This paper describes a case study of one large asynchronous college-level organizational psychology class taught during COVID-19, in which a major intent was to develop virtual teamwork skills in students. A literature review yielded four challenges of virtual teams in higher education-communication, trust, connection and social bonding, and joint commitment and accountability. The course offered students an opportunity to authentically develop strategies to manage these challenges. Course design, team assignments, and instructional strategies utilized are described. Results from a survey completed by 89 (out of 115) students in the course revealed student-generated strategies and recommendations for virtual team collaboration.
Anel Ayala received a BA in psychology from Cal Poly Pomona. Ms. Ayala served as a research assistant to faculty in the psychology department, where she was involved with research focusing on virtual teams in higher education as well as on imagination inflation in a virtual paradigm setting. Ms. Ayala’s current research interests are in work-life balance andin remote work, and beginning fall 2023, Anel will be attending the University of Nebraska Omaha to pursue a master's degree in industrial/organizational psychology.
Asmaa Benbaba is a lecturer of Arabic and Islamic Studies at thedepartment of African and African-American Studies, University of Kansas. Her research interests include adult learning, online learning communities, online distance education learning environment in the foreign language classroom, English as a second language, second language acquisition, inclusive education, and quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Ritushree Chatterjee currently works as a learning experience designer at Amazon. She has managed and designed learning experiences across modalities of asynchronous online/blended/instructor-led trainings, incorporating learner-centric approaches, strategies, and technology. Her interests include SME- Designer partnerships, inclusivity in learning initiatives and evaluations. She has a masters in environmental science and a masters in education specializing in curriculum and instruction and over 10 years of experience as a learning professional.
Nadia Jaramillo Cherrez is a senior instructional designer currently working at Oregon State University Ecampus. She advises faculty members fromseveral disciplines (e.g., social sciences, education) in the development of online and hybrid courses that incorporate innovative, learner-centeredpedagogical approaches and interactive technologies. Dr. Jaramillo Cherrezleads professional development webinars for the Quality Matters Instructional Designers Association. Her research involves several areas including instructional design, faculty and instructional designers’ professional development, inclusive online teaching and critical pedagogies. Sheis also interested in online writing pedagogies and assessment design.
Darshana P. Juvale is currently working as an Instructional Design at the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University. She hasover 15 years of experience working in instructional design and instructional technologies for Iowa State University. She has experience in designing, developing, and facilitating faculty to design online and blended courses. She has collaborated with the faculty to help determine appropriate pedagogical approaches to asynchronous online courses following best practices and instructional design principles. Her professional interests include: instructional design, faculty development and blended/ flipped learning approach. Darshana holds a master’s degree in education with an emphasis on curriculum and instructional technolgy.
Mohsen Keshavarz has a PhD in virtual education planning. He is a faculty member in the of Department of E-Learning in Medical Sciences at Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences now. His research interests include online and virtual learning, blended learning, telemedicine, new educational technologies, e-health, and multiple literacies in online environments. He has published several articles on virtual education in international journals such as IRRODL. He is an energetic advocate of distance learning in his home country of Iran, having translated Tony Bates’s book Teaching in a Digital Age to Persian in addition to several other projects, some with international collaborators. He has recently been introduced by Leaders & Legends of Online Learning as an international figure in the field of online learning.
Jodee S. Lee received a BA from Cal Poly Pomona in psychology with a minor in management and leadership. While at Cal Poly Pomona, Ms. Lee served as a research and teaching assistant to faculty in the psychology department. Ms. Lee hopes to pursue graduate school in organizational psychology.
James Lindner is a professor at the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, College of Education at Auburn University. His research interests are agriscience education, career and technical education, distance education and its applications, quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Jill E. Nemiro is a professor of organizational psychology in the Psychology Department at Cal Poly Pomona. Dr. Nemiro’s research interests in education focus on virtual team training for university students, the evaluation of programs that nurture in youth the development of prosocial values and long-term commitment to community service, and programs that support students and faculty in science, technology, engineering, and math-related disciplines. As an organizational psychologist, Dr. Nemiro has widely published on ways to design virtual teams to be collaborative, creative, and high performing organizational units. Before moving into academia, Dr. Nemiro worked as a film editor in the entertainment industry.
Chris Radcliffe has worked in education across a broad range of sectors, including K- 12, postsecondary and higher education. His current role isas a school leader in an Australian K-12 distance education school. In addition to education, Chris’s research areas include sustainable agriculture, indigenous knowledge, and postschool training.
Briseli San Luis received an associate of arts degree in psychology from Citrus Community College, and recently earned a BA degree in psychology from Cal Poly Pomona, where she served as a teaching assistant for a course on organizational psychology. Ms. San Luis hopes to pursue a master's degree in marriage and family therapy.
Michelle Wylie is the assistant dean of the public health (MPH) degree program at Chamberlain University’s College of Health Professions. Wylie brings more than 15 years of experience to her role and specializes in faculty team development and public health services administration. Wylie alsois a visiting professor at Menlo College in Atherton and teaches organizational behavior to undergraduate business students. Wylie recently presented at American Public Health Conference Poster Presentation: Interprofessional Collaboration, Integrative, Complementary and Traditional Complementary, and Traditional Health Practices: A Model Fostering Diversity, Equity,and Inclusion as Framed by COVID-19. She also presented at the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health on Engaging MPH Students and Alumni in an Interprofessional Collaborative Research Experience Duringthe COVID-19 Pandemic: Structure, Process, and Outcomes Poster Presentation. Shereceived the CHP Engagement Award in 2020, Chamberlain Ron Taylor Award in2019, and the CMPH Chamberlain Care Award in 2019. Most recently, Wylie served as a supervisor for the University of San Francisco’s population health sciences department. While at the University of San Francisco, she alsoserved as a program assistant for the master of public healthdegree program. Wylie earned her doctor of education degree in the higher educationleadership and management program at Walden University, master ofpublic administration degree in health service administration from the Universityof San Francisco, and BA degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a certified Six Sigma Yellow Belt.
