This three-manuscript dissertation examined the construct and predictive validity of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework through a factor analysis, meta-analysis, and thematic synthesis. Accordingly, the overall results provided conceptual and empirical insights into the construct and predictive validity of the CoI framework.

Most research on Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1988) has uncovered many instructional design considerations for learning complex tasks. Additionally, the Community of Inquiry (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) framework describes many of the learning experiences in online education. A gap existed in the literature for investigating cognitive load over the duration of a college algebra course and for investigating the relationship between cognitive load and cognitive presence. This research study has addressed this gap by investigating cognitive load and cognitive presence in an online and face-to-face college algebra course. The results of this study revealed that face-to-face students earned statistically significant higher final course grades and homework grades than the online students. The face-to-face math course was slightly more efficient because it produced learners who exerted similar cognitive load as learners in the online course but the learners in the face-to-face earned higher performance score. Online discussion prompts that ask student to apply their solution or defend their solution engaged students in cognitive presence differently. When students were prompted to apply their solution to a real world scenario, most students reached resolution in their initial posts, but they were often not cognitively present in their follow-up posts. When students were prompted to provide a defense of their solution, most of the posts demonstrated cognitive presence, but not as many individual students reached resolution. Additionally, students progressed through the stages of cognitive presence when an instructor asked them a specific question about their math problem or real life scenario in a timely manner. When instructors post questions to their students that directly ask for an application of their hypothesis or an explanation how they arrived at their hypothesis, students can reach the highest stage of cognitive presence. When instructors post messages that reach the highest stage of cognitive presence, students do not post messages that reach the highest stage of cognitive presence. Lastly, this study did not find a strong linear relationship between cognitive presence and cognitive load.

This study examines evidence that supports the assertion of social presence (sp) theory impacting the community of inquiry for cognitive learning in distance education (DE). This study tested the validity of social presence assertions with respect to developing deep meaningful learning (dml) from the perspective of students engaged in distance education Master’s studies. This study employed a convenient sample of students enrolled at the graduate level; due to limited participation generalizations cannot be made to any population. The mixed method study involved both a quantitative online survey with 36 questions and qualitative follow-up telephone interviews conducted with 4 participants. A target population of 290 participants was obtained resulting in 25 returned surveys. Findings concluded no significant relationship exists between social presence and deep meaningful learning, cognitive learning and building a community of inquiry for deep meaningful learning. Findings strongly suggest social presence acts as a hindrance to deep meaningful learning. The results of the study justify further investigation and future studies are strongly recommended. / 2011-06

Online learning, which began in the area of tertiary and adult learning and professional development, has been spreading rapidly as an alternative way for students to pursue learning in the K-12 sector. While adult learners may be expected to be more experienced students and cope with the variations in the implementation of online learning, younger K-12 students need a more structured approach to organize their online learning experiences. Formative assessment has been promoted as a means of enhancing all learning, including online learning. This study explored the use of the formative assessment process in the design and facilitation of an asynchronous discussion among high school students. The community of inquiry model provided a lens for the evaluation of the learners' experiences, and students' cognitive presence was assessed in this quasi experimental study. The study addressed whether implementation of an assessment for learning approach in the design and facilitation of an asynchronous discussion would result in significant differences in cognitive presence messages. Content analysis was used to classify discussants' statements according to levels of cognitive presence. Chi-squared analysis was performed to determine independence among levels of cognitive presence and assessment for learning. The findings indicated that there was a significant relationship between the incidence of different levels of cognitive presence statements and assessment for learning. The findings also suggested a way to empower K-12 online learners to play a more significant role in their learning and make their experiences more impactful. However, study with more diverse populations and incorporating measures of achievement is recommended.

The purpose of this research study was to explore the impact of specific Web 2.0 tools on students' experience of teaching, social, and cognitive presence and motivation when enrolled in a very large hybrid course. With online course enrollments continuing to grow at a higher rate than traditional enrollments in higher education (Allen & Seaman, 2011) and universities increasing class sizes as a way to meet this demand with fewer fiscal resources, it is imperative to find ways to keep students engaged and motivated when enrolled in very large classes. This study used the Community of Inquiry framework (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000) to examine the effect of specific Web 2.0 tools (asynchronous discussion, streaming lectures, multimedia lecture demonstrations, Twitter, and the Second Life virtual world) on teaching, social, and cognitive presence and motivation. The sample population for this study (n = 567) consisted of undergraduate students enrolled in a very large hybrid accounting course in the fall of 2010 at the University of Central Florida. The total enrollment for the course was 943 students. Students could attend face-to-face (f2f) class sessions in a large lecture room that seated 285 students or they could view a streaming video capture of the lectures online. Students were not required to attend the f2f class sessions and could complete the course entirely online. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variances (ANOVA), and results of the statistical analyses indicated that students who frequently used the Web 2.0 tools had statistically significant higher mean motivation scores than students who did not use the tools as frequently. Additionally, students who frequently attended the f2f sessions had statistically significant higher mean social presence scores compared to students who attended sometimes or not at all. Attending the f2f sessions, however, did not result in higher mean scores of teaching or cognitive presence. When examined for the impact of the specific Web 2.0 tools, analysis of the ANOVA results indicated that students who used the discussion, streaming lectures, multimedia lecture demonstrations, and Twitter all of the time had significantly higher mean scores of teaching, social, and cognitive presence compared to those students who used the tools less frequently. Further research should be conducted on large hybrid and online courses in different content areas and on those that use different types of learning approaches.

No description available.

O número de mensagens nos fóruns educativos online gera uma sobrecarga de informação, que dificulta a organização e a comunicação entre os membros, comprometendo, também, a eficácia do processo de avaliação da aprendizagem. Diante da necessidade de uma solução metodológica para o contexto da EAD no Brasil, realizou-se uma revisão de literatura sobre os modelos de organização e o processo de análise das mensagens que envolvem os indicadores das habilidades da presença cognitiva (Garrison et al. 2001) e o pensamento crítico e a dinâmica do questionamento socrático (Paul, 1993). Propõe-se um novo modelo de fórum intitulado \"Fórum Socrático Cognitivo- FSC\" com uma metodologia de avaliação da presença cognitiva e dos níveis de pensamento crítico dos alunos em cursos superiores online. Os procedimentos metodológicos e o grid de avaliação foram aplicados em duas disciplinas do curso de aperfeiçoamento em EAD em 2011, 2012 e 2013 de uma instituição de ensino superior vinculada a UAB do Brasil. A metodologia adotada envolve os princípios da lexicometria, da análise documentária, textuais e estatísticas, modelos de regressão linear e redes complexas. Realizou-se a análise de 3.400 mensagens postadas por 544 alunos para verificar as relações de dependência entre a variável resposta \"nota\" e as covariáveis: conceitos, categorias de Garrison, tópicos socráticos, riqueza vocabular e sala (tutor). Construíram-se 2 modelos de regressão linear e 136 redes complexas que permitiram confirmar os testes ANOVA utilizados na avaliação de desempenho dos alunos. As covariáveis conceitos, categorias de Garrison e sala apresentaram nível de significância positivo na associação com a nota final do aluno. Considera-se que o modelo FSC contribui para o desenvolvimento das habilidades de expressão e comunicação de conceitos abordados na disciplina e colabora na avaliação do pensamento crítico e da presença cognitiva do aluno nos fóruns online. / The usually large number of posts in educational forums leads to an information overload, which hinders forum organization and communication among members while undermining the effectiveness of learning assessment. Considering the need for a methodological solution applicable to the context of Brazil\'s online distance learning (ODL), there was conducted a review of the literature on organizational models and processes of analysis of messages involving indicators of critical thinking and cognitive presence skills (Garrison et al., 2001) and the Socratic inquiry dynamics (Paul, 1993). This study proposes a new forum model entitled FSC (Cognitive Socratic Forum), which comprises a method for assessing students\' cognitive presence and critical thinking skills in online higher education. The methodological procedures and evaluation grid were applied to two specialization courses on ODL in 2011, 2012, and 2013 at a higher education institution associated with UAB (Brazil\'s Open University). The methodology involved principles of lexicometry, documentary, textual and statistical analysis, linear regression models, and complex networks. Analysis was conducted on 3,400 messages posted by 544 students to investigate dependency relationships between the response variable \'grade\' and the following co-variables: concepts, Garrison\'s categories, Socratic topics, vocabulary richness, and classroom (tutor). Two linear regression models and 136 complex networks were constructed to enable confirmation of ANOVA tests employed to assess student performance in forums. The co-variables concepts, Garrison\'s categories, and classroom displayed positive significance levels when associated to students\' final grades. Therefore, it may be concluded that the proposed FSC model promoted students\' ability to express and communicate the concepts covered in the specialization course and contributed to effectively assessing their cognitive presence and critical thinking skills in online forums.

O número de mensagens nos fóruns educativos online gera uma sobrecarga de informação, que dificulta a organização e a comunicação entre os membros, comprometendo, também, a eficácia do processo de avaliação da aprendizagem. Diante da necessidade de uma solução metodológica para o contexto da EAD no Brasil, realizou-se uma revisão de literatura sobre os modelos de organização e o processo de análise das mensagens que envolvem os indicadores das habilidades da presença cognitiva (Garrison et al. 2001) e o pensamento crítico e a dinâmica do questionamento socrático (Paul, 1993). Propõe-se um novo modelo de fórum intitulado \"Fórum Socrático Cognitivo- FSC\" com uma metodologia de avaliação da presença cognitiva e dos níveis de pensamento crítico dos alunos em cursos superiores online. Os procedimentos metodológicos e o grid de avaliação foram aplicados em duas disciplinas do curso de aperfeiçoamento em EAD em 2011, 2012 e 2013 de uma instituição de ensino superior vinculada a UAB do Brasil. A metodologia adotada envolve os princípios da lexicometria, da análise documentária, textuais e estatísticas, modelos de regressão linear e redes complexas. Realizou-se a análise de 3.400 mensagens postadas por 544 alunos para verificar as relações de dependência entre a variável resposta \"nota\" e as covariáveis: conceitos, categorias de Garrison, tópicos socráticos, riqueza vocabular e sala (tutor). Construíram-se 2 modelos de regressão linear e 136 redes complexas que permitiram confirmar os testes ANOVA utilizados na avaliação de desempenho dos alunos. As covariáveis conceitos, categorias de Garrison e sala apresentaram nível de significância positivo na associação com a nota final do aluno. Considera-se que o modelo FSC contribui para o desenvolvimento das habilidades de expressão e comunicação de conceitos abordados na disciplina e colabora na avaliação do pensamento crítico e da presença cognitiva do aluno nos fóruns online. / The usually large number of posts in educational forums leads to an information overload, which hinders forum organization and communication among members while undermining the effectiveness of learning assessment. Considering the need for a methodological solution applicable to the context of Brazil\'s online distance learning (ODL), there was conducted a review of the literature on organizational models and processes of analysis of messages involving indicators of critical thinking and cognitive presence skills (Garrison et al., 2001) and the Socratic inquiry dynamics (Paul, 1993). This study proposes a new forum model entitled FSC (Cognitive Socratic Forum), which comprises a method for assessing students\' cognitive presence and critical thinking skills in online higher education. The methodological procedures and evaluation grid were applied to two specialization courses on ODL in 2011, 2012, and 2013 at a higher education institution associated with UAB (Brazil\'s Open University). The methodology involved principles of lexicometry, documentary, textual and statistical analysis, linear regression models, and complex networks. Analysis was conducted on 3,400 messages posted by 544 students to investigate dependency relationships between the response variable \'grade\' and the following co-variables: concepts, Garrison\'s categories, Socratic topics, vocabulary richness, and classroom (tutor). Two linear regression models and 136 complex networks were constructed to enable confirmation of ANOVA tests employed to assess student performance in forums. The co-variables concepts, Garrison\'s categories, and classroom displayed positive significance levels when associated to students\' final grades. Therefore, it may be concluded that the proposed FSC model promoted students\' ability to express and communicate the concepts covered in the specialization course and contributed to effectively assessing their cognitive presence and critical thinking skills in online forums.

Students who obtain college degrees have a higher earning potential and greater likelihood of employment. Although researchers have found that student enrollment and performance in online college courses has increased, attrition has also risen at a higher rate than in face-to-face courses. The problem of declining persistence in online courses at a rural community college in the Southeastern United States was addressed in this study. The community of inquiry framework was used in this qualitative case study to explore perceptions of 10 experienced online learners. The research questions were focused on students' perceptions of the roles of connectedness and student engagement as well as the techniques and strategies used to maintain connectedness. Data were collected through semistructured online audio interviews that were recorded, transcribed, open coded, and analyzed thematically. Findings indicated that students perceived the presence of engaging materials, elevated instructor presence, established social presence, and confirmed learning as promoters of cognitive presence and students' online course persistence. The resulting project consisted of a hybrid workshop series designed to enhance instructors' pedagogical practices to promote engagement and persistence in online courses. The workshop evaluation provided both formative and summative feedback from the workshop participants. The project contributes to social change through the ability of educators and program developers of online courses to garner new knowledge, as well as contributions to the continued viability of the focus institution and long-term economic stability for students.

No description available.