I do not currently teach in an academic setting

          My name is Dan Mikeska and for the past 20 years, I have owned and operated a small personal training and martial arts gym.  Although I love what I do, the aches and pains I often feel after classes tells me that it’s time to start thinking about the next step.  With all of the advancements in human movement science over the past few decades, I have become a huge proponent of education, and upon completion of my doctorate, I would like to transition, at least on a part-time basis, from clinician to an online educator.

From Field

I have the education and experience to be considered a subject matter expert (SME) in a number of aspects of human movement.  Unfortunately, being an expert in the field does not always mean that one will be an expert in the classroom.  In addition to being a SME, an online educator needs to have, to a degree, technology skills, administrative skills, and skills as a facilitator (Baran, Correia, & Thompson, 2011). 

Distance education is not new.  In the 1800’s, print technology and regular mail service allowed those who were unable to attend in-person classes, due to distance, occupation, or societal boundaries, the opportunity  to earn a secondary education or college degree (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012).  Print technology and mail service have since been replaced by the internet. In 1965, Gordon Moore, who later founded the tech company Intel, predicted that processing speed would double every 24 months (Evans, 2014), making it difficult for novice techies to assimilate new technology. 

To Faculty

Even though over 70% of institutions of higher learning suggest that online education is part of their strategic long-term plan (Allen & Seaman, 2014), Ertmer and Ottenbreit-Leftwich (2010) believe that technology in the classroom is not being used to its full extent.  Furthermore it is thought that the lack of technological integration into the classroom is partially due to the lack of relevant knowledge and confidence on the part of the instructors.  To gain assurance, it is suggested that instructors participate in learning groups as well as professional development programs.  Additionally, teachers need to take the time to explore the technology that will be used (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010). 

Technology, in some fashion, is used in most jobs.  What are some of the technology issues that you have come across, and has there been a time when you have felt overwhelmed?  

Administration and leadership refer to the instructor as the director of the learning process (Bigatel, Ragan, Kennan, May, & Redmond, 2012).  One aspect is acknowledged in the first part of this post; the instructor needs to integrate technology so that it is relevant to the learning process.  Another important administrative role is communicating the expectations, of not only the grading criteria, but also behavioral guidelines.  It is also important to students that they are able to track their grades and assignments (Bigatel, Ragan, Kennan, May, & Redmond, 2012).  Accordingly, instructors need to ensure that students have access to course assignments, rubrics, and grades. 

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was enacted to protect the privacy of students (U.S. Department of Education, 2014), and upholding FERPA should be considered part of the administrative duty of any educator.  Students are allowed to review their educational records and contest portions that may be incorrect.  Schools may not disclose any records without the student’s permission, however, schools may publish any directory information unless otherwise asked not to.  Educators need to be aware of the intricacies of FERPA so that a student’s privacy is not violated.

Although class facilitation could be considered an aspect of administration, it is important enough to merit its own segment.  Doyle (2011) defines educational facilitation as “…supporting students in learning their course material by providing an environment for engagement…”, and “…using assessment tools that provide the learner with meaningful feedback” (p. 52).  The two themes that stand out are engagement and feedback.  One form of effective engagement and feedback for an online class are peer discussions followed by an explanation and, with a case study, the solution, from the instructor (Smith, Wood, Krauter, & Knight, 2011). The engagement needs to support collaborative learning while the feedback needs to be personalized based on individual contributions (Slavich & Zimbardo, 2012).

Is there a time when an instructor challenged you to do better, or provided feedback that made you want to do better?  

I know that I will not be the first person to make the transition from the field to faculty.  In addition to staying abreast of the subject, there is also a need to seek out guidance and education in other areas.  Technology changes so fast that, to fully utilize it, it is imperative to continue to learn what is available as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each product.  To administrate it is important to understand the differences of culture, age, and expectations of each student.  The first discussion post is often an introduction thread.  The introduction thread would be an ideal time for an educator/administrator to ask questions that provide insight into each student’s background; where did they grow up, married, children, favorite food, favorite TV show, reason for being in the program, and something unusual about them.  Knowing each student beyond the basics of type of job and location, will provide valuable information for engagements and interactions as well as allow for relevant, individualized feedback. 

References

Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2014). Grade change: Tracking online education in the

United States. Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group,

LLC. Retrieved from www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/gradechange.pdf

Baran, E., Correia, A., & Thompson, A. (2011). Transforming online teaching practice:

critical analysis of the literature on the roles and competencies of online teachers. Distance Education, 32(3), 421-439. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2011.610293

Bigatel, P. M., Ragan, L. C., Kennan, S., May, J., & Redmond, B. F. (2012). The identification

of competencies for online teaching success. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(1), 59-77. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/132473/

Doyle, T. (2011). Learner-centered teaching. Putting the research on learning into practice. 

Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-1579227432

Ertmer, P. A., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T. (2010). Teacher technology change: How

knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and culture intersect. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(3), 255-284. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ882506.pdf

Evans, D. (2014, February 22). Moore’s law:  How long will it last? Techtrader.  Retrieved from

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/computing/moore-s-law-how-long-will-it-last--1226772

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at

a distance. Foundations of distance education (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Slavich, G. M., & Zimbardo, P. G. (2012). Transformational Teaching: Theoretical

Underpinnings, Basic Principles, and Core Methods.  Educational Psychology Review,

24(4), 569-608. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10648-012-9199-6

Smith, M. K., Wood, W. B., Krauter, K., & Knight, J. K. (2011). Combining peer discussion

with instructor explanation increases student learning from in-class concept questions. Life Sciences Education, 10(1), 55-63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.10-08-0101

U.S. Department of Education. (2014). Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). 

Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

My Experience as a First Time Educator

My dream is to become not only a teacher at a PA program but to one day become Program Director.  I thought my dreams were finally coming to fruition when I landed a position as Assistant Professor at a prestigious university.  I was in hog heaven.  However, my dream slowly turned into a nightmare as the weeks and months unfolded.

My first day on the job was not spent in orientation to the medical school or to the hospital, but yet grading first year students performing their first patient encounter.  I was paired with a senior faculty member and told to watch how they “graded” the students; then, I would observe students and grade by myself.   The torment didn’t stop there.  I was then given the  “write-ups” that the students had turned in from their experience to grade.  I asked if there was a guide or some type of rubric to go by and was told to grade it like I would a note.  WHAT!!! You’re telling a PA who had been practicing, at that time, for over 11 years to grade and treat a student‘s note, whom had only been in the program for 8 weeks, like I would a note I would write in a patient’s chart. 

Now, the week that ensued after the students went on break would have been perfect to go to orientation.  No such luck.  I did not receive an orientation to the department nor did I know how or what the students were learning.  I was paired with a “mentor” but she did not tell me much.  She kept stating since I had a doctorate degree, I could figure things out on my own.

I was never taught any basic principles of faculty, scholarship, promotion or tenure, how to teach, put together lectures or design curriculum.  I was not provided with a notebook or guide to help me.  I was instructed by the Program Chair to go to the medical school and watch four different people, whom he identified, lecture and then compare and contrast how they teach.  That was it.

Unfortunately, this tale is more common than people think.  Many clinicians are choosing to pursue a clinical doctorate such as the DHSc degree.  With this terminal degree, they are able to transition to the world of academia.  However, much concern is raised due to the fact that most clinical doctorates do not provide formal education in pedagogy, andragogy or research and development (Kahanov, Eberman, Yoder and Kahanov, 2012).  Most clinicians have no prior education background and are having some difficulty transitioning to education due to this.   Difficulty can be cause due to lack of orientation into academia, lack of mentorship or understanding of classroom management and teaching (Kahanov et al., 2012).

Kahanov et al. (2012) reports that junior faculty, which consists of both traditional and clinical doctorate faculty (CDF), undergo socialization to help with the transition and uses the WISE Principles of Mentorship.  Winning trust, inviting acceptance, support without rescue and embracing growth are the properties used by senior or seasoned faculty members to help transition CDF (Kahanov et al., 2012).

            Virginia Commonwealth University has developed an interdisciplinary Faculty Learning Committee (FLC) to “establish and improve faculty development” at the university (Sicat, Kreutzer, Gary, Ivey, Marlowe, Pellegrini, Shuford and Simons, 2014, p.1).  Several faculty members from the five different health science schools on the campus started the group.  The goals of the FLC is to “(1): share information on expertise and resources available to faculty development programs represented by the FLC members; (2) identify faculty development topics and techniques that the group; (3) choose areas where faculty development professionals might collaborate to design new faculty development programs and/or new methods of delivery based on identified learner needs, evaluate these initiatives and consider ways to improve; (4) create models or modules available to other faculty development providers” (Sicat et al., 2014, p. 2).

My recommendations for new faculty members:

1-    Orientation noted only to the university system but the to the department.

2-    Detailed outline of what the faculty member will be expected to do.

3-    Assign a mentor who will actually work the new faculty on how to teach, curriculum design, promotion, scholarship, etc.  The mentor will have to essentially teach them and if now, enroll the faculty member in some type of class/conference to teach these things.

4-    Do not “throw them to the wolves”.  New faculty should be given sufficient time to acclimate to the new surroundings.  Allow them to sit in the class and take notes and learn.

5-    New faculty goes to Center for Teaching Excellence (CTC). If at a university with separate undergraduate/graduate programs, have a CTC for the graduate/medical school.

6-    Realize that the first year is a transition; mistakes will be made. However, the more the new faculty is exposed to things and learns, the better they will become.

References:
Castiglioni, A., Aagaard, E., Spencer, A., Nicholson, L., Karani, R., Bates, C., Willet, L.,Cheda, S. (2012). Succeeding as a Clinician Educator: Useful Tips and Resources             General   Journal of Internal Medicine. 28:136-140.

Kahanov, L., Eberman, L., Yoder, A., Kahanov, M. (2012). Culture Shock: Transitioning
From Clinical Practice to Educator. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and               Practices. 10:1-5. 

Sicat, B., Kreutzer, K., Gary, J., Ivey, C., Marlowe, E., Pellegrini, J., Shuford, V.,

    Simons, D. (2014). A Collaboration Among Health Sciences Schools to Enhance Faculty Development in Teaching.  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 78(1-5).