Community Of Inquiry Framework Research Articles

(Meta)Cognitive Presence for Graduate Student Teacher Training

This qualitative study examines cognitive presence in a graduate-level online pedagogy course that introduced students to the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. Students wrote weekly reflections that described their own learning and speculated on how they could apply what they learned to create positive online learning environments for future students. This article focuses on a reflection students wrote about cognitive presence in which they analyzed their own engagement with the four phases of practical inquiry during the week they read articles that theorized cognitive presence. The results illustrate the value of metacognition about cognitive presence as a teacher training tool. The CoI framework gave students a vocabulary to describe their own learning and prompted them to reflect on when that learning was or was not visible to the instructor. This knowledge positively impacted their plans for designing learning environments to help their future online students move through the four phases of practical inquiry.

Constructivist learning environments: Validating the community of inquiry survey for face-to-face contexts

Serving as a prominent framework for online learning, the Community of Inquiry (CoI), identifies three factors critical to learning in online environments: teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence. However, application of the CoI framework to face-to-face classes has not been broadly or systematically explored, despite constructivist paradigms (e.g. flipped classrooms, team-based learning) being increasingly incorporated at the post-secondary level. Further, there remains some debate on whether such constructivist environments adequately support learning, with studies on their effectiveness revealing mixed results, as have studies comparing face-to-face and online learning contexts. A tool that measures students’ perceptions of constructivist learning environments could help address such inconsistencies. The purpose of this study was to validate the CoI scale, a measure developed for online contexts, for use in face-to-face contexts. Undergraduates ( n = 282) enrolled in face-to-face classes incorporating team-based learning completed the 34-item CoI scale. Confirmatory Factor Analysis validated the original three-factor structure for face-to-face classes has acceptable fit, suggesting this tool measures teaching, cognitive, and social presences in face-to-face courses. Further suggestions for how this measure might be used for the purposes of research and instructional feedback are included.

Exploring indicators of teaching presence in online learning from older adult learners’ perspectives

ABSTRACT Teaching presence is critical to online student success. While progress has been made in conceptualising and researching teaching presence, little is known about how it is experienced by older adult online learners. This article explores teaching presence indicators for older adult learners (55+ years old) in online courses, using the conceptual framework of teaching presence, a dimension of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework as a guide. Interview data reveal that (a) not all indicators were experienced equally, (b) multiple representations exist for each of the perceived indicators, and (c) some indicators of the CoI framework were inaccessible or absent from the view of older adults, although they were considered important. This study contributes to advancing a positive learning experience for older adults in online learning. More specifically, it addresses how to design online learning for older adult learners from a teaching presence lens.

Extending the UTAUT Model of Tencent Meeting for Online Courses by Including Community of Inquiry and Collaborative Learning Constructs

Synchronous videoconferencing has been chosen as a platform for conducting online courses after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, its acceptance has yet to be explored from interactive and cognitive aspects. This study aims to investigate factors influencing students’ acceptance of the online learning platform- Tencent Meeting/VooV Meeting, extending the UTAUT model by adding community of inquiry and collaborative learning constructs as external factors. A total of 1058 participants’ responses were collected in the autumn semester of 2022, and the survey results were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results show that most of the influencing factors proposed in the extending UTAUT model apply to Tencent Meeting. Specifically, performance expectancy, social influence, and cognitive presence can positively and significantly predict behavioral intention in using Tencent Meeting for online courses at the 0.001 level. Facilitating conditions and behavioral intention are both determinants of usage behavior. Teaching presence and collaborative learning can positively predict cognitive presence, which is the most influential factor of behavioral intention, indicating that collaborative learning and cognitive presence should be vital considerations in promoting the usage of online learning platforms. The present study expands upon our comprehension of the determinants that impact the utilization of Tencent Meeting, thereby offering recommendations for the development of online platforms according to the cognitive and interactive necessities of students. Instructors may contemplate the creation of online exercises that necessitate higher levels of collaboration to enhance student engagement and encourage cognitive presence, addressing students’ cognitive developmental demands in a supportive manner. This study is limited to the number of selected variables used to explicate the adoption of Tencent Meeting by users with the aid of UTAUT and the community of inquiry framework. It is anticipated that subsequent research may expand upon the array of variables under consideration, such as task-technology fit, usage habits, and information technology competence. The respondents surveyed primarily comprised individuals affiliated with Chinese language universities, with an imbalanced gender distribution, and an over-representation of liberal arts majors. Thus, the generalizability of the research could be impeded. Therefore, to augment the external validity of the study, future research may collect data from various educational levels and cultural backgrounds to corroborate the research outcomes.

Autonomous motivation in blended learning: Effects of teaching presence and basic psychological need satisfaction

Learner autonomous motivation is regarded as an important determinant of meaningful learning. Yet, facilitating autonomous motivation is a major concern for instructors of online and blended learning. Based on self-determination theory, this study aimed to investigate the relationships between higher education students’ perceived teaching presence, basic psychological need satisfaction, and autonomous motivation. In total, 466 blended learning students from three higher education institutes in the Maldives participated in the study. Data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire. The results from structural equation modeling showed that students’ perceived teaching presence influenced autonomous motivation through basic psychological need satisfaction. Additionally, the study revealed that teaching presence did not have a significant direct effect on autonomous motivation. The findings imply that teaching presence and its sub-constructs as defined in the Community of Inquiry framework can be used to provide basic psychological need supportive teaching and foster autonomous motivation in blended learning.

Understanding teachers' online professional learning: A “community of inquiry” perspective on the role of Chinese middle school teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, and online learning achievement

Teachers' online professional development (PD) has been valued as a crucial and effective way to promote teaching competencies. Forming a professional learning community has been recognized as a means to promote effective PD. Within this realm of research, the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework was deemed as a collaborative-constructivist process model that describes successful online learning experiences. The CoI has been associated with many psychological and educational variables, such as learning achievement and self-efficacy. This study leveraged on the CoI framework to assess teachers' online professional learning quality and explored its relationship with their self-efficacy and online professional learning achievement. A total of 456 teacher participants from Chinese middle schools participated in our study. A suite of questionnaires (the Community of Inquiry Questionnaire, the Teacher Efficacy Scale, and the Perceived Online Learning Achievement Scale) was distributed. Linear regression, PROCESS Macro mediation, and moderation analyses were run on the data to answer the research questions. Results revealed a significant relationship between teachers’ online learning quality and their self-efficacy and learning achievement. The mediating roles of self-efficacy and learning achievement were confirmed. The moderating role of time spent on receiving online professional learning was also recognized. Implications and future directions were discussed.

Instructor Leadership and the Community of Inquiry Framework: Applying Leadership Theory to Higher Education Online Learning

Higher education institutions continue to invest in online learning, yet research indicates instructors often lack experience, preparation, and guidance for teaching online. While instructor leadership is essential for meaningful online learning, few studies have investigated online instructors’ leadership behaviors. This study offers new insights into the conceptual and empirical alignment between instructor leadership, as interpreted through the dual lenses of organizational leadership theory and the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, proposing instructor leadership as foundational to the teaching and learning experience in a CoI. Specifically, the convergent mixed methods study investigated students’ (N = 87) and instructors’ (N = 7) perceptions of instructor servant leadership (SL) behaviors in an online graduate-level course designed to facilitate a CoI. Results demonstrate instructor SL behaviors were perceived differently by students and instructors, instructors’ self-perceptions were generally higher than students’ perceptions, and students’ perceptions of instructor SL were positively correlated with their satisfaction with the course and instructor. Implications offer insights into instructor leadership behaviors important for developing instructor leadership presence to facilitate meaningful learning and student satisfaction in higher education online learning.

The mediating role of learner empowerment in the relationship between the community of inquiry and online learning outcomes

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a rapid shift to online learning, making the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework increasingly relevant for creating meaningful and effective online learning experiences. However, the impact of CoI presences (i.e., teaching, social, and cognitive presence) on students' learning outcomes has been inconsistent in the literature, and a recent meta-analysis has identified a publication bias in this relationship, suggesting the need for a further investigation. This study aimed to enhance our understanding of how the CoI presences influence students' actual learning outcomes by incorporating learner empowerment as an essential learner characteristic. This study was conducted in two undergraduate courses that were abruptly shifted online due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship between the CoI presences, learner empowerment, and actual learning outcomes. The results show that learner empowerment has a direct and positive impact on students' actual learning outcomes, and partially mediates the relationship between CoI presences and learning outcomes. The findings highlight the significant mediating role of learner empowerment within the CoI framework and offer valuable insights into the design of productive online learning communities.

Lessons from a cross-institutional online professional development pilot

PurposeTo reflect on a collaborative approach used by a group of faculty and administrators from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) and predominantly Black institution (PBI) pharmacy programs to provide high quality, multiple institution, faculty development programming in online environments. DescriptionA pilot for a shared online professional development initiative between pharmacy programs at five HBCUs and one PBI was implemented as a two-hour combined video conference and webinar, with structured networking, instructional programming, and breakout group sessions. Learning outcomes focused on increasing knowledge and awareness of mindsets in faculty and students with additional project goals of beta-testing interactive web conference formats, developing cross-institutional networking, and identifying avenues for sharing resources and expertise. Analysis/interpretationKolb's Cycle of Experiential Learning (Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization, and Active Experimentation) was used to guide reflection on the joint workshop. The instructional design, delivery, and learning experiences of the program itself were analyzed using Garrison's Community of Inquiry Framework. ConclusionsAction research approaches can be applied to facilitate the continuous quality improvement cycle in multi-institution initiatives, such as joint faculty development programming. ImplicationsLessons related to cross-institutional collaboration, communities of practice development, networking, and communication can be used for future joint faculty development sessions and other shared initiatives for institutions serving minoritized students as well as other multiple institution consortiums.

Considering the Community of Inquiry Framework in Online Engineering Education – A Literature Review

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has gained considerable attention as a theoretical and methodological means to understand and facilitate online learning experiences. Following calls for more studies investigating disciplinary differences and blended learning environments, this semi-systematic literature review summarizes and synthesizes CoI’s application in online engineering education, to provide a base for informed judgments about its potential for educational research and practice in this particular context. Based on 22 reviewed articles, we show that CoI is a promising framework not only as an evaluation tool for online and blended learning environments in engineering education but also for the design of online engineering courses that want to build their learning design on a collaborative constructivist view of learning. However, compared to the richness of the general literature on CoI and in other fields, the utilization of CoI in engineering education is still very new and appears to still be in a junior state. Accordingly, we suggest several directions for improvement and further research.

University Teachers’ Experiences of Teaching Hands-On Components in Science and Technology in Primary Teacher Education during COVID-19

ABSTRACT Teacher education programs have the dual task of teaching specific subject content while also providing examples of how this content can be taught in schools. This task is especially important, and also problematic, when it comes to technology and science education, where hands-on components such as design/construction exercises, laboratory exercises, and excursions are central epistemic practices. When COVID-19 hit, Swedish universities were forced to change from campus-based teaching to online distance education, termed “emergency remote teaching (ERT).” The present study aims to investigate university teachers’ experiences of how hands-on components in science and technology education worked in the ERT mode that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis was performed with a social semiotics and community of inquiry framework, and shows that both the type of instruction and the subject content were impacted. In particular, the reduced opportunities for students to apply scientific and technical methods and the reduced ability of teachers to determine whether the students had understood their instruction generated new ways of communicating and supporting the students’ learning. Therefore, analysis of meaning making in science and technology online-learning contexts needs to address the topics of the nature of science (NOS) and the nature of technology (NOT). An extended, three-dimensional model of meaning making is suggested.

Examining Social Presence, Team Cohesion, and Collaborative Writing in Online Teams

In a case study involving three asynchronous online professional writing courses, this research investigates students’ abilities to establish a social presence and build team cohesion via collaborative, team-based writing projects. Using the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework, this study is situated in the understanding that teaching and learning in higher education are not about the mere transmission of knowledge but that “teaching and learning are inherently interactive” as the terms of “community” and “inquiry” used in the framework suggest. Prior researchers have also established a clear connection between one element of the COI framework— social presence and student satisfaction in online courses. Findings from this study indicate participation in collaborative team assignments contributes to team cohesion and positively affects students’ ability to establish their social presence within online environments as well as transfer their knowledge to other contexts.

A Network Analysis-Driven Sequential Mediation Analysis of Students' Perceived Classroom Comfort and Perceived Faculty Support on the Relationship between Teachers' Cognitive Presence and Students' Grit-A Holistic Learning Approach.

The interaction between teachers and students is critical to the learning process. Student success and learner satisfaction have consistently improved in educational situations where instructors and students connect frequently and meaningfully. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, as well as the sense of belonging concept, have received a significant amount of attention from researchers investigating online learning since its debut. The current study focuses on the CoI framework in general, and in particular on studies on teaching, social, and cognitive presences in connection to students' feeling of belonging and grit enhancement. This research investigated the opinion of 310 students at the Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad regarding their satisfaction with their teachers' presences, their academic sense of belonging, and their grit. Our methodology followed an innovative approach. First, we employed a network analysis on all subscales' mean scores, and then we performed a sequential mediation analysis based on both the network analysis results and the conclusions from the literature review. We tested whether students' perceived classroom comfort and perceived faculty support sequentially mediated the relationship between teacher's cognitive presence and students' grit. According to the scientific literature, teacher's cognitive presence consists of four fundamental categories: triggering events, exploration, integration, and resolution, which specifically the validation of knowledge by cooperation and reflection in a community of inquiry. We further tested if sense of belonging might mediate the relationship between teachers' cognitive presence and students' grit. The results show that students' perceived classroom comfort and perceived faculty support partially and significantly sequentially mediate the relationship between teachers' cognitive presence triggering events and students' grit. The results are then further used to suggest possible recommendations for designing holistic learning environments in Romanian higher education institutions.

Student perceptions of the community of inquiry framework and satisfaction: Examining the role of academic emotion and self-regulation in a structural model

As many schools remain closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, various courses have to be migrated online. Previous studies have showed that students’ satisfaction of the courses could reflect the quality of online learning, which is determined by students’ perception of online courses. Although the community of inquiry (CoI) framework provided an effective tool for measuring students’ perception in online learning, the mechanisms between the CoI and satisfaction, especially the role of academic emotion and self-regulation, still need to be investigated in the online context. The present study aimed to (1) explore the relationships among three elements of the CoI framework; and (2) explore the relationships between the CoI and satisfaction, as well as the mediating role of academic emotion and self-regulation. The data was collected from 461 university students who were taking online courses in China. The results of Structural Equation Modeling showed that teaching presence significantly and positively predicted social presence and cognitive presence; both positive and negative academic emotions played the mediating roles between teaching presence, social presence and satisfaction; self-regulation played the mediating role between teaching presence, cognitive presence and satisfaction. The present study provided empirical evidence for the dynamics among the CoI framework as well as mechanisms between CoI and satisfaction in the online education environment.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chemistry Student and Staff Perceptions of their Learning/Teaching Experience.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Leicester introduced a blended teaching model to continue delivery of their undergraduate Chemistry courses in 2020/21. The transition from in-person to blended provided a good opportunity to investigate student engagement in the blended environment, along with the attitudes of faculty members adapting to this mode of delivery. Data from 94 undergraduate students and 13 staff members was collected using surveys, focus groups, and interviews and analyzed using the community of inquiry framework. Analysis of the collected data found that, while some students felt unable to always engage and focus with the remote material, they were pleased with the University's response to the pandemic. Staff members commented on the challenges of gauging student engagement and understanding in synchronous contact sessions because students did not make use of cameras or microphones but praised the array of digital tools available that helped to facilitate some degree of student interaction. This study suggests there is scope for continuation and wider implementation of blended learning environments to provide additional contingency for further disruption to on-campus teaching and to provide new teaching opportunities, and it also presents recommendations as to how to reinforce the community of inquiry presences in blended learning.

Impact of interactivity on learning outcome in online learning settings: Ordinal logit model

The study aimed to investigate the relationship between content, teaching, and LMS platform, and student achievement in online classes. To accomplish this, the study drew upon the transactional distance theory and the community of inquiry framework. Using log data from the LMS platform, the study analyzed the impact of student-faculty interaction, student-content interaction, and student-systems interaction on learning outcomes. The sample consisted of online classes offered in the Department of International Marketing at B University in Korea during the spring semester of 2022. The study specifically targeted classes with 40 or more students to ensure an adequate sample size. The researchers used parallelism tests to confirm the validity of the research model, followed by a goodness of fit test with an ordinal Logit model. The results indicated that all three factors of interaction (content, teaching, and platform) had a significant positive effect on learning outcomes, while student-Zoom interaction did not. The interaction between learners and content was found to be the most important predictor of learning achievement, suggesting that student engagement with course materials plays a crucial role in their academic success. The study’s findings have important implications for educators who are interested in improving online teaching and learning. The study recommends expanding the empirical analysis of the research model from the existing structural equation or multiple regression model to the ordinal logit model to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of these factors on student achievement. Overall, the study highlights the importance of considering the complex interaction between content, teaching, and platform in designing and delivering effective online courses that promote student engagement and achievement.

Online Learning in Low-tech environments – What works, what doesn’t?

The COVID-19-induced pandemic compelled all schools and colleges to shift abruptly to online learning to continue education for students. Set in the context of a low-technological online learning environment in public schools in India, this study examined the contextual factors that supported or impeded online learning for middle school students drawn from 11 states of India. 
 The Community of Inquiry (COI) Framework (Garrison et al., 2000) served as a theoretical lens to examine teachers’ online practices and how contextual factors affected teachers’ practices and students’ experience of the three presences of the COI framework. 
 A qualitative study using interviews, and focus group discussions were conducted with students, teachers, education department officials and parents. Students’ interviews were conducted using Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) tools and group discussions. Device accessibility, poor networks, low competency and familiarity with online teaching and learning technology not only inhibited students’ from accessing online learning but also inhibited teachers from establishing effective online teaching practices in alignment with the COI framework. Drawing from the insights generated in the study, the paper proposes ways for creating more effective learning experiences in a technology-deficient online learning environment.

Educational Experience and Instructional Design Effectiveness Within the Community of Inquiry Framework

Within its 20 years of development, the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has become the most widely used theoretical framework in e-learning. It is considered in much of the distance education literature to be a robust collaborative-constructivist process model that uses three essential elements to interpret educational experience: cognitive presence, teaching presence, and social presence. Widespread use of the CoI framework has resulted in several criticisms, such as having no guidelines for implementation, no incorporation of assessment and evaluation metrics, and no widespread consensus on the current model’s ability to represent all the contributing factors that promote a positive educational experience. However, there is an opportunity to overcome these shortcomings, some of which may exist, and to use the CoI’s extraordinary strength in creating a positive education experience, by adding instructional design effectiveness. The purpose of this combination of a literature review and opinion is to present the CoI framework and its major controversies to shine a light on its importance as one approach to designing critical parts of e-learning. Additionally, given the CoI’s purpose of creating a positive educational experience, this paper argues to make explicit to instructional designers and instructors the need to address using the CoI framework within an effective overall design.

The role of feedback in building teaching presence and student self-regulation in online learning

In this research we studied usable strategies to promote student engagement and learning in the online classroom specifically connected to the development of teaching presence and student self-regulation. A design-based research approach (Barab & Squire, 2004) with multiple methods of data collection were used in the study's design, which was informed by the Garrison et al.’s Community of Inquiry framework and Zimmerman's cycle of self-regulatory phases. Qualitative sources of data included coursework and semi-structured interviews with three student participants, accompanied by text-based planning and debrief notes, and a semi-structured interview with one instructor. The study context was an online course connected to a Bachelor of Education program at a university in Ontario, Canada. Findings indicate students experienced teaching presence directly in the timely, strengths-based and personal feedback they received. Regular feedback helped students know their work was being seen and that they were “on the right track”. Strengths-based and personal feedback aided student motivation and self-regulation, which emerged as important for ongoing engagement and learning online. Recommendations that emerged from this study are of interest internationally to designers of online learning courses, online instructors and researchers in online learning.

Attributes of Blended Learning Environments Designed to Foster a Sense of Belonging for Higher Education Students

Aim/Purpose: This article seeks answers to the following: (1) What describes a ‘sense of belonging’, inclusiveness, and well-being for students? (2) Which aspects of blended learning, synchronous and asynchronous, promote students’ ‘sense of belonging’? and (3) What are the state-of-the-art best practices for creating inclusive curriculum design for blended learning? Background: For university students, experiencing a strong ‘sense of belonging’ with their learning communities is a reliable predictor of academic adjustment and program success. The disruption to usual teaching modes caused by the COVID pandemic has diminished opportunities for social engagement among students and their teachers, intensifying the need to encourage students’ belongingness as being ever more important. Methodology: This article surveys the literature, pre- and post-COVID, using two complementary search techniques: (1) a systematic scoping review, a top-down strategy, and (2) snowballing, a bottom-up approach, seeking the answers to the three research questions above. Contribution: The synthesis presented in the paper provides answers to these questions influenced, in part, by the Community of Inquiry framework and the Universal Design for Learning guidelines. Further, based on our findings from this investigation we offer a set of salient attributes of best practices in designing curriculum for blended learning environments, that is inclusive and fosters a sense of belonging for higher education students Findings: We discovered that belongingness is different for various cohorts. Further, many interventions to improve student wellbeing, and learning experiences on and offline, were built around social, teaching, and cognitive presences. Additionally, our investigation found that blended learning, regardless of the proportion of online versus offline instruction, was generally a positive influence on academic outcomes and student learning. Recommendations for Practitioners: The set of attributes presented offers practical and helpful approaches to improve curriculum design to promote higher education students’ sense of belonging. Recommendation for Researchers: We highlight the lack of specificity in the literature regarding synchronous versus asynchronous learning pedagogy that promotes inclusiveness and a sense of belonging, and we detail our plans for future work will attempt to address this omission. Impact on Society: As a result of the COVID pandemic, many higher education institutions made a sudden and rapid transition to online learning exclusively. As institutions start the move back to more traditional modes of learning, this paper highlights the considerations to be made in using blended learning environments. Future Research: Our plans include seeking student and academic advice and feedback on approaches that foster a sense of belonging for higher education students.