Journal of Interactive Online Learning www.ncolr.org/jiol Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2007 ISSN: 1541-4914 1 Frequency and Time Investment of Instructors’ Participation in Threaded Discussions in the Online Classroom B. Jean Mandernach, Amber Dailey-Hebert, and Emily Donnelli-Sallee Park University Abstract The movement into online education has raised concerns about the workload demands placed on faculty teaching online classes. Research indicates that faculty report a greater time investment for online classes than for equivalent face-to-face courses; concerns about time investment are compounded with the considerable ambiguity surrounding the perceived availability of faculty teaching in a 24/7 online environment. The continuous, open nature of the virtual classroom raises a host of questions surrounding the frequency of instructor interaction, timing of interactions, and an instructor’s availability to students. One of the most popular and pedagogically effective forms of virtual classroom interaction is via threaded discussions. The purpose of the current study was to examine frequency and time investment of an online instructor’s participation in course-specific threaded discussions in order to provide a more accurate picture of the faculty investment in the ongoing facilitation of an online course, independent of course development. Results indicated considerable variability in both frequency and time investment of threaded discussion participation. While research indicates the threaded discussions are a very effective means of promoting active involvement with course materials, it appears as though there is little consistency among experienced online instructors as to the instructional investment required to take advantage of the educational gains available through this type of electronically-mediated instruction. Introduction The merge of the Internet with the educational sector has seen a proliferation of distance education programs; as evidence, enrollment in distance education courses is estimated at over 2,876,000 students (National Center for Education Statistics, 2001). With the continued growth of distance education, as well as the movement of traditional institutions to supplement face-to- face offerings with online and hybrid courses, an increasing number of faculty are transitioning to the online teaching environment. The movement into online education raises questions about the workload and time demands required for faculty engaged in online teaching. While it is commonly known that online instruction requires a significant investment of time to prepare, design, and review course structure as well as to implement alternative teaching techniques and assessments (Lim, 2001), research is needed to examine faculty time investments for facilitating the ongoing instruction and interaction within online courses (DeVries & Lim, 2003). Research indicates that online teaching requires more time and effort than face-to-face teaching (Berge, Muilenburg, & Haneghan, 2002; Cavanaugh, 2005; Hartman, Dziuban, & Moskal, 2000; O'Quinn & Corry 2002; Pattillo, 2005; Sellani & Harrington, 2002; and Schifter, 2000). Contributing to the increased time demands is the preplanning involved in online course development as well as the instruction and mastery of necessary technological skills. Specifically, online instruction requires more deliberate planning of learning outcomes, activities, and support (DeVries & Lim, 2003) in order to facilitate the organization of course