Article

Faculty Members' Experiences with Teaching Multimodal Courses in Higher Education

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Abstract

Higher education faculty members often devote significant time to update and redesign their courses in addition to their service and scholarly activities. While some faculty members teach only face-to-face (f2f) or online courses, others teach both courses combined in one course to not only meet students’ needs but also help to increase enrollment and graduation rates. The problem addressed in this study was the inconsistent faculty load and compensation in higher education, resulting in faculty members’ voluntary teaching of multimodal courses without proper compensation. The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore faculty members’ perceptions of their teaching experiences with dual-mode courses in higher education and identify themes that indicate what has been successful and what can be enhanced to improve faculty members’ multimodal teaching experiences. Data were collected using an online questionnaire with semi-structured questions shared with the faculty members teaching at the higher education institutions across the United States through the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) and LinkedIn professional network communication systems. Seventeen responses were received and then analyzed using structural and axial coding before identifying meaningful themes. The results of this study revealed innovative educational approaches conducive to diverse learners participating in courses with various modes of instruction. Most of the participants conveyed that faculty members should be compensated for the extra work either one and half times of a single-mode course or as equally as full f2f and fully online instruction. In contrast, a few participants felt that they would not need any additional pay for teaching courses in various modes. Ultimately, one of the participants felt that, given how well online classes work now, separating the program into different degree tracks, one hybrid for full-time, traditional learners, and one fully online for part-time, non-traditional learners would be a practical approach to accommodate different student demographics. Future research might encompass a broader population internationally to discover additional information regarding faculty members’ teaching experiences.

Keywords: multi-modal teaching|faculty workload|multi-modal instruction|online students|higher education

How to Cite:

Azimzadeh, R., Rodchua, S. & Brown, P., (2021) “Faculty Members' Experiences with Teaching Multimodal Courses in Higher Education”, The Journal of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering 37(2).