During lunch with my colleague Danielle, who works as an Advocacy Specialist in the Center for Access and Advocacy, I learned she's using her Del Mar College (DMC) employee benefits to pursue an associate's degree in sign language—a long-time goal. I was excited for her, but then she asked an unexpected question: "What kind of training do faculty receive to teach online?"

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I explained that the Office of eLearning provides Canvas training for all faculty, including adjuncts. Her follow-up caught me off guard: "Do they know that?" I didn't have a good answer.

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It turns out adjunct faculty, like tenure-track faculty, are hired for their subject expertise, not their online teaching ability. There is also no onboarding process to let them know about the online tutorials available to them to help them prepare for online teaching. Some tenure-track faculty are encouraged by their department chairs to do online training provided by the Office of eLearning; however, it is not mandatory. There is no consistent policy in place to prepare new employees for how to present class online.

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Once I let Danielle know about this she was not surprised. In her position as an advocacy specialist one of the most challenging issue students face is online courses. They don’t know where to start and their professor is not much help. They feel lost and defeated and wonder if college is for them. Now that Danielle is an online student, she has a new understanding of what student’s face with online learning. It might also be worth noting that Danielle has a Master’s degree in Social Work and has worked in higher education for over 20 years. She is not a traditional DMC student. Her concern was if she struggled, how are students that are looking for guidance from their online faculty going to manage?

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Beyond Canvas navigation, students need tutorials on essential online course tasks like uploading documents and participating in discussion boards (Zweig et al., 2021). Levy (2017) noted that community colleges must prioritize student success in online learning by improving accessibility, enhancing teaching methods, maintaining strong faculty engagement, and expanding support systems for both students and instructors. Can this be said for faculty hired to teach online?

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As noted by Thomas, et al., (2011). In the book A New Culture of Learning explores creating significant learning environments based on three principles:

1. The old ways of learning are unable to keep up with our rapidly changing world.

2. New media forms are making peer-to-peer learning easier and more natural.

3. Peer-to-peer learning is amplified by emerging technologies that shape the collective nature of participation with those new media.

Can the new culture of learning also apply to faculty learning to teach online? For students to benefit from an online environment they need to be guided by faculty that are confident teaching in an online world.  

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Some faculty members have limited experience with online teaching because they have spent most of their careers in a traditional face-to-face classroom (Brookfield, 2015, as cited in Zhao et al., 2024). As a result, there are a variety of pedagogical/andragogical issues in teaching online courses in higher education related to online learners, content development, and instructors (Kebritchi et al., 2017, as cited in Zhao et al., 2024).

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As a result, this can leave faculty and adjunct faculty feeling overwhelmed and unprepared for online instruction. To prepare adjunct faculty for online teaching a new approach needs to be part of the process. The more comfortable they are teaching online as in person the better response students will have to learning. Tacit knowledge for adjunct faculty can take place through on-the-job training and guided experiences: learning through practical application and observation. 

 

The following outline is a tentative procedure

Newly Hired Faculty – Canvas Subaccount and Shells for First Term Preparation

  

1. Chair completes normal hiring paperwork and submits to HR 

2. On request from the new faculty hire, department chair submits help request to IT for a “pre-hire Canvas shell”  

3. Chair copies eLearning on the email. 

4. IT verifies that the new hire had the appropriate HR record. 

5. Given appropriate HR record, IT creates a Canvas shell in the “pre-hire subaccount.” 

6. Typical response from Helpdesk will be sent to the department chair. 

7. IT also contacts the new hire with the necessary information to log into the “pre-hire subaccount” and “pre-hire shell.” 

8. IT and hiring department chair tell new hire that eLearning has training for using Canvas, along with eLearning contact info. 

9. Have an email prepared and/or phone call welcoming new instructors to DMC. Provide an opportunity for questions and invite them to the Office of eLearning to provide them with in-person or online tutorials.  

10. Provide the opportunity to schedule a one-on-one consultation. 

11. Record in house brief videos that show how to navigate Canvas and provide them with access to their new “pre-hire shell.” 

12. Create a committee with the New Student Government Association to hear what students need for their online classes.  

 

According to McQuiggan, a recent Department of Education study observed that the advantage of blended and online learning is a product of redesigning the learning experience [76]. Some authors also suspect that this higher level of effort in developing an online course could offer opportunities for reflection that would also have a positive impact on face-to-face teaching [46]. In the Department of Education study, over eighty percent of faculty respondents reported that the development of an online course had a positive impact on their classroom teaching.

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The DMC Office of eLearning has talked about this plan with the IT department. The HR office has not been approached. Challenges to the idea have been discussed by the colleagues of the Office of eLearning such as considerations of costs, and time requirements.

A deciding factor, however, may be the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) accreditation requirements and adhering to various standards for online courses, programs, and faculty qualifications which include training courses. Accreditation is very important to DMC.

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In conclusion, to create holistic thinking, DMC needs to focus on interconnectedness among the new faculty with the goal of establishing a holistic learning environment for students.  Having an onboarding process for new adjunct faculty at the beginning of employment will establish expectations and a sense of community (Rodrigues, 2019). A holistic approach from the faculty to students can have a significant impression on their learning.

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Orientations should also focus on the culture and unique practices of the institution.  Having this information before starting to teach can increase the effectiveness in the classroom (Lyons & Burnstad, 2007; Morton, 2012).