to assist in developing new professors for IDL systems.
Subject Area
Higher education|Teacher education|Educational software
Recommended Citation
Blundell, Edith Patricia, "A case study: Perceptions of the induction process into college distance learning teaching" (1997). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9725111.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9725111