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The rapidly evolving paradigm of technology-based education has increased the number of faculty teaching online. The role of faculty has changed from the traditional classroom instruction format to an online community of learning. Therefore, faculty development in online education becomes a critical component during this transitional period. A survey of faculty of the College of Applied Science and Technology in a midwestern university was conducted to identify their level of perceived expertise in online teaching and the priorities of areas to be addressed in faculty development sessions. Benner's five-stage sequential transformation from novice to expert was used to construct the questionnaire. Results showed that faculty who taught online perceived their level of expertise to range from advanced beginner to competent, whereas faculty who had not taught online were at the novice and advanced beginner levels. Redesigning and rethinking faculty roles emerged as the number one priority area to be addressed in continuing education sessions. Implications for faculty development for online education sessions are presented.
The transition from an on-site classroom teaching role to teaching online in nursing education has occurred rapidly during the past decade (Ali, Hodson-Carlton, & Ryan 2002; Bothel, 2001; Mueller, 2002). An increasing number of experiential and research-focused articles demonstrate the need for and the potential of online education to deliver accessible and quality academic courses and programs in an era of expanding nursing work force shortages (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 1999, 2000; Bentley, Cook, Davis, Murphy, & Berding, 2003; Potempa, Stanley, Davis, Miller, Hassatt, & Pepicello, 2001). More and more faculty, often educated in the traditional, on-site educational environment, are currently reconceptualizing their teaching role to the online educational environment (Barker, 2002; Billings, Connors, & Skiba, 2001; Carlton, Siktberg, Flowers, & Scheibel, 2003; Schoenfeld-Tacher & Persichitte, 2000).
Organized faculty development programs are a critical factor in the successful transition to online teaching (Van Der Velde & Rawl, 2000). As Lan (2001) pointed out, the success or failure of any innovation ultimately depends on the people who implement the change. It is imperative that quality faculty development programs are designed and implemented to meet the perceived needs and priorities of the faculty involved in the development and delivery of online education. Billings (1995) addressed the need of nursing...