The impact of Internet technology on critical thinking is of growing interest among researchers. However, there still remains much to explore in terms of how critical thinking can be fostered through online environments for higher education. Ten years ago, Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) published an article describing the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework which provided an outline of three core elements that were able to describe and measure a collaborative and positive educational experience in an online learning environment, namely teaching presence (design, facilitation, and direct instruction), social presence (the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally), and cognitive presence (the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse). This dissertation extends the body of research surrounding the CoI framework and also the literature on developing critical thinking in online environments by examining and exploring the extent to which teaching and social presence contribute to cognitive presence. The researcher was able to do this by offering 189 learners enrolled in 10 research methods courses and educational research courses an opportunity to use an innovative online resource (Research Design Learning Resource – RDLR) to assist them in learning about educational research and developing research proposals. By exploring how participants used this resource the researcher was able to gain insight into what factors contributed to a successful online learning experience and fostered cognitive presence. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches (mixed methods) were used in this study. The quantitative results indicated that both social and teaching presence had a strong positive relationship with cognitive presence and that learners generally perceived to have a positive learning experience using the RDLR. The qualitative findings helped elaborate the significant quantitative results and were organised into the following themes: making connections, multiple perspectives, resource design, being a self-directed learner, learning strategies, learning preferences, and barriers to cognitive presence. Future directions for critical thinking in online environments are discussed.

The impact of Internet technology on critical thinking is of growing interest among researchers. However, there still remains much to explore in terms of how critical thinking can be fostered through online environments for higher education. Ten years ago, Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) published an article describing the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework which provided an outline of three core elements that were able to describe and measure a collaborative and positive educational experience in an online learning environment, namely teaching presence (design, facilitation, and direct instruction), social presence (the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally), and cognitive presence (the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse). This dissertation extends the body of research surrounding the CoI framework and also the literature on developing critical thinking in online environments by examining and exploring the extent to which teaching and social presence contribute to cognitive presence. The researcher was able to do this by offering 189 learners enrolled in 10 research methods courses and educational research courses an opportunity to use an innovative online resource (Research Design Learning Resource – RDLR) to assist them in learning about educational research and developing research proposals. By exploring how participants used this resource the researcher was able to gain insight into what factors contributed to a successful online learning experience and fostered cognitive presence. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches (mixed methods) were used in this study. The quantitative results indicated that both social and teaching presence had a strong positive relationship with cognitive presence and that learners generally perceived to have a positive learning experience using the RDLR. The qualitative findings helped elaborate the significant quantitative results and were organised into the following themes: making connections, multiple perspectives, resource design, being a self-directed learner, learning strategies, learning preferences, and barriers to cognitive presence. Future directions for critical thinking in online environments are discussed.

The impact of Internet technology on critical thinking is of growing interest among researchers. However, there still remains much to explore in terms of how critical thinking can be fostered through online environments for higher education. Ten years ago, Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) published an article describing the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework which provided an outline of three core elements that were able to describe and measure a collaborative and positive educational experience in an online learning environment, namely teaching presence (design, facilitation, and direct instruction), social presence (the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally), and cognitive presence (the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse). This dissertation extends the body of research surrounding the CoI framework and also the literature on developing critical thinking in online environments by examining and exploring the extent to which teaching and social presence contribute to cognitive presence. The researcher was able to do this by offering 189 learners enrolled in 10 research methods courses and educational research courses an opportunity to use an innovative online resource (Research Design Learning Resource – RDLR) to assist them in learning about educational research and developing research proposals. By exploring how participants used this resource the researcher was able to gain insight into what factors contributed to a successful online learning experience and fostered cognitive presence. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches (mixed methods) were used in this study. The quantitative results indicated that both social and teaching presence had a strong positive relationship with cognitive presence and that learners generally perceived to have a positive learning experience using the RDLR. The qualitative findings helped elaborate the significant quantitative results and were organised into the following themes: making connections, multiple perspectives, resource design, being a self-directed learner, learning strategies, learning preferences, and barriers to cognitive presence. Future directions for critical thinking in online environments are discussed.

The impact of Internet technology on critical thinking is of growing interest among researchers. However, there still remains much to explore in terms of how critical thinking can be fostered through online environments for higher education. Ten years ago, Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) published an article describing the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework which provided an outline of three core elements that were able to describe and measure a collaborative and positive educational experience in an online learning environment, namely teaching presence (design, facilitation, and direct instruction), social presence (the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally), and cognitive presence (the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse). This dissertation extends the body of research surrounding the CoI framework and also the literature on developing critical thinking in online environments by examining and exploring the extent to which teaching and social presence contribute to cognitive presence. The researcher was able to do this by offering 189 learners enrolled in 10 research methods courses and educational research courses an opportunity to use an innovative online resource (Research Design Learning Resource – RDLR) to assist them in learning about educational research and developing research proposals. By exploring how participants used this resource the researcher was able to gain insight into what factors contributed to a successful online learning experience and fostered cognitive presence. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches (mixed methods) were used in this study. The quantitative results indicated that both social and teaching presence had a strong positive relationship with cognitive presence and that learners generally perceived to have a positive learning experience using the RDLR. The qualitative findings helped elaborate the significant quantitative results and were organised into the following themes: making connections, multiple perspectives, resource design, being a self-directed learner, learning strategies, learning preferences, and barriers to cognitive presence. Future directions for critical thinking in online environments are discussed.

<p dir="ltr">This dissertation consists of three journal articles that investigated instructor leadership in higher education online learning through the dual lenses of servant leadership (SL) theory and the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. While instructor leadership has been deemed essential for facilitating meaningful learning experiences and higher order learning outcomes within a CoI, the means of instructor leadership are under investigated. Understanding instructor leadership is essential as it directly influences the interaction quality, meaningful learning facilitation, and the overall success of the online learning experience. These studies extended previous research applying organizational leadership theories to the context of higher education instruction, highlighting its application to online learning environments. The first study employed a mixed methods approach to investigate perceptions of SL behaviors among 87 students and seven instructors. Results indicated that instructors’ perceptions of their leadership behaviors were generally higher than students’ perceptions and found positive correlations between SL and student satisfaction with the course and instructor. The study provided empirical evidence to support the contention that instructor leadership is an essential element of a CoI. The second study used a predictive correlational design, analyzing survey data from 148 graduate students to examine the relationship between SL dimensions and the CoI presences. Results showed a significant positive correlation, with SL variables explaining 66% of the variance in students’ perceptions of a CoI as a whole, 73% in teaching presence, 55% in cognitive presence, and 31% in social presence. The study offered insights into what CoI presences may be most impacted by instructor leadership. Finally, a descriptive multiple case study of five instructors used interviews and archived course content to investigate how instructors conceptualized and enacted online instructor leadership. Findings revealed that instructor leadership presence was influenced by personal perceptions of instructor leadership, perceived agency, intentional focus on the nature and quantity of course interactions, and demonstration of SL behaviors that balanced teaching presence and social presence. This study provided additional evidence of the alignment between SL and the CoI framework and also offered examples of instructor SL behaviors useful for practitioners. Collectively, this dissertation underscored the importance of instructor leadership in cultivating meaningful online learning environments, offering empirical insights and practical recommendations for enhancing instructor effectiveness and student engagement in higher education online learning contexts.</p>

Social networks have become a phenomenon penetrating the lives of university students. Subject matter of the thesis is an insight into how much educational experience of distance learning students is affected by social network Facebook in informal learning and what impact this new technology has. A qualitative case study was carried out to understand the events, in context, by four research questions: (1) how are each online learning presences used in practice, (2) how does social network Facebook affect educational experience of students, (3) how do specific characteristics of social network Facebook affect the educational experience of students, (4) why is social network Facebook used in informal learning of students in distance education. This work has its roots in the revised framework of Community of Inquiry (CoI) having for dimensions  cognitive, social, teaching and learning  thus leading towards educational experience of students. We applied the social network analysis and content analysis to identify presences of online learning and their effects, also their specific social network Facebook characteristics and the key factors motivating students into using the platform. The conclusion is based on observation and in-depth questioning of six qualified study cases  students of distance learning reading Business and trading on the Internet subject, which is presented in the Faculty of Economy in University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. The individual study cases were selected from the results of socio-metric research  critical, typical, and extreme case from a pool of large number of friends and a pool of strong students. The results show, that the presence of learning together with cognitive presence are the most significant kinds of online learning on social network Facebook. Specific social network Facebook characteristics were identified supporting the CoI framework by its social presence (opportunity to take up new identities, create relationships and form groups based on members' presence), teaching presence (opportunities to share in context of reputation the content) and cognitive presence (opportunity to have a conversation and share its content in context of reputation) leading towards learning presence and educational experience. Key factors motivating students into using social network Facebook for educational purposes had proven to be ubiquity, communication and cohesiveness. The results are interpreted based on theory and practice  for educators as well as ICT developers.

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