Proposal
Table of Contents
- The Rationale for and Aims of the Project
- Relationship to Research in the Area
- Current Status of the Proposed Project
- The Approach the Project Will Take
- The Anticipated Deliverables and Outcomes
- Conclusion
- Attachment 1 - Bibliography
- Attachment 3 - Time lines
- Attachment 4 - Project Team
- Attachment 5 - Screenshots of Prototype
- Attachment 6 - Proposed System Architecture
- Attachment 7 - Evaluation Plan
- Attachment 8 - Dissemination Plan
- Attachment 9 - Relationship to the project led by Dr Jo McKenzie (UTS)
Relationship to Research in the Area
This project focuses on providing professional development to academic staff in online learning and teaching. The approach involves the use of a tool and associated website, which provide a scaffold for the development and evaluation of online courses. There is a clear focus on quality through the identification of online learning and teaching and standards made accessible through the tool using a checklist which codifies these standards. The approach draws on the Boyer (1990) notion of scholarship by facilitating learning opportunities which involve both personal reflective practice and engagement of the academic community through peer review. Central to this approach, is the view that the development of academic staff occurs in real contexts with support provided in real time, and with the involvement of other academic staff.
Scholarly Engagement
One of the critical aspects of this approach is that it seeks to achieve scholarly outcomes in course development through processes which are, of themselves, scholarly. The Boyer notion of scholarship is arguably, the most widely-used framework for considering academic work within universities. Boyer identified four scholarships – discovery, teaching and learning, integration and application (Boyer, 1990). His approach is predicated on an understanding of the communal basis of all scholarly activity: that scholarship by its very nature is a public rather than private activity; that it is open to critique and evaluation by others; and that a field of study is progressed through the scholarly activity of building new ideas which are then open to the same processes of public scrutiny. All of the scholarships are exposed to the same rigorous approaches of peer review as a way of gaining quality, transparency and accountability (Schulman, 2002). Within this framework the scholarship of learning and teaching has emerged as a major theme in the higher education sector.
One of the key areas in the notion of the scholarship of learning and teaching is that of the ‘learning community’ – the recognition of the value of relationships and practices that occur in and through the work practices of staff. These communities provide generative learning opportunities through highly contextualised and often discipline specific activities. They emphasise the networks of people that emerge around particular ideas, values, and directions. These networks are more than just resources to be exploited, a means to an end; rather, they embody the corpus of knowledge and practice and are the very essence of the professional life of academics. Within this context, peers play a significant role with networking and non-hierarchical forms of leadership and training central to development of expertise. All staff are potentially ‘seed carriers’ of new ideas and new practices (Senge et al., 1999, p.17).
The primary focus of the processes described above is the academic rather than the materials; a position central to the notion of the scholarship of teaching. That is, all work done on the materials is undertaken by the academic staff member responsible with support provided by professional development staff. Working with staff is a very intensive process but one which has long term rewards for both the individual and the institution. However, several issues emerge from this: How can an institution provide support to the continued development of materials after the initial intensive stage? How can a consistent framework for the development of online materials that is based on research be provided across the university? How can the peer review process, an increasingly important aspect of academic life, be supported for online teaching?
One possible solution to these issues is to provide structured opportunities or a scaffold for discussion and reflection (Boyer, 1990; Schön, 1983) through a checklist of agreed good practice. This has the capacity to encapsulate a range of issues which impact significantly on learning outcomes and to provide discussion around possible solutions. This approach is more organic because it is in the control of the individual and is responsive to individual needs and the particular context. Staff can set their own professional development goals and seek the kind of peer involvement which supports the progress of these goals.
Review of Other Instruments
A large number of checklists and generic descriptors for online course development and evaluation have been reviewed and several limitations noted. First, some of the instruments reviewed have been developed to address particular aspects of course development and are partial in their scope rather than comprehensive. Second, many of them are very general, open-ended instruments. Although there may be some justification for this in terms of providing a generic framework, these instruments make considerable assumptions about the level of expertise of those involved in the processes of online learning and teaching. Third, some instruments have been found to be comprehensive in their scope, but unnecessarily complex because the instrument and supporting online materials are not integrated. Finally, most of the online instruments (including some listing accessibility as an important criterion for online course development) are inaccessible for users with disabilities.
The more comprehensive instruments reviewed require the use of additional applications (for example an Excel spreadsheet) and lack seamless integration with the supporting online material. Furthermore, many of these instruments treat aspects relating to accessibility and usability as separate considerations rather than embedded within criteria relating to instructional design, interface design, use of media and technological aspects.
Relationship to Institutional Priorities
Teaching is a highly valued and respected activity at the University of South Australia. The University has adopted the four scholarships framework promoted by Boyer and this approach to the scholarship of teaching frames all aspects of the University’s teaching enterprise, from academic induction to the more formal process required in the University’s promotions and teaching awards processes. The University’s Teaching and Learning Strategy 2006-8 outlines the distinctive University-wide approach to the scholarship of teaching, which involves engaging in reflective teaching practice through an iterative process of action, reflection and refined action that is both informed by the practices of peers, and open to their critique. This requires:
- gathering data about one’s own teaching and learning performance – whether in preparation, facilitation or evaluation – and engaging in analysis of such data for the purpose of improving teaching and learning (i.e. being a reflective teacher),
- being cognisant of and open to the knowledge about teaching and learning which peers have generated through publishing and presenting, and using this to inform and improve one’s own practice (i.e. being a scholarly teacher), and
- making public one’s own work through presentations and writings in refereed contexts to contribute to knowledge and understanding of teaching and learning at national or international levels (i.e. contributing to the scholarship of teaching).
The University of South Australia has a strong commitment to online learning and all programs have some aspect delivered online. The strategic combination of learning opportunities—a blend of traditional distance education, electronic engagement and face-to-face activity—enables learning to be tailored towards particular student groups, both onshore and offshore, to achieve high quality learning outcomes.
The University has a statutory obligation through its enabling legislation to provide for equity groups and this has been a major emphasis since its formation in1991. The University adopts an inclusive approach to equity, by developing resources and providing opportunities that enrich learning for all students, as well as making specific arrangements for those who have experienced educational disadvantage. Online accessibility is an important priority for the University, and the institution has a detailed Web accessibility policy, which outlines the technical requirements that authors must meet to ensure their online materials are compliant with the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (1999). Compliance with these guidelines helps to ensure that course materials are accessible to a diverse student audience including students with disabilities, students of non-English speaking background, and students who are located in isolated regional locations with limited access to high speed Internet connectivity.
The University also has an international focus and approaches to learning and teaching which value and support diversity and cross-cultural interaction are important goals for all programs and courses taught at UniSA. However, as the Teaching and Learning Strategy 2006-8 report acknowledges, internationalisation of the curriculum raises educational issues and challenges for University staff as they strive to provide courses which are both internationalised and relevant to the needs of all student groups.
As the University pursues its 2010 vision to provide a learning and teaching environment that is student-centred, flexible, technologically mediated and accessible to a diverse student audience, the need for a comprehensive and integrated online peer review system in which criteria relating to inclusivity are embedded, and which provides guidelines and exemplars of best practice, will become increasingly important. The proposed Web-enabled peer review tool will provide an accessible tool in which criteria relating to inclusivity are embedded and can be used to guide academics in the development of online courses that address quality concerns in online learning and teaching; provide a means by which academics can have their online courses peer reviewed and the results made available to support applications for promotion and award; and provide technical guidelines presented in lay terms, as well as examples of best practice linked to each criterion.