Lesson 9 - Quality Teaching in a Digital Age

6.3. What About Academic Freedom? Do I Lose it Working in a Team?

No. The instructor(s) will always have final say over content and how it is to be taught. Instructional designers are advisers but responsibility for the content of the course, the way it is taught, and assessment methods always remains with the faculty member.

However, instructional and media producers should not be treated as servants, but as professionals with specialized skills. They should be respected and listened to. Often the instructional designer will have more experience of what will work and what will not in blended or online learning. Surgeons work with anaesthetists and nurses and trust them to do their jobs properly. The working relationship between instructors and instructional designers and media producers should be similar.

Working in a team makes life a lot easier for instructors when teaching blended or online courses. Good course design, which is the area of expertise of the instructional designer, not only enables students to learn better but also controls faculty workload. Courses look better with good graphic and web design and professional video production. Specialist technical help frees up instructors to concentrate on teaching and learning. What’s not to like?

This of course will depend heavily on the institution providing such support through a centre of teaching and learning. Nevertheless, this is an important decision that needs to be implemented before course design begins.