Cognitive Presence as a Catalyst for Creating a Community of Inquiry in Online Learning: Insights from a Lebanese Higher Education Context

Abstract

An important feature of quality online learning is establishing and promoting an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning that contributes to enhanced online learning experiences. The Communities of Inquiry (COI) framework dubs high student inquiry in online learning as Cognitive Presence (CP), which centers teaching and learning around students’ collaborative exploration of concepts. The purpose of this chapter is to present findings from a study that examined methods and strategies used in online teaching during and after the pandemic, and to explore faculty and students’ perceptions regarding this mode of learning. More particularly, the study explored the extent to which CP was manifested in the online learning experience. The study was guided by the COI framework as a theoretical framework and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as research framework to analyze facilitators of, and barriers to, realizing high levels of CP in online learning. Faculty interviews (N = 8), observations of recorded synchronous sessions (a total of 10), and student surveys (N = 114) were used to gather data. Findings from this study revealed that the sudden shift to online teaching and the absence of formal professional development resulted in an authoritarian/transmissive teaching approach and low student engagement, hence, limited CP. Nevertheless, some students found this approach helpful as they were used to traditional teaching approaches. Faculty engaged in self-directed professional learning, an approach that could be further leveraged in both traditional and online courses.