The experiences of blended online distance education facilitators in a credit recovery environment: A qualitative study

The accountability of the national No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts to identify and provide academic support for their at-risk students. Guided by No Child Left Behind Act’s descriptors, districts in the West region began to provide at-risk programs for their students. As technology advanced and digital curriculum evolved, at-risk programs adapted. Research identified the appropriateness of Online Distance Education environment (hereafter known as ODE) for credit recovery, and districts incorporated ODE into their at-risk programs for credit recovery. Some of these programs utilized commercially leased online distance learning curriculum with on-site facilitators, also known as blended ODE environments. Despite being thriving educational environments, little is known about facilitators’ experiences within blended ODE environments. Even less is known about facilitators’ experiences in blended ODE credit recovery environments. This instrumental case study gathered qualitative data through emailed electronic surveys and sixteen one-on-one interviews of the facilitator experiences in blended ODE credit recovery environments. Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory guided the collection and analysis of data. Five themes emerged. The first theme was facilitators’ experiences within the lab environment. The second theme revolved around facilitators’ adaption to the digital curriculum and course management system combined with its impact on facilitator and student interactions. The adaption of educational philosophies of the facilitators and students emerged as the third theme. The fourth theme was facilitators’ professional development. And the last theme explored the facilitator’s definition of their role in the lab combined with criteria for future facilitators. Findings showed that many facilitators entered the blended ODE credit recovery environment with only superficial knowledge of the pedagogical needs of the new learning environment. It was not until the facilitators were in the lab working with their at-risk students that they began to understand the pedagogical mindset shift the new environment would require from them and their at-risk students. Facilitators learned the new environment required them to interact differently with their at-risk students, and the at-risk students found the new environment required them to accept a more active role in their education.