An Introduction to this Special Issue
We are pleased to welcome you to this special issue of the Quarterly Review of Distance Education! Our theme in this special issue is leadership and innovation in instructional technology and distance education. We have assembled for this project a series of expert leaders, innovators, academics, and graduate student authors, each committed to contributing to the dialogue on revitalizing and redefining research, practice, and policy in instructional technology and distance education. The end result is a series of articles that highlight and provide insights relevant to those working in today's distance education community. It is our wish that you will both enjoy and benefit from the work that has been assembled here.
How was this Special Issue Written?
The editors of this special issue of QRDE are of the opinion—in a belief shared with many in the community—that their roles as faculty are not simply limited to executing a predefined curriculum during a specific semester time frame; the faculty role also involves working with students to help ensure that they maximize their academic experiences as they prepare themselves for leadership roles in the field. To that end, we have constructed this special issue by working with students currently pursuing graduate degrees at one of two online instructional technology programs (the Instructional Technology and Distance Education program at Nova Southeastern University, and the Educational Technology and Leadership program at The George Washington University) to conduct interviews with expert leaders and innovators in instructional technology and distance education. A handful of the highest performing students were mentored to then take what was learned from the interviews and literature reviews, with the goal of developing a manuscript for publication in a peer reviewed journal. The result of that process is the special issue you are reading now.
The interviewees selected for this special issue are all recognized leaders and scholars within the field. Recognizing that effective leadership is crucial to the success theory-to-application in our field, we focused this issue on leadership themes as they pertain to instructional technology and distance education. These leaders were asked to convey their perspectives on a variety of issues, such as; recognizing opportunities for innovation, unique leadership issues in technology-driven environments, identifying and responding to challenging situations, and key trends emerging on the horizon. Their perspectives provide a unique insight which is often lacking in the academic literature in our field; global practitioner perspectives, clearly formulated needs for additional research to inform practice, and a call for closer (technology-mediated) relationship that recognizes crucial nuances in research and practice in the field.
Why Interviewing?
For this special issue, the editors' primary goal was to collect original, meaningful, information to share with the broader academic community; the mediating mechanism to achieve this goal was the interview, executed by graduate student authors. In addition to generating authentic and meaningful information for the QRDE readership, the interviewing technique would afford graduate student authors the maximum learning experience as they prepared their articles. We were focused on transfer of learning, enhancing learner interest, and increasing learner engagement. For students in a graduate level instructional technology curriculum, the interview is a logical choice based on these factors, as well as several others:
Interviewing is an important tool for research and data collection. Developing the requisite skills for conducting interviews and interpreting interview data can help learners become more effective consumers of research.
Interviews are an important tool for instructional designers and technologists, and they are extensively used in needs assessment, eliciting data from subject matter experts, and evaluation.
Interviewing involves inquiry, and inquiry is a critical and valued part of education, as well as everyday learning, encouraging us to create knowledge. Through interviewing, we engage in a continuous, often complex, process of inquiry. The interviewer is charged with identifying and choosing information, formulating relevant questions, and interpreting and judging interview data for the purpose of choosing how to share interview results with a broader audience.
Interviews afford opportunities to develop additional perspectives for a given subject or theme. Traditional class instruction, in contrast, typically limits the opportunities for students to engage with in-depth discussions with outside experts, and such discussions are the very mechanism by which perspectives can be developed. The ability to discuss an issue with an expert, ask questions, analyze responses, and ask follow-up questions can be a rich educational experience that promotes development of multiple perspectives.
Interviewing can afford an opportunity to gather “from the source” insights on leadership and innovation in practice. Results can move the discourse beyond theories of leadership, to include competencies required for tomorrow's instructional technology leaders, recommended approaches for graduate programs to best prepare our future professionals for leadership roles, and mechanisms which mediate innovation and leadership in our field.
Key Features of our Interviewing Approach
Subjects of the interviews were international leaders, experts, and innovators in instructional technology and related disciplines.
Interviewers and interviewees were, by design, geographically distributed. For example, an interviewer based in Costa Rica interviewed an expert in Venezuela, and an interviewer based in the United States interviewed an expert in South Africa.
All interviews were conducted synchronously, using technologies such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing. Follow-up questions were presented to interviewees asynchronously, typically through e-mail.
Preparation of the written manuscripts (based on the interviews) required conducting a limited scope study of research literature related to the themes of the interview.
The interviewing and scholarly writing came about through an ongoing exchange between graduate student authors and their faculty mentors (the editors of the special issue).
What Process was used to Develop and Assemble the Special Issue?
The editors began the process of mentoring graduate student authors by providing them with the name and contact information of the expert they would be interviewing. In addition, graduate student authors were provided several documents to guide their work, including a timeline, deadlines for major tasks and deliverables, an overview of the goals and process for conducting their interviews, and written guidance on writing a scholarly article based on an interview.
Graduate student authors (either individually or in small groups), planned their tasks, determined the scope of activity, assembled required resources, planned in accordance with expected timelines, and assigned responsibilities. In executing the interview they began gathering information on the experts they were interviewing, focusing on the interviewees' country and regional location, professional and academic background, and scholarly work. Initial literature studies were conducted. Based on the information gathered from these tasks, interview questions were formulated as a framework (script) for each interview that would be carried out.
With a finalized interview script in hand, graduate student authors scheduled and executed the interview. A semistructured interview format was used to ensure that interviews could become more conversational, and that new insights could be obtained, generating new knowledge resulting from the exchange between the interviewer and the expert.
Upon completion of the interview, results were transcribed. Transcribed data were reviewed and analyzed with three objectives in mind: identification of key issues and themes; development of any additional follow-up correspondence with the interviewee; and finally, determination if an additional literature study was required to better contextualize collected comments, cite primary sources of information, and so on.
The final step was the actual preparation of manuscripts based on the interviews. In writing these manuscripts, the goal was to generate original scholarly articles based on the interviews with the experts. Using interview data and results from the literature studies, graduate student authors developed initial and final drafts of their manuscripts. After editorial review, the draft final manuscripts were shared with the interviewee for feedback and approval of the content. Articles for submission to the QRDE were based on the finalized manuscripts developed by the graduate student authors.
The Role of the Faculty Mentors (Special Issue Editors)
Both editors of the special issue are adjunct faculty, one at The George Washington University and one at Nova Southeastern University. They agreed it would be an interesting and worthwhile “learning project” to collaborate with a number of graduate students toward the publication of a scholarly article, based on an interview of an expert, in a peer-reviewed journal. This led the editors to develop a work plan, consisting of the following steps:
Define the objectives, process, and expected result of the learning-through-interviewing process.
Identify and secure prospective international interviewees. Emphasis was on approaching international experts in the field and who are currently involved in innovative practices.
Assign interviewees to student authors.
Design and develop a guidance booklet on planning and conducting interviews, as well as writing a scholarly article based on an interview.
Review and approve key deliverables from student authors, and recommend edits.
Work with student authors to ensure that the process was executed in conformity to the recommended outline.
Respond to ongoing questions from student authors as they relate to the interviewing and writing process, such as using a background literature review to strengthen the interviews, how to handle APA requirements, et cetera.
Send out “thank you” letters to the interviewees.
Provide editorial guidance in the final construction of the written articles.
How did Interviewers and Interviewees Describe Their Experiences on this Project?
Our graduate student authors (interviewers) were provided a stimulating opportunity to work in an environment that gave them a chance to take initiative, demonstrate leadership, and work on a product that demanded perseverance and dedication. Student interviewers were also provided an unusual opportunity to develop a sustained relationship with an international expert in the field. Furthermore, these student interviewers were given the chance to demonstrate that they were capable of leading the interviewing process and work with interviewees in a systematic and professional manner. Their research experience was tested as the literature review demanded critical thinking and creativity.
Student interviewer feedback was encouraging for the editors of the special edition. The student interviewers expressed enjoyment working on interviewing the expert leaders, and also with applying their skills to developing written articles for publication in this special issue. Student interviewers enjoyed the process to such an extent that several proposed carrying out more projects like this in the future!
The expert leader interviewees expressed being impressed by the well-prepared and knowledgeable student interviewers. This is all the more impressive when we consider that most of these leaders have extensive experience with interviews, and being interviewed. Several of the leaders thanked the editors for having had the opportunity to work with the student interviewers.
A Final Word of Thanks
We congratulate the graduate student authors for their work, dedication, and perseverance. As is often the case with scholarly writing, the process for preparing these articles was not always straightforward. The student authors showed professionalism and commitment while they developed their articles, and we are confident that these authors have reason to be proud of their contributions.
We would also like to thank the interviewees, without which this special issue quite simply could not have been realized. These professional academics and practitioners have much on their plates at any one point in time, and agreeing to serve in this role required an additional time commitment beyond their already full schedules. The graduate student authors for the special issue reported not only that they learned a great deal from the interviewees, but that they were met with a collegial and enthusiastic rapport from the interviewees.
Our thanks also go to Michael J. Feuer, dean and professor, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, The George Washington University, and H. Wells Singleton, dean, Abraham S. Fischler School of Education, Nova Southeastern University, both of whom contributed to this special issue by reflecting on its unique value and by expressing their appreciation for the work of the students from their respective schools.
Our colleague, Ray Amirault, has with his excellent contribution enriched this special issue of the Quarterly Review of Distance Education in important ways.
Finally, we want to thank Charles Schlosser and Michael Simonson for their guidance and skill in helping to oversee the finalization of this special issue.
As we close this introduction, we want to once again welcome you to our special issue of the Quarterly Review of Distance Education, and hope that you receive as much from reading it as we did in assembling it!
