Abstract:

Numerous factors restrict teaching faculty from developing their confidence and knowledge around teaching online. Often there is a lack of time to engage with synchronous opportunities to build skills. Occasionally teachers new to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are unaware of their own skill gaps, particularly in relation to online teaching, due to having been hired as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and not having come from an educational background. For many, pedagogical concepts are new, and the breadth of technology used in HEI teaching can be intimidating. The challenge for those who are tasked with assisting teaching faculty in Higher Education to work confidently online, is to offer a broad range of opportunities for their continued professional development.

In an innovative Engineering degree currently teaching its first cohort of undergraduates in Ireland, the teaching team includes experts direct from the Engineering industry. The significant experience they bring from their industry knowledge is a draw for students to the programme, who benefit from this expertise: in the first two years while on campus in a blend of online and face to face teaching; and in the final two years, when these industry experts act as mentors remotely, as students undertake long term work placements.

In attempting to ensure that this busy teaching staff has access to teaching resources to enhance the quality of the online classes they offer to their students, we have employed a heutagogical approach, developing a suite of self-directed, access-any-time classes, grounded in educational research and best practice. These classes offer learners an introduction to the essential concepts of online learning and teaching, allowing the choice between following a particular route throughout the course, or taking individual classes as the need arises. By guiding staff with well researched teaching resources which include links and references to further information and more in-depth study opportunities, we are giving them total autonomy over the way in which they develop their own skills, while establishing their awareness of the fundamentals of best practice in online learning and teaching, and alerting them to the wealth of resources we can help them access when they feel confident to develop their ideas further.

Keywords:

Educating the educators, continuing professional development, industry practitioner-teachers, heutagogy, Engineering education.