Assignment 3.                                                                                                              14/07/2019 

Community of Inquiry + Blended Learning = Student Educational Experience.

Introduction. 

         The learning environment can be such a dynamic forum, especially with the  

implementation of innovative technology. Like nursing, there are different framework that can be applied to guide the practice. One of the framework that can be used to guide how methods are used in the learning environment, is the use of The Community of Inquiry. This framework provides a meaningful structure for developing, implementing, and exploring online learning, it also helps us as teachers to build positive blended learning communities online, once proper strategies are utilized. In this framework there are three different but important aspects, each interlink and significantly important to each other, and most importantly resulting in the students’ educational experience. 

    

            These three domains include the; Teaching presence; Social presence; and Cognitive presence. A framework such as this, can be very valuable as it applies to the blended learning environment. The Blended learning environment can be such as diverse area, as it includes online learning and a bit of the traditional setting, where a face-to-face interaction is involved. In this blog we will discuss the different prospective as we discuss the framework of the Community of Inquiry, as it applies to the Blended Learning Environment, and determine the Educational Experience that we would like students to encounter.        

          The Community of Inquiry is a theoretical framework that represents a process of creating a deep and meaningful collaborative-constructivist learning experience through the development of the three interdependent elements, of the social presence, cognitive presence and teaching presence (Garrison & Akyol, 2013). Developing relationships in the blended setting is a valuable aspect as it relates to learning, and having a social presence is significant to any successful student outcome. 

          Social Presence: Social presence was initially defined as the ability of learners to project themselves (i.e., their personal characteristics) socially and emotionally, thereby representing themselves as “real” people, in a community of inquiry (Rourke, Anderson, Garrison & Archer, 2001). According to Garrison and Akyol (2013), Social presence means creating a climate that supports and encourages probing questions, skepticism, expressing and contributing to ideas; and when individuals identify with the group and the purpose, the group is more productive. 

          Programs such as, Blog promotes which promotes conversation in the online settings among the student population. As well as, Screencast-o-matic in collaboration with you-tube is used to create videos which can be used as a useful tool for explaining topics, which is also a good way in which group members can give and receive feedback for videos content, all of which promotes the social presence in the online/blended learning environment. 

          Second, Cognitive Presence: According to Garrison, Anderson & Archerto (2016), the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse, additionally, cognitive presence considers how students move through the learning process, how they approach new problems, grow in understanding, and convey it to their learning community. In this domain, teachers would want to clarify any misconception students may have with the content of the lesion that’s being taught or give proper or additional explanations for the students who may not understand the lesson with the first attempt of teaching. 

          In addition, teachers should encourage students to brain storm and to use their problem solving skills to resolve new subject matters that may arise in the class. This ensures that the cognitive presence of the students is well concreted, whereby they are now able to apply the content to critically think and are able to develop, connect and apply new ideas were needed. The focus of cognitive presence is to help students develop the means to move beyond the early stages of learning, to a stage where learning has meaning and where they can understand and apply new concepts (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). 

          Finally, Teacher Presence: The Teaching presence is formally defined “as the design, facilitation and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001). In agreement with Garrison and Akyol (nd), teaching presence is crucial for realizing intended learning outcomes, it is the key element in integrating social and cognitive presence during the inquiry process, teaching presence is what the instructor do to create a purposeful and productive learning environment. In the online setting if teachers do not possess the skill or knowledge to gauge or get all students involved in the classes interaction, classes can be very boring place with poor student input, leaving students confused or uninterested in the topic discussed. 

          In today's virtual learning environment learners expect; classes to be a fun and interactive learning atmosphere, immediate feedback be given and that the teachers take a proactive and active role in teaching (Ordóñez de Pablos, 2014). Indeed, an educator has the responsibilities to make the online learning environment a place where learning is fun and informational, all of which a positive learning experience should occur. 

BLENDED LEARNING.

          The traditional learning environment has its down fall, in comparison to the online learning environment. One of my lecturers even promoted the Blended learning environment for our next degree (PHD), I guess it can be classified as really being the best of both worlds. Blended course designs involve instructor and learners working together in mixed delivery modes, typically face-to-face and technology mediated, to accomplish learning outcomes that are pedagogically supported through assignments, activities, and assessments as appropriate for a given mode and which bridge course environments in a manner meaningful to the learner (McGee & Regis, nd). 

          As seen above if we were to apply the Community of Inquiry framework and the blended learning environment, the blended learning will fit very composed in each domain. In order to produce a productive and effective teaching session the teachers must be able to reach the students with different and interesting teaching strategies. As we have acknowledged, the blended learning environment provides the room for these events. For instance, because the character of the social domain involves increased interactions, teachers in the blended community can develop and utilize different methods in which to interact with their students in the social domain. 

          As such, creating class groups, getting involved in weekly blogs thus ensuring increased communication and feedback and face-to-face sessions, are just some instances that the two can be harmonized. In addition, the cognitive and social presence are two domains that are also used in the blended learning environment. Teachers should be able to identify will all type of students and their learning styles, in order to cognitively and socially interact in the blended learning setting, to ensure that her/his student encounter a positive learning experience. 

          In conclusion, the important framework of the community of inquiry and blended learning environment are all essential aspects to encourage positive and purposive educational learning experience for our students. 

Do enjoy my short video of this Blog that will give detailed  information:   https://youtu.be/SwNd_e_ld0g

          




References; 
1.   Anderson, T., L. Rourke, D.R. Garrison and W. Archer (2001). Assessing teaching presence in a computer conferencing context, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 5 (2). 

2.   Garrison, Anderson & Archer (2016). Theory in Practice Community of Inquiry Framework Cognitive Presence (Part 3 of 4) Retrieved from https://www.gvsu.edu/cms4/asset/DDA0C5A1-F2C8-45EB 056F498BFB5F383C/coi_cognitive_presence_tip.pdf 

3.    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 

4.    Mc Gee, P. & Reis, A. (nd) BLENDED COURSE DESIGN: A SYNTHESIS OF BEST PRACTICES Retrieved from http://myelearning.sta.uwi.edu/pluginfile.php/722074/mod_resource/content/1/BLENDED%20COURSE%20DESIGN_A%20SYNTHESIS%20OF%20BEST%20PRACTICES.pdf 


5.    Ordóñez de Pablos, P. (2014). Assessing the Role of Mobile Technologies and Distance Learning in Higher Education.