Community of Inquiry

The purpose of this study was to explore the dynamics of an online educational experience through the lens of the Community of Inquiry framework. Transcript analysis of online discussion postings and the Community of Inquiry survey were applied in order to understand the progression and integration of each of the Community of Inquiry presences. The results indicated significant change in teaching and social presence categories over time. Moreover, survey results yielded significant relationships among teaching presence, cognitive presence and social presence, and students’ perceived learning and satisfaction in the course. The findings have important implications theoretically in terms of confirming the framework and practically by identifying the dynamics of each of the presences and their association with perceived learning and satisfaction.

Since its publication in The Internet and Higher Education, Garrison, Anderson, and Archer's [Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer,W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105.] community of inquiry (CoI) framework has generated substantial interest among online learning researchers. This literature review examines recent research pertaining to the overall framework as well as to specific studies on social, teaching, and cognitive presence. We then use the findings from this literature to identify potential future directions for research. Some of these research directions include the need for more quantitatively-oriented studies, the need for more cross-disciplinary studies, and the opportunities for identifying factors that moderate and/or extend the relationship between the framework's components and online course outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the results of a study that examines whether the CoI dimensions of social, teaching and cognitive presence distinctively exist in e-learning environments. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. First, I will briefly review recent studies on the dimensions of this framework: social, cognitive, and teaching presence. Second, I discuss the development of the sample of MBA students in online courses over a two-year period at a Midwestern U.S. university and the items used to measure the CoI dimensions. Next, I will describe the results of an exploratory factor analysis, including an interpretation of the emerging factors. Finally, I will discuss how these findings relate to conclusions presented in Garrison's review of recent research related to the CoI [10] and present some possible directions for future research.

Cleveland-Innes, M., Garrison, D.R. & Kinsel, E. (2007). Role Adjustment for Learners in an Online Community of Inquiry: Identifying the Challenges of Incoming Online Learners. International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies, 2(1), 1-16.

This study outlines the process of adjustment learners experience when first participating in an online environment. Findings from a pilot study of adjustment to online learning environments validate differences found in three presences in an online community of inquiry. Using pre- and post-questionnaires, students enrolled in entry-level courses in two graduate degree programs at Athabasca University, Canada, describe their adjustment to online learning. Responses were analyzed in relation to the elements of cognitive, social, and teaching presence, defined by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) as core dimensions of student role requirements in an online community of inquiry. In each of these presences, five areas of adjustment characterize the move toward competence in online learning: interaction, self-identity, instructor role, course design, and technology. Student comments provide understanding of the experience of first time online learners, including the challenges, interventions, and resolutions that present themselves as unique incidents. Recommendations for the support and facilitation of adjustment are made.

Shea, P.J. (2006). A study of students' sense of community in online learning environments. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Network, 10(1), 35-44.

This paper looks first at some of the often unspoken epistemological, philosophical, and theoretical assumptions that are foundational to student-centered, interactive online pedagogical models. It is argued that these foundational assumptions point to the importance of learning community in the effectiveness of online learning environments. Next, a recent study of 2314 online students across thirty-two college campuses is presented. This study reports on learners' sense of community and it is concluded through factor and regression analysis that elements of the Community of Inquiry model [1]-specifically learners' recognition of effective "directed facilitation" and effective instructional design and organization on the part of their instructor contributes to their sense of shared purpose, trust, connectedness, and learning-core elements of a community of learners. Gender also appears to play a small role in students' sense of learning community with female students reporting higher levels than their male classmates. Implications for online learning environments design are discussed.

Redmond, P. & Lock, J.V. (2006). A flexible Framework for online collaborative learning. The Internet and Higher Education, 9, 267 - 276.

This paper presents a framework for online collaborative learning, also known as telecollaboration. At the centre of this flexible framework are online collaborative educational experiences where knowledge creation and knowledge in action are the nexus of social, teaching and cognitive presence based on the Community of Inquiry model of Garrison, Anderson and Archers [Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., and Archer, W. (1999). Critical thinking in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105]. The framework provided should guide educators as they design, develop and implement authentic educational experiences within local, national or international settings in partnership with other educational stakeholders.

Conrad, D. (2005). Building and Maintaining Community in Cohort-Based Online Learning. Journal of Distance Education, 20(1), 1-20.

In a multi-year study of a group of learners engaged in online graduate study, I explored the development of learners' sense of community using a variety of data-gathering instruments. An initial questionnaire established learners' pre-program perceptions of online learning and the notion of community; subsequent questionnaires, interviews, and a focus group monitored developments in learners' relationships with each other and in their sense of community. The longitudinal nature of this study afforded a rich and sustained investigation into the nature of community as it was experienced by one group of learners. Findings revealed that learners' perceptions of community and online learning shifted away from technical considerations and toward affective considerations; that learners took responsibility, and credit, for the creation and maintenance of their sense of community; and that the existence of robust community did not deflect learners from valuing face-to-face contact with cohort members.

Garrison, D.R., Cleveland-Innes, M. & Fung, T. (2004). Student Role adjustment in online communities of inquiry. Model and instrument validation. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Network, 8(2), 61 - 74.

The purpose of this study is to validate an instrument to study role adjustment of students new to an online community of inquiry. The community of inquiry conceptual model for online learning was used to shape this research and identify the core elements and conditions associated with role adjustment to online learning (Garrison, Anderson and Archer, 2000). Through a factor analytic process it is shown that the instrument did reflect the theoretical model. It was also useful in refining the items for the questionnaire. The instrument is for use in future research designed to measure and understand student role adjustment in online learning.