Excellent Online Instructor

Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt are the managing partners of Crossroads Consulting Group, working with academic institutions and organizations on the design and development of effective online distance learning programs. Rena and Keith are also program directors and faculty in the Teaching in the Virtual Classroom program at Fielding Graduate University. They are the authors of Assessing the Online Learner, Collaborating Online, Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom, The Virtual Student, and Building Online Learning Communities all from Jossey-Bass.

• List of Figures and Tables ixPreface xiAcknowledgments xixThe Authors xxiPART ONE The Excellent Online InstructorONE What Are the Characteristics of Excellent Online Teaching? 3What Does the Excellent Online Instructor Look Like? 5The Importance of Establishing Presence 7Engaging Learners and Creating Community 9Excellence in Course Development 10Providing Effective Facilitation When Teaching Courses Developed by Others 11Good Facilitation Online:What Is Involved? 12Key Points That Define the Excellent Online Instructor 13Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 14TWO Phases of Development 16Faculty Readiness to Teach Online 17The Phases of Online Faculty Development 20The Key to Understanding the Phases 28Faculty Mentoring for Online Teaching 29Dealing with Faculty Resistance 30Key Points Regarding Training Needs and Phases of Development for the Excellent Online Instructor 33Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 34THREE Elements of Training for Excellence 35What Does Good Faculty Training Look Like? 36Online, Face-to-Face, or Hybrid:Which Works Best? 41Who Should Conduct Training for Online Teaching? 42Key Points in Training for Excellence 43Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 44PART TWO Supporting the Movement from New to GreatFOUR Models of Faculty Development 47A Phased Approach to Online Faculty Development 48Establishing a Long-Term Faculty Development Effort 53The Learning Community Approach to Online Faculty Development 54Working with Adjuncts at a Distance 57Training Efficiently 59Certificate Programs in Online Teaching 60Key Points Regarding Models of Online Faculty Development 62Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 63F I VE Mentoring Online Faculty 64Common Elements of Mentoring Approaches 65Approaches to Mentoring for Online Teaching 68Developing an Effective Mentoring Program 70What Organizations Can Do to Promote Mentoring 74Key Points About Mentoring Online Faculty 75Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 75S I X The Widening Gap: Professional Development for K–12 Teachers 77Online Teaching Methods in the K–12 Environment 79Characteristics of Excellent Online Teachers 81Preservice Teacher Preparation and Professional Development 82Coping Effectively with the Issues and Challenges of K–12 Online Teaching 85Key Points in K–12 Online Teaching 86Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 86PART THREE Connecting the Dots: Faculty Development and EvaluationSEVEN Linking Training to Faculty Evaluation 91Online Course Evaluation and Faculty Evaluation 92Managing and Evaluating Faculty at a Distance 99Key Points on Linking Faculty Development to Evaluation 102Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 102E I G H T Best Practices in the Development of Excellent Online Faculty 104Best Practices for Faculty Developers and Faculty Tasked with Faculty Development 105Best Practices for Faculty Engaged in Their Own Development 110Best Practices for Institutions 112A ‘‘Best System’’ for Developing Excellent Online Instructors 113Resources for Faculty Developers, Faculty, and AdministratorsAppendix A: Resources for Faculty Developers and Those Tasked with Faculty Development 119Appendix B: Resources for Faculty 139Appendix C: Resources for Administrators of Online Programs 149References 159Index 167