The following internal grant proposal was funded on March 3rd, 2003:

OFFICE OF ASSOCIATE PROVOST
Ball State University
Memorandum

THE GEORGE AND FRANCES BALL FUND FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
AND
THE 21^ST CENTURY FUND FOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

Grant Proposal Cover Sheet – 2003 Program 

Proposal Title:	Faculty Researching OnLine Education (Faculty ROLE)
Description:	This collaborative proposal seeks support for a faculty development workshop for faculty who are scheduled to teach online courses from the College of Applied Sciences & Technology. The purpose is twofold: to encourage faculty to engage in meaningful research projects related to online education; and to assist faculty in planning ways to integrate empirically validated practices into their own pedagogy.
Type of Proposal:	Regular          or  Collaborative
Name of Sponsoring Academic Units:	Department of Industry & Technology, School of Nursing, School of Physical Education, Office of Teaching and Learning Advancement, University Libraries
Principal Investigator:	Jim Flowers, Department of Industry & Technology and OTLA representative
Co-Investigators:	Nagia Ali, School of Nursing     Kay Hodson-Carlton, School of Nursing Mary Annette Rose, Department of Industry and Technology Marilyn Ryan, School of Nursing Valerie Wayda, School of Physical Education
Total Requested:	$10,000
Approval & Support
Department Chairs: Jack Wescott, Ind. & Tech. Linda Siktberg, Nursing Mitchell Whaley, Physical Ed. Deans: Nancy Kingsbury, CAST  Arthur Häfner, Univ. Libraries  Frank Sabatine, Extended Ed. Others: Charles Jones, OTLA James Pyle, OARSP
Please note:	After the College Dean has signed the proposal, send the signed original along with 5 copies to Office of Associate Provost – AD 326 Deadline: January 15, 2003
Faculty Researching OnLine Education (Faculty ROLE) A proposal for the George and Francis Ball Fund for Academic Excellence January 9, 2003
Principal Investigator:	Jim Flowers, Department of Industry and Technology; representative for the Office of Teaching and Learning Advancement
Co-Investigators:	Nagia Ali, School of Nursing Kay Hodson-Carlton, School of Nursing Mary Annette Rose, Department of Industry and Technology Marilyn Ryan, School of Nursing Valerie Wayda, School of Physical Education

Faculty in the School of Nursing, the Department of Industry and Technology, and the School of Physical Education of the College of Applied Sciences and Technology (CAST) in conjunction with the Office of Teaching and Learning Advancement and the University Libraries, are submitting a collaborative proposal among these units and to the George and Francis Ball Fund for Academic Excellence and The 21^st Century Fund for Faculty Development 2003 Program. The project is called “Faculty Researching OnLine Education” or “Faculty ROLE.” It provides an intensive 3-day workshop over a 29-day period to encourage faculty who teach online in the College to engage in research in online teaching and learning that will translate to improvements in their online teaching.

 Goal

The goal of the project is to improve online education at Ball State University through collaborative research projects by supporting the teacher-scholar model.

Objectives

Each participant will:

• Improve their online pedagogical skills by reviewing research literature on best practices for teaching/learning online.
• Characterize the phenomenon of online learning, in terms of current learning theories.
• Develop an individual or collaborative research proposal related to online teaching and learning, or develop a teaching plan to apply research results in online education.
• Identify resources and assistance available at Ball State University for researching online teaching learning.
• Identify outlets for scholarly publications and presentations of research on online teaching and learning.

Strategic Plan Objectives Addressed 

The following objectives from the Ball State University Strategic Plan are addressed by this project

“I. 7. Integrate learning with faculty scholarship consistent with the teacher-scholar model.”

 “I. 8. Support a collegial environment that encourages faculty and professional personnel to interact with each other and with students.” 

“III. 3. Support scholarship, inquiry, research, creative endeavor, and interdisciplinary activity.” 

“III. 4. Expand programs for rewards, recognition, and professional development.” 

“III. 5. Develop additional incentives to increase external funding.” 

“IV. 5. Increase enrollment in distance education.” 

Anticipated Benefits (with reference to objectives from the BSU Strategic Plan)

Within the College of Applied Sciences and Technology, graduate degrees are now offered entirely online from the School of Nursing (MS in Nursing), the School of Physical Education (MA in Coaching), and the Department of Industry and Technology (MA in Technology Education, and MA in Industrial Vocational/Technical Education). These are Ball State University’s only online graduate degree programs, serving approximately 400 students.

Faculty who have in the past taught in the classroom are now developing and delivering Internet-mediated instruction. Although these faculty members may well be content experts and accomplished face-to-face teachers, many have received little training in online pedagogy. Training that has occurred is often related to technical issues of course management software or Web page creation. There is a clear need for faculty who teach online to translate current research in online pedagogy to their own teaching practices (I.7). This can only be done if these faculty are well versed in the research literature in this area (III.3).

Online education is still a developing field, and it abounds with unanswered research questions. With three programs approved for online delivery within the last year, there is an abundance of meaningful research opportunities across disciplines, both at the course and program levels.

However, a number of meta-analyses have resulted in conclusions that much of the current research in distance learning is weak, redundant, or flawed (Berge & Mrozowski, 2001; Diaz, 2000; Lockee, Moore, & Burton, 2001). As Mark Windschitl (1998) noted regarding research on online education:

The vast majority of published work is descriptive of technology implementation in classrooms or tends to be intuitive analyses of what works and what doesn’t work with students. The literature stops short of asking critical questions such as, “Are these practices helping students, and if so, how?” or, “How is the introduction of this technology changing pedagogical practices?” I argue for stronger research focus on aspects of learning and teaching as influenced by the use of the WWW… (p.28)

However, areas in need of research and types of studies most needed have been identified. Therefore, online teacher/scholars at Ball State would be well-served by a workshop that specifically helps them pursue more meaningful lines of research related to their online teaching, overcoming or avoiding some of the common pitfalls (I.7).

This project would promote collaboration among faculty (I.8). For example, the replication of a study with students in different online programs within the College (I.8) can provide researchers with more generalizable results, improving the chances for publication. In instances where collaboration is required for funding, chances of receiving funding increase (III.5).

In placing these degree programs online, Ball State University is leading online education in these niche markets. By encouraging faculty to become active researchers in online education, Ball State can become a leader known also for research in online learning (I.7) – largely in these same niche areas. For example, the Master of Arts in Technology Education is currently the only master’s in this area known to be offered entirely online; research specific to online learning in technology education is needed, and it is logical for the field to look to Ball State for much of that research.

Furthermore, the School of Nursing is an acknowledged national leader in online nurse education with a record of scholarly works, including 2001 and 2002 Nursing Education in Research Grant awards from the National League for Nursing. Thus, research proposals, publications, and presentations can continue and improve Ball State University’s identification in the field as a university involved with online education, specifically with the niche areas represented by the College’s online degrees (I.7). Research and publications may strengthen programs by increasing online enrollment due to greater name association, strengthened faculty teacher/scholars, and improved practices translated from research to online teaching (I.7; IV.5).

As one of the collaborative partners, the Office of Teaching and Learning Advancement (OTLA) has many human and technical resources that are particularly well-suited to the support of research-based online pedagogy. OTLA will be hosting the workshops by providing participants with a state-of-the-art technical environment as well as the expertise and experience of its staff. The University Libraries, another collaborative partner, is a critical player in uncovering the research that would inform future investigations and improve online education, as well as in the identification of publication opportunities. Support from the Office of Academic Research and Sponsored Programs provides participants with expert assistance in finding funding sources, and in the preparation and submission of research proposals. The School of Extended Education is a pivotal in the support, development, coordination, and implementation of online courses, and will be able to provide answers to a number of likely questions from participants.

The participant stipends (listed as honoraria in the budget) and the faculty research and teaching awards within this proposal may serve as an incentive to faculty in developing proposals for external funding, or in the positive reinforcement that can promote future efforts (III.4; III.5). These stipends and awards promote the teacher-scholar model.

Participant Selection

Participants will be recruited from the CAST faculty who teach online, or are scheduled to teach online in the three academic units. Participants will complete an application form that outlines their intentions. Fifteen participants will be selected on a first-come basis.

Workshop Format and Activities

A 3-day workshop is proposed for the Summer of 2003. Faculty who are assigned to develop or teach online courses in the College of Applied Sciences and Technology will be invited to attend. Where guest speakers are provided, these sessions will be open to any interested parties in the Ball State Community.

The workshop will occur on three Fridays: May 16^th, May 30^th, and June 13^th, 2003. This will provide sufficient time between workshop meetings for substantive work by participants to meet the workshop’s objectives.

The first day’s activities (May 16^th) will include a sharing of experiences and interests among participants. A keynote address, open to the BSU community, will set the stage, followed by a panel discussion of Ball State’s resources for supporting the teacher scholar model regarding online education. Participating on that panel will be the keynote speaker, one of the project’s investigators, and representatives from the School of Extended Education, the University Libraries, the Office of Teaching and Learning Advancement, and the Office of Academic Research and Sponsored Programs. Library resources, research protocols, funding sources, and a review of research in online education will be discussed on this day, as will examples of applying research results to online education. Participants will then have two weeks following this meeting (May 16^th to May 30^th) to read relevant literature and to develop preliminary proposals for original research (individual or collaborative) or preliminary teaching plans.

The second workshop day (May 30^th) will begin with a presentation by a professional grant reviewer (open to the BSU community), followed by a panel discussion on “Applying Best Practices from Research to Online Teaching and Learning.” The remainder of the day will be spent on the development and refinement of participants’ research proposals and teaching plans. After the second session, participants will have two weeks (May 30^th to June 13^th) to read additional material, to complete the required Institutional Review Board human subjects protection researchers’ training, if necessary, and to revise their research proposal or teaching plans.

On the final workshop day (June 13^th), participants present their research proposals or teaching plans for peer review. The feedback they receive should help them refine their proposals and teaching plans, and by providing feedback to others they will better understand typical review processes and gain greater objectivity. Participants will complete an assessment of the workshop based on the goal and objectives stated in this proposal. A final forum will provide closure to the workshop and promote future collaborations.

By August 1, 2003, all participants will be required to submit their teaching plan or research proposal to the investigators in order to fulfill the requirements for their workshop honorarium. These will be judged by expert reviewers, such as representatives from the Office of Teaching and Learning Advancement and the Office of Academic Research and Sponsored Programs, to determine the recipients of the Most Promising Teaching Plan Award and Most Promising Research Proposal Award, respectively. Awards will be announced shortly thereafter, and will be acknowledged at Ball State’s Annual Conference on Teaching and Learning.

Stipends/Honoraria/Awards

Each participant will receive an honorarium of $300, contingent upon their attendance all three days and their submission of either a research proposal in online education or a teaching plan for applying research results to their online teaching. In addition, the individual research design and the teaching plan judged as the most promising will each be accompanied by a $200 award, and the collaborative research design judged as the most promising will be accompanied by a $400 award, payable in equal amounts to each collaborating investigator. These awards will be acknowledged at Ball State’s Annual Conference on Teaching and Learning.

References

Berge, Z. L., & Mrozowski, S. (2001). Review of research in distance education, 1990 to 1999. The American Journal of Distance Education, 15(3).

Diaz, D. Pl. (2000). Carving a new path for distance education research. The Technology Source, March/April 2000.

Lockee, B., Moore, M. & Burton, J. (2001). Old concerns with new distance education research. Educause Quarterly (2), 60-62.

Windschitl, M. (1998). The WWW and classroom research: What path should we take? Educational Researcher, 22 (1), 28-33. 

Budget