Supporting teachers in higher education: design of an institutional programme from a socio-technical perspective

Abstract

Purpose: the acceleration of technology adoption in higher education, prompted by the global shift to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, called for responsive programmes to address pedagogical challenges. This paper aims to present the design process and initial adoption of an institutional programme created to support instructors in providing educational resources for online and hybrid undergraduate courses at Reykjavik University.

Design/methodology/approach: by adopting a socio-technical perspective, the programme encompasses teacher support and digital platform use. Additionally, the programme aimed to enhance the student experience by increasing course consistency and facilitating data collection for future research on learning analytics.

Findings: the findings demonstrate the programme’s successful adoption, effectively strengthening teachers’ practices. Key contributions include a teacher-centric perspective on technology challenges and a socio-technical conceptualisation informed by teachers’ experiences during the pandemic.

Originality/value: this research provides valuable insights for teachers, administrators and researchers developing similar initiatives for effective professional development of faculty in online and hybrid teaching environments.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Maria Oskarsdottir: orcid.org/0000-0001-5095-5356

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