Etr 520 - Proposal Section Draft Docx - 2

The effectiveness of Online Professional Development (OPD) 1
The Effectiveness of Online Professional Development (OPD)
Mona M Alenezi
Northern Illinois University

ETR 520 Introduction to Research Methods in Education
Table of Contents
The Effectiveness of Online Professional Development (OPD) ................................................ 1
Problem to be Investigated ........................................................................................................... 3
Purpose of the Study............................................................................................................................... 3
Justification of the Study ....................................................................................................................... 3
Research Question .................................................................................................................................. 4
Hypothesis ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Theoretical framework........................................................................................................................... 4
Definition of terms .................................................................................................................................. 5
Brief Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Background and Review of Related Literature ......................................................................... 6
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 6
Studies Reviewed........................................................................................................................... 6
Effective professional development ....................................................................................................... 6
Faculty members experiences with OPD............................................................................................. 8
Findings of studies ................................................................................................................................ 10
Description of the Research Design..................................................................................................... 10
Description of the Sample .................................................................................................................... 10
Description of Instruments Used ......................................................................................................... 11
Explanation of the Procedures Followed ............................................................................................ 11
Discussion of Internal Validity ............................................................................................................ 11
Discussion of External Validity ........................................................................................................... 12
Description and Justification of the Statistical Techniques or Other Methods of Analysis Used . 12
Ethics and Human Relations ..................................................................................................... 12
Timeline ....................................................................................................................................... 13
References .................................................................................................................................... 14
Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 16
Problem to be Investigated
Purpose of the Study
The goal of this study is to evaluate the overall effectiveness of online professional
development that prepare faculty to teach online at Hail University in Saudi Arabia.
Justification of the Study
The online professional development of the teacher is an essential element of the
development of education to be able to meet the needs of society and achieve its objectives.
Interest in the online professional development of teachers is also a serious issue posed by the
challenges of globalization, the technological revolution. Because the emergence of new
educational formats based on e-learning and virtual learning environments. ICT is an opportunity
to provide a rich learning experience for students, and teachers need to be able to update their
skills and experiences in a safe, robust and cost-effective manner (Rienties, B., Brouwer, N., &
Lygo-Baker, S,2013). Therefore, it is necessary to focus on professional development for
teachers. The aim of this content is to evaluate the overall effectiveness of online professional
development that prepares faculty to teach online course. Today, many universities and
institutions begun offering professional developments to prepare their faculty for online teaching.
Recently, Hail University Integrated Blackboard system to implement online education and
started offering professional developments to prepare faculty for online teaching. However,
literature suggested that there is a lack of studies that evaluate the effectiveness of these
professional developments (Lackey, 2011). Faculty perception and their insight are very
important indicators for the quality and the value of professional development and future
researches are suggested in this area (Meyer & Murrell, 2014). The result of this study will help
to develop an online professional program that support and develop faculty members skills in
online teaching.
Research Question
Is there a relationship between the length of faculty online professional development and
faculty self-reported levels of knowledge at Hail University in Saudi Arabia?
Hypothesis
There is a significant relationship between the length of OPD and faculty self-reported
levels of knowledge.
Theoretical framework
There are a wide range of educational program evaluation that assess the overall
effectiveness. Kirkpatricks (1994) and Guskeys (2000) evaluation models are the most
common models that evaluate the overall effectiveness of professional development/training
program. Although Kirkpatricks model is designed to evaluate program in the business and
industry context. While, Guskeys (2000) model is designed for evaluating educational
professional development program. For this study, Guskeys model will be used to guide this
study. Davis et al. 2009 stated that Guskeys (2002) multilevel evaluation of professional
development does indeed apply to ICT-related teacher training (p.146). Guskeys Model has
five levels of evaluating (reactions (satisfaction with the training), (2) learning (gains in
knowledge, attitudes, or skills demonstrable in training), (3) organization support (institutional
commitment), (4) transfer (behavior change), and (5) results (impact).

Definition of terms
According to Killion (2008), professional Development is defined as: The process of
learning among educators.
According to Allen &Seaman (2007), Online Course/Teaching is defined as: Delivering
80% or more of course content online with typically no face-to-face meetings.
Brief Overview
This study will look for a relationship between the length of faculty online professional
development(OPD) and faculty self-reported levels of knowledge at Hail University in Saudi
Arabia. This correlational study will be conducted with faculty members in Hail university. Will
be randomized and a cluster-random sample of data will be obtained. the faculty members
participating in this study who have taken an online professional development (OPD) before will
be given a questionnaire regarding what Faculty perceived ability to teach online, with a specific
focus what is the Effectiveness of OPD components. The researcher will then arrange this data
on a scatter plot and determine a correlational coefficient to see if there is a relationship between
the length of faculty online professional development(OPD) and faculty self-reported levels of
knowledge.
Background and Review of Related Literature
Introduction
The purpose of this section is to review previous studies about the effectiveness of online
professional development and related topics. The researcher used the online Library search
provided by Northern Illinois University. Different databases used to find related articles such as
Eric, EBSCO, ProQuest and Google Scholar. The researcher used different terms to find articles
such as online professional development, training, faculty development, and online teaching.
This section will be divided into topics. The first topic will be about the general idea about
Effective professional development. The second axis will include a review of a series of studies
related to the experiences of faculty members with online professional development. At the end
of this section, a result will be developed based on a review of studies. The study included
interviews with faculty members to discuss their participation in seminars as well as overall
growth and development as a faculty member. Interviews were conducted by individuals who did
not participate in the seminars.
Studies Reviewed
Effective professional development
The successful integrations of technology in educations requires Effective professional
development (Culp, Honey & Mandinach, 2003). As most of the colleges and universities tend to
offer online courses, training faculty and developing their skills to teach online become and
essential aspect in higher education. Faculty need to be prepped, trained and equipped with the
required skills to be able to teach online.
According to McQuiggan (2007), in higher education institutions there are an increasing
number of online teaching staff courses. While there is recognition of the need to develop faculty
members to prepare for online education, there are many different development models of
faculty that are being implemented with differing foci on technology, education, and course
content. Some faculty members teach the is first online training course without any prior
experience in education or online learning. Other faculty members participate in college
development programs that occur partially or entirely on the Internet, giving them opportunities
for online testing. It seems that most programs take the faculty through a step-by-step training
process. While there is evidence of faculty changes, there are few reports of reflective thought,
questioning beliefs and presuppositions about teaching, or revisiting their own education
philosophy. It will be interesting to try to identify what happens to faculty when they are
preparing to teach online and actual engage in online teaching.
According to Meyer (2014), many institutions have implemented a variety of faculty
development programs designed to help faculty design, teach online courses and use technology
wisely in traditional classrooms. The University of Central Florida requires all faculty members
to participate online in a 70-hour faculty development course. The University of Michigan has
also implemented a central professional development for online faculty members that goes
beyond a one-time workshop to include weekly tips, online mentoring, and online learning
resources.
According to McQuiggan (2007) distance learning managers responsible for designing
and implementing faculty development for online education need to address faculty as adult
learners and provide a model for faculty development that captures the principles of adult
learning in a context of online learning. Many examples were found at the New England Center
for Inclusive Education (NECIT), which provided seminars for faculty development at seven
colleges and universities. Seminars met weekly for a semester, participants included faculty
members thinking about their careers, identifying strengths and competencies, and meeting new
ideas Meyer (2014).
According to Wilson and Elizabeth (2004) teaching the teachers to teach online. Using a
variety of approaches to meet the needs of the prevailing majority, including workshops, short
courses, practical learning projects and website support. institutional approach to addressing this
group of staff would pose challenges for the developer: shifting focus from customized solutions
to individual teacher needs to strategies that could turn the prevailing majority into innovation
adoption. In pursuing the development of online teacher skills, strategies should include not only
teaching the technical skills required to use the program and the learning management system
that distributes course to the student, but also teaching instructional design skills in order that the
teacher can Integrate the interaction that has always been part of teaching, in the Internet
environment. a solution to this problem can be found in organizing the development of teachers
skills to match the degree of online support offered in online courses. Required to use the
program and the learning management system that distributes course to the student, but also
teaching instructional design skills in order that the teacher can Integrate the interaction that has
always been part of teaching, in the Internet environment. a solution to this problem can be found
in organizing the development of teachers skills to match the degree of online support offered in
online courses.
Faculty members experiences with OPD
According to Meyer (2014), many institutions have implemented a variety of faculty
development programs designed to help faculty design, teach online courses and use technology
wisely in traditional classrooms. The University of Central Florida requires all faculty members
to participate online in a 70-hour faculty development course. The University of Michigan has
also implemented a central professional development for online faculty members that goes
beyond a one-time workshop to include weekly tips, online mentoring, and online learning
resources.
According to Lackey (2011), when he interviewed faculty members. Trevor and Carrie
participated in a course on the Internet, but were directed them to enhance their online learning
skills. The course was a four-week professional development course offered by the Center for
Distance Learning Campus on best practices for online teaching. The course focused on teaching
methods of online learning, as well as facilitator role in the process. When asked about the
course in terms of specific educational training, Christie mention the importance of
communicating and making sure that students did not feel lost. It is important to keep the
students from feeling like they are just out there and nobody is responding to them. The course
also included some logistical issues like management strategies and administrative issues in
online teaching.
Participants some participated in preparatory activities such as workshops, classes and
resources on the Internet, as well as seeking help from one of the university staff and colleagues
at some point during online teaching. When asked: "What did I find more useful than the training
I received?" Peter recalled his experience in an online certification course: the training was very
good. Participants were asked whether there were any areas where they felt they needed further
preparation to enhance their online learning experience. Five out of six participants wanted more
help in learning some techniques online as well as using it to create a dynamic experience for
students Lackey (2011).

Findings of studies
It is necessary the development of online teacher skills in a way that enables them to be
able to adapt and interact with the new data of the digital age to be equipped with expertise,
knowledge and skills. In pursuing the development of online teacher skills, strategies should
include not only teaching the technical skills required to use the program and the learning
management system that distributes course to the student, but also teaching instructional design
skills in order that the teacher can Integrate the interaction that has always been part of teaching,
in the Internet environment. a solution to this problem can be found in organizing the
development of teachers skills to match the degree of online support offered in online courses
(Wilson and Elizabeth ,2004). .The results showed that the seminars promoted significant
changes in the ways in which teaching staff participated Meyer(2014).
Description of the Research Design
According to Creswell (2015), Correlational design provides an opportunity to predict
scores and explain the relationship between variables. In correlational designs, investigators use
the statistical test of the relationship to describe and measure the degree of correlation (or
relationship) between two or more variables or groups of degrees. The research methodology for
this study will be A correlational study is an appropriate methodology because my research
questions is to find out if there is a there a significant relationship relationships between the
length of OPD and faculty self-reported levels of knowledge.
Description of the Sample
The participants in this study are Faculty members who have taken online professional
development at Hail University. The researcher will use Convenience sampling technique. This
technique is appropriate because the researcher has access to Hail Univariate because she was
working at this university.
Description of Instruments Used
Online survey will be developed by the researcher to collect the data about the online
professional development that the faculty members have taken in the last year. The survey
created and developed by Guskey (2000) will be adapted and modified to fit the research
purpose.
Explanation of the Procedures Followed
Once the online survey developed and reviewed by experts, the researcher will send the link to
the Deanship of development at Hail University to distribute the link the faculty members
emails. Later, the Deanship of development will be contacted by the researcher to ask them to
send a reminder to potential participants to participate in this study.
Discussion of Internal Validity
The first threat to internal validity in this study is Instrumentation. This is a threat to
internal validity because the instrument might not exactly measure the interested variable.
Strategies for controlling this threat in the study include by carefully design the instrument items,
and have it review by experts. The second threat to internal validity in this study is Subject
characteristics. This is a threat to internal validity because the relationship between the IV and
the DV might be caused by anther variables. Strategies for controlling this threat in the study
include Try to control the other variables like using hieratical regression. The third threat to
internal validity in this study is Mortality. This is a threat to internal validity because Mortality
Can be a possible threat because the participants do not participants and fill the survey.
Strategies for controlling this threat in the study include I will try to remind the participants few
times about filling the survey. The fourth threat to internal validity in this study is Testing. This
is a threat to internal validity because the participants may for any reasons forget the information
about the last OPD.
Discussion of External Validity
As the participants of this study will be faculty members at only one of the 28 universities in
Saudi Arabia, the result of this study might not be generalized to other faculty members at the
others universities.
Description and Justification of the Statistical Techniques or Other Methods of

Analysis Used
Variables on my research questions will be measured using online survey. For example,
faculty self-reported levels of knowledge will be measured by the faculty self-reported data and
their attitudes towards the OPD. The independent variable of interest in this study is the Length
of OPD. the participants age and gender will be used as control variables. The dependent
variable for this study self-reported levels of knowledge. Means, standard deviations, and faculty
self-reported levels of knowledge will be computed using SPSS. The relationship between the
independent and dependent variable will be described using a scatterplot and a correlation
coefficient. A t-test for r will also be calculated to determine if the correlation is statistically
significant. The researcher will also use correlation coefficient (Pearson's r).
Ethics and Human Relations
Along with the link of the survey link, an introduction about the study will be included
participants explaining the study objectives and why they were selected specifically for
participation. Participants will be informed that their participation is voluntary, names will not be
used in the research questionnaire, and they have the right to withdraw from completing the
survey.
Timeline
Date Research Tasks
May 15, 2018 Approvals from the Deanship of development

at Hail University.
June 15 to August 15, 2018 Complete the IRB application and submit it.
August 15, 2018 Submit the final draft of the application of the
IRB and get the approval.
September 15, 2018 Distribute the link of the survey to the
potential participants by the Deanship of
development at Hail University.
October 15, 2018 Prepare the data collected by Qualtrics
software for analysis.
November 15, 2018 Complete data analysis.
December 15, 2018 Complete Thesis and submit it to committee.

References
Allen, E. & Seaman, J. (2007). Online nation: Five years of growth in online learning. The Sloan
Consortium.
Culp, Katie McMillan, Margaret Honey, and Ellen Mandinach. "A Retrospective on Twenty
Years of Education Technology Policy." Journal of Educational Computing
Research 32.3 (2005): 279-307.
Guskey, Thomas R. Evaluating Professional Development. Corwin Press, 2000.
Lackey, K. (2011). Faculty development: an analysis of current and effective training strategies
for preparing faculty to teach online. Online Journal of Distance Learning
Administration, 14(4), n4.
Meyer, K. A., & Murrell, V. S. (2014). A national survey of faculty development evaluation
outcome measures and procedures. Online Learning Journal, 18(3).
Rienties, B., Brouwer, N., & Lygo-Baker, S. (2013). The effects of online professional
development on higher education teachers' beliefs and intentions towards learning
facilitation and technology. Teaching and teacher education, 29, 122-131.
McQuiggan, Carol A. "The role of faculty development in online teachings potential to question
teaching beliefs and assumptions." Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration
10.3 (2007): 1-13.
Wilson, Gail, and Elizabeth Stacey. "Online interaction impacts on learning: Teaching the
teachers to teach online." Australasian journal of educational technology 20.1 (2004): 33-
48.
Rienties, B., Brouwer, N., & Lygo-Baker, S. (2013). The effects of online professional
development on higher education teachers' beliefs and intentions towards learning
facilitation and technology. Teaching and teacher education, 29, 122-131.

Appendices
Q1 <What is your Gender?
o Male
o Female
Q2 <Please specify your age range?
o Less than 25 years old

o 26-36 years old
o 37-47 years old
o 48-58 years old
o Above 59
Q3 <is your major?
o Natural Science
o Applied Science
o Medical & Health Science
o Education
Q4 <How many years of work experience do you have in teaching?
o 1- 5 years
o 6-10 years
o 11 years and more
Q5 < What is the highest degree you have completed?
o Bachelor's degree
o Master's degree
o Professional degree
o Doctorate degree
Q6: Do you teach or have taught online course?
o Yes
o No
Q7: How many online courses do you teach or have taught?
o 1-3
o 4-8
o more than 9
Q8: Thinking of the last OPD you have attended, For how many days did this OPD last?
o 1 day
o 2 - 4 days
o 5 to 8 days
o More that 9 days
Q9: Rate the effectiveness of each OPD component in preparing you to teach online:
Extremely Very Moderately Slightly Not effective
effective effective effective effective at all
Videos
o o o o o
Session
reading o o o o o
Activities
o o o o o
Online
Discussion o o o o o
Collaboration
with other
participants o o o o o
Q10: Having completed the OPD, how knowledgeable are you about doing the following tasks?
Extremely Very Moderately Slightly Not

knowledgeab knowledgeab knowledgeab knowledgeab knowledgeab
le le le le le at all
Troubleshoo
t technical
problems
associated
with
hardware
(e.g.,
o o o o o
network
connections)
.
Create
materials
that map to
specific
course
objectives
and
o o o o o
professional
competencie
s.
Use online
student
assessment
to modify o o o o o
instruction.
Address
various
computer
issues
related to
software
(e.g.,
downloading
o o o o o
appropriate
plug-ins,
installing
programs).
Create an
online
environment
which
allows
students to o o o o o
build new
knowledge
and skills.
Implement
different
methods of
teaching o o o o o
online.
Q11: How you describe the overall quality of the OPD?
o Excellent
o Good
o Average
o Poor
o Terrible

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The effectiveness of Online Professional Development (OPD) 1

The Effectiveness of Online Professional Development (OPD)

Northern Illinois University

Purpose of the Study

Justification of the Study

The online professional development of the teacher is an essential element of the

challenges of globalization, the technological revolution. Because the emergence of new

Lygo-Baker, S,2013). Therefore, it is necessary to focus on professional development for

faculty self-reported levels of knowledge at Hail University in Saudi Arabia?

common models that evaluate the overall effectiveness of professional development/training

knowledge, attitudes, or skills demonstrable in training), (3) organization support (institutional

commitment), (4) transfer (behavior change), and (5) results (impact).

According to Killion (2008), professional Development is defined as: The process of

learning among educators.

According to Allen &Seaman (2007), Online Course/Teaching is defined as: Delivering

80% or more of course content online with typically no face-to-face meetings.

development(OPD) and faculty self-reported levels of knowledge at Hail University in Saudi

Background and Review of Related Literature

not participate in the seminars.

Effective professional development

The successful integrations of technology in educations requires Effective professional

required skills to be able to teach online.

According to McQuiggan (2007), in higher education institutions there are an increasing

experience in education or online learning. Other faculty members participate in college

preparing to teach online and actual engage in online teaching.

According to Meyer (2014), many institutions have implemented a variety of faculty

According to McQuiggan (2007) distance learning managers responsible for designing

ideas Meyer (2014).

Faculty members experiences with OPD

According to Meyer (2014), many institutions have implemented a variety of faculty

course in terms of specific educational training, Christie mention the importance of

Participants some participated in preparatory activities such as workshops, classes and

students Lackey (2011).

changes in the ways in which teaching staff participated Meyer(2014).

Description of the Research Design

According to Creswell (2015), Correlational design provides an opportunity to predict

this study will be A correlational study is an appropriate methodology because my research

length of OPD and faculty self-reported levels of knowledge.

Description of the Sample

working at this university.

Description of Instruments Used

Explanation of the Procedures Followed

send a reminder to potential participants to participate in this study.

Discussion of Internal Validity

about the last OPD.

Discussion of External Validity

Description and Justification of the Statistical Techniques or Other Methods of

Ethics and Human Relations

Date Research Tasks

May 15, 2018 Approvals from the Deanship of development

potential participants by the Deanship of

development at Hail University.

October 15, 2018 Prepare the data collected by Qualtrics

software for analysis.

November 15, 2018 Complete data analysis.

December 15, 2018 Complete Thesis and submit it to committee.

Years of Education Technology Policy." Journal of Educational Computing

Research 32.3 (2005): 279-307.