ABSTRACT: This paper sets out to examine and critique evaluations of a fully online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education professional development programme. As facilitators of fully online programmes where the staff are our students, we were interested in exploring the following research questions:
1. What can we as facilitators of the programme learn from ‘staff as student’ end of semester evaluations of our online professional development programme?
2. What do these evaluations tell us about staff as students and their perceptions of teaching and learning, and their own learning?
3. What light do these evaluations shed on how SoTL contributes to transformed patterns of learning and behaviour?
Feedback was sought from over 130 staff as students undertaking two programmes: the first evaluated 100 mainly local staff who had undertaken their first module on the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. The second student evaluation sought feedback from 35 staff as students taking the Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Both cohorts were surveyed at the end of Semester 1 for the 2016-2017 academic year, and yielded 41 responses and 12 responses respectively. While both courses have a long history of being delivered face-to-face, this is the second year the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education has been delivered fully online and the first year the Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education has been delivered fully online.
Qualitative data collected via the surveys was analysed using a thematic framework approach. The results point to how this course has fostered many different transformed patterns: around learning, behaviour as a discipline expert, student and SoTL practitioner. Results have pointed to the fact that students ultimately wish to develop a stronger, more robust online community of practice. The paper will address this and other emerging issues and focus on interventions for the future development of the programme and of the professional, scholarly development of staff/faculty.