Focus group report for Preparing to Teach Online feedback at Madison College. Focus group facilitated by CETL Assessment Consultant, Mary Vlisides.

1. Online Success Skills for Instructors
Focus Group Report
3/10/09
Facilitator Report
Submitted by: Mary Vlisides
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2. A. Purpose:
Conduct focus groups with faculty volunteers across content and program
areas to obtain reaction to and feedback on draft “Online Success Skills for
Instructors” proposed by the CQI Flexible Learning Team.
B. Process:
1. The Focus groups were formed with faculty volunteers from across content
areas and programs. There was a mix of full and part time faculty, those with
online instructional experience and those with limited experience. Groups
were kept at 7-8 participants.
Date for Focus Number of Number of Centers represented in
Group participants invited participants each session
attended
2/27/09 7 7 Business & Applied Arts,
Human & Protective
Services, CHASE,
Agriscience &
Technology, CPAA
3/4/09 10 8 A & S, Business & Applied
Arts, Agriscience &
Technology, CPAA
3/5/09 6 7 (one participant A & S, Agriscience &
moved from 3/4 Technology, CHASE,
group to 3/5 group) Business & Applied Arts
2. All Groups met in Room 220C for 1 hour sessions, in CETL. Mary Vlisides
facilitated all 3 focus groups. All groups were given the following materials
and the same 3 questions. Groups were read the instructions and questions
which included:
a. The reason for the use of focus groups,
b. The process to be used
c. What will happen with the information they develop.
d. How these criteria will be linked with training and development provided
by CETL for professional development.
e. Three questions each focus group were read and answered in this order
were:
• From the list of Online Success Skills provided, identify the skills you
believe would be most crucial for success and why?
• From the list of Online Success Skills provided, identify the skills you
believe should not be included and why?
• Do you believe there are other Online Success Skills that should be
included to aid in course, instructor and student success in the
online environment? If so please describe these skills.
f. All focus groups were given at the beginning of the session a printed copy
of the following documents:
• Preparing to Teach Online – Skills for Success which included the
academic and technical criteria, complete list of Online Success
Skills for instructors, references, and resources.
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3. • The list of the three focus group questions.
• Each focus group participant was asked to leave all documents in
room 220C and to not discuss the results of their focus group.
3. A recorder/scribe was present with each group to record their responses.
Each Group session was audio recorded and was saved and converted to
podcasts. The facilitator recorded notes during each session.
4. All focus group documents and pod casts of all sessions are saved and
located on the CETL Shared drive at S:/CETL/Online Focus Groups.
5. The facilitator created this report on the focus group results by using the
following method:
a. Review of facilitator notes from the each focus group session.
b. Review of each scribe notes from each session.
c. Combining information from part A & B.
d. Reviewing Podcast as needed to clarify discrepancies in notes.
6. The final set of criteria and focus group report will be made available to the
focus group members via Blackboard once the process is complete.
C. Results and Findings:
1. Online Success Skills identified as most crucial:
The overall consensus by all 3 groups was that most or all skills listed were
important. But they did identify the following list that emerged as the most
crucial:
• Facilitate online activities (2 groups)
• Adapt online teaching strategies and content to meet the needs of
individual learners (2 groups)-Recommended change to:
Adapt online teaching strategies and content to meet the needs (of
online instruction/learners.)
• Encourage student engagement, (2 groups)
• Create e-learning activities that address various learning styles and
incorporate the use of appropriate technology, (2 groups)
• Utilize appropriate strategies in course organization and structure to
ensure learner success, (3 groups)
• Manage student feedback and questions effectively (2 groups) - “This
skill is very important because it takes much of your time in an online
course, very important for a basic online instructor skill.”
2. The following Online Success Skills were identified as in need of clarification,
changes, or combined with another skill.
• Explain approach to online delivery content format- one group did not
understand what is meant by “delivery content format”. Some
thought this might be their course delivery system such as
blackboard? Others thought that it might mean the course delivery
such as lecture based, versus activity based such as viewing a video
and doing an activity, use of captivate, tools , etc… They also
thought this skill was redundant and was covered in the other skills. This
was not clear- needs to be removed or reworded to get meaning.(1
group)
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4. • Apply Course Quality Standards- some groups did not have an
understanding of these, examples were given. Some significant
comments were made, which may be important for the team to
consider:
• “One participant brought up the issue that if there are no
quality standards for “regular-traditional courses” how could
we apply quality standards to online only? This participant
expressed the opinion that first we need quality standards for
all courses.”
• Most participants supported the “idea” of applying quality
standards to online courses. They felt that these standards
would help to improve or make online learning better and
increase the likelihood of success online for the student and
teacher.
• One participant felt online standards maybe a collective
bargaining issue in their next agreement for the faculty
unions.
• Develop Group Management Techniques- opposing views- one group
felt this is a skill not all instructors needed, depending on the course
content the instructor teaches. While another group reiterated the
value and importance of utilizing appropriate teaching strategies
online and creating an online community for the students. One Group
suggested a change to: Develop Group Management Techniques as
it fits in a course.
• Adapt online teaching strategies and content to meet the needs of
individual learners recommended change to:
• Adapt online teaching strategies and content to meet the
needs (of online instruction/learners) or another group
suggested a change was to eliminate this skill, they thought it
was redundant. There was much discussion in 2 of the 3
groups on the last part of this skill meet the needs of
individual learners. Many of the participants expressed the
concern that this was not realistic or should not be an
expectation for online teachers. They thought instructors
should provide a variation of activities, but that the learner
needs to adapt their learning styles somewhat to online
learning format also. One group suggested that this skill be
eliminated because it was redundant but one of the
descriptors under that skill be moved to another success skill
as follows:
• Create e-learning activities that address various learning styles and
incorporate the use of appropriate technology
 Adapts and adjusts instruction to create multiple paths to
learning objectives-
• Promote student to student interaction as appropriate or necessary-
this was a suggested change by a group who saw this skill as course
and content specific therefore would not be used by all instructors
teaching an online course.
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5. 3. Suggested Online Success Skills for Instructors- additions from focus groups:
• Provide a Tips & Tricks training for online and hybrid instruction.
• Design the organization of blackboard- navigation, clarity, ease of
use, well thought out, meaningful activities. (Reoccurring theme)
• How to gauge and improve student skills, competency, and self-
motivation.
• Add technology training tools component as part of training online.
• How to assess or estimate the information/content needed for a new
online course, Identify process for online instructors to estimate/define
the time commitment for the online student course work.
• How to communicate course expectations to the students upfront,
such as tips for success in this course, needed course time
commitment, readiness lessons. How to clearly lay out the prerequisite
skills needed for a student to take the class (avoid getting students in
the course over their head)
• Create online activities that leverage technology use for effective
online teaching. What is appropriate for what you are teaching, not
use of technology just because it is there.
• Make all instructors aware of online / technology resources. Make
instructors aware of resources available to support online teacher at
MATC
• Share Best practices for online teachers for training. (recruit
experienced online teachers to share)
4. Themes & Observations
 “Faculty should have an ongoing experience as an online student, to
be able to teach online.”
 Online Success Skills for instructors, recommend scaling list down so
new instructors do not see this as overwhelming or a barrier may scare
them off. Another recommendation that ties to this idea would be to
break the training for online instructors into 2 levels, beginner and
advanced online training. This includes the idea of focusing the online
expectations for the new online instructor’s course: bare bones- do
what you need only, advanced instructor training: develop Cadillac
Course.
 Need MATC to have a Standard Online Etiquette Policies for online
faculty and students.
 NEED Online Technology Support 24/7 for both teachers and students.
This support would assist students and teachers to be successful online.
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6.  Provide a way for experienced online instructors to share Best
Practices for online teachers for training.
 Create a Formal online mentors program where a new online teacher
is automatically assigned to an experienced online instructor. Mentors
should be compensated by recertification, pay, or % service to the
college.
 Some online instructors noted we should be looking at Hybrid Success
Skills too. How do they differ? How are they the same? Some
instructors felt that after teaching online, they would like to do a hybrid
course instead, they thought it might be better to start as hybrid for
New online instructors and then move to online.
 “MATC technical infrastructure is “old”. We need a more stable and
better content management system (Blackboard), email, computer
technology, etc…to be successful online.” This was a reoccurring
theme in all focus groups.
 Online instructors would be more successful if students were
technically ready to do online (use of Blackboard, email attachments
etc ...). Instructors wouldn’t waste their time solving the technical
problems, rather teaching. This was a reoccurring theme in all focus
groups.
 Students should be assessed for whether they should participate in an
online course, by an assessment; some students should NEVER be
online learners.
 New teachers should not teach online. A new teacher is defined as a
brand new teacher or a teacher who never taught the
content/course before.
 Online Instructors should enjoy technology.
 Online instructors should expect to do training to prepare to teach
online.
 Instructors wanting to teach online should take an assessment to
measure their technical skills for online, and a second assessment to
help them assess their abilities to function in the online environment.
 Online access to demonstrations (for teaching) as you enter
blackboard for instructors.
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