online faculty experienced within the last two years. The participants commented on more PDs than just those offered in the survey, and shared experiences and perceptions that stood out to participants as explored in this section. One theme that emerged in the data was that faculty have participated in a wide variety of PD offerings. However, participants felt they needed more offerings with an integration of additional pedagogy and content offerings.
Of the types of PD related to online teaching and learning, faculty had the following categories to choose from: (a) in-service, (b) training workshop, (c) conference, (d) webinar, (e) college course, (f) print material, (g) peer-to-peer, (h) consultation with an instructional designer
for e-learning course planning, or (i) other. The results indicated that a fairly large group preferred participating in workshops/in-service (26%). Other popular forms of PD were peer-to- peer discussions or mentoring related to improving e-learning (14%), read print material (14%), and finally a consultation with an instructional designer (10%). The types of PD reported and number of faculty participating are summarized in Table 5.
Table 5
Types of PD Online Faculty Has Participated In the Last 24 Months
PD Type % Count
In-service 5.00% 4
Training workshop 21.25% 17
Professional Conference 11.25% 9
Webinar (or web resource) 11.25% 9
College course 6.25% 5
Print material (Book, journal article, etc.) 13.75% 11 Peer-to-peer discussion/mentoring (related
to the improvement of e-learning)
17.50% 14
Consultation with an Instructional Designer for e-learning course planning and design
10.00% 8
Institutional website (which one/ones Respondus and COTL )
3.75% 3
Other 0.00% 0
Total 100% 80
The faculty had the ability to expound on the types of PD they partook in over the last 24 months in the interview. They often described the types of PD they attended when they began teaching and then compared what they did initially with what was offered as they became more advanced. For example, Ann, a full-time faculty member with over five years of online teaching experience said the following:
One of the first things that you would have to do if you were interested in actually teaching, online courses was that they had kinda like an online teaching- not a
one two three four in order. And at the end of it then you kinda got the OK to embark on teaching online. And then, after that, every year they would have a strongly suggested blackboard training.
Once faculty were experienced, they reported that PD was not mandatory and at times the PD offered was repeated. One participant explained that PD was suggested but not required. However, regularly participating faculty seemed to consider PD as a part of their everyday teaching practices. In covering this point, Charles said:
I always participate in the faculty summer institute and like workshops during the course of the semester. Not as much this semester but over the time I’ve been here I’ve been to almost all of them. And then you can also email people and schedule sessions with them one on one to kind of talk about how it’s going and to get feedback.
Charles noted that he engages in PD frequently and, therefore, participates in multiple types of PD including in-person, webinar, or readings. In thinking about their PD experiences, participants included the types of PD they experienced and shared exactly how it was delivered. For example, Charles said:
I did faculty development on Blackboard, for everybody that was gonna teach, in the online MBA….. Back then, and it was long it was like six months, and at the end of it we all got a certificate. (We also participated in) some webinars on tools like Camtasia, Blackboard, and how to use Google slides.
Even though the PD types offered were varied, faculty seemed to find ways to continue to participate. Certain things such as receiving a certificate or learning something new (for
example, learning how to use and incorporate Google slides) stood out to them. As an example, Erica gave a recommendation for administrators to incentivize faculty to participate in PD by
giving them credit for doing so. Since faculty have to prioritize their time, having certificates or proof of PD to add to a faculty portfolio or to count toward tenure requirements may give faculty a reason to prioritize PD. Faculty appeared to believe there would be more buy-in if PDs were included as a part of their faculty responsibilities. Erica expanded on this point by stating:
Giving certificates. I put those, in my promotion materials. It’s a way of letting faculty you know say hey I have been doing- so to me it would be a lot better if we said hey, to get your promotion to get your tenure you gotta be serious about professional
development. And at minimum you better have, you know five to 10 certificates, you know you should have at least one a year in there.
Ann shared that her online PD worked for her because she was able to go back and review the materials when it was convenient for her.
being able to go back to it as often as I needed to, you know learning at my own
pace….was how I pretty much feel like I got the best use of the professional development that was offered to me.
David had a different perspective. He believed that face-to-face PD increases
engagement for him. When looking to learn something new or difficult, he prefers to have PD in person:
If I’m trying to learn a new tool, or a new- if something comes up again, you know that somebody buys blackboard and then there’s a new, best practice solution out there, I’m trying to learn it. I prefer to do it face to face. Rather than online.