Examining Student Experience of Blended Learning from the Perspective of the Community of Inquiry Framework

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Blended learning evolved from educational technology and it connects learning in and beyond the classroom. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) is a framework for blended learning from a socio-constructivist perspective in which learning is based on educational experiences in the environment with collaboration and interaction. The purpose of this paper is to explore student experience in a blended learning course from the viewpoint of the CoI. A case study approach using qualitative methods is used in the research. By examining the experiences of the students, social presence, cognitive presence and teaching presence were found. Although these three elements are required for educational experiences in blended learning, an unexpected issue about students' learning in the community without teaching presence was identified. This paper suggests that the role of learning autonomy and its relation to the community should be considered in the CoI framework. The value of this paper is that it confirms the elements in the CoI and proposes the addition of a new element in the framework.