Perception of online teacher self-efficacy: A multi-state study of nursing faculty pivoting courses during COVID 19.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 forced many colleges and schools of nursing to abruptly pivot face-to-face learning to online formats. Online teaching is not new, but some faculty have not taught in a virtual environment and rapidly transitioning courses online was challenging. It is not known if teacher self-efficacy was impacted by these circumstances. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess online teacher self-efficacy of nursing faculty who transitioned at least one-face-to face course to an online format. We hypothesized that faculty with previous online teaching experience and greater self-rated instructional support would demonstrate higher online teacher self-efficacy scores compared to faculty who had little or no online teaching experience or reported less satisfaction with instructional support. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used. SETTING: Faculty from ten universities across the United States were recruited. PARTICIPANTS: Nursing faculty (N = 84) who transitioned at least one face-to-face course to an online format during COVID-19 were included in the study. METHODS: Participants completed the 32-item Michigan Nurse Educators Sense of Efficacy for Online Teaching (MNESEOT) instrument and a demographic questionnaire which included items about prior online teaching experience and instructional support. RESULTS: Participants scored overall teacher self-efficacy high (75th percentile). "Computer skills" were scored highest while "student engagement" scored lowest. Prior online teaching was a predictor of higher online teacher self-efficacy; however, instructional support was not a predictor of higher online teacher self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: Nursing faculty reported a high level of online teacher self-efficacy during an abrupt pivot from face-to-face teaching to a virtual format. Pre-emptive opportunities to teach online can build self-efficacy for novice faculty. Faculty and students will benefit from improving student engagement skills, especially during isolating and overwhelming events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transitioning to Teaching Online During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic many nursing educators have been required to abruptly convert to an online delivery model. Faculty need resources and support to transition face to face courses into an online format. PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to highlight nursing faculty perceptions of the effectiveness of resources, support, and methodologies for online teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used to collect data about nursing faculty resources, support and methodologies used to transition at least one undergraduate or graduate degree nursing course to an online format during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: Eighty-four faculty who taught in ten university colleges of nursing used varied teaching methodologies in online courses, but included some consistent methods such as websites and web based tools. The student engagement strategies that faculty were most satisfied with were journal writing and projects. Most faculty reported having information technology support and access to instructional design resources. CONCLUSION: Nursing faculty were resourceful, adaptive, and willing to use both novel and existing resources and methodologies to meet their teaching objectives and engage students. They were also, overall, satisfied with the administrative support they received from their respective institutions. Many of these resources, methodologies, and supports will continue to be used by faculty as likely more programs and courses will continue to be managed online.