Online instruction is a trend that has been around for a while within academia. However, the pandemic exposed the notable difference between teaching an online course and doing so effectively. During the 20212022 academic year, faculty from various colleges and departments across the Winston-Salem State University community participated in the Excellence in Online Instruction Initiative. This initiative focused on cre- dentialing faculty on evidence-based teaching practices for online instruction from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). Fifty-two faculty completed the course to become ACUE credentialed educators. Faculty completed surveys to identify their confidence in utilizing new teaching practices. Survey results include statistically significant increases in confidence in all course competencies. With a national course completion average of 83% for ACUE course participants, Winston-Salem State University excelled with a 98.9% course completion average. The impact of this experience and the efficacy of evidence-based teaching practices has ignited a renewed excitement forteaching excellence.
Introduction
The COVID-19 endemic has completely disrupted the normalcy of academic instruction. While change is inevitable, strategic planning necessitates training faculty on providing instruction in various modalities (McBride, 2010; Johnson et al., 2020). The course offerings and programming that differentiate higher education institutions caused many to embrace online instruction without the usual skepticism (McNeal, 2015; Mitchell et al., 2015). Distance education provides an opportunity to demonstrate effective teaching practices (Martin et al., 2019), expand institutional influence, and increase student enrollment among underrepresented population groups (Hoey, 2020). Consequently, professional development opportunities that empower faculty with effective instructional practices to create engaging, inclusive, and quality online courses have become an institutional priority.
While many have spent most of their careers teaching classes in traditional settings, the physical classroom space has evolved. When COVID-19 caused the world to shift, higher education institutions began operating in emergency mode. While circumstances necessitated emergency instruction, there is a distinction between quality course design and online instruction. Training faculty to acclimate to the differences between face-to-face and online instruction requires a shift in pedagogical approach (Haugsbakken et al., 2019). There is a misconception that online instruction entails copying and pasting course content into a learning management system. However, effective online facilitation requires training, preparation, and creativity. Traditional and online teaching are not competitors but provide a pathway to attract and retain students. By learning how to teach effectively online, faculty enhance their ability to teach traditional courses and reinforce the importance of ongoing professional development for faculty.
Faculty development requires intentional partnerships between faculty, students, and the academic institution (Meyer et al., 2014). Professional development opportunities focus on teaching, research, and service (Alkarzon, 2016). Faculty often attend academic conferences, webinars, and workshops to enhance their instructional practices. To adequately prepare faculty for teaching online, targeted programming is vital to address teaching efficacy (Horvitz et al., 2015), online pedagogy (Novotny, 2005), and technical expertise (Haugsbakken et al., 2019; Mohr et al., 2017). To appeal to the 21st-century learner, faculty should become proficient in online course instruction (Ilgaz et al., 2017). To this end, the Excellence in Online Instruction Initiative at Winston-Salem State University helped prepare faculty to teach online courses effectively.
Institutional Profile
Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a public, historically Black college and university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A constituent member of the University of North Carolina (UNC) System, WSSU is a public institution with a mission focusing on equity, access, social justice, and upward mobility. WSSU cultivates the genius of interconnected learners through academic excellence, transformative scholarship, and impactful engagement to produce equity-minded, highly competent, and productive citizens. As of fall 2022, the student population of WSSU is 5,004 (n = 4,513 undergraduates and n = 491 graduate students). The faculty community includes various ranks and academic disciplines that serve the current student population.
Given the implications of the pandemic, the need to shift from emergency instruction to excellence in online instruction became an institutional priority. Before the pandemic, there were a few online degree programs in the School of Health Sciences (i.e., nursing, clinical laboratory sciences, and rehabilitation counseling). However, online instruction was new for most of the faculty members. Although WSSU does not have a designated distance education department, the Center for Innovative and Transformative Instruction (CITI) led this initiative to prepare faculty for online teaching.
The Power of Vision
Due to the visionary leadership of WSSU’s provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, the provost sought innovative ways to address improvement in gateway courses and student retention. The provost applied for a Thurgood Marshall College Fund grant to fund the institution’s new faculty development initiative. By helping faculty develop instructional acumen in the online space, face-to-face instruction would improve as well. Consequently, the launch of the Excellence in Online Instruction Initiative began. This initiative aligns with the strategic plan of WSSU and has measurable goals to assess the impact on institutional student success metrics such as transfer and readmitted enrollment data, DFW course grades, the average grade point average in major foundational courses, and the faculty attitudes about online instruction, faculty perceptions of online teaching effectiveness, and student perceptions of faculty teaching effectiveness.
The Power of Partnership
WSSU partnered with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) to address the need for faculty development in online learning. ACUE believes in partnering with higher education institutions to support the credentialing of faculty members in using evidence-based teaching practices to impact student engagement, retention, and learning positively. The mission of ACUE is student success through exceptional teaching. To support this initiative, the campus lead and course facilitators were necessary. The campus lead is a senior-level administrator whose role is to provide oversight of the initiative and work closely with the ACUE academic director. The campus lead provides fiscal oversight, receives the institutional report, and participates in ACUE-sponsored webinars. The course facilitators serve as the institution’s pedagogical and online instruction experts. The course facilitators support the faculty participating in the course, participate in online discussions, and coordinate quarterly summary discussions. The input of multiple campus constituents was vital during this initiative, including the office of the provost, office of information technology, and CITI.
In collaboration with ACUE, CITI hosted a 1-hour information session to provide an overview of what faculty could expect in the course. Next, there was a recruitment/applica- tion period. The application requested faculty to describe their online teaching philosophy, an impactful practice used in an online course, and other pertinent information. The application was open to faculty despite rank, including adjunct faculty. A maximum of 60 faculty could participate in the course. The selected faculty were required to submit a participation agreement to confirm participation in the course. Fifty-three faculty members consented to participate in the course for the 2021-2022 academic year. There were two cohorts of faculty from different disciplines with varying degrees of experience in online instruction. The assignment of faculty to a cohort was intentional to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. The course began a week after the new academic year to give faculty time to acclimate to the first week of academic instruction. Given the time commitment of the course, the budget included an $8,000 stipend, a new laptop, and a Wacom device for each faculty participant. Faculty were informed about the stipend at the midpoint of the course to ensure commitment to the course.
The Power of Pedagogy
ACUE offers a 25-week effective online teaching practices course that immerses faculty in evidence-based teaching practices. The course adheres to the effective practice framework that encompasses five competencies:(1) designing an effective course and class;(2) establishing a productive learning environment; (3) using active learning techniques;(4) promoting higher order thinking; and(5) assessing to inform instruction and promote learning. These competencies help faculty implement practices to improve student success outcomes and retention in online courses. Each module in the course includes an overview, teaching practice videos, discussion, implementation reflection, and survey. The time commitment expected per module was 23 hours per week. The faculty earn a badge for each module they complete and a microcredential for each block of modules. This served as an incentive to motivate and recognize the accomplishments of the faculty. A national ACUE reader was responsible for grading the implementation reflections for each cohort.The name of the national ACUE reader was unknown, but the reader was accessible to the course facilitators and faculty via email.
A pinning ceremony is the culmination of the ACUE course to recognize faculty who have completed all 25-course modules to earn the Certificate in Effective College Instruction endorsed by the American Council on Education. The ACUE certification exemplifies faculty commitment to instruction and student success. Due to the varying case counts of COVID-19 in our region, we held a virtual pinning ceremony via the Zoom videoconferencing platform. During the pinning ceremony, the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, and ACUE academic director provided congratulatory remarks, including reflections by select faculty participants. Although a virtual event, there was a tangible enthusiasm that all participants could feel.
Methodology
Winston-Salem State University faculty enrolled in the ACUE course were asked to complete a practice and reflect survey before and at the close of each course module using the survey quiz feature in the Canvas LMS. The survey asks faculty about their confidence in implementing instructional practices in their courses. The survey is a valuable opportunity to hear from the faculty’s perspective and did not ask for any identifying information. The before and after survey takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. The survey included Likert scale-strongly agree to strongly disagree-questions.
Participants in the course included various faculty-tenured (51%), on a tenure track (19%), nontenure track (23%), no tenure system (2%), and others (6%). For those in the other category, there are associate deans who participated in the course. Faculty participants included multiple academic departments and programs such as accounting, arts + visual studies, biological sciences, chemistry, clinical laboratory science, communication and media studies, computer science, education, English, exercise physiology, history, politics, and social justice, mathematics, liberal studies, management, marketing and management information systems, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, rehabilitation counseling, sociology, social work, therapeutic recreation, world languages and cultures, and the University College Writing Center.
The primary areas of analysis from the survey are the course competencies of the Effective Practice Framework. The duration of the Effective Online Instruction Initiative was 25 weeks during the 2021-2022 academic year. To complete the survey, participants received reminders electronically from the announcement page in the Effective Online Teaching Practices Canvas course shell. Additionally, participants received verbal reminders during the summary discussion sessions at the end of each block of modules. Participants received an email reminder requesting the completion of the final survey a week after the course concluded. In total, 53 project participants comprise the current sample.
RESULTS
The survey responses are from faculty during the 2021-2022 academic year. Upon completion of the course, faculty reported increased confidence in using evidence-based teaching practices in their courses. Faculty participants earned a total of 1,309 digital badges for completing each module. The national course completion average for ACUE is 83%. However, WSSU had a 98.9% (n = 52) course completion average. Fifty-two WSSU faculty earned the certification as ACUE Credentialed Educators.
Course Competency One (CC1)-Designing an Effective Course and Class
For this competency, there was a significant increase in the faculty’s ability to ensure alignment between their assessments and the course learning outcomes (see Table 1). Alignment is a critical aspect of the backward design process that helps faculty identify measurable learning outcomes before developing assessments and learning activities. This aspect is critical because students can only demonstrate their knowledge of the course content with appropriate learning assessments. As faculty increase their confidence in this area, improvement in student success metrics is to follow.
Course Competency One
| Course Competency(%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence Before Taking the Course(%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence After Taking the Course(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Designing an effective course and class | 57 | 99 |
| Writing learning outcomes that are specific, student-centered, and actionable | 49 | 98 |
| Ensuring all assessments are aligned with my course learning outcomes | 49 | 100 |
| Ensuring all course activities and assignments are aligned with my course outcomes | 57 | 100 |
| Creating a syllabus that both communicates essential information and facilitates student engagement | 75 | 98 |
| Course Competency(%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence Before Taking the Course(%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence After Taking the Course(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Designing an effective course and class | 57 | 99 |
| Writing learning outcomes that are specific, student-centered, and actionable | 49 | 98 |
| Ensuring all assessments are aligned with my course learning outcomes | 49 | 100 |
| Ensuring all course activities and assignments are aligned with my course outcomes | 57 | 100 |
| Creating a syllabus that both communicates essential information and facilitates student engagement | 75 | 98 |
Course Competency Two (CC2)-Establishing a Productive Learning Environment
For this competency, increased confidence among faculty includes motivating students who show low interest in course activities and assignments (see Table 2). Student engagement can be challenging in a traditional classroom but even more so in an online course. When faculty implement teaching practices that ignite student motivation, there is a direct impact on their persistence and retention. This increase notes that it may be something other than the content but the presentation of the content to diverse learning styles and preferences. It is also important to note that nonacademic factors impact student motivation. By developing a growth mindset, faculty can help students identify the academic and experiential assets they bring into the learning environment.
Course Competency Three (CC3)-Using Active Learning Techniques
For this competency, there was a significant increase in the faculty’s ability to ensure most students engage in and learn from class discussions, including quiet students (see Table 3). Since learning is active rather than passive, the faculty explored techniques such as think-pair- share, jigsaw, and 3-2-1. Each of these strategies is a best practice to promote student engagement. By assigning group roles for class discussions, all students have an opportunity to participate. An important instructional technique for this competency was "wait time." Wait time requires faculty to wait 5-7 seconds before calling on a student to respond to a question. Pausing gives students time to formulate their thoughts and prevents faculty from calling on the first student who raises their hand. Also, providing opportunities for students to journal their responses before engaging in a verbal conversation was an impactful technique for this competency.
Course Competency Two
| Course Competency | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence Before Taking the Course | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence After Taking the Course |
|---|---|---|
| Establishing a productive learning environment | 51% | 90% |
| Leading a successful first day that builds community and helps students understand course expectations | 53% | 94% |
| Managing disruptive behavior in my class | 57% | 84% |
| Motivating students who show low interest in course activities and assignments | 35% | 86% |
| Impacting students’ beliefs about their ability to do well on course assignments and assessments | 61% | 96% |
| Avoiding and effectively addressing microaggressions and stereotype threats | 49% | 88% |
| Course Competency | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence Before Taking the Course | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence After Taking the Course |
|---|---|---|
| Establishing a productive learning environment | 51% | 90% |
| Leading a successful first day that builds community and helps students understand course expectations | 53% | 94% |
| Managing disruptive behavior in my class | 57% | 84% |
| Motivating students who show low interest in course activities and assignments | 35% | 86% |
| Impacting students’ beliefs about their ability to do well on course assignments and assessments | 61% | 96% |
| Avoiding and effectively addressing microaggressions and stereotype threats | 49% | 88% |
Course Competency Three
| Course Competency | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence Before Taking the Course | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence After Taking the Course |
|---|---|---|
| Using active learning techniques | 40% | 86% |
| Using active learning techniques in a small- to medium-sized class | 33% | 80% |
| Using active learning techniques in a large class | 33% | 82% |
| Delivering lectures that are paced to keep students engaged | 59% | 98% |
| Planning an effective start, middle, and ending for a class session or online module | 49% | 90% |
| Ensuring the majority of students engage in and learn from class discussions | 31% | 86% |
| Engaging quiet students in classroom discussions | 27% | 84% |
| Managing dominant talkers during classroom discussions | 44% | 84% |
| Course Competency | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence Before Taking the Course | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence After Taking the Course |
|---|---|---|
| Using active learning techniques | 40% | 86% |
| Using active learning techniques in a small- to medium-sized class | 33% | 80% |
| Using active learning techniques in a large class | 33% | 82% |
| Delivering lectures that are paced to keep students engaged | 59% | 98% |
| Planning an effective start, middle, and ending for a class session or online module | 49% | 90% |
| Ensuring the majority of students engage in and learn from class discussions | 31% | 86% |
| Engaging quiet students in classroom discussions | 27% | 84% |
| Managing dominant talkers during classroom discussions | 44% | 84% |
Course Competency Four (CC4)-Promoting Higher Order Thinking
For this competency, there was a significant increase in the confidence of the faculty to teach effective note-taking skills (see Table 4). Note-taking differs in a biology
course from an English course. Explaining why note-taking is important and providing examples can positively impact students. Note-taking helps students to focus, organize their thoughts, and serves as a resource when preparing for significant assessments. As students matriculate to upper division courses,the ability to take notes effectively increases various note-taking options (e.g., concept in importance. Students can remain engaged map) and referring to course concepts in the learning environment by introducing between classes.
Course Competency Four
| Course Competency (%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence Before Taking the Course (%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence After Taking the Course (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Promoting higher order thinking | 56% | 93% |
| Providing clear directions for complex procedures and processes | 67% | 100% |
| Providing clear explanations and examples for complex ideas or concepts | 67% | 98% |
| Using visual tools to help students understand complex ideas, concepts, and procedures | 55% | 96% |
| Teaching effective note-taking skills | 31% | 86% |
| Using varied questioning techniques to prompt critical thinking in the classroom | 63% | 94% |
| Developing students into lifelong learners | 53% | 84% |
| Course Competency (%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence Before Taking the Course (%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence After Taking the Course (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Promoting higher order thinking | 56% | 93% |
| Providing clear directions for complex procedures and processes | 67% | 100% |
| Providing clear explanations and examples for complex ideas or concepts | 67% | 98% |
| Using visual tools to help students understand complex ideas, concepts, and procedures | 55% | 96% |
| Teaching effective note-taking skills | 31% | 86% |
| Using varied questioning techniques to prompt critical thinking in the classroom | 63% | 94% |
| Developing students into lifelong learners | 53% | 84% |
Course Competency Five
| Course Competency (%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence Before Taking the Course (%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence After Taking the Course (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Assessing to inform instruction and promote learning | 68 | 97 |
| Developing fair and consistent grading practices that students fully understand | 75 | 100 |
| Ensuring my grading practices are fair, consistently applied, and easily understood by students | 80 | 100 |
| Providing students a clear understanding of my assignment expectations | 82 | 98 |
| Ensuring students use my feedback to improve their performance | 51 | 92 |
| Checking for students’ understanding and making appropriate adjustments to instruction | 53 | 94 |
| Using student achievement on assignments and assessments to inform instructional improvements | 75 | 98 |
| Using student feedback to inform instructional improvements | 57 | 98 |
| Course Competency (%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence Before Taking the Course (%) | Percent of Participants Reporting Confidence After Taking the Course (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Assessing to inform instruction and promote learning | 68 | 97 |
| Developing fair and consistent grading practices that students fully understand | 75 | 100 |
| Ensuring my grading practices are fair, consistently applied, and easily understood by students | 80 | 100 |
| Providing students a clear understanding of my assignment expectations | 82 | 98 |
| Ensuring students use my feedback to improve their performance | 51 | 92 |
| Checking for students’ understanding and making appropriate adjustments to instruction | 53 | 94 |
| Using student achievement on assignments and assessments to inform instructional improvements | 75 | 98 |
| Using student feedback to inform instructional improvements | 57 | 98 |
Course Competency Five (CC5)-Assessing to Inform Instruction and Promote Learning
For the last competency, increased faculty confidence was notable in ensuring students use the feedback to improve their performance, checking for students’ understanding and making appropriate adjustments to instruction, and using student feedback to inform instructional improvements (see Table 5). Faculty often utilize feedback from end-of-course evaluations to identify what revisions to make to the course, which does not benefit the current group of students. By incorporating feedback loops throughout the semester, faculty can identify what students enjoy, what to change, and what to eliminate. While written feedback is valuable, providing audio or video feedback helps reduce grading fatigue. Substantive, constructive, and consistent feedback promotes learning and demonstrates an ethic of care.
Lessons Learned
There are lessons from the Excellence in Online Instruction Initiative that are informative for other higher education institutions, academic leaders, and educational development staff.
Contingency Planning
To ensure a successful experience, identify contingencies. During this initiative, one of the course facilitators resigned from the institution. As a result, the other course facilitator assumed the responsibility for both faculty cohorts. For future cohorts, graduates of the first cohort could serve as facilitators. There should be two facilitators for each cohort, which will help with shared responsibility and provide the necessary support in the event of an unexpected change without impacting the success of the learning community.
The Online Community
The ACUE course includes a summary discussion at the end of each block of modules. The course facilitator determine the format for each summary discussion. Faculty can participate by contributing to a discussion board in the Canvas LMS or attending a synchronous meeting. For this initiative, the course facilitators decided to host a 1-hour synchronous summary discussion session with both cohorts. The summary discussion is a great community-building opportunity for faculty to have fun, reflect on the course, and collaborate with colleagues. The agenda for the discussions included the following:
Greetings. Congratulatory remarks to recognize faculty who completed a specific number of course modules for each block.
Course Review. A Kahoot! game to review the teaching practices from the course. Note: Remember to include prizes in the budget for the initiative.
Celebration. Pictures using different Zoom virtual backgrounds to include in a yearbook for faculty.
Community. Breakout room discussions to share successes and challenges with implementing the teaching practices in their courses.
Reminders. Important course reminders for faculty to keep in mind.
Closing. Remarks from the campus lead and course facilitators to address any questions.
A Second Wind
Learning about teaching invigorated faculty, given the fatigue of the pandemic. This experience was a necessary motivational boost to rekindle a love for higher education and student success. It also provided awareness of students’ challenges as they contend with many competing nonacademic obligations. Faculty experienced similar challenges as their students while in the course. Participating in the course showed the faculty the importance of balancing empathy with academic excellence. For many faculty, this was their first online class since obtaining a terminal degree. The ability to experience the student perspective was enlightening. The stories of why an assignment was late or the rationale for missing class became more realistic through this experience.
Teaching Matters
It is common for doctoral programs to focus on research rather than teaching. Graduate and doctoral programs often teach faculty about their discipline but not how to teach the content of the discipline. This course focused on the professional development of faculty teaching online courses. The skill that online education requires will make one a better instructor for traditional courses.
What Is Next?
Mission Matters
As WSSU continues strengthening faculty to teach effectively online, our new strategic plan embodies a growth mindset to rejuvenate a passion for teaching and student success. Our faculty remain committed to the mission of our institution and the value of higher education. Online instruction provides a mechanism to reach students, despite their geographical location. With a clear understanding of our institutional mission, this initiative has been a catalyst for change.
ACUE 2.0
The success of the first cohort of this initiative led to a request to continue the program for the next academic year. The provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs received numerous inquiries about continuing the ACUE partnership, and many faculty conveyed words of appreciation for the course’s efficacy. Consequently, the next cohort of faculty will participate in the Effective Online Teaching Practices course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
This experience allowed faculty from different disciplines to meet and discover that they share similar research interests. By offering an online buddy system for the course for support and accountability, faculty developed friendships with individuals they would not have met due to their discipline and location on campus. The interdisciplinary collaboration has fostered excitement across campus.
Sustainable Funding
The provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs have announced that funding for the next five years is included in the institutional budget to continue supporting this initiative. While WSSU does not have a distance education department, the teaching and learning center is a great resource to support faculty. By partnering with ACUE, we were able to meet the professional development needs of our faculty. With sustained funding, all interested faculty will have the opportunity to enhance their instructional acumen.
Conclusion
While the pandemic has presented many challenges, there are numerous opportunities. With the proper perspective and ingenuity, higher education institutions can capitalize on this time to reimagine how best to educate future generations. Online learning is a skill that requires ongoing training. With substantive financial support, faculty can be successful despite the modality in which they teach. Critical to an initiative of this caliber is the support of executive leadership. Leaders who value faculty will invest in their professional development. doing so will position higher education institutions to attract new student groups from anywhere globally.
By partnering with ACUE, WSSU faculty can implement evidence-based teaching practices in their online courses. The course completion rate reflects the commitment of our faculty to improve not only their instructional acumen but the success of our students. In the words of teaching, learning, and leadership consultant George Couros, "Technology will never replace great teachers, but in the hands of great teachers, technology is transformational."
