OLL TPD INTERVIEW PROTOCOL—2007-2008
INSTRUCTORS OF ONLINE APPLICATIONS
This protocol is for use with instructors. Ideally, you will have sixty minutes for this interview.
Introduction
The following is a suggested introduction. When you begin the interview, make these points, but use your own words for a more personal introduction.
You may know that we are working on a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to look at characteristics associated with prevalent types of online learning and identify promising practices that are associated with improved student achievement. One of our priorities in this project is to learn more from you about the features and capabilities of your online TPD offering, as well as how the application is implemented and administered.
We want you to know that this project does not evaluate you or your program; we are looking to learn from your experiences to identify promising practices in online learning.
Before we start, I need to have you review and sign this consent form. [AFTER THE RESPONDENT REVIEWS CONSENT FORM] Do you have any questions before we get started?
Curriculum Design
Features of curriculum (subject matter / grade level, synch / asynch, pedagogical approach, strategies for maximizing student access, technologies used, hardware / bandwidth)
What is the goal of this TPD program (curriculum goals, etc.)?
Please describe the curriculum design features of this online TPD (e.g., synchronous v asynchronous; technologies used).
What assumptions were done in the design of this online TPD program? What did reality show in this regard?
What features of the curriculum are unique in this TPD program, as compared with programs with similar educational intention? Why?
What makes this online TPD program successful, from the curriculum design perspective?
If you were to redesign this online TPD program, what features of the curriculum would you change? Why?
What means (e.g., forum, email, chat, voice chat, video conferences…) are used to support online interaction between facilitators, participants, and/or facilitators, and participants? What are the facilitators and student responses to these forms of communication (do participants like chatting, video, etc.)? What do you think is the right combination of these tools?
Type / frequency of interaction between facilitators, facilitators and students, among students
Please describe the type / frequency of interaction between facilitators, facilitators and participants, and among participants in this online TPD program.
Does the program promote face-to-face interaction between facilitators, participants, and/or facilitators and participants? When? Why? Does it add value to the program? If there is no face-to-face interaction, why not? Is there any advantage or disadvantage to a purely online model?
If there is some kind of blending (online / onsite) from the interaction perspective, how is that mix? Does it add value to the program?
Curriculum Development Process
What is the structure of a typical curriculum module, or unit, of this online TPD program? How many weeks does it take to a participant to study a typical module?
Have you been involved in curriculum development or in curriculum evaluation processes for this online TPD program? What was your role? Did you find that your ideas were taken into consideration?
Financing Model
Are there enough instructors to support all who want to participate? Did you experience any barriers or obstacles that would limit the scalability or sustainability of this program?
Quality Assurances
Prior to teaching a course, is there a way for you to review the curriculum and provide feedback? Please describe.
After teaching a course, is there a way for you to provide feedback to the developers to improve the program? Please describe.
Is your performance as an instructor evaluated? Are there clear quality criteria for you to meet?
How does your course evaluate participants in terms of: Participation, Completion & Retention rates, formative and / or final assessments, learning outcomes, transfer of learning to classroom instruction?
Instructor Recruitment and Pay
Please describe how instructors are selected.
Are instructors paid or otherwise compensated?
Are there specific knowledge, skills, and competencies that candidate instructors must have to be selected?
Please describe the content, length and structure of the training instructors receive.
How many instructors, facilitators, moderators and other staff conduct a typical course? How do you interact with other members of the teaching team? How often? Using what means? Is there a common area for sharing?
Enrollment Process and Policies
Who is eligible for this TPD program? Are these criteria a good filter to get the right students?
How do students find out about the online TPD program? How do participants enroll in the TPD program? Do participants decide to enroll themselves or are they selected or nominated? Do participants enroll as individuals, in teams, or either?
Describe the demographics of the current participant cohort. (e.g., gender, race, geographic location, type of teacher, level of experience with technology, content-level knowledge, etc.) What major challenges for the effective implementation of the project relate to the demographics? Why?
What is the maximum number of participants per section in this TPD program? What is the recommended instructor: student ratio? If less / more than the ideal ratio of participants are enrolled, how does this affect the TPD program?
User Services and Support
What types of academic support do you offer participants? Who provides these supports (instructor, online facilitator, tutors)? How are the supports provided (e.g., via email, phone, in person, through the whole group interaction, in real time)?
What types of technical support, if any, do you provide to the students? Is it worth assuming this role? What suggestions do you have to improve technical support services?
Do you offer any additional supports or encouragements to students (e.g., financial incentives, scholarships)?
Facilitators/Barriers
Is access to technology and / or technology fluency by participating teachers considered a facilitator or a barrier in the implementation of this online TPD program? Why?
Are there time requirements (e.g., X number of hours per week), interaction requirements (e.g., online / onsite synchronous activities), technology requirements (e.g., the use of X browser or software) for effective participation in the online TPD program? Which requirements facilitate the process and which become barriers for participation?
What is the most significant barrier for teacher participation in this program? What could be done in order to overcome it?
Does the program promote / give support to virtual study groups, online learning communities or other networking strategies for overcoming participation barriers from the part of participating teachers?
What role do online tutors / facilitators play concerning barriers for participation from the part of teachers?
What barriers may have online tutors in their facilitation role? Comment on situational, technological, pedagogical or other types of barriers for facilitating online learning by the part of participating teachers.
Strengths and Weaknesses
What are the benefits, if any, of taking this online TPD program for participants? For instructors? For the site?
What kind of changes in participant learning have you seen with this TPD program?
What are some of the costs or drawbacks of taking this TPD program online for participants? For Instructors? For the site?
What are some challenges you have encountered while teaching this online TPD program?
How would you compare the quality, flexibility, effectiveness of the online TPD program with similar face-to-face programs?
Instructor Background and Characteristics
What do you do when not teaching this TPD program? How does this online TPD program fit it with your other occupation?
What preparation / training / development do you have to teach / facilitate this online TPD program? What is your content area expertise? What is your technical expertise? Have you taught this TPD program before (offline)?
How much preparation / time do you spend preparing for this TPD program? How much time do you spend weekly on TPD program delivery / interaction with participants? If you have taught this TPD program off line, how much more or less work is required for this work online?
What do you think are the characteristics of a good online instructor? How would you rate yourself on those categories?
Closing
Is there anything else you would like to add about your school’s efforts to implement this online learning application or your experiences as an instructor?
Before you leave, be sure to ask for data on participant outcomes and for copies of documentation or reports on participant outcomes.
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