Abstract:

With blended offerings set to become the new norm and 70% of all programmes forecast to adopt a blended design by 2030 (Bates, 2020), Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been prompted to prioritise professional development (PD) endeavours in the area of digital teaching and learning for educators. Intricate questions in relation to remote teaching and learning dominate the discourse. Now more than ever, detailed studies which examine the lived experiences of educators as they transition to online teaching are merited. An understanding of their trajectories is essential to enable HEIs to adequately address PD needs in a meaningful way and thus ensure institutional quality of online and blended programme provision. Educators are now tasked with designing and organising courses, facilitating learning, and providing direct instruction for students separated by place and time. This transition requires them to reconceptualise their discipline-specific knowledge base and pedagogical skill set for the online learning environment. Qualitative in nature and utilising Community of Inquiry (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000) as a theoretical framework, this study explores how teacher educators are best supported to facilitate teaching presence in an asynchronous learning environment. Data was collected from an extensive online questionnaire, semi-structured and focus group interviews. Findings underscore a need for increased attention to teacher educator readiness to teach online. Data analysis revealed areas for development in particular teaching presence knowledge domains e.g., learning experience design (LXD), technology-enhanced assessment and feedback, evidence-based digital pedagogies to foster interactivity, students’ authentic engagement with subject matter and contextualised learning interactions. Participants also defined particular characteristics of high impact PD experiences aligned with the identified teaching presence needs, e.g., PD experiences which are authentic, relevant, meaningful and awareness-raising; PD experiences which entail practical application; PD experiences which have a collaborative component and which promote reflection; and PD experiences which integrate feedback and provide opportunities to refine work. This presentation will conclude with a discussion on implications for designing meaningful and effective teaching presence PD experiences through a bespoke and targeted e-learning solution.

Keywords:

Teaching presence, asynchronous learning, teacher educator, professional development.