Medical Library Education: Quality Education No Matter the Modality

Recently, the president of the University of North Texas (UNT) invited a panel of three experts in the field of online education to share their knowledge and insights with a select group of faculty. It was very interesting to hear their perspectives. Unlike most other departments across the UNT campus, faculty in the Department of Information Science has been teaching online courses since the late 1990s, so we are very familiar with the opportunities and challenges of this mode of course delivery. During the meetings with the panel members, ensuring the quality of online education was a topic of discussion on several occasions. One panel members stated, “There is an assumption of a lack of quality in online education, but there is plenty of poor teaching happening in classrooms all the time.” The panel member’s point was simple: we must ensure that quality education is taking place, no matter the modality.

In 2016, the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) released the white paper, “Why Colleges and Universities Need to Invest in Quality Teaching More than Ever” [1]. According to research presented in the white paper, there is a strong link between effective instruction and the retention and graduation of college students. One of the major recommendations of the white paper is that institutions of higher education provide all faculty with professional development opportunities to improve their instructional practices. As more and more universities rely on adjunct faculty, it is important that they receive the same professional development opportunities as full-time faculty members when it comes to teaching. One of the key resources on practices for effective teaching mentioned in the white paper is the resource, How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching [2]. When I became a full-time faculty member at UNT, I received a copy of this book at orientation.

Health information professionals are often engaged in teaching activities in a variety of modalities and need to have solid grounding in pedagogy. Taking advantage of professional development opportunities in this area is an effective way to improve instructional skills and help students meet the desired learning outcomes. Quality education is essential in order to prepare learners for success.

References

1. Gyurko J, MacCormack P, Bless MM, Jodl J. Why colleges and universities need to invest in quality teaching more than ever [Internet]. Association of College and University Educators [ACUE] [cited 17 Feb 2017]. <http://acue.org/quality-teaching/>.
2. Ambrose SA, Bridges, MW, DiPietro M, Lovett, MC, Norman, MK. How learning works: seven research-based principles. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass; 2010.