Faculty Development Program Research Proposal

Faculty development programs are necessary in allowing students better access to competent and prepared instructors/faculty. A suitable online faculty development program should be established with the foremost support of central nursing faculty. Principal nursing faculty should be included in the preparation and assessment facets of the program. Furthermore, they should continue as active contributors throughout the entire process. An appropriately planned online faculty development program should fulfill the varied faculty needs, significant workshop prospects, workload necessities, incorporation of technology, education training and suitable modeling. The aim of this project is to assess and implement a suitable online faculty development program for nurse educators with major emphases on enabling the changeover process from on-ground teaching to the online background.

The medical field uses technology in almost all aspects of day-to-day work activities and must be integrated in an education setting. Nurses in particular must become acclimated to use of technology within most settings to enable faster work output and efficient data management. Online programs require not only time to properly develop the program, but also proper teaching methods and instructors to avoid limited learning scenarios so often scene in distance learning. The online program should feature easy to access information along with clear instructions on assignments and educational resources that are not only interactive, but also easy to absorb. Examples of this are power point presentations with additional links to supplemental information.

Online faculty development programs should also have ease of communication included. An online forum or even a simple chat client where faculty can talk to each other will help anyone with questions and offer others to connect with each other in a stress free environment. Chatting with others online opens up a method of communication they otherwise would not get at work or elsewhere.Online faculty development programs are a great way to augment any faculty within any setting because it enables communication and education in a convenient form.

Purpose of the Project

The purpose of the project is to reveal and enlighten on the purposes of an online faculty development program. Online faculty development programs allow others to properly assess themselves and learn new materials in an online setting. Many who have experienced online education and online development programs have noted the lack of suitable instruction and hard to understand material. This is a problem that must be assessed along with instructor performance within these kinds of online programs.

One of two areas that should be covered is the appropriate learning theories and practices shown in online instruction/online development programs. Learning theories must be tailored for the online viewer. Since the computer screen has its own advantages and disadvantages, material must be assessed in terms of easy navigation and visibility. If it can be easily retrieved and viewed on the computer, it will make for easier online learning. An example of this is colorful and sectioned power point presentations. These slides should be made accessible from the beginning of the time within the program to any and all materials described in the program outline or syllabus. That way participants can easily access their source materials without having to wait for a predetermined time as it is often done in regular classes/programs (Boling, Hough, Krinsky, Saleem, & Stevens, 2012, p. 118).

Another area to discuss and evaluate is instructor capability. Instructors for online courses….....