Applying the community of inquiry framework to inform the instructional design of online graduate courses
Date
2017
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
As institutions continue to expand their online learning programs, it becomes increasingly important to identify research-based strategies to support their design. Numerous professional organizations provide guidance to institutions to direct the mechanics of online delivery. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison, Anderson, Archer, 2000), a seminal work, is a prominent model for the development and evaluation of online courses and programs. The research suggests that by cultivating the three presences of CoI (social, cognitive, and teaching presences) and using them as a lens to design and evaluate programs, a high degree of student satisfaction, retention, and self-reported learning may result (Akyol & Garrison, 2008; Kumar, Dawson, Black, Cavanaugh, & Sessums, 2011; Meyer, Bruwelheide, & Poulin, 2009). ☐ A fully online master’s program recently graduated its first student cohort, presenting the opportunity to apply the CoI framework to the courses. The questions that directed this project originated from an interest to determine how the CoI might be reflected in the courses, how technological affordances were leveraged, and how the CoI could inform the instructional design of the course activities. ☐ Findings from this project suggest that the courses did reflect the CoI framework despite the fact that instructors did not knowingly use it as a guiding model. Recommendations are also presented which may further leverage affordances and better reflect the strengths of the CoI framework in course design.
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Keywords
Education, Cognitive presence, Community of inquiry, Online, Social presence, Teaching presence