On the needs of professors in designing online education

“What would happen if we were to change how we think and talk about online learning and put the needs of the professors on par with those of the students and the schools?” asks Joshua Kim. According to the author, students, universities, schools, and programs would benefit from considering faculty needs in online program development because education is a relational, as opposed to a transactional, activity. A relational model of teaching requires that professors are well supported and compensated so that professors will be able to invest more in their students. “It is much better, and more efficient, for institutional leadership to grasp what faculty want (security, autonomy, support, respect, etc.) and then design the online programs to deliver on those desires,” concludes the author. Inside Higher Ed (International)