Browsing by Author "Alharbi, Hawazen"

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    MOOCs for Faculty Professional Development with Learning Technologies in Higher Education
    (2015-05-12) Alharbi, Hawazen; Jacobsen, Michele
    Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) can engage large communities of learners in topics across fields of study. Despite speculation that MOOC numbers were in decline, the number of courses actually rose to 1,200+ last year (Nielson, 2014). Researchers from Harvard University, Tsinghua University, and MIT demonstrated that MOOCs can be as effective for learning outcomes as face-to-face courses (Schaffhauser, 2014). It is becoming clear that, “massive open online courses will not fundamentally reshape higher education, nor will they disappear altogether” (Kolowich, 2014, pp. 1). However, it has been predicted that MOOCs will improve the use of technology in higher education (Kolowich, 2014). Academic work is complex and ever changing in both research and teaching. Professors are experienced in their field of study, but are not usually as experienced as teachers who know the newest pedagogy and teaching methods using technology (Mundy, Kupczynski, Ellis & Salgado, 2011). New and experienced professors benefit from ongoing, continuous professional development for technology-enabled blended and online teaching and for graduate supervision. With many demands on their time, gathering professors together for professional learning is a challenge. MOOCs can provide an ideal learning environment for faculty to develop as online teachers and online graduate supervisors. This poster examines the benefits of MOOCs and the reasons why universities should adopt MOOCs for faculty professional development.
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    Using Design-Based Research to Design a miniMOOC For Faculty Development On Quality Graduate Supervision
    (2018-09-17) Alharbi, Hawazen; Jacobsen, Michele; Lock, Jennifer; Hansen, David V.
    Graduate supervision is a complex relationship and learning process developed between students and supervisors. Professors invest many years in developing expertise and experience in their research disciplines and in their teaching. However, for many academic faculty, graduate supervision is a practice they develop just in time and on the job when they accept graduate students to supervise. Research points to the importance of the graduate supervisor in students’ timely completion of their degrees. However, there is a gap in educational research on how to best support graduate supervisors in developing effective supervision practices even though the same research emphasizes the importance of offering such learning supports to faculty members. As higher education institutions are called upon to provide quality faculty development opportunities focused on developing effective graduate supervision practices, there is a need for applied research on designs and methods for graduate supervision development that are effective. This design-based research focused on the design, implementation and evaluation of a flexible and innovative faculty development approach to quality graduate supervision using a miniMOOC. Drawing on theoretical insights from connectivism theory, learning communities, and constructivism, this study was informed by relevant educational theory and research and resulted in a six module miniMOOC that was implemented at a large research university during a Winter semester. Twenty-three faculty members from across disciplines participated in the Quality Graduate Supervision miniMOOC and fifteen completed all six modules. Collection of data on the design and development of the QGS miniMOOC, the implementation of the learning environment, and the local impact, inform the study findings. Outcome of the research include theoretical insights, evidence of local impact, and the development of design principles and a design framework for faculty development MOOCs. Overall, evidence was gathered that graduate supervisors can benefit from intentional faculty development as they develop their supervision practices and competencies. Findings from this design based research study suggest that faculty members are willing to participate in faculty development when the learning opportunities are flexible, accessible and tailored to their learning goals and needs. Findings also suggest that in the MOOC learning environment, there are four design elements needed to develop successful faculty development opportunities: 1) relevant topics and resources, 2) high quality videos, 3) discussion forums’ design and facilitation, and 4) effective user interface design. The flexibility of the miniMOOC format and the accessibility of the D2L learning environment in this study were found to be contributing factors to the success of the miniMOOC learning environment for faculty members’ development of graduate supervision practices. Furthermore, the formation of a learning community in online faculty development is significant to the success of the learning experience. The findings, design principles and implications contributed to the body of knowledge available on faculty development design and development, in graduate supervision practices and in the use of MOOC for faculty development.