The Excellent Online Instructor is a guide for new and
seasoned faculty who teach online, those responsible for training
and developing online instructors, and administrators who must
evaluate online faculty performance. This comprehensive resource
describes the qualities of and explains how one can become an
excellent online instructor. Written by Rena M. Palloff and Keith
Pratt–noted experts in online instruction–the book
* Includes models based in adult learning principles and best
practices
* Offers guidelines to test instructors’ readiness to teach
online
* Contains ideas for overcoming faculty resistance
* Reveals how to develop an effective mentoring program
* Shows how to establish a long-term faculty development
effort
Praise for The Excellent Online Instructor
‘Palloff and Pratt have a profound understanding of the online
educational milieu, its complexities and challenges as well as the
potential it opens up to serious educators dedicated to exploiting
its full value. Practical and down-to-earth strategies are at the
core of what the authors offer the reader in this engaging
book.’
–Michael J. Canuel, CEO, LEARN Quebec
‘This book examines best practices for effective online teaching
and instructor engagement and provides a concise plan for faculty
development and effective training methods. Rena Palloff and Keith
Pratt have provided another essential resource for the field of
online teaching and learning that is a must-read for anyone working
with faculty or teaching online in either higher education or
K-12.’
–Kaye Shelton, dean, Online Education, Dallas Baptist
University
‘Whether you are guiding departmental faculty or looking to
improve your own online skills, Palloff and Pratt provide practical
steps, tools to organize your processes, best practices to emulate,
and valuable resources to help you achieve excellence
online.’
–Lynn Olson, dean, Graduate and Professional Studies,
St. Joseph’s College Online
Table of Content
List of Figures and Tables ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xix
The Authors xxi
PART ONE The Excellent Online Instructor
ONE What Are the Characteristics of Excellent Online Teaching? 3
What Does the Excellent Online Instructor Look Like? 5
The Importance of Establishing Presence 7
Engaging Learners and Creating Community 9
Excellence in Course Development 10
Providing Effective Facilitation When Teaching Courses Developedby Others 11
Good Facilitation Online:What Is Involved? 12
Key Points That Define the Excellent Online Instructor 13
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 14
TWO Phases of Development 16
Faculty Readiness to Teach Online 17
The Phases of Online Faculty Development 20
The Key to Understanding the Phases 28
Faculty Mentoring for Online Teaching 29
Dealing with Faculty Resistance 30
Key Points Regarding Training Needs and Phases of Developmentfor the Excellent Online Instructor 33
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 34
THREE Elements of Training for Excellence 35
What Does Good Faculty Training Look Like? 36
Online, Face-to-Face, or Hybrid:Which Works Best? 41
Who Should Conduct Training for Online Teaching? 42
Key Points in Training for Excellence 43
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 44
PART TWO Supporting the Movement from New to Great
FOUR Models of Faculty Development 47
A Phased Approach to Online Faculty Development 48
Establishing a Long-Term Faculty Development Effort 53
The Learning Community Approach to Online Faculty Development54
Working with Adjuncts at a Distance 57
Training Efficiently 59
Certificate Programs in Online Teaching 60
Key Points Regarding Models of Online Faculty Development 62
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 63
F I VE Mentoring Online Faculty 64
Common Elements of Mentoring Approaches 65
Approaches to Mentoring for Online Teaching 68
Developing an Effective Mentoring Program 70
What Organizations Can Do to Promote Mentoring 74
Key Points About Mentoring Online Faculty 75
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 75
S I X The Widening Gap: Professional Development for K-12 Teachers 77
Online Teaching Methods in the K-12 Environment 79
Characteristics of Excellent Online Teachers 81
Preservice Teacher Preparation and Professional Development82
Coping Effectively with the Issues and Challenges of K-12Online Teaching 85
Key Points in K-12 Online Teaching 86
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 86
PART THREE Connecting the Dots: Faculty Development and Evaluation
SEVEN Linking Training to Faculty Evaluation 91
Online Course Evaluation and Faculty Evaluation 92
Managing and Evaluating Faculty at a Distance 99
Key Points on Linking Faculty Development to Evaluation 102
Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 102
E I G H T Best Practices in the Development of Excellent Online Faculty 104
Best Practices for Faculty Developers and Faculty Tasked with Faculty Development 105
Best Practices for Faculty Engaged in Their Own Development110
Best Practices for Institutions 112
A ”Best System” for Developing Excellent Online Instructors 113
Resources for Faculty Developers, Faculty, and Administrators
Appendix A: Resources for Faculty Developers and Those Taskedwith Faculty Development 119
Appendix B: Resources for Faculty 139
Appendix C: Resources for Administrators of Online Programs149
References 159
Index 167
About the author
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.
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