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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Perceptions of TESOL teacher education: strengths, weaknesses, characteristics, and effective components
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Perceptions of TESOL teacher education: strengths, weaknesses, characteristics, and effective components
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!
PERCEPTIONS!OF!ONLINE!TESOL!TEACHER!EDUCATION :!
!
STRENGTHS,!WEAKNESSES,!CHARACTERISTICS,!AND!EFFECTIVE!COMPONENTS !
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by!
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Susan!Tiffany!Chen!
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_________________________________________________________________________________________________!
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A!Dissertation!Presented!to!the !
FACULTY!OF!THE!USC!ROSSIER!SCHOOL!OF!EDUCATION!
UNIVERSITY!OF!SOUTHERN!CALIFORNIA!
In!Partial!Fulfillment!of!the!
Requirements!for!the!Degree !
DOCTOR!OF!EDUCATION!
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!
!
May!2012!
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Copyright!2012! ! ! ! ! ! Susan!Tiffany!Chen!
ii
Acknowledgements.
!
! This!study!would!not!have!been!possible!without!the!support!of!the !Master!of!
Arts!in!Teaching!English!to!Speakers!of!Other!Languages!program! faculty!lead,!Rob!
Filback!and!staff!members,!Cathryn!Dhanatya!and!Michelle!McCormick.!!Special!
thanks!goes!to!my!enthusiastic!chair,!Dr.!Patricia!Burch,!who!provided!valuable!
insights!and!feedback,!as!well!as!my!committee!members!Dr.!Robert!Filback!and!Dr.!
Guilbert!Hentschke,!who!offered!their!knowledge!and!guidance. !!My!good!fortune!
continued!with!the!wonderful!writing!advisors!in!the!Doctoral!Support!Center,!
specifically!Dr.!Linda!Fischer,!who!was!always!available!to!help.!!!
! I!owe!my!deepest!gratitude!to!my!friends!and!family,!who! offered!
encouraging!words!and!were!my!loudest!cheerleaders.!! In!particular,!I!thank!my!
parents,!Robert!and!Sharen!Chen,!and!brother,!James!Chen,!for!supporting!me!in!
ever ything!that!I!do.!!This!yearlong!dissertation!process!was!a!pleasure!thanks!to!
my!fiancé,!David!Emery,!who!inspired!and!motivated!me!to!continue!my!education .!!
Lastly,!though!there!are!too!many!to!name!individually,!I!offer!my!sincerest!
appreciation!to!all!those!who!helped!me!juggle!work,!school,!and!life!in!general.!! !
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Table.of.Contents.
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Acknowledgements! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ii!
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List.of.Tables. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! vi!
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List.of.Figures! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! vii!
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Abstract! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! viii!
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Chapter.1:.Overview.of.the.Study! ! ! ! ! ! 1!
! Background!of!the!Problem!! ! ! ! ! ! 2!
! Statement!of!the!Problem ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 6!
! Purpose!of!the!Study!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 9!
! Importance!of!the!Study! ! ! ! ! ! ! 10!
! Definitions!of!Key!Term s! ! ! ! ! ! ! 11!
! Limitations!and!Delimitations! ! ! ! ! ! 12!
! Organization!of!the!Study! ! ! ! ! ! ! 13!
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Chapter.2:.Literature.Review! ! ! ! ! ! ! 14!
! Sources!Searched ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 15!
! Conceptual!Framework ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 17!
! Synthesis!of!the!Literature ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 18!
! Perceptions!of!Online!Courses!and!Programs ! ! ! ! 18!
! ! Student!Perceptions!of!Online!Education ! ! ! ! 19!
! ! Faculty!Perceptions!of!Online!Education ! ! ! ! 24!
! ! Comparison!of!Student!and!Faculty!Perceptions ! ! ! 28!
! ! Summary!of!Perceptions!of!Online!Education! ! ! 32!
! Characteristics!of!Successful!Online!Participants !! ! ! 32!
! ! Successful!Student!Characteristics!in!Online!Education ! ! 33!
! ! Successful!Instructor!Characteristics!in!Online!Education! 39!
! ! Summary!of!Characteristics!of!Successful!Participants! ! 42!
! Effective!Components!in!Online!Courses!and!Programs ! ! ! 42!
! ! Effective!Components!in!Online!Teacher!Education ! ! 47!
! ! Effective!Components!in!Online!TESOL! Teacher!Education ! 53!
! ! Summary!of!Effective!Components!in!Online!Education ! ! 57!
! Summary!of!the!Literature!Review! !! ! ! ! ! 58!
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Chapter.3:.Methodology.
! Problem!and!Purposes!Overview ! ! ! ! ! ! 60!
Sample!and!Population! ! ! ! ! ! ! 62!
Instrumentation ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 65!
Data!Collection!Plan!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 69!
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Proposed!Data!Analysis! ! ! ! ! ! ! 70!
! Summary! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 72!
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Chapter.4:.Results! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 74!
! Presentation!of!Descriptive!Characteristics!of!Respondents ! ! 75!
! ! Gender,!Age,!and!Ethnicity ! ! ! ! ! ! 76!
! ! Educational!Level!and!Teaching!Experience ! ! ! 77!
! ! Experience!with!Online!Education !! ! ! ! 78!
! ! Summary!of!the!Respondents ! ! ! ! ! 79!
! Developing!a!Community!of!Inquiry!Experience ! ! ! ! 79!
! Analysis!of!Data! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 82!
! Results!Research!Question!One ! ! ! ! ! ! 83!
! ! Overall!Satisfaction! ! ! ! ! ! ! 83!
! ! Motivation!for!Participating!in!the!Online!Program! ! 85!
! ! Academic!Demands!of!the!Online!Program ! ! ! 86!
! ! Future!Participation!in!an!Online!Program!! ! ! 88!
! ! Time!Spent!on!Online!Classroom!Activities ! ! ! 92!
! ! Perceived!Strengths!and!Weaknesses ! ! ! ! 94!
! ! Summary!Research!Question!One ! ! ! ! ! 97!
! Results!Research!Question!Two ! ! ! ! ! ! 98!
! ! Access!to!Hardware!! ! ! ! ! ! 98!
! ! Knowledge!of!Technology ! ! ! ! ! ! 99!
! ! Perceived!Characteristics!of!Successful!Participants ! ! 102!
! ! Summary!Research!Question!Two ! ! ! ! ! 107!
! Results!Research!Question!Three ! ! ! ! ! ! 109!
! ! Effectiveness!of!Applications!Used!in!the!Online!Program ! 109!
! ! Satisfaction!with!Components!in!the!Online!Program! ! 114!
! ! Summary!Research!Question!Three ! ! ! ! 115!
! Summary! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 116!
!
Chapter.5:.Conclusions! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 117!
! Summary!of!Findings! ! ! ! ! ! ! 118!
! ! Perceptions! of!Strengths!and!Weaknesses !! ! ! 118!
! ! Characteristics!of!Successful!Students!and!Instructors ! ! 119!
! ! Perceptions!of!Effective!Components ! ! ! ! 120!
! Implications!for!Practice! ! ! ! ! ! ! 120!
! ! Social!Presence ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 121!
! ! Cognitive!Presence ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 122!
! ! Teaching!Presence ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 124!
! Limitations! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 125!
! Future!Research ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 127!
! Conclusion! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 128!
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References! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 131!
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Appendices.
Appendix!A:!Instructor!Questionnaire ! ! ! ! ! 139!
Appendix!B:!Student!Questionnaire ! ! ! ! ! 145!
Appendix!C:!Certified!Recruitment! Letter !! ! ! ! 151!
Appendix!D:!Certified!Information!Sheet ! ! ! ! ! 152!
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List.of.Tables.
!
Table!1.1:! Demographic!Characteristics!of!Respondents ! ! ! 76!
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Table!1.2:! Educational!Level!and!Teaching!Experience ! ! ! 77!
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Table!1.3:! Experience !with!Online!Education!! ! ! ! 78!
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Table!1.4:!! Percentage!of!Respondents!that !Perceived!the!Development ! 82!
! ! of!a!Community!of!Inquiry!
!
Table!2.1:!! Motivation!for!Participating!in!an!Online!Program! ! 86!
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Table!2.2:!! Academic!Demands!of!an!Online!Program!! ! ! 88!
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Table!2.3:!! Perceived!Strengths!and!Weaknesses ! ! ! ! 95!
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Table!3.1:! Characteristics!of!Successful!Participants!in!Online!Education! 103!
!
Table!4.1:!! Percentage!of!Respondents’!Per ceptions!of!Applications!Used!!!111!
! ! in!Online!Courses!
!
Table!4.2:!! Percentage!of!Respondents’!Perceptions!of!Effectiveness!of! ! 113!
! ! Applications!Used!in!Online!Courses!
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Table!4.3:!! Satisfaction!with!Given!Technological!Components!in!Online! ! 114!
Courses!
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!
List.of.Figures.
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Figure!2.1:!! Student!and!Instructor!Satisfaction!with!Online!! ! ! 84!
Courses/Program!
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Figure!2.2:!! Percentage!of!Respondents!that!Would!Enroll!or!Teach! !! 91!
in!the!Future!
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Figure!2.3:!! Percentage!of!Respondents!that!Would!Recommend!Online! ! 91!
Education!to!a!Colleague!
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Figure!2.4:!! Student!Perceptions!of!Time!Spent!on!Online!Classroom! ! 93!
Activities!
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Figure!2.5:! Instructor!Perceptions!of!Time!Spent!on!Online!Classroom! ! 93!
Activities!
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Figure!3.1:! Access!to!a!Computer!at!Home! ! ! ! ! 98!
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Figure!3.2:! Access!to!a!Computer!at!School! ! ! ! ! 99!
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Figure!3.3:! Technological!Skills!of!the!Respondents ! ! ! ! 100!
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Figure!3.4:! Impact!of!Students’!Knowledge!of!Technology!on!Success! ! 101!
Online!
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Figure!3.5:! Impact!of!Instructors’!Knowledge!of!Technology!on!Success!! 102!
Online!
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Abstract.
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Recent!and!ongoing!expansion!of!online!opportunities!for!teacher!education!
and!training!continue!in!response!to!calls!for!better!teacher!preparation!and!
professional!development!opportunities.!!However,!with!the!introduction!of!online!
learning,!the!already!controversial!debate!over!educational!technology!ha s!taken!on!
a!new!dimension.!!Today’s!emerging!challenge !is!the!need!to!assess!a!different!set!of!
teaching!and!learning!methodology!that!are!specific!to!the!content!being!delivered!
and!the!technology!being!used.!!This!study!employs!the!community!of!inquiry!
framework!as!a!tool!for!evaluating!deep!learning!by!examining!the!social,!cognitive,!
and!teaching!presence!in!an!online!learning!environment.!! In!addition,!this!study!
examines!students’!and!instructors’!perceptions!of!strengths,!weaknesses,!
characteristics!of!successful!participants,!and!effective!components!in!an!online!
TESOL!teacher!education!program.!!Results!indicate!that !students!and!instructors!
are!generally!satisfied!with!the!program,!despite!the!challenges!they!encounter!with!
technological!glitches.!!This!study!also!found!that!characteristics!of!successful!
participants!could!be!categorized!into!three!themes e!personality,!skills,!and!learning!
or!teaching!styles.!!Finally,!results!confirm!the!importance!of!effective!pedagogical!
features!that!aid!in!content!creation!and!delivery,!communication!and!collaboration,!
as!well!as!tools!for!learning,!assessment,!and!administration.!!These!results!point!to!
implications!for!developing!a!community!of!inquiry!in!an!online!environment!and!
areas!for!future!research. !
1
Chapter.One:.Overview.of.the.Study.
! Technology!has!inundated!all!aspects!of!life,!from!medicine!to !daily!living!and!
the!field !of!education.!!The!impact!of!technological!advancements!in!education!
continues!to!be!a!controversial!topic!as!the!world!around!us!becomes!increasingly!
digital.!!To!ignore!the!influence!of!technology!in!the!classroom!is!a!disservice!to! the!
students.!!For!students!to!be!properly!prepared!for!success!in!the!workforce,!they!
must!be!comfortable!and!have!adequate!experiences!with!technology.!!Likewise,!
teachers!are!an!integral!part!of!student!success,!whom!must!also!have!a!basic!
understanding!and!practical!knowledge!about!educational!technology!in!the!
classroom.!!However,!to!overstate!the!benefits!carries!dangers!as!well. !
! In!the!educational!setting,!the!use!of!technology!is!essential!to!good!teaching!
and!pedagogy.!!With!the!introduction!of!online!learning,!the!already!controversial!
debate!over!effective!learning!has!taken!on!a!new!dimension.!! With!the!promises!of!
online!education!offering!more!opportunities!for!individuals!who!would!otherwise!
not!have!access!to!quality!education!come !risks!and!uncertainties.!!The!challenge!
that!has!arisen!is!the!need!to!assess!a!different!set!of!teaching!and!learning!methods!
that!are!specific!to!the!content!being!delivered!and!the!technology!being!used.!!The!
goal!of!this!study!is!to!rise!to!the!challenge!and!conduct!research!on!the!impact!that!
technology!has!had!in!the!field!of!teacher!education,!specifically!in!the!area!of!
teaching!English!to!speakers!of!other!languages. !
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2
Background.of.the.Problem.
Continued!advancements!in!educational!technology!have!fundamentally!
changed!the!way!that!teachers!are!being!prepared!(Egbert!&!Thomas,!2001;! Kim!&!
Bonk,!2006;!Smith!&!Mitry,!2008;!Thompson,!2005).! !Educators!today!have!
unlimited!opportunities!to!more!broadly!utilize!and!apply!powerful!technological!
tools!that!also!change!the!way!students!of!all!ages!are!learning.!!Technology!is!part!
of!teacher!education!whether!or!not!the!instruc tors!and!faculty!take!advantage !of!
the!opportunities.!!With!the!profile!of!the!typical!teacher!candidate!continually!
changing!(Swenson!&!Redmond,!2009),!higher!education!institutions!must!also!
change!to!accommodate!varying!learning!and!teaching!styles.!!Teacher!education!
courses!and!programs!are!increasingly!being!offered!in!a!variety!of!formats,!
including!online,!blended,!and!hybrid.!!!
For!the!purposes!of!this!study,!the!following!terms!will!use!Swenson!and!
Redmond’s!(2009)!definitions!of!online,!blended,!and!hybrid!learning! when!
describing!vehicles!of!delivering!educational!material!to!students.!!Online!refer s!to!
courses!and!degree!programs!in! synchronous!or!asynchronous!online!environments!
with!20%!or!less!faceetoeface!time!(Swenson!&!Redmond,!2009).!!Blended!refer s!to!
courses!and!degree!programs!in! asynchronous!or!synchronous!online!learning!with!
more!than!20%!faceetoeface!time!(Swenson!&!Redmond,!2009).!!Hybrid!learning!
describes!courses!and!degree!programs!that!combine!two!or!more!synchronous!or!
asynchronous!online!learning!tools!with!faceetoeface!time!(Swenson!&!Redmond,!
2009).!!Traditional!learning!describes!courses!and!programs!that!meet!face etoeface!
3
and!deliver!all!educational!content!in!oral!and!written!form!in!a!“brickeandemortar”!
classroom!where!nothing!is!delivered! online!(Allen!&!Seaman,!2008).!!!
Although!most!institutions!of!higher!education!have!embraced!the!
opportunities!afforded!by!online!curricula,!opinions!continue!to!be!mixed!about!the!
benefits!and!drawbacks!of!teaching!and!learning!on!the!Internet !(Kim!&!Bonk,!
2006),!especially!in!the!field!of!Teaching!English!to!Speakers!of!Other!Languages!
(TESOL)!teacher!education.!!According!to!Freeman!(1989),! studies!lack!a!clearly!
articulated!theoretical!basis!for! language!teaching .!!With!the!proliferation!of!online!
courses,!programs,!and!schools!offering!certificates!and!degrees!in!language!
teaching,!teaching!English!as!a!second!language!(ESL),!teaching!English!as!a!foreign!
language!(EFL),!and!TESOL!among!many!others,!it!is!clear!that!more!research!is!
needed!to!clarify!t he!misconceptions!and!myths!related!to!the!difficulty!of!learning!
and!teaching!in!online!environments!(Egbert!&!Thomas,!2001).!!!
Richards!and!Nunan!(1990)!recognized!that!the!field!of!TESOL!teacher!
education!has!enjoyed!a!much!stronger!research!base,!with! a!substantial!increase!in!
the!volume!of!research!directed!at!understanding!the!complex!processes!of!
becoming!an!English!language!teaching!professional.!!Richards!(1987)!characterized!
TESOL!teacher!education!programs!as!typically!including!a!knowledge!base! that!is!
drawn!from!linguistics!and!language!learning!theory,!and!a!practical!component!
that!is!based!on!language!teaching!methodology!and!opportunity!for!practice.!!To!
this!day,!TESOL!teacher!education!programs!still!include!a!knowledge!base!and!
practical!component,!regardless!of!how!the!programs!and!courses!are!delivered,!
4
which!include!traditional,!online,!hybrid,!and!blended.!!However,!despite!the!
significant!advances!in!research,!the!field!of!online!TESOL!teacher!education!
remains!an!emergent!field!of!in quiry!and!one!that!has!not!yet!been!subject!to!well e
defined!research!agendas!and!programmatic!approaches!to!research.!! Although!
these!studies!are!dated,!they!continue!to!be!cited!in!current!literature!and!illustrate!
the!lack!of!research!in!the!field.! !
!In!an!effort!to!standardize!and!clarify!research!around!online!TESOL!teacher!
education,!it!is!first!important!to!recognize!and!understand!the!differences!between!
online!learning,!distance!education,!and!educational!technology.!!Saettler!(1990)!
wisely!said,!“if!technology!is!to!be!completely!understood,!in!either!ancient!or!
modern!terms,!it!should!be!seen!as!a!system!of!practical!knowledge!not!necessar ily!
reflected!in!things!or!hardware!(p.!3).”!!Thus,!educational!technology!can!be!
conceptualized!as!the!broades t!term!that!refers!to!the!total!process!of!learning!and!
teaching,!including!both!the!physical!science!of!educational!technology,!or!the!
devices!and!equipment,!and!the!behavioral!science!of!educational!technology,!or!the!
process!of!disseminating!and!acquiring!knowledge!and!skills!(Saettler,!1990).!!!
Distance!education,!then,!is!a!subset!of!educational!technology,!which!is!often!
confused!and!viewed!as!synonymous!with!online!learning.!!Moore!and!Kearsley!
(2005)!define!distance!education!as,!“planned!learning!t hat!normally!occurs!in!a!
different!place!from!teaching,!requiring!special!course!design!and!instruction!
techniques,!communication!through!various!technologies,!and!special!
organizational!and!administrative!arrangements!(p.!2).”!!Examples!of!distance!
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education!can!also!include!correspondence!courses!delivered!via!the!U.S.!postal!
service,!over!the!phone!or!radio,!and!through!television.!!With!a!better!
understanding!of!educational!technology!and!distance!education,!the!term!online!
learning!can!again!be!clarified!as!a!type!of!distance!education.!!!!
Oftentimes,!online!learning!is!also!described!as!e elearning,!webebased!
learning,!Internet!learning,!digital!learning,!virtual!learning,!and!networked!learning!
among!many!others!as!coined!by!various!researchers!and!studies!(Anderson,!2008;!
Bates,!2005;!Collopy!&!Arnold,!2009;!Rosenberg,!2001;!Smith,!Smith,!&!Boone,!2000;!
Swan,!2001).!!Online!learning!typically!takes!place!in!asynchronous!or!synchronous!
classrooms.!!Asynchronous!sessions!are!when!students!in!remote!locations!work!
independently,!usually!with!the!support!of!an!instructor!or!tutor!(Bernard!et!al.,!
2004a).!!Synchronous!sessions!are!when!two!or!more!classrooms!in!different!
locations!are!joined!in!real!time !and!run,!synchronously,!usually!from!an!originating!
site!(Bernard,!Abrami,!Wade,!&!Borokhovski,!2004a).!!In!online!learning!
environments,!platforms!such!as!Blackboard!and!WebCT!are!commonly!used!by!
colleges!and!universities,!while!platforms!such!as!Moodle ,!Google,!Yahoo!,!and!2tor!
are!gaining!popularity.!!For!the!remainder!of!this!study,!online!TESOL!teacher!
education!refers!to!both!asynchronous!and!synchronous!classrooms!that!are!either!
online,!hybrid,!or!blended.!!When!possible,!a!distinction!will!be!mad e!between!
online,!hybrid,!and!blended.!!!
The!importance!of!understanding!the!perspectives!of!both!students!and!
faculty!perceptions,!characteristics,!and!effective!components!in!online!learning!
6
environments!stem!from!the!common!goal!of!achieving!high!studen t!performance!
and!inspiring!students!to!become!lifelong!learners!in!the!digital!age.!!Student!
performance!is!open!to!many!definitions,!ranging!from!grades,!to!added!knowledge,!
skill!building,!and!course!completion!rates!as!measures!of!performance.!!The!
perceptions!of!both!students!and!faculty!are!important!to!understand!because!they!
serve!as!catalysts!for!continued!participation!in!online!learning!environments!and!
other!learning!opportunities!(Picciano,!2002).!!
Statement.of.the.Problem.
Online!educational!opportunities!continue !to!grow!at!an!exponential!rate !
while!the!research!lags!further!behind.!!The!focus!of!this !particular!study!is!the!lack!
of!empirical!data!on!students!and!faculty!perceptions!of!online!education,!
characteristics!of!successful!students! and!instructors!in!online!education,!and!
effective!components!in!online!education,!online!teacher!education,!and!online!
TESOL!teacher!education.!!For!clarity,!instructors!refer!to!those!who!teach!in!higher!
education,!while!faculty!refer!to!t hose!who!have!at!least!a!doctorate!degree!or!
higher!and!teach!in!higher!education.!!!
Perceptions!are!an!integral!part!of!any!online!course!or!program!and!can!
have!a!significant!impact!on!education.!!Perceptions!refer!to!the!attitudes,!
preferences,!satisfactions,!concerns ,!and!motives!regarding!online,!hybrid,!and!
blended!education!( Braun,!2008;!BroadyeOrtmann,!2002;!Richardson!&!Swan,!2003;!
Smart!&!Cappel,!2006).!!This!study!will!focus!on!both!student!and!faculty!
perceptions!of!online!education!in!an!effort!to!extrapolate !how!participants!view!
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online!education!and!factors!that!contribute!to!willing!participation!in!this!
educational!medium.!!For!example,!students!who!were!satisfied!with!their!online!
educational!experience!may!have!more!positive!perceptions!of!learning!in!on line!
education.!!Likewise,!faculty!with!positive!attitudes!may!have!more!positive!
perceptions!of!the!strengths!of!online!education!and!fewer!perceptions!of!
weaknesses.!!Data!on!perceived!strengths!and!weaknesses!will!be!gathered!and!
analyzed!for!common!themes!and!misconceptions!among!students!and!faculty!
participating!in!an!online!TESOL!teacher!education!course!and!program.! !
In!addition!to!perceptions,!characteristics!of!successful!students!and!
instructors!are!also!critical!to!understand.!!In!this!case,!success!can!be!defined!by !
high!grade!point!averages,!completion!of!entire!course!or!program,!deep!learning,!
and!transfer!of!knowledge!from!theory!to !practice!(DeTure,!2004;!Halsne!&!Gatta,!
2002;!Wu!&!Hiltz,!2004).!!Multiple!studies!have!assumed!or!gathered!em pirical!data!
on!characteristics!of!successful!students!in!online!courses!and!programs.!!Included!
are!studies!that!simply!ascertain!characteristics!of!students!who!choose!to!enroll!in!
online!courses!or!programs,!or!studies!that!first!identify!successful!stu dents!by!their!
grade!point!average,!and!then!identify!common!characteristics!among!the!successful!
students!that!differ!from!the!less!successful!students.!!Unfortunately,!very!few!
studies!have!conducted!research!on!qualities!that!make!for!successful!instruc tors,!or!
instructors!who!are!able!to!transfer!knowledge!to!their!students!for!a!deeper!
understanding!of!the!content!and!create!a!community!of!inquiry.!! Instructors!play!a!
critical!role!as!the!facilitator!in!online!environments,!which!require!specific!skill s!
8
unique!to!online!learning!environment s!and!may!be!influenced!by!certain!
characteristics.!!As!part!of!the!system!of!an!online!learning!environment,!it!is!
important!to!understand!the!characteristics!of!successful!instructors !to!ensure!the!
success!of!their!students.!
Another!important!part!of!the!system!of!online!learning! pertains!to!the!
effective!components.!! Due!to!the!divergent!research!available!on!effective!
components,!this!study!attempts!to!extrapolate!data!and!findings!from!multiple!
studies,!starting!from!the!broad!perspective!of!effective!components!in!online!
education,!to!online!teacher!education,!and!finally!to!the!limited!studies!on!effective!
components!in!online!TESOL!teacher!education .!!Studies!on!effective!components!in!
online!education!range!fro m!courses!and!programs!in!subjects!such!as!business,!
agriculture,!medicine,!mathematics,!history,!and!language!learning.!! Complicating!
the!matter ,!each!subject!has!a!unique!pedagogy!for!delivering!content.!!For!this!
study,!the!research !was!narrowed!to!the!subject!of!teacher!education,!which!
included!courses!and!programs!on!language!learning,!certification,!classroom!
management,!and!many!others.!!To!qualify!the!scope!of!the!review! for!this!particular!
dissertation!topic,!studies!were!again!na rrowed!to!effective!components!in!online!
TESOL!teacher!education.!! Unfortunately,!few!studies!on!the!topic!were!available,!so!
the!scope!had!to!be!widened!to!effective!components!in!TESOL!teacher!education!
courses!and!programs!that!were!not!necessarily!deli vered!via!the!Internet.!! It!should!
be!noted!that!effective!components!refer!to!the!various!elements!in!online!and!
distance!education!that!successfully!help!students!learn!the!course!content.!!These!
9
components!range!from!the!instructional!design,!to!curricu lum,!applications,!and!
flexibility!(Brandt,!2006;!Jung!&!Rha,!2000;!Seok,!2006).!!!
Evaluating!online!learning!effectiveness!has!been!difficult!due!to!disparate!
frameworks.!!While!there!are!several!emerging!models,!this!study!employs!the!
community!of!inquiry!(COI)!framework!as!a!model!that!attracted!significant!
attention!among!educational!researchers!of!online!environments! (Arbaugh,!2007;!
Garrison,!Anderson,!&!Archer,!2000;!Shea!&!Bidjerano,!2009;!Stodel,!Thompson,!&!
MacDonald,!2006).!!Grounded!in!collaborative!constructivist!views!of!higher!
education,!COI!serve s!as!a!tool!for!evaluating!deep!learning! via!the!development!of!
social,!cognitive,!and!teaching!presence !in!an!online!learning!environment .!!Further!
discussion!of!the!community!of!inquiry!framework!can!be!found!in!chapter!two.!
Purpose.of.the.Study.
This!study!is!a!response!to!calls!for!a!need!to!assess!the!potential!of!
educational!technology!to!improve!teacher!education!(Cummins,!2000;!Egbert!&!
Thomas,!2001;!Nunan,!1999).!!In!particular,!there!is!need!to!examine!the!potential!of!
educational!technologies!to!not!only!increase!the!linguistic!power!of!students,!but!
also!to!harness!that!power!in!critical!and!constructive!ways!that!strengthen!local!
and!global!communities!(Cummins,!2000).!!This!study!seeks!to!acknowledge!the!
fundamental!changes!of!educational!technology!that!are!specific!to!the!field!of!
TESOL!teacher!education!as!well!as!determine!the!effectiveness!of!online!TESOL!
programs,!which!sets!a!benchmark!or!foundation!of!the!current!perceptions!of!an!
10
online!TESOL!program!and!the!future!directions!to!close!the!gap!between!
expectations!and!reality.!! !
The!research!questions!that!will!guide!this!study!are:! !
1.!What!are!the!perceptions!of!distance!education!programs?!Specifically,!what!are!
students’!and!instructors’!perceived!strengths!and!weaknesses!of!online!TESOL!
teacher!education!programs?!! !
2.!What!are!the!perceptions!of!characteristics!of!successful!individuals!in!online!
education?!!Specifically,!what!are!the!perceptions!of!characteristics!of!successful!
students!and!successful!instructors!in!online!TESOL!courses!and!programs?...
3.!What!are!the!perceptions!of!effective!components!in!online!education,!online!
teacher!education,!and!online!TESOL!teacher!education!programs?!! !
Importance.of.the.Study.
! From!this!study,!it!is!anticipated!that!stakeholders!in!the!field!of!online!
TESOL!teacher!education!will!gain!a!better!understanding!and!insight!into!the!
perceptions !of!strengths!and!weaknesses ,!of!characteristics!of!successful!
participants,!and!of!effective!compone nts!that!help!guide!current!and!future!
programs!toward!successful!development, !implementation,!and!evaluation !of!
courses!and!programs.!!Further,!it!is!hoped!that!this!study!will!serve!as!a!foundation!
for!future!studies!to!continue!the!research!on!utilizing !a!community!of!inquiry!
framework!to!analyze!the!effectiveness!of!online!TESOL!teacher!education!courses!
and!programs.!!!
11
Stakeholders!standing!to!benefit!from!this!study!include!instructional!
designers,!administrators,!instructors,!students,!and!program!de velopers.!!
Instructional!designers!can!benefit!from!an!understanding!of!what!participants!
consider!to!be!effective!components!in!online!education,!and!how!to!improve!on!
ineffective!components.!!Administrators!can!benefit!by!being!better!informed!about!
the!perceptions!of!both!students!and!faculty!on!the!strengths!and!weaknesses!of!
their!own!program,!and!build!or!improve!upon!the!perceived!strengths!and!
weaknesses.!!Instructors!and!students!benefit!from!this!study!by!having!a!voice!and!
expressing!their!experi ences!with!online!learning!environments.!!Finally,!program!
developers!benefit!from!this!study!by!recognizing!and!acknowledge!that!general!
online!education,!online!teacher!education,!and!on line!TESOL!teacher!education!
have!very!distinct!pedagogical!theories !and!methods!of!learning!and!teaching!that!
require!different!approaches!that!link!pedagogy!with!theory!and!practice. !
Definitions.of.Key.Terms.
As!noted!earlier,!the!field!of!online!education!is!dynamic!and!constantly!
changing.!!Thus,!the!following!terms!have!working!definitions!that!may!change.!
TESOL:!Teaching!English!to!speakers!of!other!languages!(Sehlaoui!&!
Albrecht,!2009).!
Online:!!Learning!environments!with!20%!or!less!face etoeface!time!(Swenson!
&!Redmond,!2009).!
Hybrid:!Learning!environments!with!more! than!20%!faceetoeface!time!
(Swenson!&!Redmond,!2009).!
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Blended:!Learning!environments!that!combine!two!or!more!online!learning!
tools!with!faceetoeface!time!(Swenson!&!Redmond,!2009). !
Traditional:!Faceetoeface!learning!environments!delivering!educational!
content!in!oral!and!written!form!in!a!brickeandemortar!classroom!(Allen!&!Seaman,!
2008).!!!
Webebased:!Educational!technology!and!distance!education!that!utilizes!the!
Internet!(Allen!&!Seaman,!2008).!! !
Synchronous:!!Courses!and!programs!where!the!student einstructor!and!
studentestudent!interaction!is!live!through!forums!such!as!telephone!conversations,!
videoconferencing,!and!instant!mail!chats.!(Bernard!et!al.,!2004a). !
Asynchronous:!!Courses!and!programs!where!the!student einstructor!and!
studentestudent!interaction!is!delayed!by!the!use!of!e email,!discussion!boards,!drop!
box,!etc!tutor!(Bernard!et!al.,!2004a).!
Limitations.and.Delimitations.
Although!steps!will!be!taken!to!ensure!the!validity!and!reliability! of!this!
study,!several!limitations!may!occur.!!This!study!focuses!on!gathering!data!from!only!
one!specific!online!and!hybrid!TESOL!teacher!education!program;!as!such,!the!
results!and!findings!may!not!be!generalizable!to!a!larger!population.!!Further,!the!
nature!of!qualitative!data!collection!relies!on!perceptual!data!from!students,!faculty,!
and!instructors!where!the!accuracy!of!gathered!data!will!depend!on!the!honesty!of!
participants’!responses.!!Due!to!time,!funding,!and!manpower!constraints,!follow eup!
semiestructured!interviews!with!respondents! were!not !conducted.!!Finally,!the!
13
researcher!is!the!instrument!of!data!collec tion!and!analysis,!which!carried!the!
potential!for!bias.!!This!potential!limitation!may!be!exacerbated!by!the!fact!that!the!
researcher!is! conveniently!sampling!participants!from!the!same!institution!where!
the!research!will!be!published.!!!! !
Organization.of.the.Study.
! This!dissertation!has!been!organized!into!five!chapters.!!Chapter!one!
provides!an!overview!of!the!study,!which!includes!the!ba ckground!of!the!problem,!
statement!of!the!problem,!purpose!of!the!study,!importance!of!the!study,!definitions!
of!key!terms,!limitations!of!the!study,!and!organization!of!the!study.!!Chapter!two!is!
the!literature!review,! which!will!detail!the!sources!search ed,!conceptual!framework,!
and!synthesize!studies!related!to!perceptions!of!online!education,!characteristics!of!
successful!online!participants,!and!effective!components!in!online!education,!online!
teacher!education,!and!online!TESOL!teacher!education.!!Cha pter!three!is!the!
methodology,!and!includes!a!detailed!description!of!the!sample!and!population,!
instrumentation,!data!collection!plan,!and!proposed!data!analysis!plan.!!Chapter!four!
is!the!results,!and!will!detail!the!descriptive!characteristics!of!the!re spondents,!
discuss!results!of!perceptions!on!the!development!of!a!community!of!inquiry,!and!
provide!an!analysis!of!the!data!according!to!the!research!questions!that!guided!this!
study.!!Finally,!chapter!five!is!the!conclusion,!which!will!summarize!the!findings!of!
this!study,!discuss!implications!for!practice,!address!the!additional!limitations!that!
were!not!identified!in!chapter!one,!as!well!as!provide!directions!for!future!research. !
! !
14
Chapter.Two:.Literature.Review.
This!dissertation!aims!to!explore!particip ant!perceptions!of!online!TESOL!
teacher!education,!characteristics!of!successful!participants,!and!effective!
components!in!online!TESOL!teacher!education!programs.!!Unfortunately,!very!
limited!research!exists!on!TESOL!teacher!candidates!and!their!respectiv e!online!
degree!program s.!!Research!that!does!exist!are!rife!with!mixed! or!inconsistent!
findings.!!For!example,!previous!studies!on!participant!perceptions!of!online!
learning!environments!range!from!excellent!to!poor,!depending!on!the!
demographics,!technological!skills,!and!experience!with!Web ebased!technology!of!
the!respondents.!!Other!studies!investigating!characteristics!of!successful!
participants!in!online!courses!focus!on!students,!and!what!makes!students!
successful!(DeTure,!2004;!Halsne!&!Gatta ,!2002;!Mupinga,!Nora,!&!Yaw,!2006) .!!Few!
studies!investigate!qualities!and!characteristics!that!are!essential!for!instructors!in!
online!classrooms.!!Finally,!although!the!research!on!effectiveness!and!effective!
components!in!online!education!have!signific antly!multiplied!over!the!years,!a!
rather!large!gap!still!exists!in!the!literature!on!the!impact!of!online!courses!and!
degree!programs!in!TESOL!teacher!education.!! !
This!chapter!provides!a!review!of!relevant !literature!with!the!purpose!of!
providing!a!description!of!the!current!research! findings,!which!frames!directions!for!
future!research!by!d rawing!implications!from!the!research ,!on!the!basis!of!the!
findings!from!the!research!studies .!!This!literature!review!starts!by!discussing!the!
search!for!relevant!stu dies,!which!is!followed!by!a!description!of!the!conceptual!
15
underpinnings.!!The!bulk!of!the!review!provides!a!synthesis!of!the!literature!that!is!
divided!into!three!themes.!!The!first!theme!examines!perceptions!of!online!
education!from!both!the!student!and!instructor’s!perspective.!!The!second!theme!
explores!characteristics!of!successful!students!and!instructors!in!online!teaching!
and!learning!environments.!The!third!theme !considers!effective!components!in!
general!online!education,!online!teacher!education,! and!the!limited!research!on!
online!TESOL!teacher!education.!! In!discussing!the!research, !many!limitations!are!
recognized!and!considered .!!The!majority!of!the!selected!studies!are!rigorous! in!
nature!and!empirically!sound.!!However,!inevitable!limitations!su ch!as!unintended!
researcher!bias,!time!and!resource!constraints,!lack!of!randomization!due!to!the!
educational!settings,!small!sample!sizes,!unrepresentative!sample!populations,!and!
the!nascent!nature!of!online!education!require!caution!when!making!sweeping !
generalizations. !
Sources.Searched.
The!search!for!relevant!studies!and!conceptual!frameworks!included!a!search!
of!online!library!databases,!reviews!of!foundation!and!organization!resources,!and!
review!of!government!documents!and!databases.!Google!Scholar,! ERIC,!the!
University!of!Southern!California!online!library,!the!Technology!Source!Archives,!
and!the!University!of!Phoenix!online!library!were!searched!using!the!following!key!
terms:!online!education,!online!learning,!online!teaching,!online!learning!
environments,!perceptions!of!online!education,!student!perceptions!of!online!
learning,!instructor!perceptions!of!online!learning,!characteristics!of!online!
16
participants,!characteristics!of!successful!students!online,!characteristics!of!
successful!instructors!online,!effective!components!in!online!education,!online!
teacher!education,!effectiveness!of!online!teacher!education,!online!TESOL!teacher!
education.!!!
Articles!from!the!following!journals!were!used!in!this!study:!Journal!of!
Asynchronous!Learning!Networks,!Review!of!Educational!Research,!ELT!Journal,!
Journal!of!Technology!and!Teacher!Education,!Journal!of!Research!on!Technology!in!
Education,!Teacher!Education!and!Special!Education,!Issue s!in!Teacher!Education,!
The!American!Journal!of!Distance!Education,!The!Internet!and!Higher!Education,!
Online!Journal!of!Distance!Learning!Administration,!Educational!Technology,!TESOL!
Quarterly,!International!Journal!on!EeLearning,!Educause!Quarterly,!Journal!of!
Online!Learning!and!Teaching,!College!Teaching,!Journal!of!Colleg e!Student!
Retention,!The!Quarterly!Review!of!Distance!Education,!Journal!of!Interactive!Online!
Learning,!Journal!of!Information!Technology!Education,!Journal!of!Special!Education!
Technology,!Journal!of!Information!Systems!Education,!New!Horizons!in!Adult!
Education,!Contemporary!Issues!in!Technology!and!Teacher!Education,!
International!Journal!of!Educational!Telecommunications .!!In!addition!to!articles!
retrieved!through!the!searches!described!above,!examination!of!the!sources!
referenced!in!the!retrieved! articles!led!to!additional!sources!of!information!
including!books!and!reports.!!In!total,!eightyesix!studies,!which!included!qualitative!
and!qualitative!research!designs,!were!included.!!Additionally,!eleven!sources!that!
presented!theoretical!frameworks!we re!reviewed.! !These!sources!span!from!1992!to!
17
2010,!which!is!the!earliest!cited!artic le!to!the!most!recently!cited!article!in!the!
references .!!!
Conceptual.Framework.
! The!conceptual!underpinning!of!this!study!is!the!Community!of!Inquiry!
framework!developed! by!Garrison,!Anderson,!and!Archer!(2000).!!The!Community!
of!Inquiry!(COI)!framework!is!based!on!a!model!of!critical!thinking!and!practice!
inquiry!(Arbaugh,!2007;!Garrison,!2007;!Garrison!&!Anderson,!2000)!that!assumes!
effective!online!learning!requires!the !development!of!a!community!of!learners!that!
supports!meaningful!inquiry!and!deep!learning.!!In!general,!COI!refers!to!an!evolving!
model,!grounded!in!theory,!that!provides!online!instructors!and!instructional!
designers!a!mechanism!for!integrating!technolog y!and!pedagogy!in!ways!likely!to!
impact!learning!across!the!many!disciplines!now!available!online.!
The!goal!of!the!instructional!process!and!educational!experiences!are!more!
than!just!the!development!of!a!social!community.!!The!goal!of!educational!
experiences!should!be!to!achieve!learning!outcomes!and!promote!cognitive!
develop ment.!!COI!assumes!that!effective!online!learning!is!a!function!of!the!
interaction!of!social!presence,!cognitive!presence,!and!teaching!presence.!!Garrison!
(2007)!defines!social!presence!as!the!ability!to!establish!personal!and!purposeful!
relationships!via!effective !communication,!open!communication,!and!group!
cohesion.!!Cognitive!presence!is!defined!as!the!development!of!understanding!
through!collaboration!and!reflective!thinking!through!exploration,!integration,!and!
application!of!new!ideas!(Garrison,!2007).!!Teaching!presence!is!defined!as!the!
18
support!of!social!and!cognitive!presence!via!design,!facilitation,!and!direct!
instruction!of!the!teacher.!!Garrison!(2007)!argues!that!achieving!learning!outcomes!
requires!interactions!to!b e!structured!and!systematic.!!CO I!provides!a!lens!to!focus!
attention!on!the!issue!of!community!and!minimize!the!pote ntial!for!disconnect!
within!the!asynchronous!nature!of!distance!education .!
Synthesis.of.the.Literature.
With!the!aforementioned!framework !in!mind,!the!following!literature!revie w!
analyzes!research!on!perceptions!of!social!presence,!cognitive!presence,!and!
teaching!presence,!as!related!to!perceptions!of!strengths!and!weaknesses!of!a!
community!of!inquiry!in!online!education.!!Research!and!findings!on!characteristics!
of!successful!students!and!instructors!in!online!education!will!be!reviewed!with!the!
goal!of!successful!learning!from!the!lenses!of !building!a!community!of!inquiry.!
Perceptions.of.Online.Courses.and.Programs.
Online!education!is!still!a!relatively!new!field!of!distance!ed ucation!and!
remains!in!the!early!stages!of!development!but!continues!to!grow!at!a!rapid!pace!
(Halsne!&!Gatta,!2002;!Mupinga,!Nora,!&!Yaw,!2006).!!Consequently,!developers!and!
deliverers!of!online!education!need!a!better!understanding!of!the!attitudes,!
strengths,!and!weaknesses!of!Web ebased!learning!so!that!the!lessons!can!be!applied!
most!effectively!to!enhance!online!teaching!and!learning!(Boyd,!2004;!Dabbagh,!
2007;!Savery,!2005).!!The!perceptions!of!potential!consumers!of!online!education!
are!critical!to!the!success!of!online!courses!and!programs;!however,!the!research!
suggests!that!students!and!teachers!have!different!perceptions!of!the!strengths!and!
19
weaknesses!of!online!education!( Braun,!2008;!Smart!&!Cappel,!2006;!Wingard,!
2004).!!This!section!on!perceptions!employs!the!community!of!inquiry!framework!to!
examine!the!research!on!student!perceptions!of!online!education!and! also!faculty!
perceptions!of!online!education ,!finally!summarizing!the!critical!findings!related!to!
this!particular!study.!!!
Student.Perceptions.of.Online.Education.
Social!presence!is!one!of!the!more!recent!and!commonly!studied!components!
of!building!a!community!of!inquiry!(Garrison,!2007).!!Richardson!and!Swan!(2003)!
conducted!a!quantitative!and!qualitative!study!of!students’!perceptio ns!of!social!
presence.!!In!this!case,!social!presence!was!defined!as!the!degree!to!which!a!person!
is!perceived!as!real!in!an!online!learning!environment!and!the!contribution!of!a!
person!to!the!social!climate!of!the!classroom.!!Participants!included!97!students!
between!the!ages!of!19!to!63,!with!the!majority!of!students!between!the!ages!of!36!
to!45,!who!completed!an!online!learning!course!at!Empire!State!College.!!The!
researchers!employed!a!survey!and!questionnaire!with!the!aim! of!studying!the!
relationship!among!students’!perceptions!of!social!presence!in!online!courses,!
students’!perceived!learning,!and!their!satisfaction!with!the!instructor.!!The!survey!
instrument!was!based!on!a!social!presence!scale!that!examined!social!presence!as!a!
predictor!of!satisfaction!within!computeremediated!conferencing!environments.!! !
Using!a!correlational!design,!Richardson!and!Swan!(2003)!found!that!
students!with!higher!social!presence!scores!also!perceived!that!they!learned!more!
from!the!online!course!and!were!more!satisfied!w ith!the!instructor.!!Students!who!
20
were!satisfied!with!their!instructor!also!believed!that!they!learned!more!from!the!
online!course.!!Students!who!perceived!a!high!degree!of!learning!also!perceived!a!
strong!social!presence!in!group!projects,!which!points!to!a!strong!cognitive!
presence.!!When!students!were!asked!about!which!activities!they!found!most!
beneficial!and!why,!students!perceived!their!writing!assignments!to!be!most!
beneficial!in!their!online!course,!followed!by!class!discussions,!then!readings!
(Richardson!&!Swan,!2003).!!Group!projects!were!rated!as!having!the!lowest!benefit!
toward!learning.!!An!important!limitation!of!this!study!is!that!a!correlation!of!
relationship!does!not!explain!the!cause!of!the!relationship!(Richardson!&!Swan,!
2003).!!In!other!words,!the!students’!perception!of!a!strong!social!presence!in!the!
online!learning!environment!did!not!necessarily!cause!their!perception!of!higher!
learning.!!!
Results!from!Richardson!and!Swan!(2003)!indicated!that!the!perceived!
importance!of!others,!or!social!presence,!in!students’!learning!experiences!was!an!
essential!part!of!online!learning!and!that!students’!perceptions!of!satisfaction!with!
an!instructor!are!positively!correlated!to!their!perceptions.!!Written!assignments,!
which!were!the!activities!that !allowed!students!to!apply!and!practice!what!they!
learned!in!the!course,!support!having!a!strong!cognitive!presence!in!building!a!
community!of!inquiry.!!Students’!low!rating!of!group!projects!emphasized!the!need!
for!stronger!teaching!presence,!where!the!in structor!must!better!facilitate!and!
directly!instruct!students!to!minimize!the!lack!of!connection.!!It!is!important!to!note!
that!this!study!suggested!that!students’!perceived!strengths!of!online!education!
21
were!the!writing!assignments,!class!discussions,!an d!readings,!whereas!the!
weaknesses!of!online!education!included!group!projects,!self etests,!individual!
projects,!and!lectures!(Richardson!&!Swan,!2003).!!
! Multiple!studies!have!examined!student!perceptions!and!feelings!about!
distance!education!relative!to! traditional!classroom!instruction!(Jiang!&!Ting,!2000;!
Picciano,!2002;!Braun,!2008).!!For!example,!Smart!and!Cappel!(2006)!conducted!a!
mixed!method!comparative!study!of!students’!perceptions!of!a!business!course!that!
was!delivered!online!and!on!campus.!!Participants!included!53!undergraduate!
students!enrolled!in!one!of!two!business!courses!at!a!medium esized!Midwestern!
university!in!the!United!States.!!The!goal!of!this!study!was!to!find!out!students’!
satisfaction!and!views!of!eelearning!environments!and!if!students’!perceptions!of!
online!learning!components!differ!between!those!enrolled!in!an!elective!course!
versus!those!enrolled!in!a!required!course.!!The!authors!found!that!students!in!the!
elective!course!rated!the!online!learning!experience!significantly!hi gher!than!
students!in!the!required!course.!!Students!in!the!online!course!with!higher!
perceptions!of!online!learning!cited!strengths!such!as!having!better!simulations!for!
learning!content,!higher!quality!of!information!and!explanations!of!each!unit,!and!
flexibility!and!ability!to!complete!units!at!one’s!own!pace!(Smart!&!Cappel,!2006) .!!
On!the!other!hand,!some !students!felt!that!the!online!experience!took!more!time!and!
effort!than!it!was!worth!(Smart!&!Cappel,!2006).!!Students!with!negative!
perceptions!of!the!online!course!cited!content!issues,!technical!issues,!and!issues!
22
involving!the!nature!of!the!course!assignments!as!problems!and!limitations!of!the!
online!course!(Smart!&!Cappel,!2006).!!!
! !Smart!and!Cappel!(2006)!had!three!significant!findings!related!t o!COI.!!First,!
student!perceptions!of!strengths!of!online!education!included!better!explanations!in!
online!learning!environments! that!support!social!presence!with!effective!
communication.!!Second,!better!simulations!support!cognitive!presence!wit h!the!
application!of!new!ideas.!!Third,!flexibility!supports!teaching!presence!through!
instructional!design.!!Further,!cited!weaknesses!can!be!improved!upon!by!
employing!the!community!of!inquiry!framework.!!For!example,!issues!with!content!
can!be!resolved!by!strengt hening!the!social!presence!of!the!online!course!through!
group!cohesion!and!effective!communication.!!Technical!issues!can!be!resolved!by!
strengthening!teaching!presence!and!working!with!the!course!designers.!!Finally,!
issues!with!course!assignments!can!be! strengthened!using!cognitive!presence!and!
helping!students!develop!their!understanding!of!the!lesson!via!collaboration!and!
integration!of!assignments.!!Important!to!recognize!here!are!the!various!perceptions!
of!strengths!and!weaknesses!as!they!relate!to!Ga rrison’s!(2007)!building!a!
community!of!inquiry.!!
The!importance!of!Garrison’s!(2007)!building!a!community!of!inquiry!in!
online!education!is!also!encapsulated!in!Braun’s!(2008)!quantitative!study!of!the!
perceptions!and!attitudes!of!online!graduate!students .!!The!purpose!of!the!study!
was!to!discover!why!students!participated!in!online!courses,!what!their!perceptions!
and!attitudes!were,!and!whether!they!would!participate!in!online!courses!again.!!
23
Braun!(2008)!surveyed!90!participants!pursuing!their!Masters!De grees!in!education!
and!enrolled!in!one!of!two!online!cohort!groups!at!a!university!in!the!western!
United!States.!!When!asked!why!participants!enrolled!in!the!online!course,!the!most!
frequent!response!was!flexibility,!followed!by!ability!to!do!coursework!at !home,!and!
financial!incentives.!!Students!also!indicated!that!the!academic!demands!of!the!
online!courses!wer e!much!more!demanding,!but!they!were!much!more!
knowledgeab le!in!the!content!area,!and!the !students!saw!a!positive!impact!of!
coursework!on!their!tea ching.!!Braun!(2008)!also!found!that!students!felt!less!
interaction!with!the!instructor!and!fellow!students!in!the!online!courses!as!
compared!to!a!traditional!classroom,!and!that!they!would!prefer!to!take!a!hybrid!
course!in!the!future!instead!of!a!fully!online!course.!!Of!importance!are!the!
similarities!to!Richardson!and!Swan’s!(2003)!study,!where!the!findings!are!limited!
to!correlational!relationships!and!do!not!explain!causation.!!
! Nonetheless,!findings! from!Braun!(2008)!suggest!that!students’!perceived!
strengths!of!the!online!learning!environment!inclu de!flexibility,!which!points!to!
teaching!presence,!and!gaining!more!knowledge!in!th e!content!area,!which!points!to!
strong!cognitive!presence.!!Students’!ne gative!perceptions!of!online!learning!
environments!include d!the!higher!academic!demands,!which!suggest!a!need!for!
teaching!presence.!! Students’!negative!perceptions!may!be!attributed!to!the!
disconnect!between!expectations!and!reality;!in!particular,!studen ts!expected!online!
courses!to!be!easier,!but!instead!encountered!higher!academic!demands ,!resulting!in!
negative!attitudes!toward!online!learning .!!Another!negative!perception!is!the!lack!
24
of!interaction,!which!indicates!a!need!for!more!social!and!cognitive! presence!
(Garrison,!2007).!!These!findings!indicate!that!the!online!courses!were!not!well!
designed!and!that!students!felt!disconnected!from!the!instructor!and!other!students.! !
In!conclusion,!many!higher!education!students!prefer!traditional!classroom!
learning!or!hybrid!courses!even!though!they!enjoyed!their!online!course.!!Students’!
perceptions!of!strengths!in!online!education!in!include!flexibility,!positive!impact!on!
content!knowledge!and!teaching!practice,!better!simulations,!higher!quality!of!
information,!better!writing!assignments,!discussions,!an d!quality!readings!(Braun,!
2008;!Richardson!&!Swan,!2003;!Smart!&!Cappel,!2006).!!Students’!perceptions!of!
weaknesses!in!online!education!include!lacking!interactions!between!students e
instructor!and!studentsestudents,!high!demands!of!time!and!effort,!technical!issues,!
issues!with!course!assignments,!group!projects,!self etests,!individual!projects,!and!
lectures!(Braun,!2008;!Richardson!&!Swan,!2003;!Smart!&!Cappel,!2006).!!Utilizing!
the!community!of!framework!lens,!a!strong!social,!cognitive,!and!teaching!presence!
can!support!the!perceived!strengths!of!online!education,!and!also!mitigate!and!help!
improve!the!perceived!weaknesses!of!online!education.!!The!next!section!reviews!
the!research!on!faculty!perceptions! of!online!education!through!the!lens!of!building!
a!community!of!inquiry.!
Faculty.Perceptions.of.Online.Education.
! Interestingly,!fewer!studies!have!examined!faculty!perceptions!and!feelings!
about!distance!education!relative!to!traditional!classroom!instruc tion!even!though!
instructors!play!an!important!role!in!the!success!of!online!education.!!Further,!
25
establishing!a!strong!teacher!presence!and!positive!faculty!perceptions!of!online!
education!can!be!challenging.!!For!example,! BroadyeOrtmann!(2002)!conducted!a!
qualitative!case!study!on!how!practicing!instructors!perceived!their!participation!in!
a!distanceelearning!course.!!The!four!participants!were!purposefully!chosen!from!a!
pilot!Germanelanguage!course!at!an!unnamed!institution.!!Through!interviews!and!
observations,!BroadyeOrtmann!(2002)!found!that!instructors!struggled!with!the!
basic!application!of!technology!while!teaching!the!course!and!a!l ack!of!control,!
which!led!to!a!negative!perception!of!computer!technology!being!too!time!
consuming!and!unreliable!(BroadyeOrtmann,!2002).!!Further,!instructors!did!not!
feel!comfortable!enough!in!hardware!and!application!issues!to!perceive!technology!
as!a!valuable!tool.!!On!the!other!hand,!instructors!did!perceive!technology!to!be!an!
occasional!motivator!for!students,!and!in!some!cases,!a!supplement!to!their!
textbooks!(BroadyeOrtmann,!2002).!!!
Data!from!this!study!also!suggested!that!further!investigations!were!
warranted!to!discover!the!reasons!for!student!motivation!(Broady eOrtmann,!2002).!!
Results!suggest!that!faculty!per ceptions!of!online!education!were!mostly!negative!
and!stem!from!an!inability!to!create!Garrison’s!(2007)!strong!teaching!presence!due!
to!limited!experience!with!using!educational!technology!(Broady eOrtmann,!2002).!!
Without!a!strong!teaching!presence,!there !is!no!support!for!strong!cognitive!and!
social!presence!in!the!online!learning!environment,!which!is!necessary!to!build!a!
community!of!inquiry!to!ensure!successful!learning!(Garrison,!2007).!!
26
Much!of!the!research!does!not!account!for!changes!in!components! of!
systematic!instructional!design!and!pedagogy!that!accompanies!the!introduction!of!
technology!into!the!learning!environment!(Moore!&!Kearsley,!2005).!! Wingard!
(2004)!attempted !to!close!this!gap!in!the!literature!by!c onducting!a!qualitative!study!
on!faculty!perceptions!of!adding!web eimproved!preparations!in!the!classroom!for!
themselves!as!well!as!for!their!students.!!Participants!were!46!faculty!members!from!
seven!institutions!in!the!Learning!Technology!Consortium,!including!Virginia!Tech,!
Delaware,!Florida,!Georgia,!Notre!Dame,!Pittsburgh,!and!Wake!Forest.!!Data!was!
gathered!via!preliminary!online!surveys!followed!by!individually!tailored!interviews!
of!60!to!90!minutes.!!Wingard!(2004)!found!that!most!faculty!perceived!that!
studentetoestudent!and!student etoefaculty!interactions!remained!the!same,!with!few!
reporting!increased!interactivity!and!increased!discussions.!!Further,!faculty!
reported!little!change!in!time!committed!to!group!work,!quizzes,!exams,!and!course!
evaluation!activities!(Wingard,!2004).!
Overall,!data!from!Wingard’s!(2004)!study!suggest!that!faculty!members!had!
positive!perceptions!of!online!learning!environments!because!students!were!more!
engaged!and!actively!learning!in!the!classroom,!which!supports!Garrison’s!(2007)!
strong!social!and!cognitive!presence.!!A!strong!teaching!presence!exists!within!the!
online!environment ,!which!is!illustrated!by!faculty!that!felt!more!familiar!with!their!
students’!academic!progress!during!the!term!and!reported!a!growing!expectation!
that!students!could!take!more! responsibility!for!independently!learning!the!
fundamentals!from!readily!available!resources!provide d!on!the!Internet!(Wingard,!
27
2004).!!Faculty!perceptions!of!strengths!in!online!education!include!increased!
interactivity!with!group!work,!increased!active!le arning!via!discussions,!and!
enhanced!process!continuity!via!organization!of!course!content!and!delivery!
(Wingard,!2004).!!Perceptions!of!potential!weaknesses!included!the!increased!
complexity!of!content,!requirements!for!a!higher!level!of!learning,!and!add itional!
time!needed!for!lesson!planning!in!a!technologically!enhanced!learning!environment!
(Wingard,!2004).!!! !
In!conclusion,!similar!to!studies!on!students’!perceptions!of!online!education!
(Braun,!2008;!Richardson!&!Swan,!2003;!Smart!&!Cappel,!2006),!many!higher!
education!faculty!members !prefer!traditional!classroom!learning!or!hybrid!courses.!!
Faculty!perceptions!of!strengths!in!online!education !included!increased!active!
engagement!in!learning,!increased!interactivity,!increased!organization!of!con tent!
and!delivery,!and!increased!student!motivation!(Broady eOrtmann,!2002;!Wingard,!
2004).!!Faculty!perceptions!of!weaknesses!in!online!education!include!increased!
complexity,!higher!demands!on!learning,!time!consuming,!unreliability,!and!lack!of!
control!(BroadyeOrtmann,!2002;!Wingard,!2004).!!Utilizing!Garrison’s!(2007)!
community!of!framework!lens,!a!strong!social,!cognitive,!and!teaching!presence!can!
support!the!perceived!strengths!of!onli ne!education !and!also!mitigate!the!perceived!
weaknesses!of!online!e ducation.!!The!next!section!reviews!the!research!on!two!
studies!that!compared!student!and!faculty!perceptions!of!online!education. !
.
.
28
Comparison.of.Student.and.Faculty.Perceptions.
This!section!identifies!literature!on!how!student!perceptions!of!online!
education!are!similar!or!different!to!faculty!perceptions!of!online!education.!!These!
perceptions!of!strengths!and!weaknesses!in!online!education!are!explored!to!
provide!guidance!regarding!the!delivery!of!online!courses!and!degrees.!!Wilkes,!
Simon,!and!Brooks!(2006)!conducted!a!quantitative!comparative!study!of!student!
and!faculty!perceptions!of!online!courses!and!degree!programs!in!higher!education.!!
Participants!included!179!undergraduate!students!and!54!professors!at!a!large!
urban!university.!!The!object ive!of!the!study!was!to!identify!student!perceptions!of!
online!courses,!the!perceptions!of!the!faculty!members!who!teach!the!courses,!and!
the!similarities!and!differences!between!the!participants!(Wilkes!et!al.!2006).!!Two!
survey!instruments!were!developed !to!ascertain!participants’!perceptions,!including!
the!rating!of!27!important!issues!for!students!to!consider.!!Wilkes!et!al.!(2006)!
found!a!difference!between!student!and!faculty!perceptions,!where!students!
generally!had!more!positive!perceptions!of!onlin e!education!than!the!faculty.!!
Students!had!specific!expectations!of!things!that!mattered!the!most!to!them!in!an!
online!environment .!!Things!that!mattered!most!to!students!included!timely!
feedback!to!questions,!accreditation!of!the!institution!offering!the !courses,!access!to!
information!and!resource!materials,!organized!and!systematic!presentation!of!
materials,!and!schedule!flexibility!to!accommodate!work!responsibilities.!!A!
surprising!finding!was!that!the!overall!attitudes!of!faculty!toward!online!educati on!
were!less!favorable,!and!that!one efourth!of!the!faculty!respondents!indicated!that!
29
they!would!not!teach!an!online!course!and!very!few!had!already!taught!or!were!
currently!teaching!a!course!online!(Wilkes!et!al.,!2006). !
Important!findings!from!Wilkes!et!al.!(2006)!suggest!that!students!with!
negative!perceptions!of!online!courses!believe!that!face etoeface!courses!offer!better!
learning!experiences!for!items!that!matter!most!to!them!in!a!learning!environment.!
Results!also!indicate!that!the!faculty’s!percepti ons!of!online!courses!are!significantly!
less!favorable!than!students’!perceptions!(Wilkes!et!al.,!2006).!!Flexibility,!
commonly!cited!as!a!strength!of!online!education,!was!perceived!as!a!weakness!by!
students!and!a!strength!by!faculty.!!On!the!other!hand,!interactivity!was!perceived!as!
a!strength!of!online!education!by!students,!but!a!weakness!by!faculty!(Wil kes!et!al.,!
2006).!!These!findings!suggest!that!students!and!instructors!have!differing! opinions!
and!expectations!of!online!education!that! could!impede!the!success!of!online!
education!and!emphasizes!the!need!f or!more!and!better!research .!!!
Seok,!Kinsell,!DaCosta,!and!Tung!(2010)!also!conducted!a!quantitative!
comparison!of!instructors’!and!students’!perceptions!of!online!courses!that!build!
upon!Wilkes!et!al.!(2006)!using!an!extensive!online!course!inventory!to!analyze!
participants!perceptions!of!effectiveness!of!online!education.!!Participants!included!
193!instructors!and!141!students!in!a!communityecollege!level!online!course.!!Seok!
et!al.!(2010)!were!int erested!in!identifying!whether!or!not!a!significant!difference!
existed! between!students’!and!instructors’!perceptions!of!onl ine!course!
effectiveness ,!the!demographic!characteristics!of!students’!and!instructors,!as!well!
as!significant!relationships!between !students’!and!instructors’!perceptions!of!online!
30
course!effectiveness.!!This!composite!study ,!which!was!a!synthesis!of!two!previous!
largeescale!studies, !used!existi ng!data!(Seok,!2006;!Seok!et!al.,!2010;!Tung,!2007)!
and!identified!eleven!dependent!variabl es,!which!included!flexibility,!user!interface,!
navigation,!getting!started,!technical!assistance,!course!management,!universal!
design,!communications,!instructional!design,!and!content.!!Seok!et!al.!(2010)!found!
that!both!female!instructors!and!students!h ad!more!positive!perceptions!of!online!
course!effectiveness!than!males,!more!technologically!experienced!participants!had!
more!positive!perceptions!of!effectiveness!than!less!experience d!participants,!and!
native!English!speakers!had!more!positive!perceptio ns!of!online!course!
effectiveness!than!non enative!English!speakers!(Seok!et!al.,!2010).!! !
Results!from!Seok!et!al.!(2010)!suggested!that!both!students!and!instructors!
had!positive!perceptions!of!online!effectiveness,!with!instructors!having!higher!
percepti ons!of!effectiveness!than!students.!! Instructors!with!negative!perceptions!
found!weaknesses!associated!with!interactivity,!specifically! finding!little!student etoe
faculty!contact!and!a!lack!of!cooperation!among!students. !!An!important!finding!is!
that!the!delivery!of!effective!online!courses!may!depend!on!the!amount!of!
experience!participants!have!had!with!educational!technology.!!Further,!this!study!
suggested!that!increased!technology!skills!contribute!to!instructors’!higher!
perceptions!of!delivering!online!education,!where!strengths!include!flexibility,!
increased!communication,!and!quality!content!(Seok!et!el.,!2010).!! Perceptions!of!
strengths!from!the!student!perspective!include!course!effectiveness,!delivery!
platform,!and!ability!of!online!components!to!promote!learning.!!The!students’!
31
negative!perceptions!of!the!effectiveness!of!online!education!can!be!attributed!to!
weaknesses! in!the!user!interface,!course!management,!and!lack!of! studentetoe
student!and!student etoeinstructor!interactions!(Seok!et!al.,!2010).!!!
In!conclusion,!comparisons!of!students’!and!faculty!perceptions!of!online!
education!reveal!a!significant!difference!in!the!strengths,!weaknesses,!benefits,!and!
drawbacks!of!the!online!learning!environment!( Seok!et!al.,!2010;!Wilkes!et!al.,!
2006).!!Overall!perceptions!of!strengths!in!online!education! include!flexibility,!
interactivity,!timely!feedback,!access!to!information,!organized!and!systematic!
delivery,!increased!communication,!and!quality!content! (Seok!et!al.,!2010;!Wilkes!et!
al.,!2006).!!Overall!perceptions!of!weaknesses!in!online!education!include!flexibility,!
interactivity,!untimely!feedback,!user!interface,!and!course!management! (Seok!et!al.,!
2010;!Wilkes!et!al.,!2006).!!!!
Future!studies!should!research!the! differing!perceptions!of !flexibility,!
interactivity,!and!feedback !as!both!strengths!and!weaknesses .!!Additionally,!these!
findings!underscore!the!importance!of!employing!Garrison’s!(2007)!building!a!
community!of!inquiry!framework!to!support!the!perceive d!strengths!of!online!
education!and!also!help!to!mitigate!and!improve!on!the!perceived!weaknesses!of!
online!education!to!ensure!successful!learning.!!The!following!section!summarizes!
the!research!that!has!been!reviewed!on!perceptions!of!strengths!and!weaknesse s!in!
online!education!from!the!perspective!of!the!students,!faculty,!and!the!comparisons!
of!students’!and!faculty!perceptions. !
.
32
Summary.of.Perceptions.of.Online.Education.
Although!several!researchers!explored!students’!and!instructors’!perceptions!
of!online!education,!many!of!the!findings!are!inconclusive!or!mixed.!!Perceptions,!in!
this!case,!can!be!defined!as!the!students’!and!instructors’!attitude s!and!satisfaction!
toward!online!education.!!It!is!important!to!understand!the!research!on!perceptions!
from!both!the!student!and!faculty!perspective s!because!they!are!integral!parts!of!a!
successful!system!in!distance!education.!! Several!studies!reviewed!above !suggested!
that!strengths!of!online!education!include!better!simulations,!better!organization,!
better!acces s!to!information!and!resources,!higher!quality!of!information,!and!more!
interactivity !(Braun,!2008;!Richardson!&!Swan,!2003;!Smart!&!Cappel,!2006).!!
Negative !perceptions!and!potential!weaknesses!of!online!education!included!
descriptions!that!is!was!time!consuming,!unreliable,!not!accredited,!produced !poor!
learning!experiences,!and!that!users!need ed!to!be!comfortable!with!technology !
(Braun,!2008;!BroadyeOrtmann,!2002).!!Mixed!findings!included!perceptions!that!
social!presence,!feedback,!flexibility,!and!moti vation!can!either!be!strengths!or!
weaknesses!of!online!education !(Santilli!&!Beck,!2005;!Wilkes,!Simon,!&!Brooks,!
2006;!Wingard,!2004).!!Nonetheless,!these!findings!provide!guidance!for!areas!of!
concern!of!both!students!and!instructors!that!should!be!addressed!in!future!studies. !
Characteristics.of.Successful.Online.Participants.
The!systems ebased!approach!of!analyzing!distance!education!suggests!that!
participants!play!a!critical!role!in!determining!the!success!or!failure!of!an!online!
education!(Moore!&!Kearsley’s,!2005).!!In!addition!to!perceptions!of!online!
33
education,!the!assumption!is!that!successful!students!and!instructors!in!online!
learning!environments!possess! certain!characteristics!that!differ!from !traditional!
students!and!instructors!(Bernt!&!Bugbee,!1993;!Dabbagh,!2007;!Sheets,!1992 ).!!
Investigating!the!characteristics!of!successful!participants!in!online!education!is!
important!and!may!suggest!pedagogical!implications!for!the!design!of!online!
learning!environments.!!A!review!of!the!characteristi cs!of!successful!online!
participants,!both!students!and!instructors,!is!essential!but!lacking !in!existing!
literature .!!The!following!two!sections!will!present!the!available!literature!and!
research!findings!of!the!characteristics!of!successful!students!and! faculty!in!an!
online!learning!environment.!! !
Successful.Student.Characteristics.in.Online.Education.
! Not!all!students!thrive!in!online!classes,!much!less!in!entire!online!programs.!!
It!is!important!to!understand!how!and!why!certain!students!succeed!online! because!
the!effectiveness!of!online!programs!depends!on!the!success!and!satisfaction!of!
students!(Moore!&!Kearsley,!2005).!!!Further,!research!is!needed!to!provide!an!
understanding!of!what!kinds!of!learners!succeed!more!readily!in!particular!distance!
education!technologies,!and!provide!implications!for!the!characteristics!of!
successful!online!students!(DeTure,!2004).!Studies!in!this!section!will!offer!insights!
into!the!most!pertinent!characteristics!of!successful!students!and!offer!implications!
for!future!research.!!The!most!relevant!findings!from!studies!that!have!investigated!
characteristics!of!successful!students!in!online!education!are!described!in!the!
following!paragraphs.!!Success!in!this!section!is!understood!as!high!academic!
34
performance!as!measure d!by!grades,!perceived!learning,!and!completion!of!the!
course!or!program.!!
! Halsne!and!Gatta!(2002)!conducted!a!quantitative!study!using!descriptive!
statistics!to!compare!learner!characteristics!in!online!versus!traditional!classrooms.!!
The!authors!wanted!to!compare!the!demographic!and!educational!characteristics!of!
students!in!two!different!lear ning!environments!using!a!sample!of!340!online!
students!and!1,302!traditional!students!who!were!randomly!chosen!and!enrolled!in!
courses!at!one!community!college!in!the!Chicago!suburbs.!!Results!from!the!Barsch!
Learning!Style!Inventory !(1991),!a!researcher edeveloped!demographic!background!
survey,!suggested!that!online!students!tended!to!be!female,!were!over!26!years!old,!
had!higher!income,!were!married!with!professional!occupations,!and!were!part etime!
students!(Halsne!&!Gatta,!2002).!!Traditional!students!te nded!to!be!male,!under!25!
years!old,!had!lower!income,!were!single!and!were!full etime!students!(Halsne!&!
Gatta,!2002).!!The!authors!also!found!a!significant!relationship!between!educational!
level!and!type!of!student;!meaning!that!online!students!had!taken! at!least!some!
college!courses!and!received!college!degrees,!while!the!traditional!students!were!
primarily!high!school!graduates!(Halsne!&!Gatta,!2002).!!Another!interesting!finding!
in!the!study!was!that!the!majority!of!the!respondents!were!female,!full etime!
students,!less!that!25!years!of!age,!were!White/Caucasian,!had!taken!some!past!
college!courses,!and!majored!in!the!fields!of!business,!education,!computers,!
criminal!justice,!and!accounting!(Halsne!&!Gatta,!2002).!!!! !
!
35
! !Research!suggested!that!online!learners!in!community!colleges!had!several!
distinguishing!characteristics!(Halsne!&!Gatta,!2002).!!Important!were!
characteristics!of!online!learners,!which!indicated!that!they!were!women,!
predominantly!visual!learners,!spent !more!time!on!classwork!than!traditional!
student!counterparts,!married!or!divorced,!and!had!children!living!at!home.!!The!
online!learners!also!typically!had!more!education!than!the!traditional!learners ,!were!
selfemotivated,!and!had!proactive!personalities! (Halsne!&!Gatta,!2002).!!Important!
findings!about!characteristics!of!traditional!learners!were!that!they!were!male,!
primarily!auditory!or!kinesthetic!learners,!not!married,!under!25!years!old,!had!
lower!family!income,!and!had!no!dependent!children!living!a t!home.!!Implications!of!
this!study!emphasize!the!importance!for!online!instructional!designers,!
administrators,!and!instructors!to!understand!the!demographic!and!educational!
characteristics!of!online!learners!to!better!serve!their!needs!in!an!online!learn ing!
environment. !
! Building!on!Halsne!and!Gratta’s!(2002)!study,!DeTure!(2004)!conducted!a!
quantitative!study!that!was!designed!to!not!only!identify!learner!attributes,!but!also!
determine!whether!certain!characteristics!of!online!learners!could!help!predict !
student!success,!as!measured!by!grade!point!averages.!!Data!on!cognitive!styles!
were!gathered!using!the!Group!Embedded!Figures!Test,!while!data!on!self eefficacy!
was!gathered!using!the!Online!Technologies!Self eEfficacy!Scale.!!Participants!
included!73!students!who!were!enrolled!in!selected!online!courses,!delivered!via!
WebCT!or!Blackboard,!at!a!southeastern!community!college!in!the!fall!of!2002.!!
36
DeTure!(2004)!was!surprised!to!find!that!neither!cognitive!styles!nor!online!
technologies!self eefficacy!were!goo d!predictors!of!student!success,!as!measured!by!
grade!point!averages.!!Other!findings!included!a!significant!correlation!between!
fieldeindependent!students!who!also!tended!to!have!higher!online!technologies!self e
efficacy,!more!autonomy,!and!can!construct!their!own!knowledge .!!!
! Research!suggests !that!it!is!becoming!increasingly!important!to!understand!
why!some!students!succeed!in!online!learning!environments!whereas!others!do !not!
(Allen!&!Seaman,!2006;!Anderson!&!Garrison,!1998).!!DeTure’s!(2004)!study!
suggested!that!students!who!were!more!field! independent!and!had!a !higher!sense!of!
selfeefficacy!with!online!technologies !did!not!receive!higher!grades!than!those!
students!who!were!field!dependent!with! a!lower!sense!of!self eefficacy!with!online!
technologies .!!Of!utmost!importance!is!the!finding!that!cognitive!style!scores!and!
online!technological !selfeefficacy!scores!were!poor!predictors!of!student!success!in!
online!courses!(DeTure,!2004).!!These!findings!are!important!to!keep!in!mind!when!
advising!students!whether!to!participa te!in!online!courses!and!provide!support!for!
continued!exploration!of!student!characteristics!in!online!education.!! !
! Continuing!research!on!student!characteristics!in!online!learning!
environments,!Mupinga,!Nora,!and!Yaw!(2006)!conducted!a!qualitative!study!that!
attempted!to!describe!the!reasons!why!students!with!certain!characteristics!were!
more!successful!in!online!learning!environments.!!The!purpose!of!their!study!was!to!
determine!the!learning!styles,!expectations,!and!needs!of!online !learners!while!also!
exploring!how!identified!characteristics!of!online!learners!could!be!incorporated!in!
37
designing!effective!online!instruction.!!Participants!included!87!undergraduate!
students!enrolled!in!three!Web ebased!sections!of!career!and!technical! education!and!
human!resource!development!courses!in!the!Department!of!Industrial!Technology!
Education!at!Indiana!State!University.!!Mupinga!et!al.!(2006)!employed!the !Myerse
Briggs!Cognitive!Style!Inventory !(MBTI)!personality!test!to!explore!the!personality !
type!of!online!learners!and!identified!16!MBTI!learning!styles.!!The!authors!also!
found!that!students!had!high!expectations,!with!the!top!three!expectations!being !
constant!communication!with!the!professor,!prompt!instructor!feedback,!and!
challenging!online!courses.!!The!top!four!needs!of!online!learners ,!which!point!to!the!
need!for!interactivity, !included!technical!help,!flexible!and!understanding!
instructors,!advance!course!information,!and!sample!assignments!(Mupinga!et!al.,!
2006).!!Another!interesting!r esult!was!that!the!online!students!expected!to!be!
considered!as!part!of!the!onecampus!class,!a!result!that!warrants!further!research.!!!
! Although!current!research!was!not!able!to!identify!particular!MBTI!personality!
or!learning!styles!of!online!students,!it!is!important!to!note!that!most!of!the!online!
students!surveyed!were!introverts,!sensors,!and!judgers!(Mupinga!et!al.,!2006).!!It!is!
also!important!for!instructional!designers,!administrators,!and!instructors!to!note!
online!students ’!expectations!of!an!online!course!in!order!to!help!develop!and!
design!more!effective!online!educational!courses!and!programs!that!support!and!
ensure!successful!learning.!! High!expectations!of!online!students!include!constant!
communication!with!the!professor,!immediate!instructo r!feedback,!and!
academically!challenging!content!(Mupinga!et!al.,!2006) ,!which!suggests!the!need!
38
for!strong!social!and!teaching!presence .!!Finally,!the!most!surprising!finding!
suggested!that!36!percent!of!online!students!expected!to!work!in!teams!with!on e
campus!students!and!be!actively!engaged!in!the!learning!process !(Mupinga!et!al.,!
2006).!!This!finding!may!be!unique!to!the!particular!population!that!was!surveyed,!
and!should!not!be!generalized!to!the!population!of!online!students.!!Ultimately,!the!
research ers!suggested!that!additional!studies!need!to!be!conducted!using!
personalities!or!learning!style!inventories!to!better!facilitate!the !experiences!of !
online!students’!that!promote!successful!learning !in!online!learning!environments .!!!
! To!summarize,!studies!suggest!that!although!identifying!online!student!
characteristics!is!essential!for!designing!online!education,!these!characteristics!do!
not!necessarily!predict!success!in!online!education!(DeTure,!2004).!! Nonetheless,!
understanding!characteristics!of!stude nts!who!enroll!in!online!courses!can!provide!
instructors!with!ideas!for!direct!instruction!and!facilitation!of!discourse.!!Commonly!
cited!characteristics!of!successful!online!students!included!high!motivation,!
proactive!personalities,!autonomy,!high!expect ations,!have!the!ability!to!construct!
their!own!knowledge!and!ability!to!actively!engage!in!the!learning!process!( DeTure,!
2004;!Ghanizadeh!&!Maofian,!2010;!Halsne!&!Gatta,!2002;!Mupinga,!Nora,!&!Yaw,!
2006).!!In!this!case,!success!is!defined!as!academic!achievement,!program!
completion,!overall!satisfaction,!and!positive!perceptions.!!Understanding!the!
characteristics!of!successful!students!in!online!education!can!help!instructors,!
administrators,!program!designers,!and!program!developers!to!develop!effective !
pedagogies!for!online!learners!and!build!safeguards!in!online!TESOL!teacher!
39
education!courses!and!programs!that!help!keep!students!visible!in!a!virtual!world.! !
Successful.Instructor.Characteristics.in.Online.Education.
The!effectiveness!of!an!online!educat ion!program!not!only!relies!on!
characteristics!of!successful!students!in!the!class,!but!the!characteristics!of!
successful!instructors!as!well!(Moore!&!Kearsley,!2005).!!Studies!have!alluded!to!the!
crucial!role!that!instructors!play!in!online!education!(Baker,!2001;!King,!2002;!Lee,!
2009),!but!few!empirically!analyze!the!specific!characteristics!of!online!instructors.!!
This!section!reviews!available!literature!on!characteristics!of!effective!teachers!and!
the!implications!for!online!instructors.!!According!to!the!systems ebased!approach!of!
distance!ed ucation!design,!the!instructor’s!role!in!the!online!learning!environment!is!
pivotal!to!the!success!of!students!in!online!education!courses!and!programs. !!
Establishing!a!positive!climate!in!online!classrooms!may!be!more!challenging!
due!to!the!reliance!on!technologically!mediated!interaction!rather!than!more!
personal!human!dynamics.!!Mandernach,!Gonzales,!and!Garret!(2006)!recruited!96!
online!faculty!members! from!a!large!distanceelearning!program!based!in!the!
Midwest!for!a!survey!on!their!attitudes!and!views!concerning!online!education.!!The!
purpose!of!this!qualitative!study!was!to!examine!faculty!perceptions!of!instructor!
interactivity!in!establishing!instruc tor!presence!in!the!online!classroom.!!Although!a!
clear!majority!of!the!respondents!believed!that!online!instructors’!participation!in!
online!discussions!was!essential!for!establishing!presence,!very!few!agreed!on!the!
frequency!of!participation!and!amount!of!interactivity!with!the!students!
(Mandernach,!Gonzales,!&!Garret,!2006).!!Nonetheless,!most!respondents!agreed!
40
that!establishing!a!presence!through!visibility!and!leadership!were!important!
characteristics!of!online!instructors.!
! Findings!from!Mandernach,!Gonzales,!and!Garret!(2006)!suggest!that,!similar!
to!students’!social!presence!in!online!education,!instructors!must!have!a!clear!
presence!by!being!visible!and!demonstrating!leadership.!!Characteristics!of!visibility!
in!the!online!classroom!include!participating!in!synchronous!chats,!sending!email!
messages!to!students,!updating!the!course!calendar,!actively!participate!in!threaded!
discussions,!and!upload!audio/video!messages!(Mandernach,!Gonzales,!&!Garret,!
2006).!!Characteristics!of!leadership!include!mod eling!appropriate!interactions,!
establishing!clear!requirements,!and!setting!the!tone!for!the!course!(Mandernach,!
Gonzales,!&!Garret,!2006).!!To!establish!a!positive!climate!in!online!education,!
instructors!must!actively!participate!and!interact!with!stude nts!to!provide!a!positive!
online!learning!experience!and!model! elements!of! social!presence.!!!!!
! More!specific!to!instructors!in!TESOL!teacher!education,!Chanizadeh!and!
Maofian!(2010)!conducted!a!quantitative!study!on!the!role!of!English!as!a!foreign!
language!(EFL)!teachers’!emotional esocial!intelligence!and!their!pedagogical!success!
in!language!institutes.!!This!study!took!place!in!several!private!language!institutes!in!
Mashhad,!where!89!EFL!teachers!between!the!ages!of!30!and!45!self ereported!their!
emotionalesocial!intelligence!using!the!Bar eOn!test.!!Test!results!revealed!a!
significant!correlation!between!EFL!teachers’!success!and!their!emotional!quotient!
(Chanizadeh!&!Maofian,!2010).!!Further,!the!size!of!the!correlation!indicated!that!the!
higher!the!tea chers’!emotional!quotient,!the!more!likely!they!were!to!be!successful!
41
in!their!profession.!!However,!Chanizadeh!and!Maofian!(2010)!cautioned!that!the!
role!of!emotionalesocial!intelligence!should!not!be!overestimated!because!the!
regression!analysis!suggeste d!that!only!fifteen!percent!of!the!variation!in!teachers’!
success!could!be!explained!by!their!emotional!quotient.!! !
! The!implications!of!findings!from!Chanizadeh!and!Maofian!(2010)!suggest!
that!instructors!in!online!TESOL!teacher!education!courses!must!als o!possess!high!
emotionalesocial!intelligence.!!To!ensure!the!success!of!teacher!candidates,!
instructors!must!display!friendly!and!understanding!behavior!in!their!online!
interactions!with!the!teacher!candidates!(Chanizadeh!&!Maofian,!2010).!!Further,!
the!online!instructor!should!have!a!positive!attitude!toward!the!subject!matter,!and!
pay!attention!to!the!emotional!dimension!of!an!online!classroom!(Chanizadeh!&!
Maofian,!2010).!!Emotionalesocial!intelligence!is!a!relatively!new!field!of!research!on!
instructors’!behaviors!and!achievements.!!The!bulk!of!research!on!teacher!
effectiveness!in!online!environments!can!be!conceptualized!by!using!the! COI!
framework!to!analyze!the !role!of!instructors’!presence!or!teaching!presence!both!of!
which!are!conducive!to!student!le arning!(Garrison,!2007).!! !
! To!summarize,!research!indicates!that!instructors!who!are!successful!in!
online!education!possess!certain!characteristics.!!These!characteristics!include!
having!a!high!emotionalesocial!intelligence,!a!strong!teaching!presence,!vi sibility,!
and!leadership.!!Central!to!the!effectiveness!of!online!learning!is!the!issue!of!
teaching!presence!and!the!role!of!interactivity,! friendliness,!understanding,!and!
42
having!a!positive!attitude!while !establishing!teaching!presence!and!support ing!
social!and!cognitive!presence!(Garrison,!2007).!!!
Summary.of.Characteristics.of.Successful.Participants.in.Online.Education.
The!importance!of!understanding!the!existing!research!and!findings!of!the!
characteristics!of!successful!participants!in!online!education !stems!from!a!need!to!
emphasize!a!realistic!perspective!from!students!and!fa culty,!rather!than!making!
simplistic!assumptions!that!lead!to!unrealistic!expectations!of!successful!learning.!
(Moore!&!Kearsley,!2005,!p.!184).!!The!realities!of!the!online!learni ng!environment!
are!still!novel!to!many!participants,!and!online!education!is!still!relatively!unfamiliar!
to!most!individuals.!!Online!education!is!undergoing!constant!transformation!with!
new!technologies!as!they!evolve!and!as!more!research!is!conducted!on! how!students!
and!instructors!affect!learning!and!teaching.!!Providing!evidence!on!characteristics!
of!successful!students!separate!from!characteristics!of!successful!instructors!in!
online!education!helps!establish!concrete!standards!about!the!expectations!f or!
student!and!instructor!presence!and!is!a!step!toward!moving!students!toward!better!
learning!strategies!and!faculty!toward!better!teaching!strategies!that!ensures!
quality!online!instruction.!!
Effective.Components.in.Online.Courses.and.Programs.
If!students!do!not!learn!as!well!online!as!in!traditional!classrooms,!then!
online!education!and!issues!such!as!access,!satisfaction,!and!effectiveness!are!
irrelevant.!!Fortunately,!there!is!ample!evidence!that!students!generally!learn!as!
much!online!as!in!traditional!classrooms!(Bernard!et!al.,!2004;!Caywood!&!Duckett,!
43
2003;!Collopy!&!Arnold,!2009 ;!Langone,!Malone,!Stecker,!&!Greene,!1998 ;!Lee,!2009;!
Smith,!Smith,!&!Boone,!2000).!!As!technology!improves,!the!delivery!of!online!
courses!changes!significantly.!!Numerous!studies!investigate!various!aspects!of!
online!education,!however,!the!vast!majority!of!those!studies!examined!the!
educational!advantages!of!online!learning!and!design!strategies!( Kim!&!Bonk,!2006;!
Peterson!&!Bond,!2004;!Roblyer,!1999).!!Only!a!few!attempts!have!bee n!made!to!use!
empirical!data!to!investigate!the!effectiveness!of!online!education,!and!even!fewer!
analyze!effective!components!in!online!TESOL!teacher!education!courses!and!
programs.!!!
Research!on!the!effective!components!of!online!education!offe r!implications!
for!future!research!and!practice.!! Kearsley,!Lynch,!and!Wizer!(1995)!conducted!a!
study!on!the!effectiveness!and!impact!of!online!learning!in!a!graduate!education!
degree!program!at!the!George!Washington!University.!!A!total!of!14!students!
responded!to!a!questionnaire!that!asked!students!to!describe!the!benefits!of!the!
program.!!Responses!from!the!questionnaire!indicated!that!benefits!of!the!online!
program!from!the!students’!perspective!included!increased!ability!to!initiate!
technologyebased!projects,!improved!job!opportunities,!and!increased!confidence!
and!competence!with!respect!to!technology!applications!(Kearsley,!Lynch,!&!Wizer,!
1995).!!Additional!benefits!included!ability!to!keep!students!abreast!of!current!
trends,!increased!ability!to!dis cuss!technology!with!fluency,!ability!to!provide!a!good!
blend!of!both!broadebased!knowledge!and!specific!skills,!and!the!applicability! of!
course!material!to!teaching!(Kearsley,!Lynch,!&!Wizer,!1995). !
44
Of!importance!are!the!findings!that!suggest!that!compute r!networking!
provided!a!more!authentic!learning!environment!(Kearsley,!Lynch,!&!Wizer,!1995).!!
Specifically,!students!were!more!easily!able!to!communicate!with!each!other,!the!
instructor,!and!other!educational!professionals.!!Kearsley,!Lynch,!and!Wizer!(19 95)!
also!found!that!students!were!better!able!to!assume!the!role!of!teacher!and!that!
online!education!helped!improve!students’!writing!skills.!These!findings!suggest!
that!interactivity,!collaboration,!and!student ecenteredness!are!effective!components!
of!online!educational!degrees.! !
Only!a!few!attempts!have!been!made!to!investigate!the!effectiveness!of!online!
education!based!on!empirical!data.!!Jung!and!Rha!(2000)!attempted!to!close!this!gap!
by!reviewing!early!studies!that!compared!the!effectiveness!of!dista nce!education!to!
faceetoeface!instruction.!!!From!a!review!of!early!studies,!Jung!and!Rha!(2000)!found!
three!major!variables!contributing!to!student!success!in!online!learning:!
instructional!design,!social!matters,!and!students’!personal!factors.!!Signific ant!
instructional!design!factors!included!course!structure ,!flexibility,!quick!and!frequent!
feedback,!effective!visual!layouts,!and!utilization!of!multiple!zones!of!content!
knowledge!(Jung!&!Rha,!2000).!!Important!social!factors!included!interpersonal!
interaction,!social!integration,!social!presence,!and!significant!time!engaged!in!social!
interchange!(Jung!&!Rha,!2000).!!!
Swan!(2003)!also!analyzed!available!literature!on!learning!effectiveness!in!
online!course!environments.!!Specifically,!Swan!(2003)!was!de termined!to!look!
beyond!the!commonly!accepting!findings!of!no!significant!differences!in!learning!
45
outcomes!between!online!and!traditional!courses!by!examining!the!literature!in!
terms!of!forms!of!interactivity.!!Swan!(2003)!explored!and!organized!findings!
according!to!learner!interactions!with!course!content,!instructors,!and!other!
students!by!framing!the!interactions!according!to!CoI.!!Extrapolating!from!a!
multitude!of!studies,!the!common!concepts!for!effective!components!in!online!
education!included!clear! goals!and!expectations!for!learners,!multiple!
representations!of!course!content,!frequent!opportunities!for!active!learning,!
frequent!and!constructive!feedback,!flexibility!and!choice!in!satisfying!course!
objectives,!and!instructor!guidance!and!support!(Swan,!2003).!!These!findings!
suggest!that!interactivity!is!an!important!component!of!effective!online!courses!and!
a!unique!feature!of!online!learning!environments.!!Interactions!can!occur!between!
students!and!the!course!content,!other!students,!and!the!instr uctor.!!!
Building!upon!previous!studies,!Bernard!et.!al .!(2004)!conducted!a!metae
analysis!of!the!empirical!literature!on!how!distance!education!compared!with!
classroom!instruction!with!the!overall!intention!of!providing!an!exhaustive!
quantitative!synthesis!of!the!comparative!research!literature!available.!!Stu dies!
ranged!from!1985!to!the!end!of!2002!and!included!a!total!of!232!studies!that!met!all!
inclusion!criteria!out!of!the!2,262!available!research!abstracts.!!Bernard!et.!al.!
(2004)!found!that!there!were!instances!in!which!the!distance!education!group!
outperformed!the!traditional!instruction!group!by!more!than!fifty!percent,!but!also!
that!there!were!instances!in!which!the!opposite!occurred,!and!that!the!traditional!
instruction!group!outperformed!the!distance!education!group!by!more!than!forty e
46
eight!percent ,!resulting!in!mixed!findings.!!Nonetheless,!specific!considerations!for!
effective!components!in!online!education!included!attention!to!quality!course!
design,!elements!of!active!learning!similar!to!pro blemebased!learning,!collaboration!
among!students,!opportunities!for!communication,!inclusion!of!supplementary!
materials,!and!media!that!support!interactivity!(Bernar d!et.!al.,!2004).!!Importantly,!
the!results!of!Bernard!et.!al.!(2004)!indicate!that!effective!componen ts!in!distance!
education!depended !on!the!provision!of!pedagogical!excellence.!!Particular!
predictors!of!pedagogical!importance!included!problem ebased!learning!and!
interactivity,!either!face etoeface!or!through!mediation,!with!instructors!and!other!
students!(Bernard !et.!al.,!2004).!!Effective!components! and!pedagogical!features!
support!Moore!and!Kearsley’s!(2005)!idea!of!systems!in!distance!education,!
specifically,!Bernard!et.!al.!(2004)!focused!on!the!appropriate!and!strategic!use!of!
interactivity!among!learners,!wi th!the!material!leading!to!learner!engagement,!deep!
processing,!and!understanding.!!!!!
! From!the!research,!it!can!be!concluded!that!effective!components!should! be!
considered!by!the!instructional!design er,!including!components!related!to !structure,!
visual!layouts,!flexibility,!feedback,!and!student!centeredness.!!Interactivity!is!
another!important!component!of!effective!online!education!that!includes!social!
factors!such!as!interpersonal!interaction,!social!integration,!social!presence,!as!well!
as!the!ability!of!students!to!collaborate!with!other!students ,!the!instructor,!and!
content.!!This!supports!Clark’s!(1994)!argument!that!effectiveness!is!determined!by!
the!way!the!technology!is!used,!not!the!technology!itself. !!
47
Effective.Components.in.Online.Teacher.Education.
The!aforementioned!findings!suggest!that!teacher!education!requires!a!
different!pedagogical!approach!for!teaching!and!learning,!especially!when!using!
online!delivery!or!Web ebased!delivery!methods.!!The!explosion!of!online!courses!
and!degree!programs! for!teacher!education!and!training!are!in!response!to!calls!for!
better!teacher!preparation!and!professional!develo pment!opportunities!( Caywood!
&!Duckett,!2003;!Collopy!&!Arnold,!2009;!King,!2002;!Lee,!2009).!!Online!education,!
in!part,!attempts!to!provide!opportunities!for!pre eservice!and!ineservice!teachers!to!
reflect!on!and!apply!theory!to!classroom!practice!and!receive!feedback!from!experts!
in!the!field.!!This!section!draws!upon!available!empirical!research!on!effective!
components!in!online!teacher!education!and!attempts!to!draw!parallels!with!
effective!components!in!general!online!education.!! !
! Smith,!Smith!and!Boone!(2000)!investigated!the!role!that!traditional!
instructional!methods!play!in!online!learning!environments!and!were!especially!
interested!in!examining!the!effectiveness!of!three!traditional!instructional!methods!
–!interactive!lectures,!guided!instruction,!and!collaborative!discussion,!in!an!online!
learning!environment.!!Using!quantit ative!methods,!the!researchers!gathered!data!
from!participants,!which!included!58!preeservice!education!students!enrolled!in!an!
educational!technology!integration!course!at!a!state esupported!western!university.!!
Student!academic!outcomes!were!measured!in!b oth!the!traditional!classroom!
environment!and!an!online!learning!environment.!!Students!were!randomly!selected!
by!a!flip!of!a !coin!and!assigned!to!one!of!two!learning!environments.!!Pretest!and!
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posttest!data!were!collected!and!scored!by!the!researcher,!who !used!quantitative!
research!methods!to!interpret!the!findings,!which!indicated!with!statistical!
significance!that!the!students!online!performed!as!well!as!students!in!the!traditional!
classroom!(Smith,!Smith,!&!Boone,!2000).!!
The!authors!caution!that!the!fundamental!limitation!of!the!small!sample!size!
across!three!particular!instructional!methods!warrants!further!study!and!limited!
generalizations!to!the!larger!teacher!candidate!population!(Smith,!Smith,!&!Boone,!
2000).!!Nonetheless,!Smith,!Smith!and!Boone!(2 000)!conclude!that!an!analysis!of!the!
data!reveals!that!the!use!of! interactive!lectures,!guided!instruction,!and!
collaborative!discussions!in!online!learning!environment s!were!effective!
instructional!approaches!for!delivering!teacher!preparation!content!to !teacher!
candidates.!!Further,!the!three!selected!traditional!methods!of!instruction!effectively!
translate!into!online!learning,!which!are!instructional!attributes!that!are!the!core!of!
most!instructional!preparation!and!pedagogy!(Smith,!Smith,!&!Boone,!2000).!!!
! Unlike!Smith,!Smith,!and!Boone!(2002),!King!(2002)!conducted!a!qualitative!
study!that!explored!the!viability!and!dimensions!of!a!hybrid!teacher!education!class!
at!Fordham!University’s!Graduate!School!of!Education.!!Participants!were!15!
teacher!candi dates!who!ranged!from!novices!with!zero!experience!to!teachers!with!
up!to!34!years!of!experience.!!The!technological!abilities!of!participants!ranged!from!
basic!eemail!skills!to!those!who!were!learning!to!create!web!pages.!!King!(2002)!
found!that!substantial!dialogue!and!a!rich!learning!experience!could!be!created!in!
online!classrooms,!assuming!the!instructor!is!experienced!with!and!knowledgeable!
49
in!online!pedagogical!facilitation!skills.!!Additionally,!participants!were!genuinely!
surprised!at!the!depth!and !dynamics!of!learneretoelearner!communication,!not!just!
the!traditional!teacher etoelearner!dialogue!(King,!2002).!!!
! From!this!study,!it!can!be!extrapolated!that!online!education!and!hybrid!
classes!are!opportunities!to!develop!interactive!and!collaborative !learning.!!Further,!
the!potential!for!critical!thinking,!dynamic!interactive!dialogues,!and!substanti al!
peer etoepeer!interactions!held!promise !for!learning!communities!(King,!2002).!!It!is!
important!to!note!that!effective!components!of!the!online!teacher! education!class!
were!first!modeled!by!the!professor!then!adopted!by!the!participants!(King,!2002).!!
Thus,!the!role!of!the!instructor!is!paramount!to!the!success!and!effectiveness!of!an!
online!education!program.!!Important!to!consider!is!that,!similar!to!effective!
components!in!online!education,!online!teacher!education!programs!need!to!
consider!collaborative!learning!and!group!dynamics!in!online!classrooms.!
Similar!to!Smith,!Smith,!and!Boone!(2000),!Caywood!and!Duckett!(2003)!
conducted!a!quantitative!study!that!looked!at!the!performance!of!151!teacher!
candidates!in!one!specific!course!offered!both!online!and!on!campus.!!Teacher!
candidates!self eselected!their!desired!delivery!method,!with!76!adults!enrolled!in!
the!online!course!and!75!adults!enrolled!in!the!s ame!course!on!campus;!the!course!
was!a!methods!class!in!behavior!management!(Caywood!&!Duckett,!2003).!!
Performance,!in!this!case,!was!measured!using!student!learning,!as!determined!by!
test!scores,!and!skills!learned,!as!determined!by!master!teachers’!and! university!
supervisors’!rater!performance!scores!in!the!classroom!on!behavior!management!
50
skills.!!According!to!Caywood!and!Duckett!(2003),!there!were!no!significant!
differences!in!learning!between!online!and!on ecampus!teacher!candidates’!
performance.!!!
Lessons!learned!from!Caywood!and!Duckett!(2003)!suggest!that!students!
who!completed!the!course,!both!online!and!on!campus,!were!able!to!transfer!their!
theoretical!knowledge!to!actual!practice!in!the!classroom.!!Transfer!of!knowledge!is!
recognized!as!successfu l!learning,!and!can!be!attributed!to!the!effectiveness!of!an!
online!classroom!(Caywood!&!Duckett,!2003).!!Thus,!a!traditional!course!curriculum!
can!be!transplanted!into!an!online!learning!environment!without!much!trouble.!!
Similar!to!previous!studies!of!general!online!education!courses,!this!study!suggests!
that!an!effective!component!of! online!courses!specific!to!teacher!education! is!good!
instructional!design!(Caywood!&!Duckett,!2003).!!!!!
More!recently,!and!building!upon!previous!studies,!Collopy !and!Arnold!
(2009)!decided!to!conduct!a!quantitative!research!study!to!examine!80!
undergraduate!teacher!candidates!who!were!enrolled!in!one!of!three!courses,!each!
of!which!was!either!delivered!online!only,!fully!blended,!or!partially!blended,!at!the!
University!of!Dayton!in!Ohio.!!Surveys!were!constructed!to!determine!the!
participants’!perceptions!of!the!complexity!of!the!curriculum!content,!their!learning!
of!the!curriculum!content,!their!comfort!using!what!they!had!learned,!and!the!
effectiveness!of!teams!(C ollopy!&!Arnold,!2009).!!The!findings!were!that!teacher!
candidates!in!both!blended!models!had!higher!levels!of!learning!than!in!the!online!
only!group,!but!that!the!online!only!group!did!not!perceive!the!content!to!be!more!
51
difficult!(Collopy!&!Arnold,!2009).!!Further,!the!groups!did!not!significantly!differ!in!
the!time!it!took!to!complete!the!curriculum,!suggesting!that!having!a!face etoeface!
component!was!important!for!teacher!candidates!to!feel!competent!with!the!content!
of!the!course!(Collopy!&!Arnold,!2009).!!!!
Important!to!note!are!the!findings!and!conclusions!about!the!effectiveness!of!
teams.!!Research!on!effective!components!in!online!education!suggests!that!quality!
online!course!experiences!incorporate!collaboration!and!group!work! (Kearsley,!
Lynch,!&!Wizer,!1995;!King,!2002;!Swan,!2003).!!However,!the!authors!found!that!
teacher!candidates!in!the!online!delivery!model!perceived!their!team!as!functioning!
less!successfully!than!the!blended!delivery!models!(Collopy!&!Arnold,!2009).!!
Although!fully!online!models!have!the!potential!to!build!teamwork!into!the!
foundation!of!the!course,!this!particular!model!was!not!successful.!!The!authors!
conclude!that!spending!time! on!team!building!in!any!teacher!education!program,!
although!stressful!for!a!single!course,!can!be!a!highly!fruitful!endeavor!for!creating!a!
socially!engaging!online!learning!environment!(Collopy!&!Arnold,!2009).!
Finally,!supplementing!the!previous!quantitative!study!by!Collopy!and!
Arnold!(2009),!Lee!(2009)!carried!out!a!qualitative!study!that!address ed!the!
effectiveness!of!online!instructional!activities!in!learning!secondary!teaching!
strategies!and!perceptions!of!teacher!candidates’!ability!to!transfer!the!learned!
instructional!strategies!to!a!face etoeface!classroom!setting.!!Of!the!66!teacher!
candidates!who!enrolled!in!and!completed!online!courses!at!Texas!State!University –
San!Marcos!spanning!a!two!year!period!from!Fall!2006,!Fall!2007,!and!Fall!2008,!
52
only!17!individuals!responded!to!the!invitation!to!participate!in!the!study!(Lee,!
2009).!!Lee!(2009)!found!that!some!teacher!candidates!reported!dissatisfaction!with!
the!time!consuming!procedures!of!the!field!experience!that!attempted!to!link!theory!
with!practice!and!that!a!clear!majority!of!the!teacher!candidates!reported!that!
transferring!the!instructi onal!strategies!they!learned!online!into!a!face etoeface!
classroom!would!be!moderately!easy!or!easy.!! !
The!most!significant!finding!was!the!relatively!high!ratings!of!course!
activities,!indicating!that!the!student ecentered!course,!jointly!created!by!a!subje ct!
matter!expert!and!an! instructional!designer,!was!well!planned!and!executed!(Lee,!
2009).!!Similar!to!studies!in!online!education,!administrators,!instructors,!and!
instructional!designers!need!to!consider!time!management!as!an!effective!
component!of!online!teacher!education!programs,!specifically!the!amount!of!time!
required!to!complete!learning!activities!in!each!course.!!Other!suggestive!effective!
components!of!online!teacher!education!that!can!be!gleaned!from!this!study!that!are!
similar!to!general!online !education!included!student ecenteredness!and!solid!
instructional!design!(Lee,!2009).! !
! In!summary,!a!plethora!of!effective!components!in!online!education!are!
consistent!with!online!teacher!education!courses!and!programs.!!Similar!effective!
components!include!quality!instructional!design,!such!as!studentecenteredness,!and!
interactivity,!including!socially!engaging!components!such!as!collaboration.!!Unique!
to!online!teacher!education,!research!suggests!that!effective!components!include!the!
consideration!of!access!to!technology,!time!management,!incorporating!meaningful!
53
learning!activities!that!help!transfer!theory!to!practice,!and!dynamic!dialogues!and!
discussions.!!The!next!section!narrows!the!focus!down!to!effective!components!in!
the!field!of!online!TESOL!te acher!education. !
Effective.Components.in.Online.TESOL.Teacher.Education..
Research!suggests!that!the!effectiveness!of!online!teacher!education!courses!
depend!on!the!audience!and!subject!matter!(Saunders!&!Werner,!2002).!! Only!a!
handful!of!studies!have!gathe red!empirical!evidence!on!the! effective!components!in!
teachers!of!English!to!speakers!of!other!languages!(TESOL)!teacher!education!
programs.!!Most!TESOL!researchers!are!narrowly!focused!and!their!studies!can!only!
be!used!to!draw!implications!of!potentially!effective!components!of!TESOL!teacher!
education!programs!(Green!&!Tanner,!2005;!KamhieStein,!2000;!Morrall,!1999;!Vo!&!
Nguyen,!2010;!Williams,!2009).!!This!section!attempts!to!bridge!the!research!on!
effective!components!in!traditional!TESOL!teacher!preparation!courses!and!the!
implications!for!effective!components!in!online!TESOL!teacher!education!programs.!! !
! In!recent!years,!the!practicum!experience !has!gained!attention!in!TESOL!
teacher!education!research.!!Brandt!(2006)!set!out!to!evaluate,!using!qualitative!
research!methodologies,!the!experiences!of!participants!in!a!TESOL!teacher!
preparation!program!offered!internationally!by!a!United!Kingdom ebased!provider.!!
A!total!of!95!participants,!63!past!or!present!teacher!candidates!and!32!instructors,!
were!evaluated!over!a!period!of!four!years.!!The!data!reveal!that!critical!issues!in!the!
program!included!limited!and!overly!structured!teaching!practice,!de layed!feedback,!
pressure!to!demonstrate!pedagogical!techniques!in!a!limited!time,!inability!to!
54
address!the!needs!of!language!learners,!and!limited!collaboration!(Brandt,!2006).!!
These!findings!indicate!an!emphasis!on!performance!in!TESOL!teacher!education, !in!
particular!the!replication!and!demonstration!of!teaching!techniques,!rather!than!a!
focus!on!the!ESL!learner!(Brandt,!2006).!!!
! According!to!Brandt!(2006),!an!essential!and!effective!component!of!TESOL!
teacher!education!programs!is!allowing!for!practice ,!which!has!a!number!of!benefits,!
including!the!opportunity!to!reconsider!the!roles!of!instructors!and!teacher!
candidates!and!the!place!and!nature!of!assessment.!!Further,!with!the!drastically!
increasing!number!of!TESOL!teacher!education!programs!available !online,!a!
transformative!approach!should!be!considered!as!an!effective!component!in!online!
TESOL!teacher!education!(Brandt,!2006).!!Characteristics!of!the!transformative!
approach!include!building!on!existing!knowledge,!allowing!for!different!learning!
styles,!providing!opportunities!for!problem esolving,!encouraging!autonomy,!and!
being!reflective!(Brandt,!2006).!! !
! Adding!to!the!empirical!data!on!effective!components!specific!to!TESOL!
teacher!education,!DelliCarpini!(2009)!employed!qualitative!research!to!in vestigate!
the!prevalence!of!cooperative!learning!activities!in!English!as!a!second!language!
(ESL)!classrooms.!!Surveyed!participants!were!25!ineservice!ESL!teachers,!working!
in!urban!and!suburban!districts,!who!had!participated!in!a!professional!
developmen t!seminar!at!a!large!public!research!institution!DelliCarpini!(2009).!!The!
findings!show!that!although!ESL!teachers!were!receiving!information!and!
theoretical!knowledge!about!cooperative!learning!in!their!methods!classes,!their!
55
actual!use!of!cooperative!le arning!activities!was!very!low!(DelliCarpini,!2009).!!
Further,!participants!indicated!that!the!required!group!work!in!their!methods!
courses!did!not!have!a!clear!purpose!and!they!did!not!receive!support!from!their!
cooperating!teachers!to!engage!in!cooperati ve!learning!activities!while!student!
teaching!(DelliCarpini,!2009).!
! As!a!TESOL!methods!instructor,!DelliCarpini!(2009)!reflected!on!the!most!
important!component!in!a!teacher!education!course,!which!was!to!move!from!
transmitting!knowledge!to!teacher!candid ates!to!helping!them!construct!their!own!
knowledge!base.!!Specifically,!the!author!suggests!that!courses!should!be!conducted!
from!the!bottomeup,!where!teachers!are!first!immersed!in!a!variety!of!cooperative!
learning!activities!and!then!move!onto!the!underl ying!theory!and!research,!instead!
of!the!topedown!approach,!where!instructors!assign!readings,!conduct!class!
discussions,!ask!students!to!engage!in!group!work,!and!then!move!on!to!another!
topic!(DelliCarpini,!2009).!!If!research!suggests!that!student!achie vement!is!the!
same!regardless!of!the!learning!environment!( Caywood!&!Duckett,!2003;!Mabbott!&!
Schramm,!2010;!Peterson!&!Bond,!2004;!Smith,!Smith,!and!&!Boone,!2000),!then!
online!TESOL!teacher!education!should!consider!integrating!cooperative!learning!
activities!and!a!bottomeup!approach!that!has!a!clear!purpose!into!the!online!
learning!environment. !
! As!evidenced!in!the!previous!chapter,!a!large!number!of!TESOL!teacher!
education!programs!have!responded!to!the!call!to!integrate!Internet!technologies!
into!higher!education!and!offer!online!degree!and!certi fication!programs.!!However,!
56
pressing!questions!remain!as!to!how!online!and!blended!courses!and!programs!
support!the!quality!and!success!of!teacher!education.!!Mabbott!and!Schramm!(2010)!
set!out!to!investigate!w hether!or!not!a!traditional!ESL!assessment!course!could!
maintain!the!same!instruction!and!course!design!quality!when!moved!to!an!online!
environment.!!A!total!of!100!teacher!candidates,!59!enrolled!online!and!41!on!
campus,!from!Hamline!University’s!Graduate !School!of!Education!participated!in!the!
study!(Mabbott!&!Schramm,!2010).!!Data!on!the!teacher!candidates’!performance!
and!evaluation!of!course!quality!were!gathered!using!mixed!methods!to!determine!
the!difference!in!quality!of!the!two!learning!environment s!(Mabbott!&!Schramm,!
2010).!!The!results!of!quantitative!data!on!academic!performance!showed!no!
significant!difference,!however,!qualitative!data!findings!illustrated!that!participants!
in!the!online!course!had!higher!quality!ratings!for!the!organized!stru cture!and!
appropriate!handouts!(Mabbott!&!Schramm,!2010).!!Although!major!differences!
such!as!type!of!access,!language!medium,!amount!of!interaction,!learner!control,!and!
interactivity,!existed!between!traditional!a nd!online!learning!environments.!!
Findings!also!demonstrated!that!academic!performance!was!not!heavily!impacted!
by!the!instructional!delivery!mode!(Mabbott!&!Schramm,!2010). !
! In!conclusion,!effective!components!specific!to!online!TESOL!teacher!
education!are!similar!to!general!online!education!and!online!teacher!education.!!
Effective!components!include!instructional!design,!such!as!structure!and!content!
organization,!and!interactivity,!including!learnerecenteredness,!collaboration,!and!
timely!feedback!(Brandt,!2006;!Dellicarpini,!2009 ;!Mabbott!&!Schramm,!2010).!!Of!
57
particular!interest!are!the!effective!components!unique!to!TESOL!teacher!education,!
which!are!cooperative!learning!e nvironments,!a!streamlined!practicum,!interactivity ,!
and!a!transformative!approach,!which!builds!upon!prior!knowledge!while!allowing!
for!varying!learning!styles!to!provide!opportunities!for!reflection .!!It!is!important!to!
note!that!the!findings!and!patterns!of!effective!components!amid!all!the!studies!are!
inconsistent.!!While!some!studies!conclude!that!online!education!is!an!effective!
alternative!for!teacher!education,!other!studies!indicate!that!traditional!classroom!
environments!are!preferred!among !participants!(Bernard!et!al.,!2004;!Jung!&!Rha,!
2000;!Kearsley,!Lynch,!&!Wizer,!1995;!Swan,!2003).!!Further!studies!reveal!mixed!
findings,!where!certain!settings!are!appropriate!for!online!instruction,!others!for!
traditional!instruction,!and!some!for!hybrid!learning!environments!(Bernard!et!al.,!
2004;!Nora!&!Snyder,!2008;!Smith,!Smith,!Boone,!2000).!
Summary.of.Effective.Components.in.Online.Education.
! Now!that!online!learning!activities!have!become!a!common!component!of!
higher!education,!the!literature!on! the!effectiveness,!impact,!and!success!of!online!
classrooms!must!continue!to!gather!empirical!data!that!support!the!integration!of!
computer!networks.!!Although!there!is!limited!data!available!on!effective!
components!for!online!education!specific!to!TESOL!t eacher!education,!conclusions!
and!learned!lessons!can!be!drawn!from!existing!studies!examining!online!education!
(Bernard!et!al.,!2004;!Jung!&!Rha,!2000;!Kearsley,!Lynch,!Wizner,!1995;!Mabbott!&!
Schramm,!2010;!Swan,!2003).!!The!overwhelming!conclusion!from!these!studies!
point!to!interactivity,!instructional!design,!student ecenteredness,!presence,!access,!
58
simulations,!cooperative!learning!opportunities,!and!practice!as!effective!
components!in!online!ed ucation!(Brandt,!2006;!Caywood!&!Duckett,!2003;!Collopy!
&!Arnold,!2009;!Dellicarpini,!2009;!King,!2002;!Lee,!2009).!!Due!to!the!limited!
amount!of!empirical!data!available!on!effective!components!in!online!TESOL!teacher!
education!courses!and!degree!programs,!lessons!learned!and!implications!from!
similar!studies!serve!as!a!foundation!for!further!research. !
Summary.of.the.Literature.Review.
! This!literature!review!focused!on!student!and!faculty!perceptions!of!online!
education,!characteristics!of!successful!students!and!instructors!in!online!education,!
and!effective!co mponents!in!online!education,!online!teacher!education,!and!online!
TESOL!teacher!education.!!Although!each!of!these!fields!is!distinct!and!had!studies!
for!standealone!literature!reviews,!all!three!were!examined!because!each!theme!can!
be!directly!linked!to! the!guiding!research!questions!and!lay!the!foundation!for!
further!research!directions.!!Unfortunately,! a!clear!understanding!of!participant!
perceptions,!characteristics!of!successful!participants,!and!effective!components!in!
online!education!is!difficult!to!trace!through!the!field!literature.!!Oftentimes,!findings!
are!mixed!or!inconclusive.!!!
Despite!the!burgeoning!interest!in!online!education,!many!studies!still!lack!
standard!terminology!and!have!inconsistent!methodologies.!!Additionally,!a!large!
number!of!studies!have!small!samples,!flawed!research!designs,!and!weak!execution!
methods.!!Specific!to!this!study!is!the!problematic!shortage!of!quasi eexperimental!or!
experimental!research!relevant!to!online!TESOL!teacher!education.!!Chapter!3!
59
describes!how!this!study!will!be!conducted,!detailing!the!methodology!and!research!
design,!which!is!based!on!this!literature!review!and!focuses!on!gathering!empirical!
data!that!may!either!support!or!negate!existing!theories .!!Of!particular!interest!is!the!
issue!of!community!and!whether!or!not!building!a!community!of!inquiry!via!social,!
cognitive,!and!teaching!presence!can!impact!perceptions!of!online!education,!
understand!characteristics!of!successful!participants,!and!even!offer!guidelines!for!
effective!components!in!online!T ESOL!education.!!
! !
60
Chapter.Three:.Methodology.
Problem.and.Purposes.Overview.
!
! Online!education!plays!a!formidable!role!in!United!States!higher!education!
today,!with!65%!of!graduate!programs!offering!online!options!and!56%!of!
universities!and!colleges!indic ating!that!online!education!may!be!a!critical!longeterm!
strategy!(Allen!&!Seaman,!2005).!!However,!much!concern!exists!over!the!quality!of!
online!education!being!offered!in!higher!education.!!Research!to!date!suggests!that!
the!majority!of!online!courses!still!emphasize!the!passing!along!of!information!
rather!than!promoting!learning!(Norton!&!Hathaway,!2008;!Zemsky!&!Massey,!
2004).!!Current!models!and!designs!of!online!learning!environments!often!mimic!
the!practices!of!the!classroom!and!are!characterized!by! a!model!in!which!teachers!
generate!the!content!they!decide!is!appropriate,!gather!resources,!group!
information!into!weekly!portions!or!modules,!and!give!the!information!to!the!
students!(Levine!&!Sun,!2003).!!
Although!the!technologies!and!processes!in!Web ebased!instruction!provide!
flexibility!for!the!distance!learner,!they!also!can!produce!specific!challenges,!
including!navigation!of!the!online!environment,!as!well!as!adapting!to!the!self e
directed!and!reflective!nature!of!online!education!(DeTure,!2004).!!Su ch!challenges!
can!have!an!impact!on!student!success!rates!and!may!contribute!to!the!relatively!
high!attrition!rates!found!in!many!distance!education!programs!in!the!United!States.!!
Nonetheless,!recent!and!ongoing!expansion!of!online!opportunities!for!teach er!
education!and!training!continue!in!response!to!calls!for!better!teacher!preparation!
61
and!professional!development!opportunities!from!the!National!Education!Goals!for!
Teacher!Education!and!Professional!Development!(Egbert!&!Thomas,!2001).!!!!Goals!
include!helping!teacher!candidates!understand!how!to!provide!opportunities!for!all!
learners!and!motivate!learners!to!become!lifelong!learners!(Egbert!&!Thomas,!
2001).!
The!field!of!teaching!English!to!speakers!of!other!languages! (TESOL)!has!
become!an!increasingly!fragmented!and!unfocused!discipline! within!teacher!
education!where!efforts!to!prepare!teacher!candidates!lack!a!coherent!and!
commonly!accepted!foundation!(Freeman,!1989 ).!!Many!online!TESOL!courses!and!
degree!programs!have !little!knowledge!of!the!perceptions!of!participants,!
characteristics!of!successful!participants,!and!effective!components!in!online!TESOL!
teacher!education!degree!programs .!!The!purpose!of!this!applied!research!study!was!
to!better!understand!and!contribute! knowledge!to!the!field!of!online!TESOL!learning!
and!teaching!using!the!community!of!inquiry!conceptual!framework!(Garrison,!
Anderson,!&!Archer,!2000),!which!provides!a!lens!to!focus!attention!on!the!issue!of!
social,!cognitive,!and!teaching!presence!in!online!c ommunities!and!minimize!the !
potential!for!disconnect!due!to !the!asynchronous!nature!of!distance!education. !
The!research!questions!that! guided!this!study!were:!!
!
1.!What!are!the!perceptions!of!distance!education!programs?!Specifically,!what!are!
students’!and!instructors’!perceived!strengths!and!weaknesses!of!online!TESOL!
teacher!education!programs?!! !
62
2.!What!are!the!perceptions!of!characteristics!of!successful!individuals!in!online!
education?!!Specifically,!what!are!the!perceptions!of!characteristics!of!succ essful!
students!and!successful!instructors!in!online!TESOL!courses!and!programs?...
3.!What!are!the!perceptions!of!effective!components!in!online!education,!online!
teacher!education,!and!online!TESOL!teacher!education!programs?!! !
This!study!did!not!look!at!the!impact!of!student!achievement!on!technology,!
as!that!would!require!quantitative!data!and !analysis.!!Rather,!this!study!was!focused!
on!gaining!a!better!understanding!in!depth,!from!the!perspective! of!participants!in!
online!courses!and!programs,!of!what!appears!to!be!successful!in!the!program!and!
conditions!that!contribute!to!the!success.!!Qualitative!research!is!an!appropriate!
method!of!answering!the!research!questions!because!there!is!a!limited!
understanding!of!online!teacher!education,!which!requir es!more!than!just!numbers!
to!explain!areas!of!improvement.!!Specifically,!this!study!aimed !to!produce!data!that!
offered!a!wealth!of!detail!about!the!perceptions!of!the!effectiveness!of!online!
learning!environments!from!a!smaller!number!of!people,!as!well!as!characteristics!of!
successful!participants!in!online!environments.!!Included!in!this!discussion!are!the!
units!of!analysis,!participants,!the!sampling!strategies,!instrumentation,!data!
collection!plan,!and!proposed!data!analysis.!!
Sample.and.Population.
!
! The!primary!focus!of!data!collection!and!units!of!analysis!was !on!students!
enrolle d!in!and!instructors!teaching!an!online!TESOL!teacher!education!program!at!
the!University!of!Southern!California!(USC)!in!Los!Angeles.!!This!particular!
63
institution!was!chosen!because!of!the!diverse!community!of!students,!coming!from!
all!50!states!and!110!other!countries,!including!more!than!5,000!international!
students!each!academic!year.!!In!an!effort!to!mitigate!any!potential!conflicts!of!
interests!or!biases,!the!surv eys!and!interviews! emphasize d!empirical!findings!that!
offered!a!solid!description!and!analysis,!limiting!a!personal!perspective!and!voice,!
but!also!recognizing!that!some!subjectivit y!and!judgment!may!enter!during!the! data!
analysis!phase.!!Further,!the!intention!of!choosing!this!purposive!sample!was!to!
primarily!inform!program!improvements!from!patterns!established!and!lessons!
learned!that!are!particular!and!unique!to!this!program!that!is!still!in!its!infancy.!! !
! Launched!in!2010,!the!Master!of!Arts!in!Teaching!English!to!Speakers!of!
Other!Languages!(MATeTESOL)!program!offers!a!unique!and!innovative!degree!
available!both!onecampus!and!online.!!Of!particular!interest!was!the!hybrid!of!online!
instruction!with!onetheeground!fieldebased!experience!for!teacher!candidates!in!
their!local!area.!!All!courses!are!synchronous,!taught!live,!and!offered!at!a!variety!of!
times!to!accommodate!stude nts!in!different!time!zones.!! Of!the!53!universities,!
colleges,!and!institutions!that!offer!a!Master’s!degree!in!TESOL !
(www.gradschool.com),!USC’s!Rossier!School!of!Education!stands!out!and!serves!as!
an!important!unit!of!analysis!for!multiple!reasons.!!First,!USC!is!recognized!as!one!of!
the!world’s!leading!private!research!institutions!with!a!strong!tradition!of!
integrating!liberal!and!professional!education.!!Second,!the!diversity!of!both!
students!and!faculty!within!the!educational!community!is!representat ive!of!the!
general!populations!that!choose!TESOL!as!a!career.!Third,!the!MAT eTESOL!program!
64
is!one!of!a!handful!of!innovative!hybrid!programs!that!attempts!to!utilize!the!latest!
in!technologies!and!online!capabilities!to!provide!students!with!options!for!le arning!
and!succeeding.!!Lessons!learned!and!emergent!themes!from!USC’s!MAT eTESOL!
program!can!serve!as!a!foundation!and!building!block!for!future!universities!or!
colleges!that!are!considering!offering!online!or!hybrid!TESOL!courses!and!degree!
programs.!!!
Both!students!and!instructors!were !selected!as!the!uni ts!of!analysis!because!
each!group!has!different!perspectives,!attitudes,!and!experiences!with!the!online!
learning!and!teaching!environment.!!The!value!of!gathering!data!from!both!students!
and!instructors!allows!future!program!directors,!curriculum!writers,!software!
designers,!and!all!other!stakeholders!to!gain!a!better!understanding!of!the!perceived!
strengths!and!weaknesses!of!effective!components!in!online!TESOL!teacher!
education!programs.!!Due!to!limitations!in!time!and!resources,!the!participants!were!
purposefully!chosen!according!to!their!participation!in!the!recently!launched!hybrid!
master’s!degree!program!in!teaching!English!to!speakers!of!other!languages.!!The !
participants!for!the!study!included!students!that!were!in!the!first!graduating!class,!
or!who!are!currently!enrolled!in !the!second!cohort!just!starting!the!program,!and!
instructors!who!taught!during!the!first!year!of!the!program!and!are!continuing!into!
the!second!year!or!are!new!to!the!program.! !
According!to!USC’s!MATeTESOL!website,!which!was!dated!October!2010,!a!
total!of!11!students!were!enrolled!into!the!entering!class!of!2010,!with!60!admitted!
students!out!of!118!applicants.!!The!average!age!of!students! entering!the!program!
65
was!27,!with!61%!female!and!39%!males.!!Of!the!11!enrolled!students,!9%!were!
Asian/Asian!American,!18%!Caucasian/White,!55%!International,!and!18%!
Latino/Hispanic.!!Unfortunately,!these!did !not!include!the!demographics!of!students!
enrolled!in!the!online!program.!! Demographics!for!instructors!were!not!collected!
until!the!survey!was!administered!due!to!the!limited!data!available!on!the!
composition!of!the!instructors!and!faculty.!
Instrumentation!
Patton!(2002)!reminds!qualitative!researchers!that!instrument!construction!
is!key!to!ensuring!that!the!instrument!measures!what!it!needs!to!measure.!!In!a!
qualitative!study!such!as!this!one,!an!original!instrument!was!used!for!analysis!with!
careful!considerations!for!validity!and!reliability.!!A!total!of!two!instruments!were !
used!to!collect!data!from!students!and!instructors,!including!an!online!instructor!
questionnaire!with!open eended!questions,!and!an!online!student!questionnaire!with!
openeended!questions.!!The!instructor!questionnaire !(see!Appendix!A)!consisted!of!
27!questions!including!basic!demographic!questions,!questions!using!a!Likert!scale,!
and!openeended!questions.!!The!student! questionnaire!(see!Appendix!B)!wa s!nearly!
identical!to!the!instructor!questionnaire,!with!minor!changes!in!the!use!of!pronouns!
to!ask!certain!questions.!!The!first!ten!questions!gather ed!participant!demographic!
and!background!information,!such!as!gender,!age!range,!ethnicity,!race,!educational!
levels,!teaching!experience,!and!experience!with!technology.!! !
Participants!were !asked!a!series!of!questions!related !to!their!perceptions!and!
motivations!for!teaching!in!online!learning!environments.!!Based!on!research!
66
findings!(Wingard,!2004;!Braun,!2008;!Wilkes,!Simon,!B rooks,!2006),!questions!11!
to!17!in!the!instructor!questionnaire!ask ed!instructors!to!describe!thei r!motives!for!
teaching!an!online!course,!the!academic!demands!of!their!course,!the!time!spent!on!
classroom!activities!in!an!online!environment,!and!the!extent!that!online!instruction!
provided!instructors!with!a!quality!academic!experience.!!The!last!two!qu estions!
request ed!instructors!to!elaborate!on!their!decision!to!teach!another!online!course,!
or!if!they!would!recommend!a!colleague!to!teach!an!online!cou rse.!!Similarly,!
questions!11!to!17!in!the!student!questionnaire!ask ed!students!to!describe!their!
motives!for!enrolling!in!an!online!course,!the!academic!demands!as!compared!to!
traditional!faceetoeface!classrooms,!the!amount!of!time!spent!on!certain!classroom!
activities,!and!elaborate!on!whether!or!not!the!student!would!enro ll!in!another!
online!course!or!recommend! that!a!colleague!enroll!in!an!online!course.!!!!
Questions!18!to!22!were!designed!to!illicit!information!on!the!characteristics!
of!successful!students!and!instructors!in!online!learning!environments!and!we re!a!
direct!attempt!to!answer!the!second!research!ques tion.!!The!first!two!questions!
were!straightforward!openeended!questions!asking,!“What!are!the!characteristics!of!
successful!students!and!instructors!in!an!online!course?”!!Participants!we re!then!
asked!to!rate!the ir!overall!technological!skills!from!low!to!high,!and!the!impact!that!
participant’s!knowledge!of!technology!has!on!the!successful!of!the!online!course!on!
a!three!point!Likert!scale,!defined!as!1=No!impact,!2=Some!impact,!and!3=Great!
impact.!!Research!sugge sts!that!one!of!the!defining!characteristics!of!successful!
67
students!and!instructors!relate!to!their!technological!skills!and!experience!with!
technology!(BroadyeOrtmann,!2002;!Braun,!2008).!!!! !
!! Based!on!the!works!of!Garrison,!Anderson,!and!Archer!(2000),!Wingard!
(2004),!Santilli!and!Beck!(2005),!Smart!and!Cappel!(2006),!Wilkes,!Simon,!and!
Brooks!(2006),!and!Seok!et!al.!(2010),!questions!23!to!27!request ed!participants!to!
identify!applications!that!were!used!in!the!online!course,!compare!the!effectiveness!
of!common!online!applications,!and!rank!their!satisfaction!and!experience!with!
various!components!in!the!online!classroom.!!From!the!literature!(Wingard,!2004;!
Santilli!&!Beck,!2005;!Braun,!2008),!common!applications!included!word!
documents,!PDF!files,!powe r!point,!flash!media,!video!streaming,!audio!streaming,!
discussion!boards,!real!time!chat!rooms,!email,!quizzes,!surveys,!simulations,!exams,!
and!the!online!drop!box.!!Important!components!listed!in!question!25 !of!the!
questionnaire!wa s!based!on!Seok!et!al.’s!(2010)!predetermined!list!of!ten!
effectiveness!subscales,!which!are!flexibility,!user!interface,!navigation,!getting!
started,!technical!assistance,!course!management,!universal!design,!
communications,!instructional!design,!and!content.!!
To!enhance!and!incorporate!the!community!of!inquiry!framework!into!this!
study,!participants!were!asked!to!categorize!10 !statements!related!to!social!
presence, !cognitive!presence,! and!teaching!presence! where!each!statement!directly!
assesses!the!participants’!experience!of! building!a!COI!in!the!MATeTESOL!program!
at!USC.!!To!determine!the!extent!of!social!presence,!students!and!instructors!were!
68
asked!to!identify!how!strongly!they!felt!a!sense!of!open!communication,!group!
cohesion,!and!affective!expressions.!! The!three!correlating!statements!were, !
Students!felt!comfortable!conversing!through!the!online!medium,! !
interacting!with!other!course!participants,!and!participating !course!
discussions.!
!
Online!discussions!helped!participants!develop!a!sense!of!collaboration,! !
where !other!course!participants!acknowledged!various!points!of!view,!and! !
participants!felt!comfortable!disagreeing!with!others!while!maintaining!a! !
sense!of!trust.!
!
Online!or!webebased!communication!is!an!excellent!medium!for!social! !
interaction!that!gives!participants!a!sense!of!belonging,!and!participants!!
were !able!to!form!distinct!impressions!of!some!course!participants. !
!
To!identify!the!development!of! cognitive!presence,!students! and!instructors!were!
asked!to!identify!how!strongly!they!felt! the!cycle!of!a!triggering!event,!exploration,!
integration,!and!resolution.!!The!four!correlating!statements!were, !
Problems!posed!increased! students’!interest!in!course!issues,!course! !
activities,!piqued!students’!curiosity,!and!students !felt!motivated!to!explore! !
content!related!questions. !
!
Students!utilized!a!variety!of!information!sources!to!explore!problems!posed!
in!the!course,!brainstorming!and!finding!relevant!information!helped!to!
resolve!content!related!questions,!and!students !valued!discussing!course!
content!with!others!that!helped!them !appreciate!different!perspectives. !
!
Learning!activities!helped!students !construct!explanations/solutions,!while!
combining!new!information!helped!students !answered!questions!raised!in!
course!activities,!and!reflection!on!course!c ontent!and!discussions!helped!
students!understand!fundamental!concepts!in!the !class.!
!
Students!can!describe!ways!to!test!and!apply!the!knowledge!created!in!this!
course,!apply!the!knowledge!to!their !work,!and!have!developed!solutions!to!
course!problems!that!can!be!applied!in!practice.!!
!
69
To!identify!the!development!of!teaching!presence, !students!and!instructors!were!
asked!to!rate!the!perception !of!the!instructors’!strengths!in!design!and!organization,!
facilitation!of!discourse,!and!direct!instruction.!!The!three!correlating!statements!
were,!!
The!instructor!clearly!communicated!important!course!topics,!course!goals,!
instructions!on!how!to!participate!in!course!learning!activities,!and!
important!due!dates!and!time!frames!for!learning!activities. !
!
The!instructor!was!helpful!in!identifying!areas!of!agreement!and!
disagreement,!keeping!us!engaged!in!productive!dialogue,!exploring!new!
concepts,!and!developing!a!sense!of!community!among!course!participants. !
!
The!instructor!focused!discussions!on!relevant!issues,!provid ed!feedback!in!a!
timely!fashion,!and!provided!feedback!that!helped!participants!understand!
their!strengths!and!weaknesses. !
!
Data.Collection.Plan.
!
! The!data!collection!process!for!this!quasieexperimental!study!began !in!
December !2011!and!continued!through!February!2012.!!A!formal!request!was!first!
sent!to!obtain!approval!from!the!University!Park!Institutional!Review!Board!
(UPIRB)!at!USC!for!the!use!of!human!subjects!in!research!in!September !2011.!!The!
UPIRB!approval!process!consisted!of!providing!an!abstract!of!this!study,!the!
purpose!and!significance,!a!description!of!the!participants,!research!design!and!
methodology,!possible!risks!and!discomforts!for!participants,!precautions!to!
eliminate!risks,!and!anticipated!benefits!for!participants!and! to!society.!!Once!IRB!
approval!was!obtained,!all!current!and!former!participants!in!the!online!Master!of!
Arts!in!Teaching!English!to!Speakers!of!Other!Languages!(MATeTESOL)!were!invited!
through!a!point!of!contact,!namely!the!faculty!lead,!assistant!director,!and!assistant!
70
dean!of!research!for!MATeTESOL,!to!respond!to!a!questionnaire!about!their!
experience!with!the!online!component!of!the!program.!!After!obtaining!contact!
information!for!potential!participants,!the!investigator !create d!and!emailed!an!
invitation!to!participate!in!the!study,!which!included!a!certified!recruitment!letter !
(see!Appendix!C) !and!a!certified!information!sheet!(see!Appendix!D) .!!Links!with!the!
two!questionnaires!were !sent!separately!to!student!and!instructor!volunteers!who!
agree d!to!participate!in!the!study.!!The!Qualtrics.com!survey!software!was!used!to!
administer!the!electronic!survey!instruments,!which!provides!varying!types!of!
question!designs,!data!collection,!and!analysis!download!options.!!!
Proposed.Data.Analysis!
!
! Once!the!questionn aires!were !completed,!the!data! was!prepared!and!
organized!for!analysis.!!The!narrative!data!was!reduced!into!themes!through!a!
process!of!coding!and!condensing!the!codes!and!then!represented!using!tables,!
figures,!or!narrative!forms.!!The!elect ronic!survey!instrument!contained !two!main!
parts.!!The!first!part!was!the!participants’!demographic!information.!!Demographic!
information!included!gender,!race,!age,!level!of!education,!years!of!experience!in!the!
classroom,!and!other!related!inf ormation.!!The!second!part!included!questions!that!
addressed!the!research!questions!and!focus ed!on!the!perceptions!of!online!TESOL!
teacher!education!programs,! of!characteristics!of!successful!participants,!and!of!
effective!components!in!online!TESOL!teacher!education!programs.!! !
! Cresswell!(2007)!asserts!that!the!process!of!data!analysis!is!complicated.!!It!
involves!making!sense!out!of!text,!preparing!the!data!for!analysis,!conducting!
71
different!analyses,!moving!deeper!into!understanding!the!data,!representing!the!
data,!and!making!an!interpretation!of!the!larger!meaning!of!the!data!(Cresswell,!
2007).!!Part!of!the!data!analysis!plan!included!making!a!detailed!description!of!the!
participants!and!the!setting,!as!well!as!reading!through!the!open eended!responses!
and!making!notes!to!form!initial!codes!that!supported!or!negate d!the!existing!
literature!on!perceptions,!characteristics,!and!effective!components!in!online!TESOL!
teacher!education.!!Cresswell’s!(2007) !categorical!aggregation!was!used!to!establish!
themes!or!patterns.!! In!addition,!data!were !interpreted!using!direct!interpretation!or!
naturalistic!generalizations!before!finally!being!presented!visually.!! !
! The!levels!and!processes!of!analyzing!the!dat a,!although!interrelated,!was !
organized!into!six!steps!(Cressw ell,!2007).!!First,!data!was!organized!and!prepared!
for!analysis,!which!primarily!consisted!of!sorting!and!arranging!the!data!using!
Qualtric’s!builtein!analytical!tools!including!basic!statistical!information!for!each!
question,!response!tables!depicting!the!response!counts!and!percentages!for!each!
question,!and!filters!that!allowed!the!researcher!to!track!how!certain!demographic!
groups!responded!to!the!questions.!!Second,!a!general!sense!of!the!data!was !
obtained!by!reading!through!all!the!responses!and!reflecting!on!the!overall!meaning,!
paying!particular!attention!to!the!general!tone!of!the!responses!and!impressions!of!
overall!depth!and!credibili ty!of!the!data.!!!
Third,!the!coding!process!began!with!the!researcher! organizing!material!
from!the!openeended!questions!into!ch unks!or!segments!of!text!that!fe ll!within!the!
scope!of!the!three!research!quest ions!of!this!study,!which!were!further!grouped!into!
72
perceptions !of!strengths!and!weaknesses ,!perceptions!of!characteristics!of!success,!
and!perceptions!of!effective!components!in!online!education.!!Fo urth,!the!coding!
process!was!used!to!generate!a!description!of!the!setting!or!people!as!well!as!
categories !of!themes!for!analysis.!!In!addition!to!the!research!ques tions,!inductive!
reasoning!was!be!used!to!deter mine!additional!themes!that! emerge d!from!the!data.!!!
Fifth,!the!descriptions!and!themes!were !represented!as!a!qualitative!
narrative!with!supporting!visuals,!figures,!or!tables!that!helped!convey!descriptive!
information!about!the!participants.!!Finally,!the!data!analysis!process!concluded!
with!a!discussion!of!the!researcher’s!interpretation!or!meaning!of!the!data!and!
whether!or!not!the!findings!confirmed!or!diverged!from!the!existing!literature.!!New!
questions!and!directions!for!future!research!emerge d!from!the!data,!which!could!not!
be!foreseen!at!the !outset!of!the!dissertation!process. !
In!addition!to!a!qualitative!analysis!of!the!data,!quantitative!analysis!was!also!
employed.!!Due!to!the!small!sample!size, !nonparametric!statistics!were!used!to!
analyze!data!that!came!as!frequenci es.!!In!particular,!this!study!used!oneesample!chie
square!to!determine!if!what!was!observed!in!a!distribution!o f!frequencies!would!be!
what!one!would!expect!to!occur!by!chance.!!The!rationale!for!using!the!one esample!
chiesquare!test!was!to!easily!compute!what!one!would!expect!by!chance!in!any!set!of!
occurrences .!
Summary!
!
! The!research!that!will!be!conducted!for!this !dissertation!will!consider!the!
perceptions!of!strengths!and!weaknesses,!characteristics!of!successful!participants,!
73
and!effective!components!in!online!TESOL!teacher!education!programs!from!the!
perspective!of!students!and!instructors.!!An!electronic!survey !instrument!will!be!
used!to!gather!the!data!from!a!purposefully!chosen!sample!of!participants.!!The!data!
will!be!collected,!organized,!and!analyzed!to!determine!findings!that!support!or!
deviate!from!existing!literature!and!related!studies. !
! !
74
Chapter.Four:.Results.
!
The!purpose!of!this!study!was!to!obtain!information!about!participants’!
perceptions!of!strengths!and!weaknesses,!of!characteristics!of!successful!students!
and!instructors,!and!of!effective!components!in!online!education.!!Although!online!
education!continues!to!grow!at!an!exponential!rate,!few!studies!have!examined!both!
student!and!instructor!perceptions!of!online!TESOL!teacher!education.!!Critical!to!
the!success!of!an!online!program!are!the!perceptions!of!the!current!students!and!
instructors.!!Their!ideas,!beliefs,!impressions,!understanding,!and!judgments!of!
online!education!provide!a!foundation!and!direction!for!developers!and!
administrators!to!enhance!the!online!curriculum!( Kumar,!Kumar,!&!Basu,!2001;!
Richardson,!2003;!Smart!&!Cappel,!2006).!!Without!insights!from!participants,!
online!education!is!in!danger!of!becoming!ineffective!and!inefficient.!! !
This!study!evaluated!participant!perceptions!of!the!newly!launched!Master!of!
Arts!in!Teaching!English!to!Speakers!of!Other!Languages!(MAT eTESOL)!program!at!
the!University!of!Southern!California!(USC)!and!aimed!to!answer!the!research!
questions!below .!!This!study!also!sought!to !identify!how!the!community!of!inquiry!
model!can!be!used!to!address!concerns!of!the!participants.!!Studies!such!as!this!one !
are!needed!to!investigate!and!ensure!that!individual!distance!education!courses!and!
programs!support!rigorous!learning!outcomes,!effectively!use!available!technology!
to!improve!pedagogy,!and!provide!satisfaction!and!support!for!both!students!and!
instructors.!!This!chapter!will!present!and!analyze!data!derived!from!the!online!
questionnaires!that!were!given!to!current!students!and!instructors!in!the!program .!!
75
It!should!also!be!noted!that!respondents!could!skip!questions!(i.e.,!the!survey!did!
not!have!a!“forced!response”!option),!which!resulted!in!varying!response!rates!for!
each!question. !
! First,!demographic!and!background!data!of!the!respondents!is!presented.!!
Descriptive!characteristics!are!divided!into!four!sections!that!include!gender,!age,!
ethnicity,!educ ational!level,!teaching!experience,!experience!with!online!education,!
and!a!summary!of!the!respondents.!!Second,!data!related!to!the!community!of!
inquiry!is!presented!according!to!teaching!presence,!social!presence,!and!cognitive!
presence.!!Third,!results! for!the!three!research!questions!are!addressed!in!order.!!
For!each!question,!descriptive!statistics!from!the!questionnaire!is!provided,!
followed!by!supplemental!information!gleaned!from!open eended!comments.!!Finally,!
a!summary!of!the!results!and!insights!about!the!findings!of!the!study!is!presented.! !
Presentation.of.Descriptive.Characteristics.of.Respondents.
!
! Of!the!online!questionnaires!sent!to!148!students!and!23!instructors,!27!
students!and!6!instructors!completed!the!questionnaire!for!a!response!rate!o f!18%!
and!35%!respectively.! !Although!the!response!rate!was!considerably!low,!this!study!
contributes!to!existing!literature!by!identifying!strategies!on!how!to!incorporate!a!
community!of!inquiry!framework!to!analyze!online!TESOL!teacher!education!
programs.!!Further,!the!results!of!this!study!identify!areas!for!improvement!specific!
to!MATeTESOL!at!USC,!as!well!as!directions!for!future!research .!
.
.
.
76
Gender,.Age,.and.Ethnicity.
.
Of!the!148!students!invited!to!participate!in!this!study,!98!(66%)!were!
female,!27!(18%)!male,!and!23!(16%)!unidentified.!!Of!the!23!instructors!invited!to!
participate!in!this!study,!18!(78%)!were!female,!3!(13%)!male,!and!2!(9%)!
unidentified.!!Unfortunately,!additional!demographic!data!on!the!population!invited!
to!participate!in!this!study!is!unavailable.!!Demographic!characteristics!are!
summarized!in!Table!1.1.!!
Table!1.1!
Demographic,Characteristics,of,Respondents,
!
Characteristic! Students!(N=27)!!!!!!!!!!!! Instructors!(N=6)! !
! n!(%)! n!(%)!
Gender !
!!!!!!!!!! Female !
!!!!!!!!!! Male!
!
24!(89%)!
3!(11%)!
!
5!(83%)!
1!(17%)!
Age!
!!!!!!!!!! 20e29!
!!!!!!!!!! 30e39!
!!!!!!!!!! 40e49!
!!!!!!!!!! 50e59!
!!!!!!!!!! 60e69!
!
9!(33%)!
10!(37%)!
2!(7%)!
3!(11%)!
3!(11%)!
!!
1!(17%)!
1!(17%)!
2!(33%)!
2!(33%)!
e!
Ethnicity/Race!
!!!!!!!!!! African!American!/!Black!
!!!!!!!!!! AsianeAmerican!/!Asian!
!!!!!!!!!! Caucasian!/!White!/!Anglo!
!!!!!!!!!! Latino!/!Hispanic!/!Chicano!
!!!!!!!!!! Other!(Selfeidentified) !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Native!American!/!White !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mixed!
!
2!(7%)!
5!(19%)!
16!(59%)!
2!(7%)!
!
1!(4%)!
1!(4%)!
!
e!
e!
5!(83%)!
1!(17%)!
e!
.
As!indicated,!respondents!were!overwhelmingly!female.!!Students!were!distributed!
as!89%!female!and!11%!male,!while!instructors!were!83%!female!and!17%!male.!!
Respondents’!ages!ranged!from!23!to!65!years!of!age.!!Specifically,!70%!of!stud ents!
77
were!between!the!ages!of!20!and!39,!while!66%!of!instructors!were!between!the!
ages!of!40!and!59.!!Students!encompassed!a!wide!range!of!ethnicit ies,!with!nearly!
60%!identified!themselves!as!Caucasian/White/Anglo.!!Instructors,!on!the!other!
hand,!were!more!homogenous,!with!all!but!one,!83%,!identifying!themselves!as!
Caucasian/White/Anglo.!!In!summary,!the!respondents!in!this!study!we re!
overwhelmingly!females!of!Caucasian!descent !between!the!ages!of!20!to!39.!! .
Educational.Level.and.Teaching.Experience.
! Current!educational!levels!and!years!of!teaching!experience!are!summarized!
in!Table!1.2.!!
Table!1.2!
Educational,Level,and,Teaching,Experience,
!
Characteristic! Students!(N=27)!!!!!!!!!!!!! Instructors!(N=6)!
! n!(%)! n!(%)!
Current!Educational!Level! !
!!!!!!!!!! Bachelors!
!!!!!!!!!! Masters!
!!!!!!!!!! Doctorate!
!
20!(74%)!
7!(26%)!
e!
!
e!
1!(17%)!
5!(83%)!
Years!of!Teaching!Experience !
!!!!!!!!!! 0!e!5!
!!!!!!!!!! 6!e!10!
!!!!!!!!!! 11!e!20!
!!!!!!!!!! 21!e!30!
!!!!!!!!!! 30+!
!
19!(70%)!
6!(22%)!
1!(4%)!
1!(4%)!
e!
!
1!(17%)!
3!(50%)!
1!(17%)!
e!
1!(17%)!
!
As!indicated,!100%!students!either!have!a!Bachelors!or!Masters!Degree,!while!100%!
instructors!either!have!a!Masters!or!Doctoral!Degree.!!Years!of!teaching!experience!
varied!from!student!to!instructor.!!Over!90%!of!students!had!at!least!10!years!of!
teaching!experience,!while!over!50%!of!the!instructors!had!at!least!10!years!of!
teaching!experience.!!These!results! are!congruent!with!the!literature!and! suggest!
78
that!the!respondents!participating!in!MAT eTESOL!were!highly!educated!but!still!
looking!to!further!their!academic!career. !!.
Experience.with.Online.Education.
! Table!1.3!shows!the!number!of!courses!that!respondents!have!completed,!as!
well!as!the!types!of!online!courses!that!were!taken .!!!
Table!1.3!
Experience,with,Online,Education,
!
Characteristic! Students!(N=27)! Instructors!(N=6)!
! n!(%)! ! n!!(%)!
Types!of!Online!Course(s) !
!!!!!!!!!! Hybrid!
!!!!!!!!!! Solely!Online!
!!!!!!!!!! Both!
!
e!
26!(96%)!
1!(4%)!
! !
1!(17%)!
5!(83%)!
e!
Completed!Online/Hybrid!Course(s) !
!!!!!!!!!! 0!
!!!!!!!!!! 1!
!!!!!!!!!! 2!
!!!!!!!!!! 3!
!!!!!!!!!! 4!
!!!!!!!!!! 5!
!!!!!!!!!! 6+!
!
1!(4%)!
1!(4%)!
1!(4%)!
3!(11%)!
2!(7%)!
2!(7%)!
17!(63%)!
! !
e!
e!
e!
e!
e!
2!(33%)!
4!(67%)!
.
As!indicated,!100%!of!students!and!100%!of!instructors!have!had!experience!with!
online!courses.!!Further,!most!of!their!experiences!took!place!solely!online.!!Of!the!
respondents!who!have!experience!in!online!education,!70%!of!students!have!
completed!five!o r!more!online/hybrid!courses,!and!100%!of!instructors!have!taught!
online/hybrid!courses.!!Almost!all!of!the!respondents!are!comfortable!with!online!
education!and!most!had!positive!experiences. !!These!results!echo!past!studies!that!
suggest!individuals!with!positive!experienc es!in!online!education!will!likely!enroll!in!
79
future!courses!(Braun,!2008;!Kumar,!Kumar,!&!Basu,!2001;!Smart!&!Cappel,!2006),!
which!explains!why!the!majority!of!respondents!have!completed!six!or!more!
courses..
Summary.of.the.Respondents!
! Both!students!and!instructors!that!responded!to!the!survey!were!primarily!
highly!educated!Caucasian!females!who!had!completed!at!least!five!or!more!
online/hybrid!courses.!!However,!respondents!differed!widely!in!age!and!teaching!
experience.!!On!average,!stud ents!were!slightly!younger!than!instructors!and!
encompassed!diverse!ethnic!backgrounds.!!Further,!students!had!lower!levels!of!
educational!attainment!and!fewer!years!of!teaching!experience!than!the!instructors.!!
The!initial!demographical!analysis!of!the!re spondents!found!that!students!and!
instructors!with!higher!educational!attainment!tended!to!compl ete!more!online!
courses,!even!with !the!many!years!of!experience!in!teaching.!!This!suggests!that!
respondents!demonstrate!characteristics!of!lifelong!learning!and!are!not!inhibited!
by!space!nor!time!to!further!their!education.!! These!demographics! represent!the !
sample!population!of!student!and!instructor!respondents!and!provide!the!basis!for!
understanding!the!participants!in!the!MAT eTESOL!program.!!!
Developing.a.Community.of.Inquiry.Experience.
Thompson!and!MacDonald!(2005)!assert!that!higher!education!has!
consistently!viewed!community!as!esse ntial!to!support!collaborative!learning!and!
discourse!associated!with!higher!levels!of!learning.!!The!community!of!inquiry!
framework!was!developed!to!investigate!how!features!of!written!language!used!in!
80
online!environments!promote!critical!and!higher eorder!thinking!(Garrison,!
Anderson,!&!Archer,!2000).!!Successful!highereorder!learning!experiences!require!
teachers!and!learners!to!demonstrate!critical!thinking!and!the!engagement!of!real!
people!through!teaching!presence,!social!presence,!and!cognitive!presenc e!
(Arbaugh,!2007).!!According!to!Garrison!and!Arbaugh!(2007),!teaching!presence!
defines!the!parameters!of!interactions!and!focuses!the!interactions!in!a!specific!
direction.!!Social!presence!evolves!from!open!communication!or!interaction,!to!
purposeful!academic!exchanges!or!discourse,!and!finally!to!achieving!a!feeling!of!
camaraderie!(Garrison!&!Arbaugh,!2007).!!Cognitive!presence!is!the!extent!to!which!
learners!are!able!to!construct!and!confirm!meaning!through!sustained!reflection!and!
discourse!(Garrison!&!Arbaugh,!2007).!!In!other!words,!cognitive!presence!is!a!cycle!
of!practical!inquiry!where!learners!move!deliberately!from!understanding!the!issue,!
to!exploration,!integration,!and!application.!!The!assumption!is!that!the!interaction!
and!overlap!of!these!th ree!elements!is!where!learning!occurs.!! !
Respondents!were!asked!to!rate!a!series!of!ten!statements!that!reflected!
elements!in!a!community!of!inquiry.!!Figure!1.4!summarizes!the!results!of!
respondents’!perceptions!of!a!community!of!inquiry.!!Teaching!presen ce!was!
divided!into!three!subgroups,!which!included!design!and!organization,!facilitation!of!
discourse,!and!direct!instruction.!!Social!presence!was!also!divided!into!three!
subgroups,!which!included!affective!expression,!open!communication,!and!group!
cohesion.!!Cognitive!presence!was!divided!into!four!subgroups!that!reflected!the!
81
cycle!of!practical!inquiry,!which!included!a!triggering!event,!exploration,!integration,!
and!resolution.!!!
Results!from!students!indicate d!general!agreement!that!they!experienced!
teaching!presence,!social!presence,!and!cognitive!presence.!!Results!from!instructors!
also!indicated!a!general!agreement!of!an!attempt!to!develop!a!community!of!inquiry!
via!teaching!presence,!social!presence,!and!cognitive!presence.!!Of!the!ten!elements,!
the!majority!of!students!and!instructors,!59%!and!67%!respectively,!agreed!that!
open!communication!was!the!strongest!element!in!developing!a!social!presence,!
which!resonates!with!research!that!demonstrates!how!social!presence!has!been!the!
most!extensively!st udied!presence!in!online!courses!and!the!emphasis!of!developing!
social!presence!in!online!education !(Richarsdon,!2003;!Stodal,!Thompson,!
MacDonald,!2006).!!One!student!describes!this!experience,!“ Any!initial!skepticism!I!
had!was!immediately!discarded,!as!the!dynamic!formed!between!myself!and!my!
classmates!went!to!transcend!the!boundaries!set!forth!by!the!internet,!reaching!
beyond!the!restrictions!implemented!by!such!things!as!time!and!space. ”!!On!the!
other!hand,!elements!of!cognitive!presence!were!perceived !to!be!the!weakest!in!
developing!a!community!of!inquiry.!!Specifically,!one!student!did!not!perceive!a!
triggering!event,!exploration,!or!resolution.!!Further,!a!lack!of!teaching!presence!can!
be!attributed!to!little!direct!instruction!and!weak!facilitation! of!discourse.!!These!
results!suggest!that!crucial!elements!of!teaching!presence !and!cognitive!presence!
are!lacking!in!the!MATeTESOL!program,!which!should!be!individually!addressed!and!
strengthened. !!!!!
82
Table!1.4!
Percentage,of,Respondents,that,Perceived,the,Development,of,a,Community,of,Inquiry!
!
Elements ! Strongly!!!!!!! Agree!!!!!!!!!!Neither!!!!!!!! Disagree!!!!!!Strongly!
Agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !Disagree !
! S%! I%! S%! I%! S%! I%! S%! I%! S%! I%!
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Teaching!Presence ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
!!!!!!!!!! Design!and!
Organization!
48! 33! 41! 67. 7! e! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Facilitation!of!Discourse! 37! 67. 44! 33! 11! e! 4! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Direct!Instruction! 41! 50. 37! 50. 11! e! 7! e! e! e!
Social!Presence ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
!!!!!!!!!! Affective!Expression ! 44! 50. 33! 50. 19! e! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Open!Communication! 59. 67. 33! 33! e! e! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Group!Cohesion! 48! 17! 33! 67. 11! 17! e! e! e! e!
Cognitive!Presence ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
!!!!!!!!!! Triggering!Event ! 48! 17! 26! 67. 15! 17! 4! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Exploration! 37! 50. 44! 17! 7! 33! 4! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Integration! 41! 50. 30! 33! 22! 17! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Resolution! 41! 17! 44! 67. 7! 17! 4! e! e! e!
Note.,!S!=!percentage!of!student!respondents!where!N=27.!!I!=!percentage!of!
instructor!respondents!where!N=6. !
!
Analysis.of.Data.
!
In!addition!to!the!general !descriptive!statistics,!questionnaires!were!used!to!
answer!the!research!questions.!!The!results!of!the!questionnaires!are!presented!
with!the!information!from!both!students’!and!instructors’!that!responded!to!the !
questions.!!The!three!research!questions!as!described!earlier!will!outline!the!results!
section.!!It!should!be!noted!that!although!percentages!are!used!for!comparisons,!
only!six!instructors!responded!to!the!survey.!!Thus,!five!of!six!responses!are!denoted!
as!83%.!!Further,!percentages!equal!to!or!greater!than!50%!are!considered!the!
majority!and!thus,!significant.!
.
83
Results.Research.Question.One.
Research!question!one!asked:!What!are!the!perceptions!of!distance!education!
programs?!Specifically,!what!are!studen ts’!and!instructors’!perceived!strengths!and!
weaknesses!of!online!TESOL!teacher!education!programs?!!Understanding!
perceptions!of!online!education!is!crucial!as!online!education!represents!an!
important!and!growing!trend!in!the!application!of!technology!to!facilitate!learning,!
especially!in!college!and!university!programs!where!curricula!must!evolve!to!meet!
the!changing!needs!of!a!competitive!global!economy.!!Results!presented!in!this!
section!provide!insights!about!respondents’!perceptions!of!online!educatio n!and!
may!raise!practical!considerations!for!implementation.!! Perceptions!were!defined!as!
the!students’!and!instructors’!attitude s!and!satisfaction!toward!online!education.!!
Included!in!this!section!are!findings!from!overall!satisfaction,!motivation!for!
participating!in!an!online!program,!academic!demands!of!an!online!program,!future!
participation!and!colleague!recommendation s!to!an!online!program,!time!spent!on!
classroom!activities,!perceived!strengths!and!weaknesses!of!an!online!program,!and!
a!summary!of!the!findings.!
Overall.Satisfaction.
Studies!suggest!that!students!and!instructors!with!high!perceptions!of!
satisfaction!also!have!high!perceptions!of!learning!(Richardson,!2003;!Jung!&!Rha,!
2003).!!High!perceptions!of!learning!translate!into!a!factor!of!success!in!online!
education,!which!can!be!measured!using!satisfaction!with!the!quality!of!the!online!
courses!and!programs.!!To!understand!student!and!instructor!perceptions!of!their !
84
personal!experience !with!online!education,!respondents!were!asked! to!rank!their!
overall!satisfaction!with!the!MATeTESOL!courses!and!programs.!!The!majority!of!
students,!52%,!reported!that!they!were! satisfied!with!the!MATeTESOL!courses!and!
program,!while!slightly!less!than!half!of!the!students,!41%,!reported!that!they!were!
very,satisfied!with!MATeTESOL.!!Two!students,!7%,!felt!neutral,toward!the!program,!
while!none!reported!being!dissatisfied!nor!very!dissatisfied.!! On!the!other!hand,!
83%!of!instructors!indicated!that!they!were! satisfied!with!the!courses!and!program,!
while!one!instructor,!17%,!indicated!very,satisfied.!!Figure!2.1!summarizes!these!
results.!!
Figure,2.1, Student,and,Instructor,Satisfaction,with,Online,Courses/Program!
!
These!results!were!also!statistically!significant!for!students!( X
2,
=!32.45,,df!=!4,!p!≤!
.01)!and!instructors!(X
2
!=!15.66,!df!=!4,!p!≤!.01).!!The!obtained!values!are!extreme!
enough!that!the!distribution!of!respondents!is!not!equal.!!In!other!words,!there!is!a!
41%!
52%!
7%!
0%! 0%!
17%!
83%!
0%! 0%! 0%!
0%!
25%!
50%!
75%!
100%!
Very!Satistied! Satistied! Neutral! Dissatistied! Very!
Dissatistied!
Students!
Instructors!
85
difference!in!frequency!of!people!voting!for!satisfaction!with!the!online!program.!!
Thus,!the!findings!that!the!vast!majority!of!students!and!instructors!are!either!
satisfied!or!very!satisfied!with!the!quality!of!their!online!courses!in!the!program!is!
statistically!significant,!and!the!odds!that!this!finding!occurred!by!chance!are!less!
than!1!in!100.!!! .
Motivation.for.Participating.in.the.Online.Program.
Identifying!the!perceptions!of!current!participants!can!help!administrators!
and!course!developers!address!the!issues!so!that!students!and!instructors!are!more!
willing!to!enroll!or!teach!in!online!courses!and!programs.!!One!way!of!identifying!
perception!is!to!understand!students!and!instructors’!motivations!for!enrolling!or!
teaching.!!Hiltz!(1995)!states!that!students!in!a!virtual!classroom!setting!are!drawn!
to!the!flexibility,!where!they!can!learn!at!their!own!convenience!and!their!own!pace .!!
When!students!and!instructors!were!asked!about!their!motives!for!choosing!to!
enroll!or!teach!in!the!online!program,!74%!of!the!students!and!83%!of!the!
instructors!cited!flexibility!of!schedule, !and!81%!of!students!and!100%!of!
instructors!cited!ability!to!work!from!home!as!the!primary!motivations.!!!
Other!motivations!cited!by!students!that!were!not!given !included!the!small,!
personalized!class!size,!ability!to!live!in!a!different!country!and!obtain!an!American!
degree,!as!well!as!the!ability!to!keep!their!c urrent!job!without!having!to!move!to!Los!
Angeles.!!Other!motivations!for!instructors!included!the!opportunity!for!
professional!development,!ability!to!acquire!teaching!skills!for!the!future,!and!that!it!
was!an!available!job.!!Interestingly,!50%!of!instructors!also!cited!enjoyment!of!
86
online!work!and!33%!of!instructors!cited!curiosity!as!motives!for!teaching!online!
(see!Table!2.1).!!These!results!indicate!that!flexibility!and!the!ability!to!work!from!
home!were!the!strongest!motivators!for! both!students!and!instructors!to!participate!
in!an!online!learning!and!teaching!environment,!suggesting!that!one !perceived !
strength!of!online!education!is!flexibility. !!In!a!way,!teaching!and!learning!became!
ongoing!or!perpetual!in!nature,!rather!than!being!confined!to!pre especified!hours!in!
a!week.!!!
Table!2.1!
Motivation,for,Participating,in,an,Online,Program!
!
Motivations! Students!(N=27)! Instructors!(N=6)!
! n!(%)! ! n!(%)
!
Flexibility!of!Schedule !
Curiosity!
Enjoyment!of!Online!Work!
Financial!Incentives !
Ability!to!Work!from!Home!
Other!!
!
20.(74%).
1!(4%)!
3!(11%)!
3!(11%)!
22.(81%).
5!(19%)!
! !
5.(83%).
2!(33%)!
3.(50%).
1!(17%)!
6.(100%).
3.(50%)
Note.!!Responses!50!percent!or!greater!are!shown!in!boldface. !
.
Academic.Demands.of.the.Online.Program.
Opponents!of!online!education!argue! that!online!vendors!will!seize!control!of!
the!curriculum!and!that!an!inferior!product!may!be!delivere d.!!(Braun,!2008;!
Maloney,!1999;!Wyatt,!2005).!!Essentially,!critics!worry!that!the!quality!of!online!
education!is!substandard.!!In!an!effort!to!determine! the!quality!of!MATeTESOL,!
respondents!were!asked!about!the!academic!demands!of!online!courses .!!Results!
indicated!that!the!majority!of!students,!67%,!felt!that!online!courses!were!more!
demanding!than!traditional!faceetoeface!courses,!while!30%!felt!that!the!academic!
87
demands!were!the!same.!The!majority!of!instructors,!67%,!also!felt!that!online!
courses!were!more!demanding,!while!one!instructor!felt!that!online!courses!were!
much!more!demanding.!!Only!one!student,!4%,!and!one!instructor,!17%,!indicated!
that!the!academic!demands!of!online!courses!were!less!demanding!than!face etoeface!
courses!(see!Table!2.2 ).!!These!results!were!also!statistically!significant!for!students!
(X
2,
=!45.04,,df!=!4,!p!≤!.01)!and!instructors!(X
2
!=!8.99,!df!=!4,!p!≤!.10).!!The!obtained!
values!are!extreme!enough!that!the!distribution!of!respondents!is!not!equal,!
however,!it!is!important!to!note!that!the!pevalue!for!instructors!was!lowered.!!In!
other!words,!the!odds!that!the!findings!for!instructors!occurred!by!chance!are!less!
than!1!in!10.!!!On!the!other!hand,!the!findings!that!the!vast!majority!of!students!find!
online!courses!to!be!more!demanding!than!traditional!instruction!is!statistically!
significant,!and!the!odds!that!this!finding!occurred!by!chance!are!less!than!1!in!100.!!
Critics!have!argued!that!online!instruction!is!less!academically!demanding!
than!traditional!instruction!(Maloney,!1999).!!Turning!to!the!openeended!comments!
of!student!respondents,!many!disagree!and!find!that!MAT eTESOL!is!just!as!
demanding,!if!not!more!demanding!than!traditional!instruction.!!The!following!
comments!reflect!these!sentiments: !
Studying!online!allows!me!to!attend!an!excellent!school!while!traveling!or! !
working!around!the!world.!I!believe!that!the!quality!of!education!I!am! !
receiving!through!USC!is!just!as!good!as!what!I!would!expect!from!their!on!!
campus!programs.!
!
Another!stated: !
!
My!classmates!and!I!were!pushed!beyond!our!comfort!zones!to!question!our!
personal!thoughts!and!beliefs,!whether!they!related!to!teaching,!technology!
88
or!even!society.!It!was!amazing.!The!personal!growth!that!is!achieved!
through!the!course!is!inspiring!and!life!changing.!!
!
Thus,!contrary!to!popular!belief,!the!MATeTESOL!program!is!perceived!to!have!high!
academic!demands!of!both!students!and!instructors.!!These!high!academic!demands!
are!believed!to!be!a!strength!of!the!program,!and!students!believe!that!they!are!
receiving!a!quality!education.!!Further,!these!statements!reflect!a!strong!cognitive!
presence,!where!students!indicate!that!the!problems!posed!by!instructors!were!
interesting,!that!they!found!relevant!information!to!understand!content!related!
questions,!and!that!reflec tion!on!course!content!and!discussions!was!an!integral!
component!that!helped!students!understand!fundamental!concepts!of!education.!! !
Table!2.2!
Academic,Demands,of,an,Online,Program!
!
Level ! Students!(N=27)! Instructors!(N=6)!
! n!(%)! ! ! n!(%)
!
Much!Less!Demanding!
Less!Demanding!
The!same!
More!Demanding!
Much!More!Demanding!!
!
[.
1!(4%)!
8!(30%)!
18.
(67%)!
e!
! ! !
e!
1!(17%)!
e!
4.(67%).
1!(17%)
Note.!!Responses!50!percent!or!greater!are!shown!in!boldface. !
.
Future.Participation.in.an.Online.Program.
Despite!the!academic!demands!of!online!courses,!the!majority!of!students,!
70%,!indicated!that!they!would!enroll!in!another!online!course!and!100%!of!the!
instructors!would!teach!another!online!course!(see!Figure!2.1).!!Further,!the!
majority!of!students,!78%,!would!recommend!a!colleague!to!enroll!in!an!online!
89
course,!while!83%!of!instructors!would!recommend!a!colleague!to!teach!in!an!online!
course.!!One!instructor!would!maybe!recommend!a!colleague!to!teach!online,!
provided!that!the!recommendation!includes!a!w arning!that!teaching!online!is!time!
consuming!(see!Table!2.3).!!Interestingly,!22%!of!students!indicated!that!they !would!
maybe,recommend!an!online!course!to!a!colleague,!while! two!of!the!students!
indicated!that!they!would!not!recommend!online!courses!to!co lleagues!(see!Figure!
2.2).!!The!two!students!elaborated!on!why!they!would!not!recommend!online!
courses!to!colleagues,!with!one!stating!that!although!“it!is!nice!to!have!the!flexibility!
of!working!from!anywhere…I!do!not!enjoy!reading!online,!watching!videos !online,!
or!living!inside!my!computer!at!all!hours!of!the!day!and!night.”!! The!other!student!
simply!stated,!“I’ll!be!done!with!my!program.”!!!
On!a!positive!note,!students!believe d!that!the!convenience!and!flexibility!of!
an!online!program!is!reason!than!enough!to!enroll!in!an!online!course!or!program!
and!are!reflected!in!the!following!comments: !
! I!like!the!freedom!from!using!paper,!the!coziness!of!going!to!class!from!my !
office,!the!availability!of!instructors!and!other!students. !
!
If!I!wanted!to!take!more!classes,!with!3!children!at!home!and!a!deployed!!
husband,!online!is!my!only!option.!
!
I!really!like!online!interaction e!it!allows!me!to!work!better!than!in!an!onesite!!
class.!
!
It!teaches!you!how!to!teach!yourself.!You!become!the!owner!of!your! !
education,!which!I!believe!teaches!the!valuable!lesson!of!accountability. !
!
Noted!were!the!importance!of!various!elements!of!social!presence.!! Students!also!
elaborated!on!why!they!would!maybe!recommend!a!friend!or!colleague!to!enroll!in!
90
an!online!course!or!program.!!The!primary!reasons!for!recommendation!depend ed!
on!characteristics!of!the!colleague,!the!reputation!of!the!program,!and!the!need!for!
flexibility!while!pursuing!a!degree. !
! I!would!only!recommend!online!course/degree!program!to!people!who!keep! !
! up!with!their!work.!It’s!very!easy!to!slack!off!in!an!online!program.!
!
It!depends!on!the!program!and!my!friends’!current!work!schedule!and!also! !
what!he!or!she!wants!to!do.!Online!programs!are!still!thought!of!as!a!joke!by!!
the!general!public. !
!
If!it!is!the!only!way!for!a!working!adult!to!continue!their!education!and!!
improve!themselves!professionally!then!it!is!an!acceptable!option.!Also,!if! !
that!person!is!very!self edisciplined!it!can!be!a!positive!experience. !
! !
Similarly,!instructors!elaborated!on!why!they!would!recommend!a!colleague!to!
teach!online,!citing!professional!development!as!the!primary!reason. !
! I!have!encouraged!peers!to!try![teaching! online].!I!have!explained!that!it!will !
influence!their!pedagogy!in!general,!including!their!on ecampus!teaching.!
!
[Online!education]!provides!an!opportunity!for!experience!and!professional! !
development. !
!
[Teaching!online!is]!enjoyable!and! [benefits]! professional!growth.!
,
These!results!indicate!that!although!onl ine!education!was!perceived!to!be! more!
academically!demanding!and!time!intensive,!students!and!instructors!maintain ed!a!
positive!perception! were!satisfied!enough!to! enroll!in!or!teach!another!class!as!well!
as!recommend!colleagues!to!participate!in!online!education ,!provided!that!these!
colleagues!have!certain!characteristics!to!succeed!in!an!online!environment !and!are!
aware!of!the!time!con suming!nature!of!online!education .!!Further,!these!statements!
91
reflect!a!strong!sense!of!social!presence,!where!both!students!and!instructors! openly!
communicated!and!interacted!with!one!another.!
Figure,2.2, Percentage,of,Respondents,that,Would,Enroll,or,Teach,in,the,Future!
!
!
Figure,2.3, Percentage,of,Respondents,that,Would,Recommend,Online,Education,to,
a,Colleague,
!
.
70%!
22%!
7%!
100%!
0%! 0%!
0%!
25%!
50%!
75%!
100%!
Yes! Maybe! No!
Students!
Instructors!
78%!
22%!
0%!
83%!
17%!
0%!
0%!
25%!
50%!
75%!
100%!
Yes! Maybe! No!
Students!
Instructors!
92
Time.Spent.on.Online.Classroom.Activities.
Meyer!(2002)!acknowledges!that!much!of!the!research!comparing!outcomes!
of!online!education!does!not!account!for!changes!in!instructional!design!and!
classroom!teaching!that!may!accompany!the!introduction!of!technology.!!Further,!it!
is!not!the!technology!that!has!an!effect;!it!is!the!way!that!technology!is!used!(Smith!
&!Dillon,!1999).!! The!amount!of!time!spent!on!classroom!activities! offers!insights!on!
factors!already!known!to!influence!learning.!!Such!factors!may!include!increased!
interactions,!opportunities !to!construct!meaning!from!experiences,!reflection!on!
learning,!and!practice!and!feedback!on!applying!new!learning.!!Time!spent!on!
activities!may!also!be!interpreted!as!strengths!or!weaknesses!of!an!online!course!or!
program!and!may!be!related!to!cognitive! presence .!!!
Respondents !were!asked!to!compare!the!amount!of!time!spent!on!a!given!list!
of!classroom!activities!in!an!online!environment!versus!a!traditional!face etoeface!
environment!by!stating!if!the!time!spent!decreased,!stayed!the!same,!or!increased.!!
Of!the!listed!activities, !over!70%!of!students!and!50%!of!instructors!indicated!that!
less!time!was!spent!on!quizzes!and!exams,!while!85%!of!students!and!100%!of!
instructors!perceived!that!more!time!was!spent!on!using!classroom!technology.!!
Both!students!and!instructors!agreed!that !the!same!amount!of!time!was!spent!on!
course!evaluation!activities,!respectively!81%!and!100%,!and!preparing!students!to!
use!course!material!in!practice,!respectively!74%!and!50%.!!Approximately!50%!of!
students!indicated!that!the!same!amount!of!time!was!sp ent!on!lectures!and!keeping!
students!on!task,!while!50%!instructors!indicated!that!the!same!or!less!time!was!
93
spent!on!lectures!and!the!same!or!more!time!was!spent!on!keeping!students!on!task.!!
Interestingly,!students!and!instructors!had!differing!perceptio ns!on!the!time!spent!
on!group!work,!discussions,!studentetoestudent!interactions,!and!student etoe
instructor!interactions!(see!Table!2.4).!! !
Figure,2.4, Student,Perceptions,of,Time,Spent,on,Online,Classroom,Activities,
Figure,2.5, Instructor,Perceptions,of,Time,Spent,on,Online,Classroom,Activities,
!
0%!
25%!
50%!
75%!
100%!
Decreased!
Stayed!the!Same!
Increased!
0%!
25%!
50%!
75%!
100%!
Decreased!
Stayed!the!Same!
Increased!
94
These!results!reflect!that!both!students!and!instructors!perceived! that!the!
more!time!spent!on!the!use!of!classroom!technology,!and!less!time!spent!on!quizzes!
and!exams,!were!strengths!of!the!program.!!However,!res ults!also!indicated!mixed!
findings!on!the!perceptions!of!the!amount!of!time!spent!on!group!work,!discussions,!
studentetoestudent!interactions,!and!student etoeinstructor!interactions,!suggesting!
that!these!activities!were!seen!as!both!strengths!and!weakness es!of!their!online!
education!experience. !!These!results!also!speak!to!the!develop ment!of!a!community!
of!inquiry.!!For!example,!a!strong!social!presence!can!be!attributed!to!student etoe
student!and!student etoeinstructor!interactions.!!Cognitive!presence!was! developed!
via!group!work!and!online!discussions.!!Teaching!presence!was!attempted! with!
activities!such!as!lectures,!keeping!students!on!task,!and!course!evaluation!activities. !
Perceived.Strengths.and.Weaknesses.
Smart!and!Cappel!(2006)!encouraged!researchers!to!gain!an!improved!
understanding!of!where,!when,!and!under!what!circumstances!online!learning!can!
be!applied!most!effectively!as!well!as!how!it!can!best!be!implemented.!!This!need!to!
better!understand!how!to!implement!and!use!online!instructi on!starts!from!
understanding!perceptions!of!those!currently!in!an!online!course!or!program.!!
Students!and!instructors!were!asked!to!openly!respond!to!their!perceptions!of!the!
strengths!and!weaknesses!of!their!experience!with!MAT eTESOL.!!Responses!were!
coded!separately!according!to!themes!and!the!number!of!times!a!category!was!
mentioned.! !Further,!responses! were!analyzed!for!hints!of!the!development!of!a!
community!of!inquiry.!!In!particular,!whether!or!not!respondents!mentioned!
95
elements!of!social!presence,!c ognitive!presence,!and!teaching!pres ence .!!Table!2.5!
summarizes!the!themes!of!perceived!strengths!and!weaknesses.!! !
Table!2.3!
Perceived,Strengths,and,Weaknesses!
!
Categories !
Students!!
(N=26)!
Instructors!!
(N=6)!
! n!(%)! n!(%)!
Perceived!Strengths !
!!!!!!!!!! Increased!collaboration!and!interaction !
!!!!!!!!!! Flexibility!(schedule,!location,!attire) !
!!!!!!!!!! Geographical!diversity!and!variety !
!!!!!!!!!! Practical!curriculum!(variety!of!activities,!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!! opportunities)!
!!!!!!!!!! Diverse!student!population !
!!!!!!!!!! Student!focused!(individualized!feedback) !
!!!!!!!!!! Increased!access!to!professors !
!!!!!!!!!! Small!class!size!
!!!!!!!!!! Reputation!of!affiliated!university !
!!!!!!!!!! Instant!resource!sharing!
!
14.(52%).
11!(41%)!
6!(22%)!
3!(11%)!
!
3!(11%)!
2!(7%)!
6!(22%)!
3!(11%)!
4!(15%)!
1!(4%)!
!
2!(33%)!
e!
3.(50%).
4.(67%).
.
3.(50%).
1!(17%)!
e!
e!
e!
e!
Perceived!Weaknesses !
!!!!!!!!!! Technical!issues!(glitches,!errors,! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!! dependability,!difficulties) !
!!!!!!!!!! Academic!demands!(course!load,!self estudy,!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!! group!work)!
!!!!!!!!!! Decreased!interaction!(face etoeface)!
!!!!!!!!!! Disorganization!(discussion,!curriculum,!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!! preparation)!
!!!!!!!!!! Irrelevant!(discussion,!content,!material) !
!!!!!!!!!! Synchronous!sessions!(varying!time!zones)!
!!!!!!!!!! Lacking!support!(administrative,!customer!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!! service) !
!!!!!!!!!! Adobe!platform!(difficult!to!use!and!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!! maneuver) !
!!!!!!!!!! Large!class!size!
!!!!!!!!!! Relaxed!grading!system!
!!!!!!!!!! New!program!(launched!in!2010)!
!!!!!!!!!! Slow!response!time! !
!
12!(44%)!
!
4!(15%)!
!
2!(7%)!
9!(9%)!
!
3!(11%)!
3!(11%)!
3!(11%)!
!
2!(7%)!
!
1!(4%)!
1!(4%)!
1!(4%)!
1!(4%)!
!
2!(33%)!
!
2!(33%)!
.
3.(50%).
1!(17%)!
!
e!
e!
e!
!
e!
!
e!
e!
e!
e!
Note.!!n!=!the!number!of!respondents!that!mentioned!the!particular!category!listed. !
!
96
Themes!that!emerged!as!strengths!identified!by!students!included!increased!
collaboration!and!interactions,!flexibility,!geographical!diversity,!and!increased!
access!to!professors.!!Themes!that!emerged!as!strengths!identified!by!instructors!
included!a!practical!curriculum,!geographical!diversity,!diverse!student!population,!
and!increased!collaboration!and!interaction.!!Themes!that!emerged!as!weaknesses!
identified!by!students!includ ed!technical!issues!and!disorganization.!!Themes!that!
emerged!as!weaknesses!identified!by!instructors!included!decreased!interaction,!
technical!issues,!and!academic!demands .!
Interestingly,!two!themes!emerged!as!both!strengths!an d!weaknesses.!!The!
first!theme!was!interaction,!where!52%!of!students!saw!increased!interactivity!as!a!
strength!of!MATeTESOL,!while!50%!of!instructors!reported!a!decrease!in!interaction!
due!to!a!lack!of!faceetoeface!time!as!a!weakness.!!The!second!theme!wa s!relevance,!
where!11%!of!students!found!discussions!to!be!unfocused!or!materials!unrelated!to!
their!profession;!on!the!other!hand,!67%!of!instructor s!reported!that!the!curriculum!
was!practical!for!current!teachers!who!can!apply!theories!in!practice.!! This!second!
theme!points!to!the!importance!of!developing!cognitive!presence!in!online!courses.!!
According!to!these!results,!the!perceptions!of!strengths!and!weaknesses!vary!
depending!on!personal!experience!and!perspective.!! However,!emerging!from!the!
data!comparison!was!an!agreement!that!the!strengths!of!online!education!included!
increased!collaboration!and!interaction!and!geographical!diversity ,!both!pointing!to!
a!strong!social!presence .!!Similarly,!respondents!agreed!that!the!most!significant!
weakness!related!to!technical!issues ,!which!hindered!cognitive!presence ..
97
Summary.Research.Question.One. .
Overall,!the!vast!majority!of!students!and!instructors!were !satisfied!with!the!
quality!of!the!MATeTESOL!program.!!Respondents!were!motivated!to!learn!and!
teach!in!an!online!environment!because! it!offers!flexibility!and!the!abilit y!to!work!
from!home,!where !learning!and!teaching!is!not!restricted!by!time!or!space.!!
Additionally,!this!study!found!that!respondents!believe!that!online!education!is!
more!academically!demanding!tha n!traditional!instruction!and!produces!quality!
education!that!we re!comparable.!!Further,!despite!the!time econsuming!nature!of!
online!education,!both!students!and!instructors!would!enroll!in!another!course!or!
program!as!well!as!recommend!online!education!to!peers,!provided!that! they!
understand!the!challenges!and!benefits!of!learning!and!teaching!online.!! !
This!study!found!mixed!results!on!perceptions!of!strengths!and!weaknesses!
related!to!time!spent!on!classroom!activities.!!However,!respondents!agreed!that!
more!time!was!spent!on!classroom!technology!and!less!time!was!spent!on!quizzes!
and!exams.!!The!result s!from!narrative!responses! indicate!that!perceptions!of!
strengths!of!online!TESOL!teacher!education!included! increased!collaboration!and!
interaction!as!well!as!geographical!diversity .!!Perceptions!of!weaknesses!of!online!
TESOL!teacher!education!centered!ar ound!technical!issues!such!as!errors!in!the!
technology,!difficulties!navigating!the!platform,!problems!with!the!audio!and!video,!
and!unreliable!technology .!!Results!from!research!question!one!suggest!that!
strengthening!cognitive!and!teaching!presence,!coup led!with!a!strong!social!
presence,!will!address!perceived!weaknesses!of!MAT eTESOL.!
98
Results.Research.Question.Two.
Research!question!two!asked:!What!are!the!perceptions!of!characteristics!of!
successful!individuals!in!online!education?!!Specifically,!what!are !the!perceptions!of!
characteristics!of!successful!students!and!successful!instructors!in!online!TESOL!
courses!and!programs?..Based!on!the!literature,!developing!effective!online!courses!
and!programs!is!hindered!by!an!unclear!picture!of!the!characteristics! of!online!
students!(Mupinga!et!al.,!2006).!!In!particular,!successful!participants!are!expected!
to!have!access!to!necessary!hardware!and!be!minimally!proficient!in!using!
technology.!Results!presented!in!this!section!provide!insights!on!access!to!
hardware,!knowledge!of!technology,!traits!that!respondents!believe!are!vital!to!
succeed!in!an!online!program,!and!factors!that!contribute!to!success!online.!! !
Access.to.Hardware!
! Studies!suggest!that!having!a!computer!that!operates!in!the!online!
environment!is!often !taken!for!granted!as!a!factor!of!online!success!(Boyd,!2004;!
Mupinga!et!al.,!2006).!!To!determine!access!to!hardware,!respondents!were!asked!if!
they!had!computers!at!home!and!at!school!(see!Figure!3.1!and!Figure!3.2).!!
Figure,3.1, Access,to,a,Computer,at,Home!
!
96%!
4%!
100%!
0%!
0%!
25%!
50%!
75%!
100%!
Yes! No!
Students!
Instructors!
99
Figure,3.2, Access,to,a,Computer,at,School!
!
As!indicated,!96%!of!students!and!100%!of!instructors!had!access!to!a!computer!at!
home.!!Surprisingly,!only!67%!of!students!indicated!that!they!had!access!to!a!
computer!at!school,!while!83%!of!instructors!had!access!at!school.!!These!latter!
results!suggest!that!not!all!students!were!working!in!a!school!or!had!access!to!a!
school!or!computer!lab.!!Nonetheless,!all!but!one!respondent!had!access!to!a!
computer!at!home!and/or!at!school!supporting!the!assumption!that!having!a!
computer!is!a!vital!factor!in!online!success.!!.
Knowledge.of.Technology!
! In!addition!to!having!access!to!the!hardware,!participants!should!also!have!
basic!computer!and!Internet!skills!to!effectively!navigate!the!online!environment.!!
Cahoon!(1998)!asserts!that,!in!theory,!technological!skills!are!a!prerequisite!for!
success!in!an!online!course,!yet!these!skills!are!instead!developed!and!learned!
through!educational!necessity!while!taking!an!online!course.!!Results!in!this!section!
gauge!the!tec hnological!skills!and!determine!the!per ception!of!how!much!impact!
students’!and!instructors’!knowledge!of!technology!had!on!online!success. !!
67%!
30%!
83%!
17%!
0%!
25%!
50%!
75%!
100%!
Yes! No!
Students!
Instructors!
100
Respondents!were!asked!to!rate!their!own!technological!skills!as!being!low,!
medium,!or!high!(see!Figure!3.3).!!!
Figure,3.3, Technological,Skills,of,the,Respondents!!
!
Low!technological!skills!were!defined!as,!“little!experience!with!technology!
other!than!general!e email!and!surfing!the!Web.”!!Medium!technological!skills!were!
defined!as,!“some!experience!with!various!tech nologies!including!eemail,!Web!
research,!downloading!programs,!using!Microsoft!Office!programs,!using!Adobe!
reader,!etc.”!!High!technological!skills!were!defined!as,!“extensive!experience!with!a!
variety!of!technologies!including!e email,!Web!research,!downl oading!programs,!
using!Microsoft!Office!programs,!using!Adobe!reader,!etc.”!!!
Results!indicate d!that!both!students!and!instructors!rate d!their!overall!
technological!skills!as!medium!or!high.!!For!students,!41%!rated!themselves!with!
medium!skills!and!59%!rated!themselves!with!high!skills.!!For!instructors,!exactly!
50%!rated!themselves!with!medium!skills!and!the!other!50%!with!high!skills.!!These!
results!reflect!how!students!tended!to!rate!themselves!with!higher!technological!
59%!
41%!
0%!
50%! 50%!
0%!
0%!
10%!
20%!
30%!
40%!
50%!
60%!
70%!
High! Medium! Low!
Students!
Instructors!
101
skills!than!the!instructors.!!Results!also!suggest!that!both!students!and!instructors!
possessed!sufficient!technological!skill!to!navigate!the!online!environment!without!
much!difficulty!and!that!these!skills!are!becoming!increasingly!prevalent!in!higher!
education.!!!
!!Both!students!and!instructors!agreed!that!success!of!an!online!course!was!
impacted!by!one’s!knowledge!of!technology!(see!Figure!3.4!and!Figure!3.5).!!78%!of!
students!and!17%!of!instructors!indicated!that!the!instructors’!knowledge!of!
technology!has!a!great,impact!on!success!online,!while!22%!and!83%!indicated!that!
the!instructors’!knowledge!of!technology!has! some,impact!on!success!online.!!On!the!
other!hand,!52%!of!students!and!17%!of!instructors!indicate!that!the!students’!
knowledge!of!technology!has!a!great,impact!on!success!online,!while!48%!of!
students!and!83%!of!instructors!indicate!that!students’!knowledge!of!technology!
has!some,impact!on!success!online.!!!
Figure,3.4, Impact,of,Students’,Knowledge,of,Technology,on,Success,Online,
!
,
,
52%!
48%!
0%!
17%!
83%!
0%!
0%!
25%!
50%!
75%!
100%!
Great!Impact! Some!Impact! No!Impact!
Students!
Instructors!
102
Figure,3.5, Impact,of,Instructors’,Knowledge,of,Technology,on,Success,Online!
!
!
Interestingly,!respondents!have!differing!opinions!about!the!impact!of!the!
instructors’!knowledge!of!technology!on!success!online.!!Specifically,!more!students!
and!fewer!instructors!believe!that!that!instructors ’!knowledge!of!technology!has!
great,impact,on!success!online.!!Although!these!results!suggest!that!both!students!
and!instructors!believe!that!having!knowledge!of!technology!impacts!the!success!of!
an!online!course,!the!amount!of!impact!varies!and!warrants!further!research.!!!!!
Perceived.Characteristics.of.Successful.Participants!
! Success!has!been!historically!defined!in!terms!of!the!students!and!their!
academic!achievement,!program!completion,!overall!satisfaction,!and!positive!
perceptions !of!online!education!(DeTure,!2004;!Mupinga!et!al.,!2006).!!For!this!
study,!satisfaction!and!perceptions!of!MATeTESOL!were!identified!as!measures!of!
success.!!In!other!words,!successful!students!and!instructors!were!satisfied!with!
their!online!experience!and!had!positive!perc eptions!of!the!online!program.!!Table!
3.1!summarizes!the!findings!of!the!open eended!questions.!! !
78%!
22%!
0%!
17%!
83%!
0%!
0%!
25%!
50%!
75%!
100%!
Great!Impact! Some!Impact! No!Impact!
Students!
Instructors!
103
Table!3.1!
Characteristics,of,Successful,Participants,in,Online,Education!
!
Categories !
Students!
(N=27)!
Instructors!
(N=6)!
! n!(%)! n!(%)!
Students!
,,,,,,,,,,Personality!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Hard!working! 4!(15%)! 1!(17%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Flexible ! e! 1!(17%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Focused!(dedicated,!committed) ! 5!(19%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Responsible!(prepared!for!class) ! 4!(15%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Mature!(open eminded)! 4!(15%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Curious!(eager!to!learn) ! 2!(7%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Creative!(think!outside!the!box) ! 2!(7%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Patient! 1!(4%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Thoughtful! 1!(4%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Respectful ! 1!(4%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Outspoken! 1!(4%)! e!
,,,,,,,,,,Learning,Style,!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Actively!engaged!(contr ibute,!connect!with!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! others,!ask!clarifying!questions,!share!personal!!!!!!!!!!!! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! experiences,!create!online!relationships,! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! participate)!
7!(26%)! 5.(83%).
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Autonomous!(independent,!self edirected,!take! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! initiative,!have!control!of!own!learning,!)!
9!(33%)! 2!(33%)!
!!!!!!!! !!!!!!! e!Selfemotivated! 5!(19%)! 4.(67%).
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!High!selfeefficacy! 1!(4%)! 1!(17%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Collaborative! 2!(7%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!Skills!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Academically!strong!(strong!writer,!good!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! communicator,!attentive) !
3!(11%)! 2!(33%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Organized! 5!(19%)! 1!(17%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Good!time!management ! 7!(26%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Technologically!competent ! 4!(15%)! e!
! ! !
Instructors!
,,,,,,,,,,Personality!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Engaging!(inspirational,!passionate)! 3!(11%)! 2!(33%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Responsible!(prepared!for!class) ! 3!(11%)! 1!(17%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Innovative! 1!(4%)! 1!(17%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Empathetic!(supportive,!understanding,!sincere,! !!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! open)!
7!(26%)! e!
104
Table!3.1!(CONTINUED)!
!
! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Flexible ! 5!(19%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Respectful ! 1!(4%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!Teaching,Style! ! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Interactive!(eliciting!discussion,!not!lecture) ! 5!(19%)! 5.(83%).
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Available!(prompt!feedback,!respond!to!emails,! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!willing!to!help)!
6!(22%)! 1!(17%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Focused!(discussions,!deep!understanding,!make! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!students!think,!on!task)!
6!(22%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Apply!theory!to!practice!(giving!rationales,!)! 3!(11%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Fair! 3!(11%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!High!expectations ! 2!(7%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Enthusiastic!! 1!(4%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!,Skills, ! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Technologically!competent ! 13!(48%)! 2!(33%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Organized!! 2!(7%)! 1!(17%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Ability!to!multitask!(diverse)! 2!(7%)! 1!(17%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Strong!lesson!planner!(establish!routine) ! 1!(4%)! 1!(17%)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Expertise!in!the!field!(knowledgeable,! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! experienced) !
9!(33%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Strong!communicator!(clarity!of!goals)! 3!(11%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Strong!facilitator!(activities,!discussions)! 2!(7%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!Other, ! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Female ! 1!(4%)! e!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e!Lenient!grader ! 1!(4%)! e!
Note.!n=the!number!of!respondents!that!mentioned!the!particular!characteristic!
listed.!!
!
Due!to!the!nascent!nature!of!MAT eTESOL,!data!on!program!completion!and!
academic!performance!were!either!unavailable!or!poor!measures!of!success!for!this!
study.!!Qualitative!data!from!the!narrative!responses!provided!additional!insights!
into!respondents’!beliefs!about!characteristics!of!successful!students!and!
instructors.!!Respondents!were!asked,!“What!are!the!characteristics!of!successful!
instructors!in!an!online!course?”!and,!“What!are!the!characteristics!of!successful!
students!in!an!online!course?”!!!
105
Personality,!learning!style,!and!skills!were!three!categories!that!emerged!as!
traits!used!to!describe!characteristics!of!successful!students.!!As!indicated,!students!
used!personality!to!describe!successful!students!as!hard!working,!focused,!
responsible,!mature,!curious,!creative,!patient,!thoughtful,!r espectful,!and!
outspoken.!!Under!the !learning!style !category,!students!described!successful!
students!as!being!actively!engag ed,!autonomous,!selfemotivated,!collaborative,!and!
had!high!selfeefficacy.!!Students!also!described!successful!students!as!possessing!the!
skills!of!being!academically!strong,!organized,!technologically!competent,!and!
having!good!time!management.!!!
Instructors!described!the!personality!of!successful!students!as!hard!working!
and!flexible.!!According!to!instructors,!the!learning!style!of!successful!students!
included!being!actively!engaged,!autonomous,!self emotivated,!and!having!high!selfe
efficacy.!!Skills!that!successful!students!possess!are!academic!strengths!and!
organization.!!Overlapping!characteristics!of!successful!students!common!among!
both!groups!of!respondents!included!those!who!were!hard!working,!actively!
engaged,!autonomous,!self emotivated,!academical ly!strong,!organized,!and!had!high!
selfeefficacy.!!These!results!suggest!that!current!students!in!the!program!believe!that!
personality,!learning!style,!and!skill!are!all!important!characteristics!that! contribute!
to!the!success!of!students,!while!instructor s!believe!that!learning!styles!are!more!
indicative!of!characteristics!of!successful!students.!! !
Three!similar!categories!emerged!to!describe!successful!instructors,!which!
included!personality,!teaching!style,!skill,!and!other.!!The! other!category!consisted !of!
106
characteristics!that!did!not!fit!under!the!three!main!categories,!which!were!gender!
and!grading!practice.!!Students!described!successful!instructors!as!having!
personalities!that!were!empathetic,!flexible,!engaging,!responsible,!innovative,!and!
respectf ul.!!Students!also!described!successful!instructors!as!having!teaching!styles!
that!were!interactive,!available,! focused,!fair,!enthusiastic,!were !highly!demanding,!
and!able!to!apply!theory!to!practice.!!Students!also!indicated!that!skills!of!successful!
instructors!included!those!that!were!technologically!competent,!experts!in!the!field,!
organized,!ability!to!multitask,!strong!lesson!planners,!strong!communicators,!and!
strong!facilitators.!!Surprisingly,!students!identified!two!other!character!traits!of!
successful!instructors,!which!were!female!and!a!lenient!grader.!! !
Instructors!described!successful!instructors!as!being!engaging,!responsible,!
and!innovative.!!Instructors!also!believed!that!successful!instructors!were!
interactive,!available,!technological ly!competent,!organized,!able !to!multitask,!and!
strong!lesson!planners.!!Overlapping!characteristics!of!successful!instructors!
included!those!who!were!engaging,!responsible,!innovative,!interactive,!available,!
technologically!competent,!organized,!able !to!multitask,!and!strong!lesson!planners.!!
These!results!suggest!that!access!to!hardware!and!knowledge!of!technology!are!not!
the!only!factors!that!contribute!to!success!online.!!In!addition,!students!should!
possess!certain!character!traits!related!to!personality, !learning!style,!and!skill!to!be!
successful!online,!and!instructors!should!possess!certain!character!traits!similar!to!
students!that!include!personality,!teaching!style,!and!skill!to!be!successful!online. !!
Further,!these!traits! allude!to!participants’!abilities!to!develop!a!COI. !!
107
Summary.Research.Question.Two!
Results!for!this!study!revealed!that!the!majority!of!respondents!in!this!study!
had!access!to!a!computer!at!home!and/or!at!school,!though,!this!might!be!a!function!
of!the!particular!demographic!group!that!responded!to!the!questionnaire .!!
Nonetheless ,!all!respondents!rated!their!technological!skills!as!medium!or!high.!!
Students!rated!their!own!technological!skills!more!highly!than!instructors,!
suggesting!that!either!the!students!are!more!confident!in!thei r!technological!skills,!
indeed!have!more!experience!with!technology,!or!that!they!overestimated!their!
skills.!!On!the!same!note,!students!believed!that!an!instructors’!knowledge!of!
technology!has!a!greater!impact!on!success!online!than!students’!knowledge! of!
technology,!while!instructors!believed!that!both!students’!and!instructors’!
knowledge!of!technology!only!had!some!impact!on!success!online.!!These!results!
suggest!that!respondents!perceive d!a!high!knowledge!of!technology!as!an!important!
factor!in!success!online.!!Further,!these!results!also!imply!that!students!expect!
instructors!to!have!a!better!grasp!of!and!more!experience!with!technology!to!
effectively!teach!online.!! !
Results!on!narrative!responses!to!characteristics!of!successful!students!and!
instructors!echo!existing!research!on!characteristics!of!participants!that!contribute!
to!success!online.!!Personality,!skills,!and!learning!or!teaching!styles!emerged!as !the!
three!themes!that!described!characteristics!of!successful!participants!in!online!
education.!!Under!the!personality!category,!b oth!students!and!instructors!identified!
successful!students!as!hard!working.!!The!learning!style!of!successful!students!
108
included!those!who!were!actively!engaged,!autonomous,!self emotivated,!and!had!
high!selfeefficacy.!Skills!of!successful!students!included!academic!strength!and!
organization.!!Academic!strengths!included!strong!writing,!good!communication,!
and!attentiveness.!!Similarly,!both!students!and!instructors!identified!several!
common!characteristics!of!successful!instructors.!!In!terms!of!personality,!successful!
instructors!were!engaging,!responsible,!and!innovative.!!Successful!instructors!
possessed!teaching!styles!that!were!int eractive!and!available.!!Skill!traits!of!
successful!instructors!included!technological! competence,!organization,!ability!to!
multitask,!and!strong!lesson!planning.!!!
The!need !to!research!characteristics!of!the!online!students!is!indicated!by!the!
higher!than!average!attrition!rates!in!most!online!distance!education!courses!(Terry,!
2001;!Henke!&!Russum,!2000).!!Boyd!(2004)!suggests!that!one!possible!reason!for!
the!higher!attrition!rates!is!that!there!are!certain!characteristics!of!students!under!
certain!conditions!who!can!successfully!learn!in!an!online!environment.!!Results!
from!this!study!indicate!that!personality,!skills,!and!learning!or!teaching!styles!may!
be!used!as!accurate!representations!of!characteristics!indicative!of!successful!
students!and!instructors.!!These!characteristics!may!also!point!to!the!ability!of!
participants!in!online!education!to!develop!and!sustain!a!community!of!inquiry.!! By!
the!same!token ,!it!is!important!to!realize!that!being!a!successful!instructor!does!not!
necessarily!produce!successful!students,!nor!are!successful!students!products!of!
successful!instructors.!!Creating!a!community!of!inquiry!requires!both!students!and!
instructors!to!be!active!participants!of!social,!cognitive,!and!teaching!presences. !!
109
Results.Research.Question.Three.
.
Research!question!three!asked:!What!are!the!perceptions!of!effective!
components!in!online!education,!online!teacher!education,!and!online!TESOL!
teacher!education!programs?!!Past!studies!suggest!that!effectiveness!of!online!
education!is!contingent!upon!factors!that!affect!the!learning!process,!satisfaction,!
and!achievement!(Jung!&!Rha,!2000;!Seok!et!al.,!2010).!!Such!factors!include!
pedagogical!features!often!found!in!online!course!management!systems.!!Results!
presented!in!this!section!provide!insights!on!th e!perceived!effectiveness!of!various!
pedagogical!features!and!satisfaction!with!listed!components!in!the!online!program. !
Effectiveness.of.Applications.Used.in.the.Online.Program!
!
According!to!Dabbagh!(2005),!pedagogical!features!of!an!online!course!
management!system!include!content!creation!and!delivery,!communication!and!
collaboration,!and!tools.!!Tools!can!further!be!divided!into!administrative!tools,!
learning!tools,!and!assessment!tools.!!It!is!important!to!understand!that!this!section!
only!looked!at!the!technology!itself,!not!how!the!technology!was!used.!!To!gauge!
specific!and!commonly!used!applications,!question!23!divided!14!applications!
according!to!the!three!pedagogical!features.!!Content!creation!and!delivery!features!
were!identified!by!applications !such!as!Word!documents,!PDF!files,!Power!Point,!
and!Flash!media.!!Communication!and!collaboration!features!were!identified!by!
applications!such!as!video!streaming,!audio!streaming,!discussion!boards,!real!time!
chat!rooms,!and!electronic!mail.!!Tools!were!identified!by!applications!such!as!
quizzes,!surveys,!simulations,!exams,!online!drop!box,!and!other.!!Respondents!were!
110
asked!to!rate!how!often!certain!applications!were!used!in!the!online!courses!and!to!
add!other!applications!that!were!used!but!not!listed. !!Table!4.1!summarizes!these!
results.!!!
As!indicated,!the!most!extensively!used!applications!fell!under!content!
creation!and!delivery!and!communication!and!collaboration!features.!!Specifically,!
89%!of!students!and!83%!of!instructors!cited!PDF!files!as!the!most!extensively!used!
application!for!content!creation!and!delivery.!!Also!cited!as!extensively!used!for!
content!creation!and!delivery!were!Power!Point,!cited!by!81%!of!students!and!67%!
of!instructors,!and!Word!documents,!cited!by!70%!of!students!and!67%!of!
instructors.!!Under!communication!and!collaboration,!cited!most!often!as!
extensively!used!was!email!by!93%!of!students!and!100%!of!instructors.! !Real!time!
chat!rooms!were!cited !as!the!second!most!extensively!used!application!by!85%!of!
students!and!83%!of!instructors.!!!
Interestingly,!the!use!of!discussion!boards!for!communication!and!
collaboration!resulted!in!mixed!findings,!where!74%!of!students!cited!discussion!
boards!as!extensively!used!and!only!33%!of!instructors!cited!discussion!boards!as!
extensivel y!used.!!Results!also!indicated!that!applications!used!as!tools!were!either!
somewhat!used!or!not!used!at!all.!!Specifically,!surveys!were!cited!as!a!tool!
somewhat!used!by!85%!of!students!and!67%!of!instructors.!!On!the!other!hand,!
exams!were!cited!by!78%!o f!students!and!100%!of!instructors!as!not!used!at!all,!
while!quizzes!were!cited!by!63%!of!students!and!83%!of!instructors!as!tools!that!
were!not!used!at!all.!!These!results!suggest!that!the!most!commonly!used!tools!in!a!
111
traditional!classroom,!exams!and!quizzes,!were!not!used! often!in!the!online!
classroom.!!Further,!instructors!had!difficulty!keeping!participants!engaged!in!
productive!dialogue!despite!the!use!of!the!discussion!board!and!chat!room. !
Table!4.1!
Percentage,of,Respondents’,Perceptions,of,Applications,Used,in,Online,Courses!
!
Applications! Extensively!
Used!
Somewhat!
Used!
Not!
Used!
Will!be!
Used!
! S%! I%! S%! I%! S%! I%! S%! I%!
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Content!Creation!and!Delivery ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
!!!!!!!!!! PDF!files! 89! 83. 11! 17! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Power!Point! 81. 67. 19! 33! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Word!documents! 70. 67. 26! 33! 4! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Flash!media! 15. 33! 70! 33! 15! 33! e! e!
Communication!and!Collaboration! . ! ! ! ! ! ! !
!!!!!!!!!! Emails! 93. 10. 7! e! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Real!time!chat!rooms! 85. 83. 7! 17! 7! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Discussion!boards! 74. 33! 22! 67. 4! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Video!streaming ! 63. 67. 37! 33! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Audio!streaming! 41! 33! 37! 33! 5! 17! 4! 17!
Tools! ! ! . ! ! ! ! !
!!!!!!!!!! Surveys! 7! 17! 85. 67. 7! 17! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Quizzes! 7! e! 22! 17! 63. 83. 4! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Exams! 4! e! 15! e! 78. 10. 4! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Simulations! 4! 17! 48! e! 48! 83. e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Online!drop!box! 15! 33! 37! 67. 44! e! e! e!
Other! 4! 17! 2! e! 4! ! e! e!
Note.,!S!=!percentage!of!student!respondents!where!N=27.!!I!=!percentage!of!
instructor!respondents!where!N=6. !
!
In!summary,!respondents!agree d!that!PDF!files,!Power!Point,!and!Word!were!
frequently!used!for !content!creation!and!delivery.!!Emails! and!real!time!chat!rooms!
were!frequently!used!for!communication!and!collaboration.!!Surveys!were!tools!that!
were!somewhat!used!by!respondents,!while!exam s!and!quizzes!were!rarely!used.!!
Discussion!boards!were!cited!as!extensively!used!by!most!students,!and!somewhat!
112
used!by!most!instructors.!!However,!students!felt!that!discussions!were!frequently!
off!topic,!that!instructors!had!difficulty!staying!on!task,! and!that!not!all!participants!
were!engaged!in!productive!dialogue!that!helped!them!learn!course!material. !
Table!4.2!summarizes!the!results!of!respondents’!perceived!effectiveness!of!
the!applications.!!As!indicated,!PDF!files!were!cited!as!very!effective!co ntent!creation!
and!delivery!applications!by!56%!of!students!and!67%!of!instructors,!which!was!
followed!by!Power!Point!and!Word!documents!both!respectively!cited!by!52%!of!
students!and!50%!of!instructors!as!very!effective.!!Under!communication!and!
collaboration,!real!time!chat!rooms!were!cited!by!78%!of!students!and!50%!of!
instructors!as!very!effective,!followed!by!email,!which!was!cited!by!63%!of!students!
and!50%!of!instructors.!!Discussion!boards,!cited!by!56%!of!students!and!50%!of!
instructors,!were!also!considered!very!effective!despite!the!mixed!findings!on!how!
often!the!application!was!used.!!An!overwhelming!percentage!of!both!students!and!
instructors!indicated!that!their!perceptions!of!the!listed!tools!were!neither!effective!
nor!ineffective!with!one!ex ception.!!Results!indicate!that!the!online!drop!box!had!
mixed!perceptions,!where!52%!of!students!cited!the!drop!box!as!neither!effective!
nor!ineffective,!but!50%!of!instructors!cited!the!drop!box!as!very!effective.!! !
Respondents!agree!that!PDF!files,!Power !Point,!and!Word!were!very!effective!
applications!for!content!creation!and!delivery,!while!real!time!chat!rooms,!email,!
and!discussion!boards!were!very!effective!for!communication!and!collaboration.!!
Quizzes,!exams,!simulations,!and!surveys!were!cited!as!n either!effective!nor!
ineffective!application!tools.!!Interestingly,!the!online!drop!box!had!mixed!findings,!
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where!instructors!found!the!drop!box!to!be!very!effective!but!students!found!the!
drop!box!to!be!neither!effective!nor!ineffective .!!These!findings!suggest!that!
pedagogical!features!of!online!education!are!integral!to!the!effectiveness!of!the!
components!in!online!education.!!In!particular,!applications!that!are!used!more!
frequently!tend!to!also!be!perceived!as!more!effective.!! Further,!the se!results!
suggest!that!the!applications!may!help!instructors!with!facilitation!of!discourse.!
Table!4.2!
Percentage,of,Respondents’,Perceptions,of,Effectiveness,of,Applications,Used,in,Online,
Courses!
!
Applications! Very!
Effective !
Effective ! Neither ! Ineffec e
tive!
Very!
Ineffec e
tive!
! S%! I%! S%! I%! S%! I%! S%! I%! S%! I%!
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Content!Creation!and!Delivery ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
!!!!!!!!!! PDF!files! 56. 67. 33! 17! 11! 17! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Power!Point! 52. 50. 33! 33! 15! 17! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Word!documents! 52. 50. 37! 33! 11! 17! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Flash!media! 30! 17! 44! 17! 26! 67. e! e! e! e!
Communication!and!
Collaboration!
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
!!!!!!!!!! Emails! 63. 50. 19! 33! 19! 17! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Real!time!chat!rooms! 78. 50. 11! 33! 11! 17! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Discussion!boards! 56. 50. 33! 33! 11! 17! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Video!streaming ! 56. 33! 33! 50. 11! 17! e! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Audio!streaming! 48! 17! 30! 67. 22! 17! e! e! e! e!
Tools! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
!!!!!!!!!! Surveys! 15! e! 48! 33! 33! 67. 4! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Quizzes! 11! e! 15! 17! 70. 83. 4! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Exams! 7! e! 22! 17! 67. 83. 4! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Simulations! 7! e! 22! 33! 63. 67. 4! e! e! e!
!!!!!!!!!! Online!drop!box! 30! 50. 15! 33! 52. 17! e! e! 4! e!
Other! 7! e! 4! 17! 7! e! e! e! e! e!
Note.,!S!=!percentage!of!student!respondents!where!N=27.!!I!=!percentage!of!
instructor!respondents!where!N=6. !
.
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Satisfaction.with.Components.in.the.Online.Program!
!
In!addition!to!applications!as!components!in!online!education,!Seok!et!al.!
(2010)!identified!ten!technological!components!that!can!be!used!to!describe!the!
effectiveness!of!an!online!program.!!These!technological!components!included!
flexibility,!instructional!design,!navigation,!user!interface,!course!content,!technical!
assistance,!getting!started,!course!management,!universal!design,!and!
communications.!!Respondents’!level!of!satisfaction!of!each!component!helps!
stakeholders!gain!a!better!understanding!of!weaker!components!in!an!online!
course.!!Table!4.3!summarizes!the!res ults!of!students’!and!instructors’!satisfaction!
level!with!the!ten!technological!components! !
Table!4.3!
Satisfaction,with,Given,Technological,Components,in,Online,Courses!
!
Components! Very!
Satisfied!
Satisfied! Neutral! Dissatisfied! Very!
Dissatisfied!
! S%! I%! S%! I%! S%! I%! S%! I%! S%! I%!
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Flexibility! 41! 67. 56. 17! 4! e! e! 17! e! e!
Instructional!Design! 19! e. 56. 83! 22! 17! 4! e! e! e!
Navigation! 33! e! 48! 83. 19! 17! e! e! e! e!
User!Interface ! 33! 17! 44! 67. 15! 17! 7! e! e! e!
Course!Content ! 41! 17! 41! 67. 11! 17! 7! e! e! e!
Technical!Assistance! 30! 17! 30! 67. 26! e! 11! 17! 4! e!
Getting!Started ! 33! 17! 41! 50. 7! 33! 15! e! 4! e!
Course!Management ! 22! 17! 41! 50. 15! 33! 19! e! 4! e!
Universal!Design! 26! 17! 44! 50. 22! 33! 4! e! 4! e!
Communications! 22! 33! 48! 50. 19! 17! 7! e! 4! e!
Other! 4! e! e! e! e! e! 4! e! 4! e!
Note.,!S!=!percentage!of!student!respondents!where!N=27.!!I!=!percentage!of!
instructor!respondents!where!N=6. !
!
115
As!indicated,!56%!of!students!were! satisfied!with!the!flexibility!of!an!online!course!
and!67%!of!instructors!were!very,satisfied!with!flexibility.!!56%!of!students!and!83%!
of!instructors!were!satisfied!with!the!instructional!design.!!The!remaining!eight!
components!had!mixed!results,!where!at!least!half!or!more!of!the!instructors!were!
satisfied!with!navigation,!user!interface,!course!content,!technical!a ssistance,!getting!
started,!course!management,!universal!design,!and!communications.!!However,!
students’!satisfaction!with!the!eight!components!ranged!from!very!satisfied!to!very!
dissatisfied.!!These!mixed!results!suggest!that!further!research!should!be!co nducted!
on!why!students!were!satisfied!or!dissatisfied!and!how!to!strengthen!each!
technological!component.!!!
Summary.Research.Question.Three.
!
! Results!on!effective!components!in!online!TESOL!teacher!education!indicated!
mixed!findings!on!pedagogical!features!and!technological!components.!!Results!
indicated!that!the!most!commonly!used!applications!that!were!also!perceived!to!be!
very!effective!applications!included!PDF!files,!Power!Point,!and!Word!documents!for!
content!creation!and!delivery.!!Results!on !emails!and!real!time!chat!rooms!were!
indicated!as!extensively!used!and!perceived!to!be!very!effective!for!communication!
and!collaboration!applications.!!Application!tools!included!quizzes,!exams,!and!
simulations,!which!were!cited!by!respondents!as!not!use d!and!perceived!as!neither!
effect ive!nor!ineffective .!!Flash!media,!surveys!and!the!online!drop!box!were!
applications!cited!as!somewhat!used!and!had!mixed!results!on!the!perceived!
effectiveness.!!Results!also!indicated!that!discussions!boards!and!video!str eaming!
116
were!extensively!used!but!also!had!mixed!results!on!the!perceived!effectiveness.!!
These!results!suggest!that!applications!cited!as!extensively!used!were!also!rated!as!
very!effective,!whereas!applications!that!were!not!used!were!cited!as!neither!
effe ctive!nor!ineffective. !!For!technological!components,!respondents!agree d!that!
they!were!satisfied!with!flexibility!and!instructional!design.!!However,!respondents!
had!mixed!feelings!about!navigation,!user!interface,!course!content,!technical!
assistance,!ge tting!started,!course!management,!universal!design,!and!
communications.!!These!results!again!suggest!strong!cognitive!presence,!specifically!
with!open!communication,!but!weak!cognitive!and!teaching!presence,!specifically!in!
resolution!and!facilitation!of!discourse.!!
Summary!
! The!analysis!of!respondents’!perceptions!of!the!onlin e!TESOL!teacher!
education!program!at!USC!provided!ample!evidence!to!answer!the!three!research!
questions!in!this!study.!!This!study!examined!current!students’!and!instructors’!
perceptions!of!strengths,!weaknesses,!characteristics!of!successful!individuals,! and!
of!effective!components!in!MAT eTESOL.!!Overall,!there!were!three !findings!that!
emerged!f rom!the!results!of!this!study.!!Chapter!5!will!provide!a!summary!of!the!
findings!and!discuss!the!findings!using!the!community!of!inquiry!framework!to!
provide!insights!and!suggestions!on!how!to!address!and!improve!upon!negative!
impressions!while!maximizing!and!strengthening!positive!impressions!of! students!
and!instructors.!!!
! !
117
Chapter.Five:.Conclusions.
!
! Many!educational!institutions!continue!to!move!forward!in!develo ping!and!
implementing!online!courses!and!programs,!often!in!place!of!traditional!learning!
environments.!!However,!very!little!empirical!evidence!exists!that!supports!the!
successful!design!and!management!of!online!TESOL!teacher!education.!!The!purpose!
of!this!study!was!to!explore!the!perceptions!that!students!and!instructors!have!
regarding!strengths,!weaknesses,!characteristics!of!successful!participants,!and!
effective!components!in!online!education.!!These!perceptions!can!help!
administrators!identify!areas!for!improvement!in!the!MAT eTESOL!program.!!This!
discussion!of!perceptions!related!to!the!courses!and!program!is!vital!to!a!successful!
online!educational!experience. !
The!following!research!questions!guided!this!study: !
1.!What!are!the!perceptions!of!distance !education!programs?!Specifically,!what!are!
students’!and!instructors’!perceived!strengths!and!weaknesses!of!online!TESOL!
teacher!education!programs?!! !
2.!What!are!the!perceptions!of!characteristics!of!successful!individuals!in!online!
education?!!Specifically,!what!are!the!perceptions!of!characteristics!of!successful!
students!and!successful!instructors!in!online!TESOL!courses!and!programs?...
3.!What!are!the!perceptions!of!effective!components!in!online!education,!online!
teacher!education,!and!online!TESOL!t eacher!education!programs?!!!
.
.
118
Summary.of.Findings!
Students!and!instructors!that!participated!in!this!study!were!primarily!
female,!of!Caucasian!descent,!and!between!the!ages!of!20 e39.!!Respondents!were!
highly!educated,!where!the!majority!had!obtained!a!Bac helors!degree,!and!a!few!had!
a!Masters!degree.!!Five!of! the!six!instructors!had!obtained!a!Doctoral!degree,!and!
one!obtained!a!Masters!degree.!!The!majority!of!respondents!had!previous!
experience!with!online!education,!most!of!whom!have!either!taught!or!en rolled!in!
more!than!six!online!courses.!!In!other!words,!this!study!confirms!previous!studies!
that!reflect!the!change!in!the!composition!of!the!graduate!student!population.!!
Evidence!from!this!study!revealed!that!the!students!were! over!23!years!of!age!and,!
due!to!various!commitments,!unable!to!relinquish!their!current!jobs!for!t he!sake!of!
education.!!A!perceived!benefit!of!this!program! was!the!accessibility!to!participants!
disadvantaged!by!geographic!remoteness!or!re stricted!by!their!work!schedule .!!
Overall,!MATeTESOL!provided!students!and!instructors!a!more!flexible!way!to!
further!their!learning!and!teaching. !!These!results!are!all!factors!that!contribute!to!
willing!participation!in!online!courses!and!programs.!!The!following!sections!detail!
the!thre e!findings!of!this!study.!
Perceptions.of.Strengths.and.Weaknesses.
The!first!and!most!striking!finding!was!that!students!found!online!courses!to!
be!more!academically!demanding!than!traditional!courses ,!but!were!still!able!to!
openly!communicate!with!one!anot her.!!This!is!an!important!finding!that!answers!
critics!who!have!raised!concerns!about!the!academic!rigor!of!online!instruction.!!
119
Most!students!view!the!heightened!academic!demands!of!online!course!in!positive!
terms,!which!indicates!the!high!academic!deman ds!as!a!strength!of!MATeTESOL.!!
Further,!respondents’!we re!general ly!satisfied!with!MATeTESOL!and!had!positive!
impressions!of!the!program.!!Perceived!strengths!of!the!program!include d!flexibility!
and!the!ability!to!work!from!home.!!Perceived!weaknesses!of! the!program!included!
technical!issues!such!as!glitches !in!the!technology,!difficulties!navigating !the!
platform,!problems!with!audio!and!video,!and!unreliable!technology.!!This!finding!
indicated!a!strong!social!presence,!however,!weak!cognitive!and!teaching !presence. !
Characteristics.of.Successful.Students.and.Instructors.
The!second!finding!was!that!perceived!characteristics!of!successful!
participants!included!a!high!knowledge!of!technology,!in!particular,!students!
expect ed!instructors!to!have!a!better!grasp!of!and!more!experience!with!technology!
to!effectively!teach!online.!!Further,! this!study!found!that!characteristics!of!
successful!participants!in!an!online!environment!could!be!described!using!
personality,!skills,!and!learning!or!teaching!styles.!!Specifically,!perceptions!of!
successful!students!include d!a!hard!working!personality,!strong!academic!and!
organizational!skills,!and!learning!styles!that!demonstrated!active!engagement,!
autonomy,!selfemotivation,!and!high!selfeefficacy.!!Perceptions!of!successful!
instructors!included!an!engaging,!responsible,!and!innovative!pe rsonality,!strong!
organization,!lesson!planning,!multitasking,!and!technological!skills,!as!well!as!an!
interactive!yet!available!teaching!style.!! These!characteristics!speak!to!the!ability!of!
120
students!and!instructors!to!create!a!community!of!inquiry.!!Specifically,!participants!
were!able!to!develop!cognitive!presence!via !discussion!and!reflection.!!
Perceptions.of.Effective.Components!
Finally,!the!third!finding!was!that!instructors!had!difficulty!keeping!course!
participants!engaged!in!productive!dialogue,!pointing!to! pedagogical!features!of!
online!educati on!that!were!integral!to!the!effectiveness!of!the!components!in!online!
education.!!Pedagogical!features!were!identified!as!applications!that!aid ed!online!
participants!in!content!creation!and!delivery,!communication!and!collaboration,!and!
tools!for!learning,!assessment,!and!administration.!!In!particular,!applications!that!
were!used!more! frequently!tended!to!also!be!perceived!as!effective!components.!!
Effective!applications!included!PDF!files,!Word!documents,!Power!Point!
presentations,!email,!and!real!time!chat!rooms.!! The!perceived!use!and!effectiveness!
of!the!applications!provided!insights!into!how!to!strengthen!social,!cognitive,!and!
teaching!presence. !!For!example,!providing!tools!that!strengthen!facilitation!of!
discourse!can!further!develop!teaching!presence .!
Implications.for.Practice.
The!findings!of!this!study!have!a!number!of!important!implications!for!future!
practice!and!provide!guidance!on!the!areas!of!concer n!of!both!faculty!and!students.!!
Ignoring!these!issues!will!not!be!in!the!interest!of!the!students!or!the!institutions!
developing!and!delivering!online!courses!and!degree !programs.!!At!the!same!time,!
simply!addressing!a!specific!concern!without!a!deeper!understanding!of!the!larger!
picture!poses!the!threat!of!negatively!affecting!and!raising!additional!challenges.!!
121
Thus,!this!section!will!discuss!how!MATeTESOL!can!incorporate!the!community!of!
inquiry!framework!by!strengthening!elements!related!to!social,!cognitive,!and!
teaching!presence! to!inform!the!practice!of!professionals!in!the!field!and!address!
issues!that!affect!online!teaching!and!learning. !!!!
Social.Presence!
! First,!these !findings!support!the!idea!that!social!presence!is!an!important!
aspect!of!developing!a!community!of!inquiry.!!There!are!three!elements!to!
determine!the!development!of!social!presence e!open!communication,!group!
cohesion!and!affective!expressions!(Garr ison,!2007).!!Findings!indicate!that!the!
MATeTESOL!curriculum!is!exceptional!in!providing!open!communication!
opportunities,!where!both!students!and!instructors!felt!comfortable!participating!in!
course!discussions,!interacting!with!other!course!participants ,!and!conversing!
through!the!online!medium.!!This!may!be!attributed!to!the!cohort!nature!of!the!
program!and!the!shared!passion!for!teaching.!!Further,!most!respondents!indicated!
that!they!had!a!strong!sense!of!group!cohesion,!where!the!online!discussion!he lped!
develop!a!sense!of!collaboration!and!that!diverse!points!of!views!were!
acknowledged.!!This!sense!of!group!cohesion!was!surprising!considering!the!
geographical!diversity!of!students,!yet!MAT eTESOL!managed!to!incorporate!a!sense!
of!the!“Trojan!Family”!that!transcended!geographical!boundaries.!! !
Despite!these!assets,!MAT eTESOL!must!address!the!challenges!related!to!
affective!expression.!!To!strengthen !social!presence,!MAT eTESOL!may!incorporate!
activities!and!discussions!that!build!a!sense!of!trust!among!students!and!instructors.!!
122
Participants!must!feel!comfortable!disagreeing!with!other!course!participants!while!
still!maintaining!a!sense!of!trust.!!This!can!be!done!through!learning!activities!and!
discussion!board!forums!that!require!intellectual!focus!and!respect.!!Additionally,!
MATeTESOL!should!identify!ways!that!allow!participants!to!form!distinct!
impressions!of!one!another !and!create!a!sense!of!belonging!in!the!course.!!Some!
ideas!are!to!start!the!course!with!an!introduction,!an!icebreaker,!or!allow!stud ents!
to!create!profiles!with!background!information,!experience,!and!other !information!
related!to !course!content.!!Developing!a!strong!social!presence!is!an!appropriate!and!
important!aspect!to!evaluate!in!an!online!program,!however,!as!this!study!reveals,!
simply!having!a!strong!social!presence!is!not!enough!to!develop!a!community!of!
inquiry!that!provides!deep!learning!experiences.!!It!is!at!the!intersection!of!social!
and!cognitive!presence!where!concern !about!the!program!emerges.!! !
Cognitive.Presence!
! Students!and!instructors!recognize!that!they!are!not!in!MAT eTESOL!purely!
for!social!reasons.!!Thus,!social!presence!is!of!less!importance!if!the!learning!
activities!are!for!information!acquisition/dissemination!and!not!collaborative!
assignments!where!participan ts!can!benefit!from!the!perspective!of!others!
(Garrison,!2007).!!Consistent!with!previous !research,!findings!from!this!study!
indicate!that!cognitive!presence!is!a!challenging!yet!integral!aspect!of!developing!a!
community!of!inquiry.!!Four!elements!that!occur!in!stages!determine!the!
development!of!cognitive!presence e!triggering!event,!exploration,!integration,!and!
resolution.!!Findings!from!this!study!demonstrate!that!MATeTESOL’s!curriculum!
123
poses!problems!that!are!interesting!and!motivates!students!and!instructors!to!
explore!content!related!questions.!!I n!other!words,!there!are!many!triggering!events!
incorporated!into!the!curriculum.!!Next,!students!and!instructors!enter!the!
exploration!element!and!discuss!course!content,!which!is!valuable!in!helping!
participants!appreciate!different !perspectives.!!MAT eTESOL!can!go!one!step!further!
and!incorporate!learning!activities!that!require!students! to!find!relevant!
information!or!provide!a!variety!of!information!sources!to!explore!problems!posed!
in!the!courses.!!!
! Consistent!with!previous!research,!elements!of!integration!and!resolution!are!
more!demanding!and!require!more!time!for!reflection!(McKlin! et.!al.,!2002).!!Moving!
beyond!the!exploration!phase!of!inquiry!is!difficult.!!Findings!from!this!study!show!
how!MATeTESOL!incorporates!integration!by!requesting!that!students!and!
instructors!reflect!on!the!course!content!and!discussions!to!help!understand !
fundamental!concepts!in!class.!!Further,!learning!activities!must!be!designed!so!that!
they!help!construct!explanations!and!solutions!to!the!problems!posed!during!the!
triggering!event.!!MAT eTESOL!can!then!help!participants!with!resolution!via!
activities!and!assignments!that!encourage!students!to!describe!ways!to!test!and!
apply!the!knowledge!created!in!the!course.!!Assignments!may!also!be!to!develop!
solutions!to!course!problems!that!can!be!applied!in!practice.!!For!example,!if!the!
problem!is!on!how!to!motivate!students! to!learn!grammatical!rules,!the!curriculum!
must!guide!students!on!exploring!motivational!learning!theories,!integrate!the!
theories!into!concrete!solutions,!and!apply!the!solution!in!their!own!practice.!!
124
Participants!should!be!more!engaged!in!pr oblem!resolution!than!problem!
formulation.!!Establishing!this!level!of!cognitive!presence!requires!instructors! and!
faculty!to!be!more!direct !in!their!assignments,!which!is!where!teaching!presence!
becomes!an!important!factor!in!developing!a!community!of!inquiry.!
Teaching.Presence!
! Designing!appropriate!tasks!to!establish!cognitive!presence!necessitates!
progression,!which!requires!direction.!!Findings!from!this!study!corroborate!the!
ideas!of!Garrison,!Anderson,!and!Archer!(2000),!which!emphasized!the!importance!
of!establishing!a!teaching!presence.!!The!teaching!presence!construct!has!three!
distinct!categories e!design!and!organization,!facilitation!of!discourse,!and!direct!
instruction.!!Findings!from!this!study!indicate!that!instructors!in!MATeTESOL!
struggle!with!design!and!instruction,!particularly!when!it!comes!to!important!due!
dates!and!time!frames!that!differ!from!the!university’s!academic!calendar.!!Thus,!
MATeTESOL!should!consider!creating!a!standard!academic!calendar!that!instructors!
must!follow!to!avoid!confusion!among!students.!!Despite!this!issue,!findings!
indicated!that!MATeTESOL!instructors!clearly!communicated!course!topics,!course!
goals,!and!methods!of!participating!in!course!learning!activities.!!Additionally,!
findings!from!this!study!suggest!that!instructors!provide!direct!instruction!via!
timely!feedback!that!helped!students!understand!their!strengths!and!weaknesses. !
! Of!the!three!presences,!teaching!presence!needs!the!most!attention,!
especially!with!facilitation!of!discourse.!!Findings!from!this!study!reveal!that!
instructors!had!difficulty!keeping!course!participants!engaged!in!productive!
125
dialogue!and!on!task!in!ways!that!helped!students!learn.!!Further,!instructors!were!
not!helpful!in!guiding!the!class!towards!understanding!course!topics!that!helpe d!
clarify!students!thinking.!!To!address!these!concerns,!MAT eTESOL!must!have!
instructors!and!faculty!that!know!how!to!incorporate!explicit!strategies!and!
teaching!techniques!aimed!at!promoting!facilitation!of!discourse.!!For!example,!
instructors!can!provide!a!metacognitive!commentary!on!what!they!are!doing!and!
why!so!that!students!can!be!more!metacognitively!aware!of!their!own!level!of!
inquiry.!!From!the!teaching!perspective,!MAT eTESOL!must!better!prepare!their!
instructors!and!faculty!in!discourse.!!Specifically,!instructors!must!be!knowledgeable !
in!the!content!material!of!the!course!and!understand!how!discourse!progresses!in!a!
collaborative!and!constructive!manner!that!allows!students!to!gain!an!awareness!of!
the!inquiry!process.!!MATeTESOL!may!also!consider!including!discussions!that!are!
relevant!and!help!students!learn,!though,!this!is!a!daunting!task!due!to!the!diversity!
of!students!in!the!program.!!!
Although!this!discussion!raises!many!challenges!with!developing!a!
community!of!inquiry,!findings!from!this! study!illustrate!that!MATeTESOL!has!
already!embraced!and!integrated!elements!of!social,!cognitive,!and!teaching!
presence!into!the!curriculum.!!Further,!this!discussion!provides!insights!to!practical!
pedagogical!implications,!not!just!theoretical!issues!of! interest!to!researchers.!! !
Limitations!
Although!this!study!is!a!step!in!the!right!direction!for!understanding!
perceptions!of!online!education,!a!number!of!limitations!need!to!be!considered.!!As!
126
mentioned!at!the!outset!of!this!study,!data!was!gathered!and!a nalyzed!from!a!
specific!population!and!program,!thus!the!findings!are!not!generalizable!to!a!larger!
population!of!online!TESOL!teacher!education!participants.!!Further,!caution!must!
be!applied,!as!the!findings!may!not!be!transferable!to!the!larger!populati on!of!
participants!in!the!MATeTESOL!program!due!to!the!unexpected!small!sample!size.!!
Another!potential!limitation!identified!at!the!outset!was!that!the!researcher!
conveniently!sampled!participants!from!the!same!institution!where!the!research!
will!be!published.!!!
This!study!was!also!limited!in!that!the!longeterm!impact!of!the!program!was!
not!examined,!primarily!because!the!program!is!still!in!its!infancy.!!One!unexpected!
source!of!weakness!in!this!study!that!could!have!affected!the!data!was!that!“success”!
and!“effectiveness”!were!not!defined!for!the!respondents.!!Their!interpretations!and!
definitions!may!have!differed!from!this!study,!resulting!in!skewed!data.!!
Additionally,!narrative!responses!gathered!from!the!questionnaire!were!subject!to!
biases!of!the!re searcher.!!Due!to!time!constraints,!follow eup!interviews!were!not!
conducted.!!!
The!limitations!identified!at!the!outset!of!the!study!were!acknowledged!by!
the!researcher!as!relevant,!but!were!not!deemed!to!be!so!significant!as!to!harm!the!
findings!of!the!study.!!The!unexpected!limitations!that!emerged!during!the!study!had!
the!potential!to!be!more!detrimental!to!the!strength!of!the!study.!!However,!the!
narrative!responses!from!both!students!and!instructors!provided!authentic!data!to!
capture!themes!and!add!dim ension!to!the!quantitative!data.! !
127
Future.Research!
! This!study!sheds!light!on!participants’!perceptions!of!strengths,!weaknesses,!
characteristics!of!successful!students!and!instructors,!and!effective!components!in!
online!TESOL!teacher!education.!!To!the!kno wledge!of!this!researcher,!previous!to!
this!study,!research!has!not!been!conducted!on!conceptualizing!perceptions!specific!
to!online!TESOL!teacher!education!using!the!community!of!inquiry!framework.!!
Thus,!this!study!breaks!new!ground!in!the!literature!on! perceptions!of!students!and!
instructors!in!online!TESOL!teacher!education.!!In!particular,!this!study!shed!light!on!
the!benefits!of!developing!social!presence,!cognitive!presence,!and!teaching!
presence!in!online!TESOL!teacher!education.!!Despite!the!contri butions!of!this!study!
to!the!existing!body!of!literature,!much!more!research!related!to!perceptions!and!
utilization!of!a!community!of!inquiry!model!is!needed.!
! First,!a!similar!questionnaire!could!be!developed!and!conducted!with!other!
online!TESOL!teacher!education!programs.!!The!results!could!then!be!compared!and!
contrasted!to!determine!the!similarities!and!differences!that!exist!between!various!
programs!around!the!United!States.!!Second,!empirical!research!could!be!conducted!
to!try!and!determine!the!best!candidates!for!online!degrees!for!both!students!and!
instructors.!!Measures!of!success!would!first!have!to!be!defined,!which!may!include!
indicators!such!as!high!academic!performance,!perceived!learning,!overall!
satisfaction,!and!completion!of!course!or!program.!!Using!perceived!characteristics!
of!successful!students!and!instructors,!empirical!data!could!be!gathered!on!specific!
characteristics!that!are!good!predict ors!of!success.!!Third,!further!research!should!
128
be!conducted!to!investigate!the!benefits!and!drawbacks!of!commonly!used!
applications!and!components!in!course!management!systems,!as!well!as!identify!
measures!of!effectiveness!for!each!application!and!compone nt.!!Fourth,!it!would!be!
interesting!to!longitudinally!investigate!the!demographics!of!students!and!
instructors!who!choose!to!participate!in!online!education!and!identify!similarities!
and!differences!that!may!point!to!attributes!of!success.!!Finally,!furth er!work!is!
required!to!establish!the!community!of!inquiry!framework!as!a!viable!tool!for!
assessing!online!education!that!also!provides!practical!and!pedagogical!implications!
for!administrators,!instructors,!faculty,!students,!and!course!developers.!!!! !
Conclusion!
This!study!sought!to!fill!a!gap!in!the!literature!about!student!and!instructor!
perceptions!of!online!education,!specifically!online!TESOL!teacher!education,!by!
providing!descriptive!statistics!about!the!demographical!representation!of!current!
participants,!their!perceptions!of!strengths,!weaknesses,!characteristics!of!
successful!participants,!and!of!effective!components.!!Further,!this!study!identified!
perceptions!of!participants!specific!to!the!MAT eTESOL!program!at!USC!and!
implications!for!administrators!and!other!professionals!in!the!field!of!online!TESOL!
teacher!education.!!Although!caution!must!be!applied!due!to!the!small!sample!size!as!
the!findings!might!not!be!transferable!to!online!education,!the!findings!in!this!study!
adds!to!the!growing!body!of!literature!on!how!to!incorporate!the!community!of!
inquiry!framework!to!analyze!an!individual!course!or!program.!!Further,!it!appears!
129
from!the!evidence!that!the!quality!of!online!instruction!received!by!this!group!of!
students!was!excellent.!! !
From!a!broader!perspective,!this!study!serves!as!an!example!for!other!
colleges!and!universities!that!must!balance!demand!and!take!advantage!of!
technologies!that!prepare!both!students!and!instructors!for!an!increasingly!
globalized!world,!especially!in!the!field!of !education!and!teacher!education.!!As!a!
proponent!of!online!education,!this!study!does!not!advocate!online!courses!or!
programs!over!traditional!instruction,!rather,!as!demonstrated!by!the!results!of!this!
study,!a!vehicle!now!exists!that!can!support!student s!who!typically!may!not!have!
considered!continuing!their!education,!where!the!outcomes!may!be!equal!or!better!
than!traditional!classroom!instruction.!!As!one!student!remarks,!“…the!TESOL!track!
within!the![online]!program!has!had!nothing!but!a!positive!effect!on!my!
understanding!of!teaching!theories,!which!I!in!turn!try!to!practice!within!the!
classroom![in!South!Korea].!!Through!discussion!and!demonstration!by!means!of!the!
online!platform,!I!am!able!to!compare!and!contrast!my!ideas!with!those!of!my!
colleague s!from!around!the!world,!and!gather!a!variety!of!different!teaching!
techniques!from!other!candidates!working!in !various!countries!and!cultures”!
(Jellick,!2011).!!!
Online!instruction!can!maintain!similar!intellectual!and!academic!integrity!as!
traditional!settings!with!the!combination!of!an!appropriate!curriculum,!motivated!
students,!experienced!instructors!and!faculty!who!are!experts!in!their!field,!and!
reliable!technology.!!It!is!important!for!institutions!of!higher!learning!to!look!at!the!
130
bigger!picture!and!recognize!that!quality!online!education!that!incorporates!the!
community!of!inquiry!framework!is!a!viable!tool!that!can!prepare!teachers!to!enter!
the!classroom!as!qualified!educators. !
! !
131
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!
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!
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! instruction.!Education,125(3),!460e468.!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
139
Appendix.A:.Instructor.Questionnaire.
!
1. What!is!your!gender?!
e!Female !
e!Male!
!
2. What!is!your!current!age?!
!
3. What!is!your!ethnicity/race?!
e!African!American/Black!
e!Asian!American/Asian!
e!AlaskaneAmerican/Pacific!Islander!
e!Caucasian/White/Anglo!
e!Latino/Hispanic/Chicano!
e!Native!American/American!Indian !
e!Other!(please!specify) !
!
4. What!is!your!current!completed!educational!level? !
e!Associate!
e!Bachelor!
e!Master!
e!Doctorate!
e!Postedoctorate!
!
5. How!many!years!of!teaching!experience!do!you!have? !
!
6. Do!you!have!a!computer!at!home?! ! !
e!Yes!
e!No!
!
7. Do!you!have!a!computer!at!school?!! ! !
e!Yes!
e!No!
!
8. How!many!online!or!hybrid!(both!online!and!traditional)!courses!have!you!
taught?!(Choose!one)!
0!!
1!!
2!!
3!!
4!!
5!
6+!
140
9. How!much!did!your!understanding!of!technology!impact!your!decision!to!
teach!in!an!online!course!or!program?!
e!This!was!a!crucial!factor!
e!A!lot!
e!A!little!
e!Not!at!all!
!
10. If!you!have!taught!or!are!current!teaching!an!online!course,!what!type!of!
course!was/is!it?!(select!all!that!apply)!
e!Hybrid!(some!online,!some!face etoeface)!
e!Solely!online!
e!Both!
e!None!
!
11. Which!of!the!following!options!best!describes!your!motives!for!teaching!an!
online!course!or!in!an!online!program?!(select!all!that!apply)!
e!Flexibility!of!schedule !
e!Curiosity!
e!Enjoyment!of!online!work!
e!Financial!incentives !
e!Ability!to!work!from!home!
e!Other!(please!explain) !
!
12. Compare!how!academically!demanding!the!online!course!was!when!
compared!with!traditional!faceetoeface!courses.!The!online!course!was: !
e!Much!Less!Demanding!
e!Less!Demanding!
e!The!Same!
e!More!Demanding!
e!Much!More!Demanding!
!
13. Please!list!and!explain!the!strengths!of!this!course/program. !
!
!
!
!
!
14. Please!list!and!explain!the!weaknesses!of!this!course/program. !
!
!
!
!
141
15. Compare!time!spent !on!the!following!classroom!activities!in!an!online!
environment!versus!traditional! faceetoeface!environment. !!Did!time!spent!on!
each!activity!decrease,!increase,!or!stay!the!same?! !
e!Studentetoestudent!interactions !
e!Studentetoeinstructor!interactions!
e!Lecture !
e!Preparing!students!to!use!course!material!in!practice !
e!Keeping!students!on !task!
e!Group!work!
e!Quizzes!
e!Exams!
e!Course!evaluation!activities !
e!Use!of!classroom!technology!
e!Discussion!
!
16. Would!you!teach!another!online!course?!Why? !
!
!
!
17. Would!you!recommend!teaching!online!to!a!colleague?!Why? !
!
!
!
18. What!are!the!characteristics!of! successful!students!in!an!online!course? !
!
!
!
19. What!are!the!characteristics!of!successful!instructors!in!an!online!course? !
!
!
!
20. How!much!impact!does!your!knowledge!of!technology!have!on!success!in!an!
online!course?!
e!Great!Impact!
e!Some!Impact!
e!No!Impact!
!
21. How!much!impact!does!the!students’!knowledge!of!technology!have!on!
success!in!an!online!course?!
e!Great!Impact!
e!Some!Impact!
e!No!Impact!
!
142
22. How!would!you!rate!your!overall!technological!skills?!
e!LOW!–!little!experience!with!technology!other!than!general!e email!and!surfing!the!Web.!
e!MEDIUM!–!some!experience!with!various!technologies!including!e email,!Web!research,!
downloading!programs,!using!Microsoft!Office!programs,!using!Adobe!reader,!etc. !
e!HIGH!–!extensive!experience!with!various!technologies!including! eemail,!Web!research,!
downloading!programs,!using!Microsoft!Office!programs,!using!Adobe!reader,!etc. !
!
23. Which!of!the!following!applications!were!used!in!the!online!course(s)? !
(Extensively!used,!Somewhat!used,!Not!used!at!all,!Will!be!used!in!the!future) !
e!Word!Documents!
e!PDF!Files!
e!Power!Point!
e!Flash!Media!
e!Video!Streaming !
e!Audio!Streaming!
e!Discussion!Boards!
e!Real!Time!Chat!Rooms!
e!Eemail!
e!Quizzes!
e!Surveys!
e!Simulations!
e!Exams!
e!Online!Drop!Box!
e!Other!(please! specify)!
!
24. Compare!the!effectiveness! of!the!following!applications!in!an!online!
environment!versus!traditional!classroom!environment.!!(Very!effective,!
Effective,!Neither,!Ineffective ,!Very!ineffective )!
e!Word!Documents!
e!PDF!Files!
e!Power!Point!
e!Flash!Media!
e!Video!Streaming !
e!Audio!Streaming!
e!Discussion!Boards!
e!Real!Time!Chat!Rooms!
e!Eemail!
e!Quizzes!
e!Surveys!
e!Simulations!
e!Exams!
e!Online!Drop!Box!
e!Other!(please!specify) !
143
25. Rank!your!satisfaction!level!for!each!of!the!following!components!in!an!
online!course.!(Very!satisfied,!Satisfied,! Neutral,!Dissatisfied,!Very!
dissatisfied)!
e!Flexibility!
e!User!Interface !
e!Navigation!
e!Getting!Started !
e!Technical!Assistance !
e!Course!Management !
e!Universal!Design!
e!Communications!
e!Instructional!Design!
e!Course!Content !
e!Other!(please!specify) !
!
26. Please!categorize!the!following!ten!statements!according!to!your!experience!
with!the!MATeTESOL!online!program.!(Strongly!agree,!Agree,!Neither,!
Disagree,!Strongly!disagree) !
!
e!I!clearly!communicated!important!course!topics,!course!goals,!instructions!
on!how!to!participate!in!course!learning!activities,!and!important!due!dates!
and!time!frames!for!learning!activities. !
!
e!I!was!helpful!in!identifying!areas!of!agreement!and!disagreement,!keeping!
course!participants!engaged!in!productive!dialogue,!exploring!new!concept s,!
and!developing!a!sense!of!community!among!course!participants. !
!
e!I!focused!discussions!on!relevant!issues,!provided!feedback!in!a!timely!
fashion,!and!provided!feedback!that!helped!participants!understand!their!
strengths!and!weaknesses. !
!
e!Online!or!webebased!communication!is!an!excellent!medium!for!social!
interaction!that!gives!participants!a!sense!of!belonging,!and!I!was!able!to!
form!distinct!impressions!of!some!course!participants.!
!
e!I!felt!comfortable!conversing!through!the!online!medium,!interac ting!with!
other!course!participants,!and!moderating!course!discussions. !
!
e!Online!discussions!helped!participants!develop!a!sense!of!collaboration,!
where!other!course!participants!acknowledged!various!points!of!view ,!and!
participants!felt!comfortable!disagreeing!with!others!while!maintaining!a!
sense!of!trust.!
144
e!Problems!posed!increased!participants!interest!in!course!issues,!course!
activities,!piqued!participants’!curiosity,!and!they!felt!motivated!to!explore!
content!related!questions. !
!
e!Participants!utilized!a!variety!of!information!sources!to!explore!problems!
posed!in!the!course,!brainstorming!and!finding!relevant!information!helped!
to!resolve!content!related!questions,!and!participants!valued!discussing!
course!content!with!others!that!helped!them!ap preciate!different!
perspectives. !
!
e!Learning!activities!helped!participants!construct!explanations/solutions,!
while!combining!new!information!helped!participants!answered!questions!
raised!in!course!activities,!and!reflection!on!course!content!and!discussio ns!
helped!participants!understand!fundamental!concepts!in!this!class. !
!
e!Participants!can!describe!ways!to!test!and!apply!the!knowledge!created!in!
this!course,!apply!the!knowledge!to!their!work,!and!have!developed!solutions!
to!course!problems!that!can!be!applied!in!practice.!!
!
27. How!satisfied!are!you!overall!with!the!MAT eTESOL!courses!and!degree!
program?!
e!Very!Satisfied !
e!Satisfied!
e!Neutral!
e!Dissatisfied!
e!Very!Dissatisfied !
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
145
Appendix.B:.Student.Questionnaire.
.
1. What!is!your!gender?!
e!Female !
e!Male!
!
2. What!is!your!current!age?!
!
3. What!is!your!ethnicity/race?!
e!African!American/Black!
e!Asian!American/Asian!
e!AlaskaneAmerican/Pacific!Islander!
e!Caucasian/White/Anglo!
e!Latino/Hispanic/Chicano!
e!Native!American/American!Indian !
e!Other!(please!specify) !
!
4. What!is!your!current!completed!educational!level? !
e!Associate!
e!Bachelor!
e!Master!
e!Doctorate!
e!Postedoctorate!
!
5. How!many!years!of!teaching!experience!do!you!have? !
!
6. Do!you!have!a!computer!at!home?! ! !
e!Yes!
e!No!
!
7. Do!you!have!a!computer!at!school?!! ! !
e!Yes!
e!No!
!
8. How!many!online!or!hybrid!(both!online!and!traditional)!courses!have!you!
completed ?!(Choose!one)!
0!!
1!!
2!!
3!!
4!!
5!
6+!
146
9. How!much!did!your!understanding!of!technology!impact!your!decision!to!
enroll!in!an!online!course!or!program?!
e!This!was!a!crucial! factor!
e!A!lot!
e!A!little!
e!Not!at!all!
!
10. If!you!have!taken!or!are!currently!taking!an!online!course,!what!type!of!
course!was/is!it?!(select!all!that!apply)!
e!Hybrid!(some!online,!some!face etoeface)!
e!Solely!online!
e!Both!
e!None!
!
11. Which!of!the!following!options!best!describes!your!motives!for!taking!an!
online!course!or!enrolling!in!an!online!program?!(select!all!that!apply)!
e!Flexibility!of!schedule !
e!Curiosity!
e!Enjoyment!of!online!work!
e!Financial!incentives !
e!Ability!to!work!from!home!
e!Other!(please!explai n)!
!
12. Compare!how!academically!demanding!the!online!course!was!when!
compared!with!traditional!faceetoeface!courses.!The!online!course!was: !
e!Much!Less!Demanding!
e!Less!Demanding!
e!The!Same!
e!More!Demanding!
e!Much!More!Demanding!
!
13. Please!list!and!explain!the! strengths!of!this!course/program.!
!
!
!
!
!
14. Please!list!and!explain!the!weaknesses!of!this!course/program. !
!
!
!
!
147
15. Compare!time!spent!on!the!following!classroom!activities!in!an!online!
environment!versus!traditional!face etoeface!environment.!!Did!time!spent!on!
each!activity!decrease,!increase,!or!stay!the!same?! !
e!Studentetoestudent!interactions !
e!Studentetoeinstructor!interactions!
e!Lecture !
e!Preparing!students!to!use!course!material!in!practice !
e!Keeping!students!on!task !
e!Group!work!
e!Quizzes!
e!Exams!
e!Course!evaluation!activities!
e!Use!of!classroom!technology!
e!Discussion!
!
16. Would!you!enroll!in!another!online!course?!Why? !
!
!
!
17. Would!you!recommend!enrolling !in!online!course!to!a!colleague?!Why?!
!
!
!
18. What!are!the!characteristics!of!successful!students!in!an!online! course?!
!
!
!
19. What!are!the!characteristics!of!successful!instructors!in!an!online!course? !
!
!
!
20. How!much!impact!does!the!instructors’!knowledge!of!technology!have!on!
success!in!an!online!course?!
e!Great!Impact!
e!Some!Impact!
e!No!Impact!
!
21. How!much!impact!does!your!knowledge!of!technology!have!on!success!in!an!
online!course?!
e!Great!Impact!
e!Some!Impact!
e!No!Impact!
!
148
22. How!would!you!rate!your!overall!technological!skills?!
e!LOW!–!little!experience!with!technology!other!than!general!e email!and!surfing!the!Web.!
e!MEDIUM!–!some!experience!with!various!technologies!including!e email,!Web!research,!
downloading!programs,!using!Microsoft!Office!programs,!using!Adobe!reader,!etc.!
e!HIGH!–!extensive!experience!with!various!technologies!including!e email,!Web!research,!
downloading!programs,!using!Microsoft!Office!programs,!using!Adobe!reader,!etc.!
!
23. Which!of!the!following!applications!were!used!in!the!online!course(s)?!
(Extensively!used,!Somewhat!used,!Not!used!at!all,!Will!be!used!in!the!future) !
e!Word!Documents!
e!PDF!Files!
e!Power!Point!
e!Flash!Media!
e!Video!Streaming !
e!Audio!Streaming!
e!Discussion!Boards!
e!Real!Time!Chat!Rooms!
e!Eemail!
e!Quizzes!
e!Surveys!
e!Simulations!
e!Exams!
e!Online!Drop!Box!
e!Other!(please!specify) !
!
24. Compare!the!effectiveness!of!the!following!applicatio ns!in!an!online!
environment!versus!traditional!classroom!environment.!!(Very!effective,!
Effective,!Neither,!Ineffective,!Very!ineffective) !
e!Word!Documents!
e!PDF!Files!
e!Power!Point!
e!Flash!Media!
e!Video!Streaming !
e!Audio!Streaming!
e!Discussion!Boards!
e!Real!Time!Chat!Rooms!
e!Eemail!
e!Quizzes!
e!Surveys!
e!Simulations!
e!Exams!
e!Online!Drop!Box!
e!Other!(please!specify) !
149
25. Rank!your!satisfaction!level!for!each!of!the!following!components!in!an!
online!course.!(Very!satisfied,!Satisfied,!Neutral,!Dissatisfied,! Very!
dissatisfied)!
e!Flexibility!
e!User!Interface !
e!Navigation!
e!Getting!Started !
e!Technical!Assistance !
e!Course!Management !
e!Universal!Design!
e!Communications!
e!Instructional!Design!
e!Course!Content !
e!Other!(please!specify) !
!
26. Please!categorize!the!followin g!ten!statements!according!to!your!experience!
with!the!MATeTESOL!online!program.!(Strongly!agree,!Agree,!Neither,!
Disagree,!Strongly!disagree) !
!
e!The!instructor!clearly!communicated!important!course!topics,!course!goals,!
instructions!on!how!to!participate!in!course!learning!activities,!and!
important!due!dates!and!time!frames!for!learning!activities. !
!
e!The!instructor!was!helpful!in!identifying!areas!of!agreement!and!
disagreement,!keeping! us!engaged!in!productive!dialogue,!exploring!new!
concepts,!and!develop ing!a!sense!of!community!among!course!participants.!
!
e!The!instructor!focused!discussions!on!relevant!issues,!provided!feedback!in!
a!timely!fashion,!and!provided!feedback!that!helped!participants!understand!
their!strengths!and!weaknesses. !
!
e!Online!or!webebased!communication!is!an!excellent!medium!for!social!
interaction!that!gives!participants!a!sense!of!belonging,!and!I!was!able!to!
form!distinct!impressions!of!some!course!participants.!
!
e!I!felt!comfortable!conversing!through!the!online!medium,!interac ting!with!
other!course!participants,!and!moderating!course!discussions. !
!
e!Online!discussions!helped!participants!develop!a!sense!of!collaboration,!
where!other!course!participants!acknowledged!various!points!of!view,!and!
participants!felt!comfortable!disagreeing!with!others!while!maintaining!a!
sense!of!trust.!
150
e!Problems!posed!increased! my!interest!in!course!issues,!course!activities,!
piqued!my!curiosity,!and!I!felt!motivated!to!explore!content!related!
questions.!
!
e!I!utilized!a!variety!of!information!sources!to!explore!problems!posed!in!the!
course,!brainstorming!and!finding!relevant!information!helped!to!resolve!
content!related!questions,!and! I!valued!discussing!course!content!with!others!
that!helped!us!appreciate!different!perspectives. !
!
e!Learning!activities!helped! me!construct!explanations/solutions,!while!
combining!new!information!helped!me !answered!questions!raised!in!course!
activities,!and!reflection!on!course!content!and !discussions!helped!me !
understand!fundamental!concepts!in!this!class. !
!
e!I!can!describe!ways!to!test!and!apply!the!knowledge!created!in!this!cour se,!
apply!the!knowledge!to!my !work,!and!have!developed!solutions!to!course!
problems!that!can!be!applied!in!practice.! !
!
27. How!satisfied!are!you!overall!with!the!MAT eTESOL!courses!and!degree!
program?!
e!Very!Satisfied !
e!Satisfied!
e!Neutral!
e!Dissatisfied!
e!Very!Dissatisfied !
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
151
Appendix.C:.Certified.Recruitment.Letter!
!
!
Dear![Name],!
!
My!name!is!Susan!Chen,!and!I!am!a!doctoral!candidate!in!the!Rossier!School!of!
Education!at!the!University!of!Southern!California.!!I!am!conducting!a!research!study!
as!part!of!my!dissertation,!focusing!on!online!teacher!education!for!teachers!of!
English!to!speakers!of!other!languages.!!You!are!invited!to!participate!in!the !study.!!If!
you!agree!to!participate!you!will!be!asked!to!complete!an!online!survey.!!The!survey!
is!anticipated!to!take!no!more!than!30!minutes!to!complete. !
!
Participation!in!this!study!is!voluntary.!!Your!name,!address,!or!other!identifiable!
information!will!not!be!linked!to!your!responses.!!Your!relationship!with!your!
institution!will!not!be!affected!whether!or!not!you!participate!in!this!study. !
!
If!you!have!questions!or!would!like!to!participate,!please!contact!me!at!Susan!Tiffany!
Chen!at!(310)!668e1580!or!SusanTCh@usc.edu.!
!
!
Thank!you!for!your!participation,!
!
!
!
!
University!of!Southern!California!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Date!of!Preparation:!October!25,!2011!
UPIRB#:!UPe11e00455!
!
152
Appendix.D:.Certified.Information.Sheet.
!
University!of!Southern!California!
Rossier,School,of,Education,
Waite,Phillips,Hall,
3470,Trousdale,Parkway,
Los,Angeles,,CA,90089,
(213),740Y0224!
!
INFORMATION/FACTS.SHEET.FOR.NON[MEDICAL.RESEARCH.
.
Perceptions!of!Online!TESOL!Teacher!Education:!Strengths,!Weaknesses,!
Characteristics,!and!Effective!Components.
.
PURPOSE!OF!THE!STUDY!!
You!are!invited!to!participate!in!a!research!study!about!perceptions!of!online!TESOL!
teacher!education e!strengths,!weaknesses,!characteristics,!and!effective!components!
because!you!are!a!teacher!or!student!attending!an! online!teacher!education!
program.!!You!must!be!aged!18!or!older!to!participate.!
!
It!is!hoped!that!researchers!will!learn!more!about!the!perceptions!of!online!courses!
and!degree!programs,!characteristics!of!successful!students!and!instructors!in!
online!education,!and!effective!components!specific!to!online!TESOL!teacher!
education.!
!
PARTICIPANT!INVOLVEMENT!
If!you!agree!to!participate,!you!will!be!asked!to!complete!an!online!survey!
questionnaire!in!which!you!will!be!asked!questions!regarding!your!background,!a s!
well!as!your!experience!with!the!online!TESOL!teacher!education!courses!and!
degree!program.!!The!survey!is!anticipated!to!take!30!minutes!to!complete.! !
!
Your!relationship!with!your!institution!or!employer!will!not!be!affected!whether!or!
not!you!participate!in!this!study.!
!
Your!refusal!to!participate!will!involve!no!penalty!or!loss!of!benefits!to!which!you!
are!otherwise!entitled.!! You!may!withdraw!your!consent!at!any!time!and!discontinue!
participation!without!penalty.!!You!are!not!waiving!any!legal!claims,!rights,!or!
remedies!because!of!your!participation!in!this!research!study. !
!
PAYMENT!OR!COMPENSATION!
You!will!be!eligible!for!entry!into!a!drawing!of!one!of!two!lottery!drawings!for!
$25.00.!!The!drawing!will!be!held!at!the!end!of!the!study.!!Winners!will!be !notified!
153
via!email.!!You!do!not!have!to!answer!all!of!the!questions!to!be!eligible!for!entry!into!
the!drawing.!
.
CONFIDENTIALITY!
Your!name,!address!or!any!identifiable!information!will!not!be!linked!to!your!
responses. !
!
The!members!of!the!research!team!and! the!University!of!Southern!California’s!
Human!Subjects!Protection!Program!(HSPP)!may!access!the!data. !
!
The!data!collected!will!be!stored!in!the!Qualtrics!secure!database,!as!required,!for!
three!years!after!the!completion!of!the!study!and!then!destroyed. !
!
The!results!of!this!study!may!be!published!in!scientific!journals,!or!be!presented!at!
professional!meetings. !
!
INVESTIGATOR!CONTACT!INFORMATION!
If!you!have!any!questions!or!concerns!about!the!research,!please!feel!free!to!contact!
the!principal!investigator,!Susan!Tiffany!Chen!at!(310)!668e1580!or!
SusanTCh@usc.edu.!
!
IRB!CONTACT!INFORMATION!
University!Park!IRB,!Office!of!the!Vice!Provost!for!Research!Advancement,!Stonier!
Hall,!Room!224a,!Los!Angeles,!CA!90089e1146,!(213)!821e5272!or!upirb@usc.edu.!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Date!of!Preparation:!October!25,!2011!
UPIRB#:!UPe11e00455!
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Recent and ongoing expansion of online opportunities for teacher education and training continue in response to calls for better teacher preparation and professional development opportunities. However, with the introduction of online learning, the already controversial debate over educational technology has taken on a new dimension. Today’s emerging challenge is the need to assess a different set of teaching and learning methodology that are specific to the content being delivered and the technology being used. This study employs the community of inquiry framework as a tool for evaluating deep learning by examining the social, cognitive, and teaching presence in an online learning environment. In addition, this study examines students’ and instructors’ perceptions of strengths, weaknesses, characteristics of successful participants, and effective components in an online TESOL teacher education program. Results indicate that students and instructors are generally satisfied with the program, despite the challenges they encounter with technological glitches. This study also found that characteristics of successful participants could be categorized into three themes- personality, skills, and learning or teaching styles. Finally, results confirm the importance of effective pedagogical features that aid in content creation and delivery, communication and collaboration, as well as tools for learning, assessment, and administration. These results point to implications for developing a community of inquiry in an online environment and areas for future research.
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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Chen, Susan Tiffany
(author)
Core Title
Perceptions of TESOL teacher education: strengths, weaknesses, characteristics, and effective components
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Education (Leadership)
Publication Date
04/27/2012
Defense Date
03/26/2012
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
characteristics,community of inquiry,effective components,OAI-PMH Harvest,online education,perceptions,Teacher education,tesol
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Burch, Patricia E. (
committee member
), Filback, Robert (
committee member
), Hentschke, Guilbert C. (
committee member
)
Creator Email
susantch@usc.edu,susantchen@gmail.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-17914
Unique identifier
UC11288918
Identifier
usctheses-c3-17914 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-ChenSusanT-675-1.pdf
Dmrecord
17914
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights
Chen, Susan Tiffany
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Tags
characteristics
community of inquiry
effective components
online education
perceptions