Emergency Remote Teaching Versus Planned Remote Teaching: Narrowing the Gap With Targeted Professional Development

Abstract

Objectives: This study reviews faculty members’ comfort level with remote teaching in the Fall 2020 semester to evaluate the effectiveness of the professional development workshops. Method: Using survey research, we examined professional development activities and subsequent comfort level and ease of adjustment with remote teaching in Fall 2020. Results: Following the training, faculty reported high planned usage of various online teaching tools and great comfort with using them. The data reveals some differences between part-time and full-time faculty members. Conclusions: The experience gained in the emergency semester, combined with the targeted professional development workshops offered eased the stress of planned remote teaching in the following semester. Implication for Theory and/or Practice: For institutions planning to incorporate educational technology in the future, the implementation and evaluation of the targeted workshops may serve as a replicable model. It may also help institutions be better prepared for emergency remote teaching in the future.