OLL K-12 INTERVIEW PROTOCOL—2007-2008
INSTRUCTORS OF ONLINE APPLICATIONS
This protocol is for use with instructors. Ideally, you will have sixty minutes for this interview.
Introduction
The following is a suggested introduction. When you begin the interview, make these points, but use your own words for a more personal introduction.
You may know that we are working on a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to look at characteristics associated with prevalent types of online learning and identify promising practices that are associated with improved student achievement. One of our priorities in this project is to learn more from you about the features and capabilities of the online offerings we are studying, as well as how the applications are implemented and administered.
We want you to know that this project does not evaluate you or your program; we are looking to learn from your experiences to identify promising practices in online learning.
Before we start, I need to have you review and sign this consent form. [AFTER THE RESPONDENT REVIEWS CONSENT FORM] Do you have any questions before we get started?
Instructor Background and Characteristics
Please describe your role as a facilitator / instructor in this program.
Is your position full-time or part-time? How long have you been with this program as a facilitator/instructor?
Were you involved in development of content for this online program? If yes, please describe your role.
Do you have a job other than teaching in this online program (e.g., consultant, K-12 teacher in traditional school setting, or faculty member)?
What is your content area expertise?
Please describe how you were recruited / selected to teach in this program. Are you paid or otherwise compensated? Are there specific knowledge, skills, and competencies that candidate instructors must have in order to be selected?
What preparation / training / development have you had to teach / facilitate this online program? Please describe the content, length, and structure of the training that instructors receive. How much time did you spend preparing to teach this course?
How much time do you spend weekly on program delivery, interaction with participants, grading, and course management?
Program Implementation Design
Features of curriculum (subject matter / grade level, synch / asynch, pedagogical approach, strategies for maximizing student access, technologies used, hardware / bandwidth)
In your view, what is the goal of this program? What are the educational objectives?
Please describe the major design features of this online program.
[Probe for: specialized content, pedagogy (try to determine if expository, active, or interactive; also are online quizzes present, opportunities for immediate feedback, collaborative or group based activities; degree of learner control), technologies used (forums, email, chat, video conference, telephone, web, etc; and media used (graphics, video, audio, simulations, gaming environments, text].
Please briefly describe the instructional delivery model from the perspective of instructors and participants.
[Probe for length of intervention; whether it is totally online or blended; amount and modes of online interaction between instructors or facilitators, students, and others; individual or group work; assignment or discussion focused]
What is the maximum number of participants per section in this online program? What is the minimum number of students required for running the successfully?
How frequently do you interact with other instructors/facilitators; with program administrators; with students?
Have you taught courses before this one (online or offline)? [If not, ask: Are you familiar with other programs that have similar educational objectives? If no, skip to 16, if yes, ask about unique/exemplary features] If so, how is this experience similar or different? If you have taught similar content off line, how much more or less work is required for this work online? What features of the program do you consider unique or exemplary as compared with other programs having a similar educational intention? Why?
Can you briefly describe any new features or refinements you would like to see implemented (technical, curricular, and / or pedagogical)?
Outcomes: Expectations, Measures, and Data
This semester, how many students are participating in your courses?
Do certain kinds of students tend to excel or struggle in the course? If so, please describe. Are there things you do to provide additional support to struggling students?
What are the expected learning outcomes (knowledge, skills) of your course?
Please briefly describe how participants are assessed on learning outcomes. Who developed the assessments? Who scores them? Do you have learning assessment data you can share with us?
Quality Assurances
Prior to teaching a course, are you able to review the curriculum, assessments, etc. and modify them or provide feedback to the developers? Please describe.
After teaching a course, is there a way for you to provide feedback to the developers to improve the program? Please describe.
Is your performance as an instructor evaluated? Are there clear quality criteria for you to meet? Please describe.
How does your course evaluate participants: participation, completion and retention rates, formative and / or final assessments, learning outcomes, and transfer of learning to classroom instruction? Do you have any additional data that you can share with us?
Enrollment Process and Policies
Who is eligible to take your course? Please describe any eligibility requirements associated with stage of teaching career, teaching experience, school context, or prerequisite knowledge. Are these criteria a good filter to get the right participants?
How do students find out about your course? How do participants enroll in the course? Do participants decide to enroll themselves or are they selected or nominated? Do participants enroll as individuals, in teams, or either?
What is the maximum number of participants per section in this TPD program? What is the recommended instructor: student ratio?
Do participants receive credit of any type? Are there other incentives for signing up and completing the program?
Supports and Barriers
What types of academic support do students receive? Who provides these supports (instructor, online facilitator, tutors)? How are the supports provided (e.g., via email, phone, in person, through the whole group interaction, in real time)?
What types of technical support, if any, do students receive? What suggestions do you have to improve technical support services?
What types of technical and professional support do you receive from the program? Who provides it? How frequently? How important it is to your success in teaching the course?
Do instructors in this program interact with and support one another? If so, how?
What are the most significant barriers for student participation in this program? What could be done in overcome them?
Are there time requirements (e.g., X number of hours per week) or interaction requirements (e.g., online / onsite synchronous activities) for students?
What are some of the hardest things about teaching this online course? Please comment on situational, technological, pedagogical or other types of barriers for facilitating online learning by participating teachers.
What makes teaching this online course run more smoothly?
Closing
Is there anything else you would like to add about your school’s efforts to implement this online learning application or your experiences as an instructor?
Before you leave, be sure to ask for data on participant outcomes and for copies of documentation or reports on participant outcomes.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | OLL TPD INTERVIEW PROTOCOL—2007-2008 |
| Author | Policy User |
| Last Modified By | DoED |
| File Modified | 2007-10-02 |
| File Created | 2007-10-02 |