ANALYZING THE COMMUNICATION GAP BETWEEN THE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN CONSULTANT AND THE FACULTY MEMBER IN THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF A WEB-BASED COURSE ____________ A Thesis Presented To the Faculty of California State University, Chico ____________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Education: Curriculum and Instruction Option ____________ by © Timothy K. Rogers 2010 Spring 2010 ANALYZING THE COMMUNICATION GAP BETWEEN THE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN CONSULTANT AND THE FACULTY MEMBER IN THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF A WEB-BASED COURSE A Thesis by Timothy K. Rogers Spring 2010 APPROVED BY THE INTERIM DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE, INTERNATIONAL, AND INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES: Mark J. Morlock, Ph.D. APPROVED BY THE GRADUATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Cris Guenter, Ed.D. Cris Guenter, Ed.D., Chair Graduate Coordinator John Roussell, Ph.D. Michael Kotar, Ed.D. PUBLICATION RIGHTS No portion of this thesis may be reprinted or reproduced in any manner unacceptable to the usual copyright restrictions without the written permission of the author. iii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this work to Edwina Buchignani, the one person who encouraged me to not give up when I thought this whole process was impossible for me to complete. Thank you for your love and support. My sincere appreciation goes out to Rev. Eugene Huffman for being not only a spiritual patriarch, but also a father-like figure and friend. I thank the LORD for your many prayers, encouragement, and counsel while achieving this degree. Also, my gratitude goes out to Pauline Garzelli for her inspiration and insightfulness while being a “cheerleader” throughout this process. Sharing her profes- sional experiences that are related to this field has been enlightening, helpful, and impor- tant to me. Just because one has more education does not necessarily mean they have enough experience. Throughout this experience I have learned that knowledge and expe- rience are both precious commodities. Thank you all for believing in me! iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to my committee members, Dr. Cris Guenter, Dr. John Roussell, and Dr. Michael Kotar, for insight, support, and direction as they helped me to navigate all the way through my graduate program. Each in their own right possesses their own expertise, and as such, they mentored, guided, and laughed with me throughout this whole process. My gratitude extends to the Technology and Learning Program at California State University, Chico for providing me the opportunity to learn and grow as a profes- sional in the world of instructional design. My many thanks goes out to Claudine Franquet, Laura Sederberg, Peter DiFalco, and Ann Steckel for their individual expertise that has helped me to become who I am as an instructional designer. Many thanks extend to Don Penland for assisting me with constructing the online questionnaire that was used for data collection purposes. Your selfless servitude will be appreciated for years to come. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Publication Rights ....................................................................................................... iii Dedication ................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments....................................................................................................... v List of Tables .............................................................................................................. viii List of Figures ............................................................................................................. xi Abstract ....................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER I. Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem .............................................................. 4 Research Questions ....................................................................... 6 Purpose of the Study ..................................................................... 6 Theoretical Organization .............................................................. 7 Hypotheses .................................................................................... 8 Limitations of the Study................................................................ 8 Summary ....................................................................................... 9 Definition of Terms....................................................................... 9 II. Review of Literature ................................................................................. 11 Introduction ................................................................................... 11 The Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding .................. 13 Needs of Assessment and Task Analysis ...................................... 16 Communication Models ................................................................ 18 Executive Coaching/Technology Integrated Curriculum ............. 20 Effective Web-based Instruction ................................................... 25 Effective Web-based Course Design and Development ............... 30 Summary ....................................................................................... 35 vi CHAPTER PAGE III. Methodology ............................................................................................. 37 Overview ....................................................................................... 37 Design of Study............................................................................. 37 Participants .................................................................................... 40 Data Analysis Procedure ............................................................... 40 IV. Results and Discussion ............................................................................. 44 Overview ....................................................................................... 44 Presentation of the Findings.......................................................... 44 Instructional Designer Question 1 .................................... 45 Instructional Designer Question 2 .................................... 46 Instructional Designer Question 3 .................................... 49 Instructional Designer Question 4 .................................... 52 Faculty Survey/Questionnaire Analysis ........................................ 57 Demographic Frequency ............................................................... 57 Cross-tabulated Analysis .............................................................. 59 Faculty Short-answer Questions ................................................... 70 Faculty Member Short-answer Question 1 ....................... 70 Faculty Member Short-answer Question 2 ....................... 72 Faculty Member Short-answer Question 3 ....................... 73 Discussion of the Findings ............................................................ 76 V. Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations ....................................... 81 Introduction ................................................................................... 81 Summary ....................................................................................... 81 Conclusions ................................................................................... 82 Recommendations ......................................................................... 85 Suggestions for Further Research ................................................. 87 References .................................................................................................................. 89 Appendices A. Faculty Member Questionnaire Analyzing Communication Patterns .................................................................................................... 97 B. Instructional Designer Interview Questions Analyzing Communication Patterns ......................................................................... 103 C. Informed Consent forms ........................................................................... 105 D. Human Subjects Clearance Letter ............................................................. 108 vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Qualified Status of Respondents ............................................................... 58 2. Gender of Qualified Respondents ............................................................. 58 3. Age Distribution of Qualified Respondents .............................................. 59 4. Tenured Faculty ........................................................................................ 60 5. Tech Use ................................................................................................... 60 viii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Cross-tab comparison between Tech Use and question 2 ........................ 62 2. Cross-tab comparison between Tech Use and question 3 ........................ 63 3. Cross-tab comparison between Tech Use and question 5 ........................ 64 4. Cross-tab comparison between Tech Use and question 8 ........................ 65 5. Cross-tab comparison between Tech Use and question 11 ...................... 66 6. Cross-tab comparison between question 13 and question 2 .................... 67 7. Cross-tab comparison between question 2 and question 9 ...................... 68 8. Cross-tab comparison between question 4 and question 11 .................... 70 ix ABSTRACT ANALYZING THE COMMUNICATION GAP BETWEEN THE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN CONSULTANT AND THE FACULTY MEMBER IN THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF A WEB-BASED COURSE by © Tim K. Rogers 2010 Master of Arts in Education: Curriculum and Instruction Option California State University, Chico Spring 2010 The purpose of this thesis was to examine potential communication barriers between an instructional designer and a faculty member while in the process of develop- ing web-based course content using a learning management system. The analysis com- pares both faculty and instructional designer perspectives during this process. The intent of the author was to increase understanding related to the goals, outcomes, and needs of a faculty member and what instructional designers can do to improve potential communi- cation barriers between these two professionals. This study’s underpinnings are based on Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, which was used as the theoretical framework. x