title: A faculty development course to enhance dental hygiene distance education: a pilot study.
abstract: This article describes the implementation and evaluation of a dental hygiene faculty development course to enhance online teaching practices that foster a sense of community and satisfaction. The sampled population was drawn from the forty-seven U.S. dental hygiene programs that the American Dental Hygienists' Association identified as offering bachelor's degree completion or master's degree programs with 76-100 percent of coursework delivered in an online format. This requirement was applied to exclude programs using hybrid instruction (combination of online and face-to-face). Of the thirty-four faculty members who self-identified as meeting the criteria, seven agreed to participate (21 percent response rate); however, only five completed all parts of the study (a final response rate of 15 percent). A Community of Inquiry framework was the basis for the author-designed Distance Education Best Practices Survey used as a pretest and posttest to assess participants' use of and perceived importance of twenty-five best practices before and after taking the online faculty development course. Frequency of use ratings ranged from 4.0 (regularly) to 5.0 (always) on a response scale from 1.0 to 5.0. The results showed significant increases from before to after the course in participants' perceptions of the importance of four practices: activities promoting relevant, lifelong learning (p=0.03); faculty communication fostering a sense of community (p=0.04); encouraging students' self-introduction (p=0.04); and encouraging productive dialogue and respecting diverse opinions (p=0.04). The findings indicate a potential value for a faculty development course designed to enhance online teaching, sense of community, and satisfaction, even for faculty members with high self-ratings regarding best practices.
authors.affiliation: Prof. Johnstone-Dodge is Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University and Adjunct Instructor, Department of Dental Hygiene, Oregon Institute of Technology; Prof. Bowen is Professor Emeritus, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University; Prof. Calley is Associate Professor and Department Chair, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University; and Dr. Peterson is Assistant Professor in Management, College of Business, Idaho State University. dodgvick@isu.edu.
authors.forename: Vicki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Johnstone-Dodge
authors.affiliation: Prof. Johnstone-Dodge is Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University and Adjunct Instructor, Department of Dental Hygiene, Oregon Institute of Technology; Prof. Bowen is Professor Emeritus, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University; Prof. Calley is Associate Professor and Department Chair, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University; and Dr. Peterson is Assistant Professor in Management, College of Business, Idaho State University.
authors.forename: Denise M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Bowen
authors.affiliation: Prof. Johnstone-Dodge is Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University and Adjunct Instructor, Department of Dental Hygiene, Oregon Institute of Technology; Prof. Bowen is Professor Emeritus, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University; Prof. Calley is Associate Professor and Department Chair, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University; and Dr. Peterson is Assistant Professor in Management, College of Business, Idaho State University.
authors.forename: Kristin H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Calley
authors.affiliation: Prof. Johnstone-Dodge is Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University and Adjunct Instructor, Department of Dental Hygiene, Oregon Institute of Technology; Prof. Bowen is Professor Emeritus, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University; Prof. Calley is Associate Professor and Department Chair, Department of Dental Hygiene, Idaho State University; and Dr. Peterson is Assistant Professor in Management, College of Business, Idaho State University.
authors.forename: Teri S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Peterson
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D003756:Dental Hygienists / Q000193:education*; D020375:Education, Distance; D018961:Educational Technology; D005178:Faculty; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D009862:Online Systems; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013192:Staff Development; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods
keywords: dental hygiene education; distance education; faculty development; online instruction