HILT Grants: Faculty experiences creating MOOCs

TL;DR

Faculty share their experiences and lessons learned from teaching online courses, including the time-consuming nature of course creation and the impact on their teaching methods and research interests.

Transcript

The project is faculty's lived experiences teaching online courses, whether that's a more traditional extension school, credit-bearing course, or a Massive Open Online Course and what they learn from the experience, how it applies to their residential teaching and their research. We've both worked with faculty for going on five years now at Harvard... Read More

Key Insights

• 🥡 Creating online courses takes significantly more time than creating residential courses, surprising many faculty members.
• 🥺 Teaching online leads to a shift towards more interactive teaching methods in both online and residential courses.
• 💦 Faculty members can pursue interdisciplinary projects and collaborate with colleagues they may not have worked with otherwise.
• 🧑‍🏫 Teaching online offers a global perspective on education and the opportunity to engage with MOOCs.
• 😫 Setting clear goals and deliverables early in the grant process is crucial for success.
• 🍧 Having a supportive coach or mentor is invaluable in navigating the grant process.
• 👻 The support structure provided by the grant and coach allowed for flexibility and assistance when needed.

Questions & Answers

Q: What inspired the study of faculty experiences teaching online courses?

The study was prompted by the lack of research on faculty experiences teaching online courses, despite the wealth of literature on student experiences. The researchers wanted to formalize faculty experiences and provide valuable insights for others in the field.

Q: How did faculty transform their teaching approaches after teaching online?

Faculty found that teaching online encouraged more interactive teaching methods, leading them to adopt similar approaches in their residential courses. The experience of teaching online served as a catalyst for pedagogical innovation.

Q: What were some benefits for faculty teaching online courses?

Teaching online provided opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, which may not have been possible in a traditional setting. It also broadened faculty members' research interests and gave them a global perspective on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

Q: What are the next steps for the project after the Spark grant?

The researchers are currently analyzing the gathered data to identify best practices and create a quasi-list of recommendations. They also plan to present their findings to the university, ensuring the project continues to have an impact.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The project aims to examine faculty experiences teaching online courses and share insights with prospective and current faculty and course developers.

• Faculty often underestimated the time required to create online courses, which differs significantly from traditional in-person courses.

• Teaching online courses led to changes in teaching methods, more interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities, and a broader global perspective on education.