community of inquiry framework

COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY FR AMEWORK

INFORMING INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN & LEARNING

Phil Ice, American Public University System Jennifer Richardson, Purdue University

Karen Swan, University of Illinois Springfield

•  CoI Framework •  Social Presence (SP) •  Cognitive Presence (CP) •  Teaching Presence (TP)

•  CoI Survey •  Development/Validation •  Emerging Findings •  Practical Applications

•  Applying CoI to the Design & Teaching of Online & Blended Courses

•  Design & Organization •  Facilitation of Discourse •  Direct Instruction •  Your Course(s)/Program •  CoI Survey as an Evaluation Tool

COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY FR AMEWORK (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000)

•  a process model of learning in online and blended educational environments

•  grounded in a collaborative constructivist view of higher education

•  assumes effective online learning requires the development of a community of learners that supports meaningful inquiry and deep learning

cognitive presence social presence

teaching presence

LEARNING

COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY FRAMEWORK

social presence

the ability of participants in a community of inquiry to project themselves socially and emotionally

-- as ‘real’ people; the degree to which participants in computer mediated communication feel socially and emotionally connected

social presence

elements – affective expression, open communication (cohesiveness), group cohesion (interactivity)

IMMEDIACY COGNITIVE LEARNING

STATE MOTIVATION

AFFECTIVE LEARNING Christophel, 1990; Richmond, 1990; Frymeir, 1994

MOTIVATION MODEL

IMMEDIACY COGNITIVE LEARNING

AFFECTIVE LEARNING

Kelley & Gorham, 1988; Gorham, 1988

Plax & Wendt-Wasco, 1985; Richmond, Gorham & McCroskey, 1987; Gorham, 1988

LEARNING MODEL

COGNITIVE LEARNING

AFFECTIVE LEARNING IMMEDIACY

Rodriguez, Plax & Kearney, 1996

AFFECTIVE LEARNING MODEL

teacher immediacy

•  social presence theory (Short, Williams & Christie, 1976) – ranking by users (impersonal/personal, unsociable/sociable, insensitive/sensitive, cold/warm) of various media

•  media richness theory (Rice, 1992) – measures a medium’s capacity for immediate feedback, senses involved, personalization, and language variety

§  social presence can be (strongly) felt by participants in computer-mediated communication (Walther, 1994; Gunawardena, 1995; Tu & McIsaac, 2002; Richardson & Swan, 2003)

§  and projected into text-based asynchronous discussion using verbal immediacy indicators alone

(Rourke, Anderson, Garrison & Archer, 2001; Swan, 2002; 2003)

research findings

§  perceptions of social presence are linked to student satisfaction in online courses (Gunawardena, Lowe & Anderson,1997; Tu, 2002; Richardson & Swan, 2003)

§  and to (perceived) learning from them (Walther, 1994; Gunawardena, 1995; Picciano, 2002; Richardson & Swan, 2003)

research findings

§  differences in effects of social presence of instructors & peers (Swan & Shih, 2005)

§  and interesting differences among student perceptions (Swan & Shih, 2005)

§  relationship of social presence to course design factors – social context, communication, interactivity (Tu, 2000; Tu & McIssac, 2002)

research findings

What could you do to help establish social presence in online courses?

§  Create a “Meet Your Classmates” section of your course where you and students introduce yourselves to one another.

§  Explicitly introduce students to the unique nature and learning potential of online discussion

§  Establish rules of Netiquette for your course. §  Develop initial course activities to encourage the

development of swift trust. §  Model & encourage the use of verbal immediacy

behaviors in interactions with students. §  Encourage students to share experiences & beliefs

in online discussion.

Social Presence: tips & techniques

§  Make participation in discussion a significant part of course grades.

§  Require discussion participants to respond to their classmates postings &/or to respond to all responses to their own postings.

§  Make students responsible for sustaining discussion threads.

§  Make students summarize discussion threads. §  Require students to incorporate materials from the

discussions in their assignments. §  Encourage & support vicarious interaction. §  Use tracking mechanisms to reward reading as

well as responding to messages. §  Use short videos of yourself to introduce the

course and particular topics.


§  Journal or otherwise interact with your students on an individual and personal basis.

§  Use audio to embed feedback on assignments within them.

§  Design community building activities. §  Design collaborative activities – problem solving

tasks, projects, small group discussion. §  Consider including real time communications

using applications such as chat, collaborative whiteboards, interactive video.

§  Consider incorporating Web 2.0 applications in course activities, especially social software such as blogs, wikis, YouTube, Flickr, MySpace, Second Life, etc.


cognitive presence

the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection

and discourse in a critical community of inquiry

cognitive presence

elements – triggering event, exploration, integration, resolution

practical inquiry model (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000)

Shared World Discourse

Private World Reflection Deliberation (Applicability)

Perception (Awareness)

Action (Practice)

Conception (Ideas) EXPERIENCE

EXPLORATION

TRIGGERING EVENT RESOLUTION

INTEGRATION

§  concept & process scaffolds (Wong-Busby, 2006) §  peer review -- Bloom’s taxonomy (Ertmer,

Richardson, Belland, Coulthard, Camin & Mong, 2006)

§  subject line (Pelz, 2004) §  assessment (Swan, Schenker, Arnold & Kuo, 2007)

scaffolding online discussion

§  learning concepts vs. learning techniques (Parker & Gemino, 2001; Picciano, 2002)

§  multiple perspectives (Picciano, 2002) §  disciplined inquiry – reflection and

interaction (Benbunan-Fich & Hiltz, 1999; Garrison, 2003)

research findings: content

§  most online discussion never moves beyond the exploration stage (Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007; Kanuka & Anderson, 2000)

§  online discussion proceeds to integration and resolution when participants are tasked with problem solution & explicit direction & facilitation are provided (Murphy, 2004; Shea & Bidjermo, 2008)

research findings

What could you do to help establish cognitive presence in online courses?

§  Identify big ideas you want students to take away from your course and develop major course activities around their assessment.

§  Identify important knowledge, skills & attitudes students should learn and develop additional course activities around their assessment.

§  Provide multiple representations of the knowledge you want students to learn and multiple activities for practicing desired skills.

Cognitive Presence: tips & techniques

§  Encourage experimentation, divergent thinking & multiple perspectives in online discussion through provocative, open-ended questions.

§  Model, support & encourage diverse points of view in online discussion.

§  Require discussion summaries that identify steps in the knowledge creation process.

§  Use content & process scaffolds to support discourse behaviors.

§  Use peer review of discussion postings to shape responses.

§  Use online discussion & writing activities to support conceptual learning and divergent thinking.


§  Use self-testing, practice assignments, simulations & other interactive activities to support skill development & convergent thinking.

§  Develop grading rubrics for discussion & course activities that reward desired cognitive behaviors.

§  Provide frequent opportunities for testing & feedback.

§  Automate testing & feedback when possible. §  Develop general learning modules with

opportunities for active learning, assessment & feedback that can be shared among courses &/or accessed by students for remediation or enrichment.


§  Present words in spoken form, use words and pictures simultaneously to explain concepts.

§  Avoid extraneous video & audio, do not add redundant on-screen text.

§  Begin presentations with descriptions of components & organization.

§  Allow learners to control the pace of presentations.


teaching presence

the design, facilitation and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes

teaching presence

elements – design and organization, facilitation, direct instruction

course design

course assignments

instructor feedback

instructor

instructor /discussion

affect

learning

content analysis– “additional comments:”

(Swan, Schenker, Lin, Shea & Aviv, 2006)

changing instructor roles (Coppola, Hiltz & Rotter, 2001)

§  cognitive, affective, managerial §  cognitive role shifts to one of deeper complexity §  affective role requires faculty to find new tools to

express emotion §  managerial role requires greater attention to detail,

more structure, additional student monitoring

§  strong correlations between learner’s perceived & actual interactions w/ instructors and their perceived learning (Swan, Shea, Fredericksen, Pickett, Pelz & Maher, 2000; Jiang & Ting, 2000; Richardson & Swan, 2003)

§  strong correlations between all three elements of teaching presence and student satisfaction and perceived learning in online courses (Shea, Frederickson, Pickett & Pelz, 2003; Shea, Pickett & Pelz, 2004)

research findings

r p r p r p r p

design & organization

.64

< .01

.59

< .01

.64

< .01

.60

< .01

facilitating discourse

.64

< .01

.58

< .01

.61

< .01

.58

< .01

direct instruction

.64

< .01

.61

< .01

.63

< .01

.61

< .01

SUMMER 2002 (n=1140)

SPRING 2003 (n=6088)

teaching presence: instructors

(Shea, et al., 2003, 2004)

satisfaction per. learn. satisfaction per. learn.

r p r p r p r p (design &

organization)

facilitating discourse

.36

< .01

.37

< .01

.41

< .01

.43

< .01

direct instruction

.39

< .01

.39

< .01

.40

< .01

.43

< .01

SUMMER 2002 (n=1140)

SPRING 2003 (n=6088)

satisfaction per. learn. satisfaction per. learn.

(Shea, et al., 2003, 2004)

teaching presence: students

§  teaching presence linked to development of a sense of community in online courses (Shea, Li, Swan & Pickett, 2005)

§  critical importance of teaching presence to successful online learning (Garrison & Cleveland-Innes, 2005; Murphy, 2004; Swan & Shih, 2005; Vaughan & Garrison, 2006; Wu & Hiltz, 2004)

research findings

What could you do to help establish teaching presence in online courses?

§  Provide frequent opportunities for both public and private interactions with students.

§  Provide students with timely & supportive feedback.

§  Restrain from being overly “present” in online discussions, rather facilitate student interaction.

§  Apply collaborative learning principles to support small group discussion and collaborative projects.

§  Design diverse, graded activities to be completed every week.

Teaching Presence: tips & techniques

§  Design courses for learner choice, flexibility & control.

§  Design and review courses for clarity & consistency.

§  Ensure courses are well organized and that the organization is clear to students & easy to navigate.

§  Clearly state course goals and instructional expectations.

§  Provide a detailed course schedule including due dates for all assignments.

§  Provide students with explicit and redundant instructions for all course activities.


§  Provide clear grading guidelines including rubrics for complex assignments.

§  Review changing faculty roles and reflect on your own cognitive, affective & managerial behaviors.

§  Develop forums or learning communities for online faculty to share experiences & support one another.


COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY SURVEY (Arbaugh, Cleveland-Innes, Diaz, Garrison, Ice,

Richardson, Shea & Swan)

§  9 social presence items (3 affective expression, 3 open communication, 3 group cohesion)

§  12 cognitive presence items (3 triggering, 3 exploration, 3 integration, 3 resolution)

§  13 teaching presence items (4 design & facilitation, 6 facilitation of discourse, 3 direct instruction)

CoI survey

§  work on the development of a unified survey instrument began in December 2006

§  review of research and commonality of themes §  consensus on current items and development on

new items – especially cognitive presence

instrument development

§  tested in graduate courses at four institutions in the US and Canada

§  principal component factor analysis §  three factor model predicted by CoI framework

confirmed (Arbaugh et al, 2008; Swan et al, 2008)

research findings

§  significant relationships between teaching presence and cognitive presence, satisfaction & perceived learning; between cognitive presence and satisfaction & perceived learning; between social presence & satisfaction (Akyol & Garrison, in press)

research findings

(Shea & Bidjermo, 2008)

research findings

social presence

teaching presence cognitive presence

.52 (.52)** .52 (.49)**

.49(.47)**

§  study of effects of embedded audio feedback on student learning found positive increases on 1 social presence, 3 teaching presence, and 2 cognitive presence items (Ice, Curtis, Philips & Wells, 2007)

§  also being used to study virtual communities of practice (Radcliffe, Strobel, Brophy & Richardson, p.c.) and blended learning (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008; Vaughan & Garrison, 2006)

research findings

§  APUS §  end of course survey - comparisons being made by

school, program, course and instructor using descriptive statistics and factor patterns

§  inform the instructional design process – impacts factor pattern in TP (e.g. instructional design influences correlations with ID&O and FD & DI)

§  assess the efficacy of the integration of new technologies – notable differences across presences with factor cohesion stronger in SP

institutional deployment

§  Literature notes that discussions frequently don’t move beyond the exploration phase

§  evidence that students may be taking what they learn in discussions and moving to integration and resolution in personal or small group projects

problem area

How might you make use of the Community of Inquiry Survey?

USING THE COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY FR AMEWORK

TO INFORM INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN & TEACHING

teaching presence

elements – design and organization, facilitation, direct instruction


§  setting curriculum §  designing activities & assessments §  establishing parameters §  establishing netiquette Go to Handout


§  Social Presence principle – establish a climate that will create a CoI and support purposeful collaboration

§  Cognitive Presence principle – establish opportunities for critical reflection and discourse that will support systematic inquiry

facilitation of discourse (and more?)

§  setting learning climate §  prompting reflection & discussion §  encouraging, acknowledging, reinforcing

student participation §  identifying areas of agreement/disagreement §  mediating consensus

§  Social Presence principle – sustain & build learning community through a shift from purely affective to purposefully cohesive responses

§  Cognitive Presence principle – encourage & support the progression of inquiry through to resolution

facilitation of discourse (and more?)

direct instruction

§  present content §  ask leading questions / focus discussion §  confirm understanding through informal &

formal assessment §  diagnose & remediate misconceptions §  inject knowledge from diverse sources with links

for students to pursue

§  Social Presence principle – manage collaborative relationships to support students in assuming increasing responsibility for their own learning

§  Cognitive Presence principle – promote metacognitive awareness and insure that inquiry progresses through to resolution

direct instruction

(How) Can you use the Community of Inquiry framework to the teaching and/or

design of your courses or program?

(How) Might you make use of the Community of Inquiry Survey as an evaluation and/or

assessment tool?

COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY SURVEY

Teaching Presence Design & Organization

1. The instructor clearly communicated important course topics.

2. The instructor clearly communicated important course goals.

3. The instructor provided clear instructions on how to participate in course learning activities.

4. The instructor clearly communicated important due dates/time frames for learning activities.

Teaching Presence Facilitation

5. The instructor was helpful in identifying areas of agreement and disagreement on course topics that helped me to learn.

6. The instructor was helpful in guiding the class towards understanding course topics in a way that helped me clarify my thinking.

7. The instructor helped to keep course participants engaged and participating in productive dialogue.

8. The instructor helped keep the course participants on task in a way that helped me to learn.

9. The instructor encouraged course participants to explore new concepts in this course.

10. Instructor actions reinforced the development of a sense of community among course participants.

Teaching Presence Direct Instruction

11. The instructor helped to focus discussion on relevant issues in a way that helped me to learn.

12. The instructor provided feedback helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses.

13.  The instructor provided feedback in a timely fashion.

Social PresenceAffective Expression

14. Getting to know other course participants gave me a sense of belonging in the course.

15. I was able to form distinct impressions of some course participants.

16. Online or web-based communication is an excellent medium for social interaction.

Open Communication

17. I felt comfortable conversing through the online medium. 18. I felt comfortable participating in the course discussions. 19. I felt comfortable interacting with other course

participants.

Social PresenceGroup Cohesion

20. I felt comfortable disagreeing with other course participants while still maintaining a sense of trust.

21. I felt that my point of view was acknowledged by other course participants.

22. Online discussions help me to develop a sense of collaboration.

Cognitive Presence Triggering Event

23. Problems posed increased my interest in course issues. 24. Course activities piqued my curiosity. 25. I felt motivated to explore content related questions.

Exploration

26. I utilized a variety of information sources to explore problems posed in this course.

27. Brainstorming and finding relevant information helped me resolve content related questions.

28. Online discussions were valuable in helping me appreciate different perspectives.

Cognitive Presence Integration

29. Combining new information helped me answer questions raised in course activities.

30. Learning activities helped me construct explanations/solutions.

31. Reflection on course content and discussions helped me understand fundamental concepts in this class.

Resolution 32. I can describe ways to test and apply the knowledge

created in this course. 33. I have developed solutions to course problems that can be

applied in practice. 34. I can apply the knowledge created in this course to my

work or other non-class related activities.

community of inquiry framework

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