Old Dogs Can Learn to Like New Tricks: One Instructor’s Change in Attitude to Online Instruction from 2009-2017

Abstract

[EN] This qualititative case study examined a veteran instructor’s change in attitude about university online instruction. After a short review of the literature and explanation of the project, researchers conducted a content analysis of an instructor’s annual self-reports about his online teaching of a graduate course in the social sciences. The self –reports were written between 2009 and 2017. The researchers also examined students’ end-of-semester evaluation scores about the course and instructor. Results suggest that the instructor began online teaching with a mixed attitude. After four years of teaching the online course (delivered once each spring) the instructor reported more about content issues and less about online delivery. In the final the period (2016-17) the reseachers found that the instructor was invested fully in online delivery. Although the study is not generalizable, its results suggest that instructors who stay with an online system over an extended period of time may gain more confidence in the efficacy of online delivery. The findings complement previous findings in the literature about faculty attiudes toward technology use in instruction.