Towards the Development of Qualities of Online Programming Teachers Instrument

This paper reports the initial findings of the first part of the two-part study which investigated the qualities of online programming teachers. The first part was a qualitative design that employed a grounded theory approach. Ten students were interviewed about the qualities of teachers they like and dislike. Another group of students (n = 58) were asked the same question using an open-ended questionnaire. Thematic analysis of the data collected from two sets of participants revealed that desirable characteristics of teachers were mainly attributed to their delivery skills. The personality of teachers is another aspect of their desirability or undesirability. Thus, the initial attributes of qualities of good online programming teachers are mainly attributed to their extrinsic (e.g., delivery skills) and intrinsic (e.g., personality) qualities. The plan for further research is also discussed.