Quality in Online and Distance Learning
So in moving forward I ask myself, "What will I do differently?"
My priorities are different, that's for sure. In my career I have always been driven by an ambition to make a difference. In there I suppose was a sense of altruism there that most teachers can identify with. But this year has has brought about restrictions and constraints which, if we don't keep a close eye on things, could undermine the reputation of online and distance learning as a credible option for learning and teaching.
I've been thinking a lot about quality in learning and teaching recently and how this translates into online and distance education. What I'm finding is more that a little bit alarming. You see quality has three possible definitons:
1. Quality (adjective) - to be of high quality.
Is my learning and teaching practice of high quality? How do I know?
2. Quality (noun) - a characteristic or attribute possessed by a person or thing.
So I began to reflect on what qualities do I possess that impact on my learning and teaching?
3. Quality (noun) - the standard of something as measured against something else.
What do I measure my performance against?
In examining the first of these definitions, personally, I have always tried to ensure that my learning and teaching practice are of the highest quality. As part of this, I reflect often on my practice, and try to actively participate in effective CPD activities to ensure that my skills are current. But the fact remains that I can only truly measure the quality of my learning and teaching practices by measuring and reflecting on my performance in relation to a set standard. While the College Development Network's set of Professional Standard for Lecturers in Scotland's Colleges (2018) helps me to do that, the danger is that teachers can start to measure their performance against that of other teachers leading to an inherently competitive and ultimately counter productive culture in education.
I have been witness to situations where this definition of high quality has been weaponised by one teacher against another for politically inspired reasons. Such divisive attitudes threaten to undermine the sense of community that must exist between peers in order to support each other at what is arguably the most stressful time in our careers.
In examining the second definition, I realised in subscribing to this view, quality becomes personal because we view our work as an extension of ourselves, our skills, characteristics and abilities. It is therefore no surprise that teachers get very defensive when the quality of their work is questioned.
The third definition however, introduces the issue of comparison. This problem of comparison has been present all the way through the covid-19 experience we've all faced. Comparison of face to face teaching with online teaching has been an ongoing theme. Yet, in comparing face to face educational practices with online education, we fail to acknowledge the very unique challenges that exist in measuring online education.
Reading a text by Jung and Latchem (2011) I was struck by the comment that:
"Not all jurisdictions, professional bodies or employers look favourably on degrees conferred by dual mode or open universities."
Given that this text was written 10 years ago, I realised how little has changed. Even still, the idea of online education is still regarded as inferior. The current rhetoric in the media implying that we risk a lost generation highlights a sense of moral panic with regard to the negativity associated with online and distance education. This same rhetoric fails to acknowledge that most curricula were not designed to be delivered online.
The stark reality is however that we in the west have enjoyed choice in how we are educated. We can choose to go to a bricks and mortar university or we can study online. However, in the past year we have had that choice removed through circumstances that are outwith our control. We have been forced in to the same position that learners in other countries have faced for many years where they have little or no choice but to opt for online/distance education many of whom would prefer to study on campus in order to feel like "real students". There is this sense whereby if you haven't studied at a bricks and mortar university that qualifications achieved are of lower standards. Perhaps part of the legacy of covid-19 will be in the effect it has had on levelling the educational playing field. Or will social closure persist?
Jung and Catchem (2011) also point to the perception that online and distance education is perceived as as a cheap and cheerful alternative which enables governments and institutions to save money. While I can understand the "you pay for what you get" mentality, I'm not sure it translates into education. Or does it? If students want to be seen as having gained a qualification of sufficient quality to compete in the jobs market, then they have to compete not only with other graduates, but also against the societal perception that online and distance education is cheap and therefore inferior. Is that the perception we have of online and distance education in the UK? I'm sure teachers everywhere would agree that there has been nothing mass produced about their work in the past 12 months. Indeed, in my experience, has been labour intensive and, frankly, difficult.
My research into the field of quality has pointed me to a further two models that are worthy of discussion. The quality in model and the quality out model.
Where a quality in model is based on recruitment of students that are of the highest standards, such an approach could be considered at the very least exclusionary or even elitist restricting access to the best quality of education to those fortunate enough to have attended well resourced schools. Yet traditional bricks and mortar institutions rest their whole recruitment process on this very principle. Most providers of online and distance education, in constrast, subscribe to a quality out model whereby learners need little or no qualifications to engage in a program of learning. Indeed, as perhaps an extreme example, it is not beyond the imagination that open education can become part of prison reform programs and can transform lives. This is a model which places enormous demands on staff and resources within the institiuation. Yet, on entering the jobs market, which graduate would be viewed as more employable?
In either case, Jung and Catchem (2011) raise the question of how do we measure the extent of value added? How do we measure the extent to which the learners have improved in either model? I am reminded of the question of equity as raised by Bali (2016) whereby she highlights the fact that in any educational journey, not all of the learners have the same starting point. Therefore, some have very many more steps to take in order to reach the finish line and reach their graduation ceremony.
Quite obviously the idea of maintaining any sense of standards in the real of online and distance education is interwoven with the problem of geographical, social and political boundaries. While technology provides us with the opportunity to cross geographical boundaries and interact with learners from very diverse locations, the process of establishing any kind of common set of values would require a carefully agreed set of standards. In turn these would have to be carefully and efficiently managed through international partnership work. Yet it has been done - the Virtual University for the small states of the commonwealth being but one example.
So, in recognising all of these difficulties, how do we move forward? How do we achieve a fresh start, a vision for the future of education that encompasses the best aspects of both online and face to face education? While there are clearly questions surrounding online and distance education, both in terms of employers needs and in terms of societal perceptions of the quality of online and distance education, I want to finish this article by pointing to the Online Learning Constorium (N.D.) as a starting point for generating further discussion around the issue of quality in online and distance education. Their framework for quality presents a model of values, five pillars, on which they base their framework.
These five pillars are: (1) Learning, (2) Faculty, (3) Students, (4) Scale and (5) Access. While the principles that underpin these five pillars seem to me relatively obvious, they warranted direct quotation.
(1) Learning: "Learning effectiveness is concerned with ensuring that online students are provided with a high quality education."
(2) Faculty: "Faculty Satisfaction means that instructors find the online teaching experience personally rewarding and professionally beneficial."
(3) Students: "Student satisfaction reflects the effectiveness of all aspects of the educational experience.
(4) Scale: "Scale is the principle that enables institutions to offer their best educational value to learners and to achieve capacity enrollment."
(5) Access: "Access provides the means for all qualified, motivated students to complete courses, degrees, or programs in their disciplines of choice."
Is that not a framework that we can all get behind? Imagine building this "new normal" that everyone keeps talking about on these five foundational pillars. What might the future look like?
References
Bali, M. (2016) Complicating Diversity and Inclusion [Online]. Available at: https://pushingtheedge.org/complicating-diversity-and-inclusion/ (Accessed 14th March 2021).
College Development Network (2018) Professional Standards for Lecturers in Scotland's Colleges [Online]. Available at: https://www.cdn.ac.uk/professional-standards/ (Accessed 14th March 2021).
Jung, I and Latchem, C. (2011) Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and eLearning: Models, Policies and Research [Online], London, Routledge, Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/open/reader.action?docID=957550 (Accessed 15th March 2021)
Online Learning Consortium (N.D.) Our Quality Framework [Online]. Available at: https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/about/quality-framework-five-pillars/ (Accessed 15th March 2021).
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