DEOSNEWS Vol. 7 No. 3, ISSN 1062-9416.

Copyright 1997 DEOS - The Distance Education Online Symposium

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EDITORIAL

Last year at this time, Dr. Connie Dillon of the University of

Oklahoma contacted me to see if I would be interested in publishing

an annotated bibliography that had been developed by graduate

students in one of her classes. I welcomed the opportunity to

provide our readers with a research-based resource on specific

aspects of distance education, but space limitations and publication

schedules allowed me to publish only a part of the bibliography at

that time. The students' original annotated bibliography covered six

topics; the first two topic areas of the bibliography, Technology

and Design and Learners and Learning, were published in

DEOSNEWS volume 6 number 5 (readers interested in this issue can

find instructions for retrieving back issues at the end of this

article). The introduction to the complete bibliography and an

abridged (and minimally edited) version of the second two subject

areas, Learner Support and Faculty Issues, are presented in this issue

of DEOSNEWS. I hope to publish the last two sections of the

bibliography later this year.

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A Review of Distance Education Research : An Annotated

Bibliography Approach

by Sami Faddah

Dale Fike

Charlotte French

Dwight Fulcher

Simon Hsu

Linda Smith

Dennis Widen

INTRODUCTION

This annotated bibliography has been prepared with the hope that

researchers and practitioners in the field of Distance Education will

find here a useful review of articles that are currently appearing in

refereed journals. Our investigation of distance education literature

focused on the following topics: Technology and Instructional

Design; Learners and Learning; Learner Support; Faculty;

Administration and Organization; and Policy.

The methodology was developed from a Research and Theory class

led by Dr. Connie Dillon at the University of Oklahoma. Students

were master's and doctoral level students. A research critique guide

was developed in the class and students did literature searches on the

topics identified above. It is sincerely hoped that this material will

prove to be as useful and valuable to others as it proved to be to

those who presented their annotated bibliographies. Gratitude is

expressed to the authors of the articles which were reviewed; they

served as "instructors " in content and as a laboratory in research for

the class.

TOPIC 3: LEARNER SUPPORT

KIRKUP, G.& VON PRUMMER, C. (1990). Support and

connectedness: The needs of womendistance education students.

Journal of Distance Education, V(2), 9-31.

Research Questions: One specific area was the focus of this article:

access to local student support services for distance students and the

value which the students placed on that support.

Population/Sample: The manner of sampling relates to the unique

situation of each university used in the study (FernUniversitat, West

Germany and the British Open University) and to the fact that the

survey was initially designed and used to gather data from one of

those universities, not both. For FeU, with a low number of female

students, the whole cohort of newly registered female students was

used as well as an equal number of men. Men wereselected

through a stratified random sample which corresponded to the

women in the main characteristics of matriculation status and

program of study. The response rate was 49%. For OU, equal

numbers of men and women were selected by random sampling

procedures from students beginning their undergraduate work in

1987. Although response rate was 65%, the researchers chose to

reduce the number of surveys used in order to have the samples

comparable in terms of subject area. Demographics of respondents

including age and family situations are provided.

Research Design/Data Analysis: The authors imply that only a

section of the data generated by the questionnaire is actually used

for this article. The section used relates to the students' experiences

with study centers and included both closed and open ended

questions. Through the use of raw numbers and percentages, the

authors compare the responses of men to women at eachuniversity

and make comparisons between the two universities. Tables are

included in the article. In several comparisons, the figures are

controlled, such as for geographic area, employment, or household

type.

Findings: The findings show "striking similarities" in the

answering patterns of women at FeU and OU and describe a pattern

of preference among women for shared learning experiences.

Women were more likely than men to make use of local study

centers at both universities. The authors suggest their findings have

implications for the design of local support systems for distance

education students. Further, they question whether the concept of

independence in distance education is modeled on male learning

styles alone.

CLARK, T. (1993). Attitudes of higher education faculty towards

distance education: a national survey. The American Journal of

Distance Education 7(2):19-33.

Research Questions: The literature review raised five research

questions in the mind of this researcher: (1) How receptive are U.S.

higher education faculty to college-credit teaching? (2) Are

professional characteristics related to receptivity? (3) Does

receptivity vary in relation to previous use of distance education

methods, classroom use of media, or prior knowledge distance

education? (4) What do faculty think about the different media and

about methods commonly used in distance education? and (5) How

do faculty explain their receptivity or non-receptivity to distance

education?

Population: The researcher identified fifty-seven public higher

education institutions (21 public research universities, 20 large

comprehensive institutions, and 16 two-year public institutions).

Faculty members were chosen at random from each of three

departments: chemistry, marketing, and political science. The

population was selected from department chairs, tenured professors,

and non-tenured professors.

Research Design/Data Analysis: A brief questionnaire of 20

multiple choice and Likert-scale items and three open-ended

questions was developed and evaluated at one university (n=9).

Then the population, a sample of 502 faculty, proportionately

representative, was selected. 480 questionnaires were delivered,

323 were returned, with 317 being judged as usable, for a response

rate of 66%. Six items concerned professional and demographic

characteristics. Geographical and institutional type, based on

location and classification were added as variables. General

attitudes toward distance education was sought in five items. Six

other items solicited information on media or methods used in

distance education. The questionnaire concluded with three open-

ended items designed to collect information on of the general

concept of distance education.

Data from the surveys were analyzed using Statistical Analysis

System (SAS). Frequencies, means, and cross-tabulations were

run, followed by ANOVA procedures.

Findings: Several findings were reported based on the

questionnaire: 1) Respondents were most favorable toward the use

of distance education in college-credit courses developed and

delivered by education consortia; 2) Faculty were only slightly

positive in their attitude toward the general concept of distance

education;3) Faculty were moderately negative in their attitudes

toward personal use of distance education, with the most positive

responses comin from department chairs (33.3%) according to

position and community college instructors (40%), according to

institution;4) Of the faculty by classification of institutions, the

most positive attitudes were found in community colleges, followed

by comprehensive universities and research institutions;5)

The academic department with the most favorable attitude was

business, followed by chemistry and political science. There was

some difference in these scores between the types of institution;6)

There was no significant difference between female and male

respondents; 7) Respondents with substantial experience were, on

the average, more favorable in their attitudes toward distance

education; 8) Videoconferencing was the most favored medium,

followed by television.

BRAMBLE, WILLIAM J. AND MARTIN, BARBARA L. (1995).

The Florida Teletraining Project: Military Training via Two-Way

Compressed Video. The American Journal of Distance Education

9(1): 6-26.

Research Questions/Hypothesis: The Florida Teletraining Project,

funded by the Department of Defense, launched a research project

to determine learning effectiveness in a two-way interactive video

environment. The measure of evaluation was to determine whether

the Military Occupation Specialties (MOS) training to personnel

serving in the National Guard and Reserves was viable, conducive

to learning, and cost-efficient.

Hypothesis: Null Hypothesis: There will be no difference in the

learner's performance when exposed to teletraining support

methods. Alternate Hypothesis: There will be a difference in the

learner's performance when exposed to teletraining support

methods.

Research Questions: 1) Was the learner support approach to

training successful in terms of learner achievement? 2) Was the

approach to training successful in terms of learner satisfaction?

3) How advantageous was the "high-end" technology, especially

in terms of capabilities for high levels of interactivity and high-

resolution graphics?

Population: 275 students in three Army MOS-qualifying courses

were chosen from National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve units.

The 275 learners were divided into five control groups, with 31

Administrative Specialists, 38 Supply Specialists, 25 Military

Police, 111 HazWaste Techs and 47 Total Quality Leadership

participants. Also, the U.S. Coast Guard had participants in two

courses. The entire project included five courses. Median age of

learners was thirty-three, 63% were ranked below E5, yet many

officers also participated; 47% of the students in the TQL (Total

Quality Leadership) course--emphasizing management--had a

bachelor's degree or above.

Research Design/Data Analysis: The Florida Teletraining Project

was conducted quantitatively and veried by statistical data. The

research design included three instruments for data collection:

1) achievement/proficiency tests; 2) student course perceptions;

and 3) student ratings of course components. The latter ranged

from Yes- No answers, and a five-point Likert-type scale.

In all cases except the TQL test, pre- and post-tests were

administered. Data collection included evaluation of "various

participants in the project: students, faculty, field support

personnel" and others.

Data Analysis methodology was (ANCOVA) "analysis of covariance

with the pretest scores serving as the covariate." The learning

method of teletraining was the independent variable, the dependent

variable is the learner's performance on the post-test, and the

covariant is the pre-test. Research design is arrived at by deductive

analysis by using data collection and data analysis methods.

Findings: The five experimental groups were Administrative

Specialist, Supply Specialists, Military Police, HazWaste, and TQL.

The t-value score differentials for the above-listed groups were

11.41*, 8.57*, 13.56* and 21.54*, with no-pretest for TQL. This

statistical data indicates a level of significance which cannot merely

be attributed to chance. Thus, evidence was found to support the

alternate hypothesis; moreover, evidence was found to override the

null hypothesis.

Technical reliability of Teletraining Delivery System: 99.6%

reliability. During 422 hours of course transmission, downtime

was 1.63 hours. Students rating of "video and audio

quality" consistently at/above 4.0 on a 5 point Likert scale. Student

course perceptions were evaluated on the basis of "whether they felt

the teacher, was in effect, in the same room with them." "Yes"

responses varied from 78.8 % to 97.7 % across the five courses.

Student rating of course components, such as the 1200 graphic

presentations of word pictures ranged from 3.44 in the Military

Police Group to 4.43 in the TQL course. Student ratings of

Interactivity ranged from a mean high of 4.23 for Admin. Spec. to a

low of 3.60 for Military Police in reference to interactivity with

instructor. Interactivity with studentswas evaluated at 3.32 on the 5

point Likert scale.

MAY, S. (1994). Women's experiences as distance learners:

Access and technology. Journal of Distance Education IX(1), 81-98

Research Questions: What are women's distance education related

experiences? Can these experiences provide information for

improving the resourcing for distance education classes, improving

accessibility for participants, and enhancing curriculum in distance

education focused on women's issues?

Population: Participant selection was based on diversity of age,

geographic location, delivery mode, course, program of study, tutor

assignment, and completion status. Nine women who had studied

women's studies courses by home-study or teleconferencing from

Athabasca University (1990-1991) were selected. The group of

women being studied consisted of one native women and eight

white women ranging in age from 23 to 67. One was a single parent

and the eight others were married. Two were at home with children

full time, one was retired and the others worked in professions such

as nursing, recreation, counseling, management, social work and

clerical support.

Research Design/Data Analysis: The research has a feminist

theoretical base relating to the concept of a society based on male

hegemony. May "employed women-specific research methodology

in order to correct the invisibility and distortion of female experience

within distance settings". The study was qualitative in nature. The

interviews were tape-recorded, the data was transcribed, names

changed, and the data was coded. The students received self-

contained course packages and could call their assigned tutor on a

weekly basis for academic support and assessment. They use the

same course packages for teleconferences. They met with their

instructor using audio conferencing for seven 2-hour sessions. For

the most part, the women enjoyed the comprehensiveness of the

course materials but some also voiced that personal choices were

limited because of the all inclusive way the course was constructed.

The telephone was used to elicit educational support, tutoring, and

some testing. Some women enjoyed chatting on the phone and

developed a rapport with their tutor. However, others worried

about the cost of long distance calls (paid by the university). Some

students complained that when they needed help they could not get

through to their tutor because the line was busy hours at a time.

Another complaint was that the tutor did not call to check on the

distance learning student until the end of the course. These women

felt that the tutor should have been concerned enough to call and

inquire from time to time to see how they were progressing. The

students' need for privacy from eavesdroppers during the sensitive

personal disclosure type women studies classes was not protected.

Conclusions: Twelve different suggestions are presented including:

Educators need to be sensitive to women's personal and unique

circumstance and investigate ways to help develop effective support

systems. Women students require opportunities to make real and

significant choices regarding their learning goals and activities.

Orientation activities (for tutors) need to include skills training in

telephone and teleconferencing technologies and their applications.

MORGAN, C. & MORRIS, G. (FEB., 1994). The student view of

tutorial support: Report of a survey of Open University Education

Students. Open Learning 9(1): pp. 22-33.

Research question/hypothesis: The researchers aimed at finding

out what problems their students were having in their studying

endeavors. They also wanted to find out what the students' views

were on the issues regarding their tutorial support, group

discussions, and any other help they had received in completing this

course. Two hypotheses also were included:

1) continuing students who were used to the system and who

were 'old hands' at independent study would be more approving of

the tutorial support than new students.

2) new students who, as trained professional teachers would

previously have had experience of full time face-to-face courses,

would be disillusioned with limited or absent face-to-face contact,

and would therefore be less approving than continuing students.

Population/Sample: The population sample included 273 male and

female student, from North, Middle, South, and West Wales. Main

concentration of students occurred in the Southern and Western

areas of Wales. Females accounted for double the number of

males on the undergraduate level and four-times that on the graduate

level.

Research Design and Data Analysis: Fifty-four of the students

were contacted (43 by phone), to hear their responses first

hand, while the remainder were mailed a questionnaire (21 in all).

Of the questionnaires, 11 were returned (52%). The sample

of students was derived from a quota sample frame which took

into account the all-Wales gender balance, the demography of the

Welsh students on post-foundation courses to give three

sub-regions as strata, and the whole range of Education

undergraduates, MA, and associate student nine-month courses.

New students were not included due to their lack of experience. The

survey population contacted by phone were to conform to the strata

files of the macro population.

Findings: The findings centered around the student's view of

tutorial support which included: 1) overall student satisfaction, and

2) satisfaction with the various components of the total tutorial

support which they received. On the overall satisfaction, students

were asked to sum-up how they felt towards the tutorial sessions

they received. They were to rate them on the basis of 'very happy',

'reasonably happy', 'not very happy', and 'not at all happy,' as well

as on a scale of 0-10. Fifty-three students participated on the first

part of the experiment, and fifty-one on the latter part. 91% of

students reported a rating of 'reasonably happy' to 'very happy.'

New students reported favorable results with regard to the tutorial

based support, as opposed to the continuing students, who found it

less helpful since they were used to a more elaborate system to start

with (when they were new students). The students also reported

that it was a matter of detail quality and not necessarily the kind of

tutoring that was important. They expressed views of wanting a

person, namely the tutor, on site to be able to converse with

on certain details (customization of instruction) that may have

eluded them. Many new students expressed their thoughts of how

important the first letter from tutor was (first impressions). Students

also expressed concerns which centered around the face-to-face

tutorials and the time which they had to spend getting to the meeting

place, as well as the way in which the tutorials were conducted

(teacher vs. student oriented.) Out of 54 students, 46% said they

attended most or all of the tutorials, while 54% said they attended

some or none of the tutorials either for personal or family reasons.

KIRBY, D. M., & CUGH U. (1993) Two views from the bridge:

A comparison of the perceptions of students and instructors of

elements in the audio-teleconferencing environment. Journal of

Distance Education 8(2): pp 1-17.

Research Questions/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to

investigate students' perceptions and the comparison of students'

perceptions with instructors' perceptions. There are two embedded

hypotheses:

1. There is no difference between instructors perceptions and

students perceptions as indicated by Q-Sort results.

2. There is no difference among perceptions of students.

Methodology

Instruments: Q-Sort is an instrument constructed for the

investigation of perceptions of distance education. It has 79 factors

for the participant to determine the importance as perceived by the

participant. The importance is rated on a 1-9 Likert Scale. The

repeat reliability (r) is 0.74 with an S.D. of 0.16.

Follow-up questionnaire: A 10-item follow-up questionnaire on

was given. The participants rated the degree to which they agree or

disagreed with the statement on a 1-5 Likert Scale.

Population/sample: The participants of the study were the 169

students and 87 instructors. involved in distance education courses

at the University of Calgary, Canada. 131 students agreed to

participate, 88 completed and returned the Q-Sort and the follow-up

questionnaire. 87 instructors completed the Q-Sort. Only 36

instructors returned the follow-up questionnaire.

Research Design and Data Analysis: Cluster analysis was used to

determine if there is any differences among the students'

perceptions. MANOVA was used to detect overall group

differences among the students, and the overall difference between

students and instructors. SPSSX was used for the analysis.

Findings: The authors found that the students attach the greatest

importance to factors in the instructional environment that are closely

related to the quality of learning transaction. They also found that

there were two clusters of students: those who attach more

importance to student characteristics, therefore labeled as student-

centered, and those who attach more importance to the instructional

act and thus labeled as instruction-center. The comparison of

students and instructor perceptions resulted in the findings that

students attach more importance to student characteristics and factors

relating to the availability of the course, while the instructors attach

more importance to instructor characteristics and the more abstruse

elements such as goals of education. Furthermore, the students and

instructors clustered on different sets of factors.

TOPIC 4: FACULTY ISSUES

TAYLOR, J. C.& WHITE, V. J. (1991). Faculty attitudes towards

teaching in the distance education mode: An exploratory

investigation. Research in Distance Education, 3(3), 7-11.

Research Question: The purpose of this study was to measure and

analyze faculty attitudes at an Australian university towards

distance teaching and conventional face to face teaching as they

relate to job satisfaction.

Population/Sample: A representative cross section of academic

staff (37) teaching undergraduate core courses at the University

College of Southern Queensland were surveyed.

Research Design and Data Analysis: Factors related to personal job

satisfaction provided the conceptual foundation for examining

faculty attitudes. A model developed by V. H. Vroom, called the

valence model, was the framework used. Valence is a term used to

refer to a person's attitude toward something. Vroom's model,

which has been widely tested, determines valence by measuring the

"combined effects of a wide variety of beliefs about the desirability

of possible outcomes associated with an activity and perceived

probability that those outcomes will occur". In this model, attitude

is expressed as the sum of the product of two factors,

instrumentality and valence. Eighteen outcome factors were used in

the survey. As a measure of valence, respondents were asked to

identify the 5 most important factors (assigned a value of 3) and the

5 least important factors (assigned a value of 1) as they relate to

personal job satisfaction. The eight remaining factors were assigned

a value of 2. To measure instrumentality, they were then asked how

they felt about the two methods of teaching in terms of the

attainability of each of the outcomes, using a five point scale ranging

from a minus 2 (impedes) to a plus 2 (enhances). Tables showing

the mean valence and the mean instrumentality for each of the

eighteen factors were included, along with a table showing attitude

towards each mode of teaching as the product of the two means.

Findings: Faculty place a higher importance on intrinsic rewards

associated with teaching rather than with research based activities.

The five most important factors related to personal job satisfaction

were quality of interaction with students, working with motivated

students, satisfaction from the act of teaching, feeling of personal

achievement, and high level of student outcomes. Performing

administrative duties was consistently rated as being of the least

importance. Teachers have a distinct preference for conventional on

campus teaching due to factors related to job satisfaction and the

perceived ability to attain those through conventional versus distance

education teaching.

MALAN, R. F. AND FELLER, S. (1992). Establishing workload

equivalence: U.S. independent study courses and college residence

classes. The American Journal of Distance Education 6(2):56-63.

Research Question: This research was not theory-driven, leading

to a hypothesis, but exploratory in nature. The researchers did not

have sufficient understanding of the phenomena to form conjectures

about the relationships between constructs. The study proceeded

with the following questions, rather than a hypothesis: Was there a

movement by colleges involved in independent study to reduce the

number of lessons for submission during a course? What were

some of the effects of this movement to fewer lessons if, indeed,

there was a change to fewer lessons?

Population: In order to ascertain how extensive the movement

might be, a sample of college-affiliated independent study

institutions was informally identified. The sample was established

by considering geographic distribution, size of the independent

study program (large, medium, small), use of semester system, and

the authors' access to the institution's current catalogue. The authors

identified the University of California at Berkeley, the University of

Iowa, the University of Kansas, the University of Missouri, the

University of South Carolina. the University of Texas at Austin, the

University of Wisconsin, and the University of Indiana.

Research Design/Data Analysis: Five courses with heavy

enrollments were identified and examined for number of required

lessons. The study found that, indeed, the number of lessons

required was no longer 15-18, but as follows:

COURSE AVG. NO. LESSONS

Intro. to Accounting 11.4

Freshman English 11.1

US History/Government 10.9

Intro. to Psychology 11.0

Intro. to Sociology 10.0

This study found no research reporting the effects of reducing the

number of lessons per course.

Findings: The research identified a movement toward reducing the

number of lessons per course. Brigham Young University began a

program of review for each course, with the objective of reducing

the number of lessons while maintaining an academically defensible

learning experience.The main strategy of the administration was

to authorize course designers to work with faculty to organize

courses in units with self-directed quizzes, followed by unit exams.

This design provided students with feedback on their progress,

reduced the number of lessons submitted, and reduced the amount

of marking by faculty.

Reported results are as follows:

Students: Students were more motivated and consistent in

submitting lessons. Time required for course completion was

reduced from 41.1 weeks to 27.9 weeks. Completion rates

increased to 75.6%, compared to national rates of 64.8%.

Faculty: Faculty, in effect, doubled their pay. A formula was

created to ensure the same pay with 50% less marking of student

work. More faculty became involved with independent study

teaching due to the more reasonable workload. Course quality

improved because faculty have more time to focus on the quality of

their courses.

Administration: Turn-around time decreased to two days, compared

to the national average of 9.4 days. Only 69% of lessons have to be

physically handled by the department, saving labor, equipment,

materials, and postage(substantial postage reduction of 31%).

KIRBY, D. M. AND CHUGH, U. (1992). An Investigation of

Instructors' Perceptions of Elements in the Audio-Teleconferencing

Environment. Journal of Distance Education. Spring 1992 VII(1):

pp. 25-38.

Research Questions/Hypothesis: 1) To what extent is the

population of instructors homogenous in its perceptions of factors

which influence teaching strategies? 2) Do different types of

instructors exist as determined by their perceptions of the global

instructional environment? 3) Which factors do instructors

consider to be the most and least important when considering

teaching strategies for their courses?

Population/Sample: A purposive sample of 120 Teachers who

taught distance education courses at institutions of higher learning in

Canada constituted the selected population. 87 Teachers, or

72.5% became participating respondents in this Q-Sort. A part of

the population were chosen from the Directory of the Canadian

Association of Distance Education, part were chosen from the

collegial rank of the University of Calgary, and the third part was

chosen from instructors recommended by the first two groups. The

sample itself was partially representative of different institutions and

different regions of Canada.

Research Design/Data Analysis: The research design was a valid

quantitative instrument and complex Q-Sort using a cluster analysis

method for interpretation of data, which is finally filtered through a

t-test to reveal the level of significance of the final results.

Data Collection: The instrument was a Q-Sort. The methodology of

this Q-Sort was developed by six experts in audio-teleconferencing

from the University of Calgary,Canada. The items were classified

into five categories: instructor characteristics, student

characteristics, environmental characteristics, technological

characteristics and perceived goals of education. Starting with a

pool of 120 items, 79 items were operationally defined and sorted

into a continuum in response to a criterion statement: "Which

factors do you perceive to be the most and least important when

considering the teaching strategies for the course you are about to

teach?". Data analysis was accomplished by cluster analysis. Data

were coded by assigning numerical ranges from 1 (least important)

to 9 (most important), thus establishing statistically measurable

interval units. The Clustan software package was used. The data

are formed into single member clusters, and at each step "a pair of

clusters is amalgamated ... into Euclidean sum of squares." Then,

data are optimized by "minimizing the Euclidean sum of squares as

an objective function." Finally, the cluster analysis of the Q-sort

indicated two distinct cluster of "29 and 58 instructors respectively."

T-tests were conducted on each of the 79 perception variables.

Findings: The Q-sort instrument used in this study required

instructors to rank variables in order of importance in choosing

teaching strategies. The result of the cluster analysis revealed two

distinct clusters of instructors within this distance instructional

professoriate. The cluster analysis revealed two subgroups within

this tested grouping. Two types of instructors groups were

identified. The first group ranked factors that related the use of

technology as being more important for instructional methodologies.

The second group ranked factors which related to a more traditional

mode of instruction as being more important. "The range of mean

rankings was from 7.83 to 1.60 on the 9 point scale (9=most

important and 1=least important)."

Academic indicators: Interestingly the respondents gave a high

ranking for instructor aptitude for teaching, and instructor's

verbal skill as 7.83 and 7.63. Student's motivation and aptitude/

ability were ranked as 7.74 and 6.54 respectively. Of the top

10 items , "five are instructor characteristics and four student

characteristics." Instructor and student academic background

ranked at 5.08 and 5.07, at the mid-point of the mean. Sudent

and instructor gender, ranked lowest at 1.77 and 1.66, respectively.

Statistical significance: 29 (36.7%) of the 79 of the factors tested

yield statistical significance. Cluster I represents the first group,

Cluster II the second group. By way of comparison, examples of

significant t-values from Cluster I and II, concerning Instructor's

Aptitude for Teaching were 7.48 vs. 8.01; Instructor's knowledge

of the Structure of the Curriculum was predictable: 6.75 vs. 7.58.

Most significant was the ranking of Student experience with

Distance Education, 5.89 vs. 4.23 and Student Ease of Use of

Equipment, ranking 7.13 vs. 5.44.

DE VRIES, L., NAIDU, S., JEGEDE, O., & COLLINS, B.

(1995). On-line professional staff development: An evaluation

study. Distance Education, 16(1):157-173.

Research Questions: To study the effectiveness of utilizing

teleseminars as a faculty development activity, the researchers posed

the following questions: 1. Is computer-mediated-communications

(CMC) a "viable medium for the professional development of staff

interested/involved in distance education? 2. Does the nature of

moderation of CMC-based discussions influence the nature of

contributions from subscribers? 3. Do the participants use different

strategies (interactive, cognitive, and metacognitive) in an electronic

discussion?

Sample:The subjects of this research project were faculty and staff

members from institutions of higher learning in Australia: 51 were

from the University of Southern Queensland (USQ); nine were from

outside USQ. Of the 51 from USQ, 23 were instructional designers

and course materials development staff from the Distance

Education Center (DEC); 20 were subject-matter specialists in the

various Faculties of the University; eight were from other areas of

USQ.

Methodology: Quantitative and qualitative research techniques were

employed during the study. Data collected included the full text of

each discussion and a post-discussion questionnaire. A six week

teleconferencing seminar was offered to the staff of The University

of Southern Queensland. Discussions were restricted to specific

times and focused on three issues identified as discussion topics:

Instructional Design Issues; Role of ID in DE Material Development;

and Instructional Potential of CMC. Two weeks of discussion time

was allotted to each issue. Three members of the DEC served as

moderators to manage and facilitate discussions. Nine

experienced instructional designers and users of CMC from

Australia, Canada, and The Netherlands were also asked to

participate and were used to validate the post-discussion

questionnaire.

Data Analysis: Three levels of analysis were derived from data

collected: 1) "What was said" and "How often it was said"

(questionnaire); 2) "How things were said" (data about participation

and interaction among participants); 3) Use of cognitive and

metacognitive strategies of participants. Complete texts of the

discussions ("seminar protocol") were first analyzed by the first

author, followed by a similar analysis of a randomly selected sample

of the seminar protocol by the second author. Analytical techniques

designed in a previous study for analysis of this nature established

inter-rater reliability.

Findings: The findings were organized in answer to the research

questions. Question 1: Is CMC is a "viable" medium for

professional development activities? Question 2: Do moderation

strategies influence the nature of participant contributions to CMC-

based discussions? Question 3: Do participants use a variety of

strategies to manage their learning and participation?

All participants found the teleseminar interesting, useful and

successful.

THACH, E.C. & MURPHY, K.L. (1995). Competencies for

distance education professionals. ETR&D 43(1): pp. 57-79.

Research Objectives: Identify the professionals' key roles,

outputs, and competencies in DE. Rank order the importance of each

output competency. Identify whether or not the roles, outputs, and

competencies could be grouped to create a Descriptive Competency

model for distance education.

Population: The population consisted of distance educators from

the United States and Canada who were associated with academic

institutions and working in DE research or teaching in distance

education for at least a year. From this population, 103 experts

were identified and invited to participate in the survey. Fifty-one

educators agreed to participate in the first round, and of those 51,

36 participated in the second round.

Research Design/Data Analysis: A modified Delphi technique was

the research methodology employed to identify competencies.

Round one survey was sent out with a cover letter requesting

participation. The survey was an open-ended form which asked

participants to identify distance education roles, outputs, and

competencies. After the responses were compiled, a second round

survey was sent out to the distance educators who had responded to

the first round. It contained the 11 roles, 84 outputs and 51

competencies identified after summarizing the experts' responses

from the first round. The second round survey included a five-point

scale for rating the importance of the outputs and competencies.

Blank spaces were included to allow the experts to add additional

roles, outputs, and competencies. The response rate was 73%. Data

from the second round were analyzed using the mean and standard

deviation. Engineering skills, Technology Operation/Repair Skills,

Planning Skills, Content Knowledge, and Modeling of Behavior

Skills were ranked most important to a specific role. Interpersonal

communications skills, English proficiency, Collaboration/

Teamwork skills, Writing skills, and Planning skills were the

most frequently cited competencies for all 11 roles. Learner needs

assessment and learning styles didn't receive high rankings.

The researchers were surprised by this, but surmised that

traditionally the learner adapted to the instructor's style in group

learning situations.

Conclusions: The researchers used the data to construct a

"Distance Learning Roles and Key Competencies Model" in

conjunction with a Table of the "Outputs and Competencies for

Distance Learning Roles" to provide a foundation for distance

teaching faculty development programs.

BLACK, JOYCE E. (FALL, 1992). Faculty Support for University

Distance Education. Journal of Distance Education 7(2): pp. 5-29

Research question/hypothesis: The scope of this study was

restricted to faculty perceptions of distance education courses for

degree credit and to full-time teaching faculty in one conventional

Canadian university, The University of British Columbia. How do

faculty view distance education and how would they react to it when

give the option to vote in a council session? The hypothesis is that

the faculty highly associated with distance education will be more

readily accepting of introducing this form of education into general

practice, while those less familiar with distance education(more

traditional) will tend to shy away from and maybe even oppose

such a move.

Population/Sample: The scope of this study was restricted to

faculty perceptions of distance education courses for degree credit

and to full-time teaching faculty in one conventional Canadian

university. The research was to assess the possibility of introducing

distance education courses into the teachers' curricula. Four-

hundred and eighty-seven (487) faculty members were surveyed by

mail.

Research Design and Data Analysis: The conceptual framework

consisted of five concepts:1) Support; 2) Familiarity; 3)

Professional Characteristics; 4) Compatibility; and 5) Feasibility.

The study included a mailed survey which investigated the extent of

faculty familiarity with and support for distance education. On the

basis of this information, faculty were divided into three categories

of support for distance education: supportive, divided support, and

opposed. Representatives from each group were then interviewed

(n=50). The project included a two phase operation. Phase one

included four mailed research questions (2 of 4 listed):1) To what

extent are faculty familiar with distance education? 2) To what

extent do faculty support distance education?

A Likert-type questionnaire designed and pre-tested for the study

was used. A short explanatory note was included to define distance

education.

The survey sample was selected to allow for subgroup analysis by

gender and by four disciplinary groupings used in research on

academic culture. Phase two used the survey findings to select

faculty (n=50) for semi-structured, face-to-face interviews to

answer two research questions (1 of 2 included):

1) How do faculty who are supportive of, opposed to, or divided

in their support for distance education understand the compatibility

and feasibility of distance education?

Findings: Of 670 faculty, 73% responded, with 200 responses

coming from women and 287 responses from men. The data was

analyzed descriptively and by using a chi-square. Level of

significance was set at 0.01. The majority of the respondents were

not familiar with distance education beyond hearing and reading

about it incidentally. Seventy percent (70%) of subjects had heard

about distance education offered by UBC. More respondents(79%)

had heard about distance education offered in other universities and

colleges. Fifty-five percent (55%) had read about distance education

generally in newspapers or in magazines. Six percent had been

distance students themselves. The overall lack of faculty familiarity

with distance education is similar to that reported by other sources.

The familiarity scores grouped into three categories of analysis:

1) Low (43%)

2) Some (40%)

3) High (17%)

It is noteworthy to mention that faculty involved in distance

education courses as students favored the use of it on all levels of

education. Further, the teachers who had been previously exposed

to this form of education were more likely to vote towards

implementing the system for institutional purposes.

KIRBY, D. M., & CUGH U. (1992) An Investigation of

Instructors' Perception of Elements in the Audio-teleconferencing

Environment. Journal of Distance Education 7(2): pp 25-38.

Research Questions/Hypothesis: There are two implied hypotheses

or research questions:

1) There is no difference among instructors in their perceptions of

the importance of the elements of audio-teleconferencing

environment as indicated by Q-Sort results, and 2) The population

of instructors is homogenous in its perception of factors in the

audio-teleconferencing environment.

Methodology:

Instruments: Q-Sort is an instrument constructed for the

investigation of perceptions of distance education. The researcher

conducted a brainstorming session and generated a pool of

statements that are considered elements affecting audio-conferencing

environment. Six experienced instructors were interviewed and

asked about the factors they think that are important. 120 items

were derived from the brainstorming and the interviews. Four

educators at the University of Calgary were chosen to validated the

items by determining the construct validity of the items. The 79

items were used in the final administration of the measure. The 79

items reflect the factors for the participant to determine the

importance as perceived by the participants. The repeat reliability (r)

was 0.74 with an SD of 0.16. There were four weeks between the

two administrations of the Q-Sort measure.

Population/sample:The participants of the study were 120

purposive subjects who were audio-teleconferencing instructors.

They were selected by the investigators of the study. 87 responses

were received. The authors reported the limitations of such samples

and warned that the results of the study may not be generalizable to

other settings.

Research Design and Data Analysis: The 79 items reflecting the

elements were printed on separate cards. The instructors were asked

to sort the cards by the importance. Cluster analysis was used to

identify homogeneous groups or clusters of cases based on their

values for a set of variables. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering

is a method for creating clusters in which each case starts out as a

cluster. At every step, clusters are combined until all cases are

members of a single cluster. Once a cluster is formed it cannot be

split; it can only be combined with other clusters.Individual

t-tests were conducted to investigate the differences of the clusters

of instructors in their perception of each factor.

Findings: The authors found that the instructors clustered in two

groups based on their perception of the elements of audio-t

eleconferencing environment. Instructors in cluster one ranked

more as more important a number of factors directly related to

the technology of instruction. The other cluster of instructors

rated the overall goals and values of instructors and students

as more important. The first cluster appeared have more practical

concerns while the second cluster had more general concerns

often associated with traditional paradigm of education. The two

groups of instructors agreed that gender would not make an

important factor in audio-teleconferencing environment.

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