Establishing Social, Cognitive, and Teaching Presence in Online Learning—A Panacea in COVID-19 Pandemic, Post Vaccine and Post Pandemic Times

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed instructors, academicians, and administrators working at institutions of higher education to re-evaluate and re-envision teaching and learning processes. While literature surrounding issues associated with transition to online learning and students’ satisfaction with online courses has started to emerge, there is paucity of work that addresses the gap in research—importance of faculty presence in online classes and how to build strong presence to create meaningful learning experiences for students especially as we continue to adapt to new normal and prepare for post-COVID world. With the primary focus on faculty presence in online classes, this article provides a comprehensive analysis of the effect of the pandemic on teaching and learning and how it influenced academic institutions worldwide. The importance of social, cognitive and teaching presence in online learning and how instructors can work towards building presence in online classes have been presented. The community of inquiry (COI) framework and how instructors can integrate this framework to build faculty presence in online classes has been described. Furthermore, research/evidence-based tips to engage learners and provide optimal learning experiences is presented. These findings may help faculty in applying COI to teaching and learning practices in the post-COVID educational world. This work is of value to faculty, administrators, and instructional designers who are preparing to teach and facilitate academic processes during the pandemic, post-vaccine stage and in the post-pandemic world.