Recently, six faculty colleagues and I were discussing socialization of students in distance-learning programs. Each of us shared concerns that had been voiced by students regarding the periods of isolation they frequently feel while studying or completing course assignments. The common theme was expressed as “not feeling connected” and “no real camaraderie” with fellow students. One of us also raised the issue of internal conflict; a student had described herself as enjoying the freedom to listen to lectures on her own schedule and not be obligated to attend class on a specific day at a specific time but simultaneously missing seeing her classmates on a weekly basis.
For the most part, my colleagues and I were all “bricks and mortar” students, tied to required attendance during scheduled classes. We collectively agreed that this was frequently a bother, but we recognized the advantage of being able to sit together before or after class to discuss assignments, bring clarity to confusion, or simply commiserate on the difficulties of balancing family, school, and work obligations. In my own doctoral studies, week-to-week support and encouragement kept us a close-knit group, seeing us through to completed dissertations.
As our conversation continued, we began to lament our own lack of connectedness, not to our students (we communicate with them at least, if not more than, once a week) but to our faculty colleagues. Our consensus was that the focus on student-to-faculty contact left faculty-to-faculty contact seemingly an afterthought—or not a thought at all. I consider myself lucky that most of “my faculty” were friends or professional colleagues prior to our academic postings. Thus, we had established relationships outside our faculty roles.
But this whole idea of the socialization of faculty in distance education got me wondering: Are there criteria or guidelines for communication among faculty? I don’t mean the required staff meetings; I mean something similar to the requirements for type, and frequency, of interactions with the students, which are set forth by credentialing entities. I wondered what I could find in the literature or educational texts about faculty “connectedness.” And so my search began.
Continue for where my search began >>