Lowell to receive AECT Best Practices Award for prospective instructor mentorship program
Strategic mentoring of new teaching faculty could allow online educational programs to grow and expand capacity, save money, and ensure that students receive high-quality instruction, according to Victoria Lowell, clinical professor of Learning Design and Technology (LDT) in the Purdue University College of Education.
Lowell will receive the Organizational Training and Performance – Best Practices Award from the Association for Educational Communications and Technologies (AECT) Organizational Training and Performance (OTP) Division for her work on the “Novice Instructor Mentor-Mentee Program.”
The AECT OTP Best Practice Award recognizes the outstanding application of organizational training and performance research, and theory in a practical setting. The organization’s scholarship and awards committee agreed that Lowell’s submission “represented an outstanding application of theory in practice” andwill officially announce it at the 2023 International Convention in October. The AECT will also work with Lowell to coordinate a webinar to enable her to share her work with fellow AECT members.
Lowell won the award for a mentor-mentee program for novice instructors who want to develop knowledge and skills and teach online in the College’s LDT program. Research has shown that well-prepared novice instructors tend to be more successful, be rated higher, and display more confidence when teaching than their less prepared counterparts.
“New online adjuncts may encounter a variety of professional and personal issues that prevent them from teaching and interacting with students effectively,” Lowell said. “The design and implementation of the online mentoring program was focused on providing an authentic context to improve novice instructors’ teaching performance, skills, and self-efficacy.”
In 2014, Lowell conceptualized the mentor-mentee program with Timothy Newby, coordinator of the LDT program, and Phillip J. VanFossen, then-head of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction and now interim dean of the College. They began accepting mentees in 2015 and have successfully graduated 13 mentees.
The mentorship is designed to occur while the mentees participate in co-teaching two different online courses running consecutively during one semester but may occur over additional semesters and courses. The length of the program for a mentee depends on several factors including whether the mentee is progressing. The mentee will complete the program when the mentor and mentee agree that mentee is ready to teach their own course.
According to Lowell, the program has provided new instructors – and even experienced instructors in traditional settings – with an opportunity to see how to teach an accelerated online course.
“Mentees have had the opportunity to learn while performing the duties of an independent instructor, [with] an experienced instructor working alongside them providing feedback and encouragement,” Lowell said. “Training and professional development can provide prospective instructors with the skills to become confident and effective at teaching.”
Read more:
Lowell, V. L., & Yang, M. (2022). Authentic learning experiences to improve online instructor’s performance and self-efficacy: The design of an online mentoring program. TechTrends, 67(1), 112-123. DOI: 10.1007/s11528-022-00770-5 (published online Sept. 2022, in Print January 2023).
Lowell, V. L., & Exter, M. (2017). Leading a collaborative effort: Providing effective training and support for online adjunct instructors. International Journal of Designs for Learning, 8(2), 59-79. https://doi.org/10.14434/ijdl.v8i2.21160
Source: Victoria Lowell, vllowell@purdue.edu