Defining and Ensuring Academic Rigor in Online and On-Campus Courses: Instructor Perspectives.

Abstract

Academic rigor is a topic that resides at the very core of the traditional conception of the academy. At the dawn of this new millennium, the popularity of new pedagogical beliefs and instructional strategies, such as constructivism and problem-based learning, and delivery methods, such as online distance education, make it clear that it is time to review the conceptions of academic learning and to see if old definitions match the postsecondary educational practices of the new millennium. This study attempted to define what academic rigor means to the faculty members and graduate assistants who taught on-campus and online courses at a major Midwestern state university. The study sought to discover the level of importance these instructors gave to academic rigor and what strategies they used to ensure academic rigor in their courses. Finally, the researchers asked instructors about their strategies to ensure academic rigor in these two different delivery modes. (Contains 22 references.) (Author/AEF) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Defining and Ensuring Academic Rigor in Online and On-Campus Courses: Instructor Perspectives By: Charles Graham & Christopher Essex PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) it This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. 2 EST COPY AVAILABLE Defining and Ensuring Academic Rigor in Online and On-Campus Courses: Instructor Perspectives Abstract Charles Graham Christopher Essex Indiana UniversityCharles Graham Christopher Essex Indiana University This study attempted to define what academic rigor means to the faculty members and graduate assistants who taught on-campus and online courses at a major Midwestern state university. The study sought to discover the level of importance these instructors gave to academic rigor and what strategies they used to ensure academic rigor in their courses. Finally, the researchers asked instructors about their strategies to ensure academic rigor in these two different delivery methods.