Purpose: The purpose of this presentation is to describe the process of using 8 general Quality Matters (QM) standards for expertise in online education, quality assurance, and evaluation to transform three doctoral courses from synchronous to hybrid. In addition, evaluation of the change in course delivery method will be presented using course evaluation data from students and faculty.
Methods: To achieve adherence to QM, which details strategies for excellence in online learning, the course faculty worked to achieve competence in the following 8 QM areas: overall course design must be evident when the course begins, objectives and competencies must be measurable and mapped to weekly content, assessments must appropriately evaluate student progress, activities must facilitate student engagement, technology must enable student success, materials must include links to student support services, and overall course design must reflect a commitment to accessibility and usability for all learners. Two doctoral level DNP courses, Evidence-based Research Methods and Nursing Informatics, and one PhD course, Quantitative Methods were being delivered in a synchronous format using a live classroom platform. The courses were redesigned with a focus on volume restricted recorded lectures, online student self-learning activities which included formative assessments of understanding of course material, increased time for students to receive meaningful feedback, and multiple attempts for completion of summative assessments.
Findings: In all three courses, student evaluations of instruction (SEI) demonstrated overall positive student experience with highest evaluation scores (mean > 4.4) in overall course quality, overall teaching effectiveness, emphasis of conceptual understanding, critical thinking and fair grading. For the Evidence-Based Research Course, evaluations included comments that recordings were helpful to learning, multiple attempts at testing alleviated student stress, use of online materials was engaging and informative, and that the class was very well organized. In the Nursing Informatics Course, comments on the SEI recognized excellence in recorded lectures, timeliness of feedback from professors, and effective integration of readings, lectures, and discussions. The SEI scores for the course on Quantitative methods, achieved a mean of 5 in all areas which is the highest overall ranking. In this course, students commented on the frequent and constructive feedback, and on methods for applying course materials to enhance learning. Changes in the PhD course resulted in student comments stating that enhanced flexibility for student time resulted in higher productivity in course assignments which is important as the assignments were designed to be specific to student research interests, and foundational to new scholarly programs of research. Faculty favored the hybrid format and recommended that the hybrid format be continued.
Recommendations: Graduate nursing faculty who are working to transition a synchronous course to hybrid should consider the use of QM standards. While synchronous courses have been viewed as not flexible for graduate professionals who are students, hybrid courses offer an alternative and still provide necessary student engagement with faculty. Incorporating evidence about what works for specific student populations in specific academic programs provides a more student-centered approach and can lead to improved course outcomes for learners and faculty. As graduate nursing programs continue to develop, it is key that faculty disseminate outcomes associated with novel teaching strategies to fill the gaps in the knowledge base for evidence-based teaching.