Experiences of Instructors in Online Learning Environments: Regulating Our Emotions to Enhance Instruction

Abstract

Like students, instructors often feel anxious and isolated teaching in an online environment. Our concerns include workload, quality of instruction, technology skills, and accessibility. This interactive session will share the results of a focus group study involving six university faculty members with varied experiences teaching in on-line learning environments (synchronous and asynchronous). The overarching themes from the preliminary analysis include faculty emotions of feeling (a) restricted, (b) stressed, (c) devalued, (d) validated, (e) intrigued and liberated. Specific examples representative of these themes will be shared. We will also emphasize the practical management strategies which participants reportedly used to regulate emotions and enhance online instruction. A consensus among all participants was that continuous dialogue in a community of practice about strategies to enhance on-line learning environments is needed. This session will act as a forum for extending this dialogue.