An exploration of teaching presence in online interprofessional education facilitation

Abstract

Background: Although the prevalence of online asynchronous interprofessional education (IPE) has increased in the last decade, little is known about the processes of facilitation in this environment. The teaching presence element of the Community of Inquiry Framework offers an approach to analyze the contributions of online facilitators, however, to date it has only been used on a limited basis in health professions education literature.

Aim: Using an exploratory case study design, we explored the types of contributions made by IPE facilitators to asynchronous interprofessional team discussions by applying the notion of teaching presence.

Methods: Using a purposeful sampling approach, we analyzed 14 facilitators’ contributions to asynchronous team discussion boards in an online IPE course. We analyzed data using directed content analysis based on the key indicators of teaching presence.

Results: The online IPE facilitators undertook the three critical pedagogical functions identified in teaching presence: facilitating discourse, direct instruction, and instructional design and organization. While our data fitted well with a number of key activities embedded in these three functions, further modification of the teaching presence concept was needed to describe our facilitators’ teaching presence.

Conclusions: This study provides an initial insight into the key elements of online asynchronous IPE facilitation. Further research is required to continue to illuminate the complexity of online asynchronous IPE facilitation.

Acknowledgements

The study was approved by Deakin University Ethics Committee Human Research Ethics Committee (HEAG-H 129-2014).

Disclosure statement

The authors reports no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Glossary

Interprofessional education – already in MedEdWorld glossary

Facilitation “is the process of helping groups, or individuals to learn, find solutions, or reach consensus without imposing or dictating an outcome. Facilitation works to empower individuals or groups to learn for themselves or find their own answers to problems”. This is a widely used definition of facilitation, certainly in the interprofessional arena, and one that we think accurately summarizes its meaning. Despite its wide use, it is poorly referenced and we have been unable to find its original origins, and therefore it may not be able to be used. We originally obtained it from:

Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation’s (CWGHR) Online Module Facilitators’ Guide, 2013, authored by CWGHR, College of Health Disciplines: University of British Columbia, University of Manitoba, University of Toronto and Dalhousie University. Prepared by Victoria Wood, UBC. www.hivandrehab.ca

Asynchronous learning is a student-centered teaching method that uses online learning resources to facilitate information sharing outside the constraints of time and place among a network of people.

This is quite an old definition now but one that has been well cited. Mayadas, F (1997), “Asynchronous learning networks: a Sloan Foundation perspective”, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 1.

Notes on contributors

Sherryn Evans, M Diet, is a Senior Lecturer and the Interprofessional Education Coordinator in the Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Australia.

Catherine Ward, B App Sc OT, is a Lecturer in Interprofessional Education in the Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Australia.

Scott Reeves, PhD, is Professor in Interprofessional Research at the Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Kingston University and St George’s, University of London, UK.