Abstract:

Introduction:
Competition for online students has produced innovative recruitment strategies resulting in online courses designed without student-to-student interaction. Engagement theory and collaborative learning theory form the framework for understanding the importance of collaboration for learning. The problem is professional development (PD) for online faculty did not address the lack of interaction between students. The research filled a gap in the literature by using a mixed methodology approach to examine and compare two different PD approaches to build faculty-to-student academic relationships in courses without student collaboration. Student outcome data aggregated by course cohort were used in the quantitative data collection and faculty responses to open ended, anonymous questionnaires were used in the qualitative data collection.

Objectives:
The objective of the research was twofold. The research was conducted to provide a deeper understanding of the benefits of faculty-student interaction in online courses designed without student to student interaction. The research was conducted to determine effective professional development designs for faculty teaching online courses without student to student interaction.

Methodology:
A mixed methods exploratory sequential research design was used to examine and explore the benefit of faculty to student interaction and effective faculty professional development. The research included collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data with the same subjects in two consecutive phases within one study. The study recruited 12 online faculty from the Educator Preparation Program teaching the same course consecutively in spring of 2019 and fall 2019. The present study collected qualitative data through anonymous, unstructured questionnaires provided to faculty to explore the experiences and feelings about faculty-to-student engagement after participating in PD. The current study included quantitative aggregated student cohort data collected over time, before and after faculty PD, to explore any effects of the PD on student outcomes. Collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data provided a deeper understanding of the topic from multiple perspectives

Two PD experiences were included in the research design:
(a) An informational presentation (IP) about building academic relationships and
(b) IP followed by a professional learning community (PLC).

Four research questions guided the research: the degree to which student outcomes were affected by the IP and the PLC and faculty perceptions about engaging students after each PD experience.

Conclusion:
Faculty in both PD experiences indicated the PD resulted in improved faculty-to-student engagement. The PLC PD participants reported improvements to instructional practice and courses had higher student outcomes following the PD. Faculty participating in the IP reported improvements to feedback. Effective professional development for online faculty is essential for instructional growth, student achievement, and institutional success in a competitive distance education market. The current study has implications for institutions and leaders to support PD for faculty targeted specifically to building academic relationships with students. The research points to collaboration amongst online faculty as an effective professional development experience with beneficial outcomes for students.

Keywords:

Faculty professional development online education academic relationships, faculty-to-student relationships, professional learning community, student achievement.