Implementation of a Faculty Development Program Though Coursera: From the Instructional Design to the Results

In a predominantly technological environment, higher education institutions have chosen to move from faculty traditional training to comprehensive online training programs. A transition of this magnitude requires a careful implementation and assessment process. This study describes the process of design, validation, production, implementation, and assessment of the online training developed by Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (Unitec), in Honduras, in alliance with Coursera. This study is motivated by the need to understand how effective an online training program can be following participant’s perception and big data analysis. This paper systematizes all the stages developed to design and implement the faculty development program through Coursera, including all the resources and templates used. For the assessment stage, a quantitative approach was used, analyzing the statistics provided by Coursera and the information collected through the self-perception survey completed for 110 professors involved in the training experience. From the survey results, participants highlighted three positive aspects: quality of the contents, flexibility of schedules and the possibility to interact with peers. They also stated that it would be important to have an induction session to recognize the virtual environment and to explore the methodology program. Based on the participants perception, the online training program offers multiple advantages: self-regulation, flexibility, and collaborative work. This online training experience represented an opportunity for faculty members to connect with the problems and challenges that students face on virtual environments.