Comparing quantitative outcomes of synchronous online versus in-person interprofessional symposium

Healthcare and educational practices changed due to COVID-19. Interprofessional education (IPE) events during the pandemic were canceled or presented through online platforms. Fortunately, IPE using online platforms had been growing during the decade prior to the pandemic. However, few publications document quantitative outcomes of online IPE, and most report qualitative outcomes of student reactions. The purpose of this study was to determine if student outcomes from an online IPE symposium were similar to the positive outcomes from prior in-person IPE symposia. A Community of Inquiry (CoI) model within a synchronous Zoom platform was developed with intentional design supporting cognitive, instructional, and social presence; interprofessional socialisation; and collaboration. Utilising a standardised instrument, student attitudes about healthcare teams were assessed comparing pretest and posttest. Students who participated in the online IPE displayed similar improvements in attitudes towards interprofessional teams at posttest. Hence, this study supports the use of a brief, synchronous, online IPE symposium.

The impact of community of inquiry and self-efficacy on student attitudes in sustained remote health professions learning environments

BACKGROUND

Sustained remote learning environments, like those experienced in late 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, share characteristics with online courses but were not intentionally designed to delivered virtually. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Community of Inquiry, a widely used online learning environment framework, and self-efficacy on perceived student attitudes within sustained remote learning environments.

METHODS

An interinstitutional team of health professions education researchers collected survey data from 205 students representing a wide range of health professions in five U.S. institutions. Latent mediation models under structural equation modeling framework were used to examine whether student self-efficacy mediates the relationship between Community of Inquiry presence and student's favorability of sustained remote learning delivered in the prolonged stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

Higher levels of teaching presence and social presence in the remote learning environment were associated with higher levels of remote learning self-efficacy which, in turn, predicts variance in positive attitudes toward remote learning. When mediated by self-efficacy, significant variance in student's favorability of sustained remote learning was explained by teaching presence (61%), social presence (64%), and cognitive presence (88%) and self-efficacy. Significant direct and indirect effects for teaching and social presence, and only direct effects for cognitive presence were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

This study establishes the Community of Inquiry and its three presence types as a relevant and stable framework for investigating sustained remote health professions teaching and learning environments, not only carefully designed online learning environments. Faculty may focus course design strategies which enhance presence and increase student self-efficacy for the sustained remote learning environment.

Understanding teachers' online professional learning: A "community of inquiry" perspective on the role of Chinese middle school teachers' sense of self-efficacy, and online learning achievement

Teachers' online professional development (PD) has been valued as a crucial and effective way to promote teaching competencies. Forming a professional learning community has been recognized as a means to promote effective PD. Within this realm of research, the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework was deemed as a collaborative-constructivist process model that describes successful online learning experiences. The CoI has been associated with many psychological and educational variables, such as learning achievement and self-efficacy. This study leveraged on the CoI framework to assess teachers' online professional learning quality and explored its relationship with their self-efficacy and online professional learning achievement. A total of 456 teacher participants from Chinese middle schools participated in our study. A suite of questionnaires (the Community of Inquiry Questionnaire, the Teacher Efficacy Scale, and the Perceived Online Learning Achievement Scale) was distributed. Linear regression, PROCESS Macro mediation, and moderation analyses were run on the data to answer the research questions. Results revealed a significant relationship between teachers' online learning quality and their self-efficacy and learning achievement. The mediating roles of self-efficacy and learning achievement were confirmed. The moderating role of time spent on receiving online professional learning was also recognized. Implications and future directions were discussed.

Lessons from a cross-institutional online professional development pilot

PURPOSE

To reflect on a collaborative approach used by a group of faculty and administrators from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) and predominantly Black institution (PBI) pharmacy programs to provide high quality, multiple institution, faculty development programming in online environments.

DESCRIPTION

A pilot for a shared online professional development initiative between pharmacy programs at five HBCUs and one PBI was implemented as a two-hour combined video conference and webinar, with structured networking, instructional programming, and breakout group sessions. Learning outcomes focused on increasing knowledge and awareness of mindsets in faculty and students with additional project goals of beta-testing interactive web conference formats, developing cross-institutional networking, and identifying avenues for sharing resources and expertise.

ANALYSIS/INTERPRETATION

Kolb's Cycle of Experiential Learning (Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization, and Active Experimentation) was used to guide reflection on the joint workshop. The instructional design, delivery, and learning experiences of the program itself were analyzed using Garrison's Community of Inquiry Framework.

CONCLUSIONS

Action research approaches can be applied to facilitate the continuous quality improvement cycle in multi-institution initiatives, such as joint faculty development programming.

IMPLICATIONS

Lessons related to cross-institutional collaboration, communities of practice development, networking, and communication can be used for future joint faculty development sessions and other shared initiatives for institutions serving minoritized students as well as other multiple institution consortiums.

The effect of the flipped learning approach designed with community of inquiry model to the development of students' critical thinking strategies and social, teaching and cognitive presences

Considering the lack of interaction and feedback process of the pre-class component of the flipped learning approach, in this research this component was designed with the community of inquiry model and an e-learning environment was developed in line with the model's theoretical framework. By exposing its impacts on students' development of critical thinking skills and social, teaching and cognitive presences, this study aimed to determine the working and failing aspects of this learning approach. In this study, in which repeated measures design was used, the study group consisted of 35 undergraduate students studying at a state university. Scales were used to measure students' critical thinking strategies and their perceived presences, and the forum tool was used to collect student posts. The implementation process lasted for 15 weeks. Findings demonstrated that it was possible to eliminate the lack of the interaction and feedback processes, and to develop students' critical thinking strategies and their perceptions of teaching, social and cognitive presences, by designing the pre-class component of the flipped learning approach with the community of inquiry framework. Additionally, it was discovered that the critical thinking strategy had a positive and significant link with how the community of inquiry was perceived, and that this relationship accounted for 60% of the variance in the perception of community of inquiry. The study's conclusions are supported by recommendations for future research.

Preservice Teacher Perceptions of Using Video Discussions to Foster a Community of Inquiry-Does the Learning Environment Matter?

The creation of an engaging online learning environment where students feel a sense of belonging is a challenge for all educators. With the rise of online courses, discussion forums are commonly used to connect students with course content, peers, and instructors. However, these discussions are often text-based in nature. The purpose of this quantitative study examined preservice teacher perceptions of Flipgrid in an introductory educational technology course. Statistically significant relationships between groups were found related to two of the three components of the Community of Inquiry framework. Specifically, the findings suggest those enrolled in a hybrid course perceived Flipgrid as a more effective platform to create cognitive and teaching presence than those online. Additionally, hybrid learners were significantly more likely to use Flipgrid in their own teaching practices. In this article, an analysis of findings will be discussed and provide suggestions for future research.

Exploring the impacts of learning modality changes: Validation of the learning modality change community of inquiry and self-efficacy scales

The rapid learning environment transition initiated by the COVID-19 pandemic impacted students' perception of, comfort with, and self-efficacy in the online learning environment. Garrison's Community of Inquiry framework provides a lens for examining students' online learning experiences through three interdependent elements: social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. Researchers in this study developed and validated the Learning Modality Change Community of Inquiry and Self-Efficacy scales to measure health professions students' self-efficacy with online learning, while exploring how cognitive, social, and teaching presence is experienced by students who transition from one learning environment to another. The two scales demonstrate strong validity and reliability evidence and can be used by educators to explore the impacts of learning modality changes on student learning experiences. As learning environments continue to evolve, understanding the impact of these transitions can inform how educators consider curriculum design and learning environment changes.

Modelling online community constructs through interaction data: A learning analytics based Approach

This study aims to use LMS log data to suggest a way to understand CoI constructs. Students' interactions in Moodle components were weighted for indicators of cognitive, teaching and social presences. Traces reflecting students' online interactions were obtained from the Moodle LMS and analyzed through learning analytics techniques. The data is examined with the Euclidean Distance Model, and Correspondence Analysis methods to evaluate the levels of interactions and presences. The results indicated that, cognitive presence is at the center of the CoI constructs, and student-content interaction, is found is more prominent than other interactions in terms of its relation to cognitive presence. Social presence scores were mostly related with student-student and student-teacher interaction scores. In addition, teaching presence scores were found in parallel with student-system interaction scores.

Entropy in Education System: Transformation of an Individual Through Meaningful Interactions in a Community of Inquiry

Every individual is unique and may serve a unique purpose in this life. Education is widely accepted to be the means of transformation of individuals so that they may achieve their unique success or create their own lives. However, not every individual seems to be realizing their true potential. This paper explores the concept of entropy in education system as a force that is usually imagined to oppose realization of potential of an individual during life in this phenomenal world. Alternatively, the same may provide an impetus that is necessary to bring in organization in oneself to realize the hidden potential. A one group Pretest-Posttest quasi-experimental design was used to draw the conclusions on data obtained from participants of workshops in three different modes, viz. face-to-face Pre COVID-19, face-to-face in COVID-19 with SOPs, and online in COVID-19. Realization of an individual’s potential was represented as a dependent variable, i.e. transformation in cognition, skills, and attitude while the independent variables taken into account were the meaningful interactions of an individual with peers and advanced learners in a designed environment. It was inferred from the results that transformation in learners’ cognition (6-30 %), skills (0-20 %), and attitude (5-32 %) occurred through human discourse, in a community of inquiry.

Experiencing the community of inquiry framework using asynchronous online role-playing in computer-aided instruction class

This current study investigates the use of online role-playing, in an online discussion forum, in learning the community of inquiry framework - an area of learning covered in the Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) course, an elective course for Computer Science undergraduate students at Universitas Indonesia. The participants were divided into different roles. Each group was triggered to discuss the implementation of online collaborative learning. A mixed-methods approach was utilised to analyse the qualitative and quantitative data. The result of content analysis exhibited students implementing all the components of the CoI framework. Teaching presence was the rarest, as students were focused on delivering their ideas. Social presence appeared in almost all messages since it is the easiest, and students can feel the impact immediately. The discussion moved to the integration phase but did not proceed to resolution. This study suggested some recommendations and future research topics.

Factors affecting the adoption of the Community of Inquiry Framework in Australian online nursing education: A transition theory perspective

OBJECTIVES

This paper aims to understand the factors influencing the adoption of teaching, social and cognitive presence in online nursing education and explain the novice nurse academics journey in adopting these aspects.

BACKGROUND

The quality of the online/blended courses is about the content and a need for suitable pedagogical design, clear instructions and a collaborative environment based on a valid and reliable theoretical framework.

DESIGN AND SETTINGS

A qualitative study involves semi-structured interviews with 11 nurse academics from three Australian Universities and thematic analysis was conducted.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The Community of Inquiry framework informed three themes including several factors in each from the interviews: (1) Teaching Presence (TP): the lack of understanding of educational theory use, the inadequate course evaluation and the resources scarcity found to be the factors affecting the adoption of TP in online nursing education; (2) Social Presence: the engagement difficulty and creating a learning community affected the adoption of SP; and (3) Cognitive Presence: the variety in learning styles and formative assessment and discussion forums found to be affecting the adoption of CP. This study paper is unique because it uses the Community of Inquiry framework and Meleis's Transition Theory and provides insight on how to facilitate the transition [from role insufficiencies to role supplementation to role mastery] of nurse academics' journey in adopting teaching, social and cognitive presence for online higher education.

The effects of online course duration on graduate nurse educator student engagement in the community of inquiry

AIM

The number of online graduate nursing programs across the United States has increased to address a critical shortage of nurse educators. Web-based learning appeals to nurses returning to school as a means of gaining an education at their convenience. More schools are offering compressed courses to meet this demand. Although students have a preference toward shorter intensive online courses, it is unclear how that affects the quality of the learning experience such as student engagement. The study explored the effect of course length on the student learning experience in a graduate online nurse educator course.

DESIGN

Using the community of inquiry framework, this study examined the effect of course duration (8-week versus traditional 16-week timeframes) on student engagement, student perceptions of the learning experience and self-reported learning behaviors. Study participants were enrolled in an online graduate nurse educator program located in the northwest United States.

METHODS

Data were collected using a background information form, a course evaluation form and the Community of Inquiry Questionnaire which measured teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

RESULTS

High mean scores on the questionnaire showed that a community of inquiry was established regardless of course duration. However, there were differences in terms of the social and teaching presence subscales but not in the cognitive presence subscale suggesting that students in the traditional course were better able to establish the type of rapport with each other that increased comfort and engagement with peer interactions. Independent t-tests revealed statistically significant differences in perceptions of time to complete course activities. Students in the 16-week course were more likely to report that they had adequate time to complete course teachings, think critically about course content, complete course assignments and thoughtfully engage in course discussion and that they performed their best on assignments.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings support the traditional course duration over an intensive 8-week format because it allows for students to build a better rapport and greater student engagement with the course materials and peers. The study reinforces previous work on distance education noting social presence and connectedness as essential to optimal online learning. Using the community of inquiry framework and best-practice pedagogies for online education in the design and development of online courses can contribute to greater collaboration and deeper learning.

Mindful Medical Education Online

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted medical education. In-person classes and clinical rotations were urgently canceled, followed by a historic and unprecedented migration to online teaching. Most medical school courses were not designed to be fully online, and faculty and students are novices in the process. The purpose of this article is to provide recommendations for educators to optimize their approach to online curricular transformation. Mindful teaching online creates presences that set climate and support discourse, establish routines that build practice, model professional expectations, and challenge but support learners.

Student satisfaction with videoconferencing teaching quality during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic prompted the pediatric department at King Abdulaziz University to continue students' educational activities by offering courses online that utilized web video conferencing (WVC). Given the uncertainties of WVC educational quality and the challenge of shifting to an online environment, this study aimed to evaluate student satisfaction with the teaching quality of case-based discussion (CBD) sessions conducted through WVC.

METHODS

One hundred sixty-two undergraduate medical students in pediatrics completed the reduced Students' Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ) survey with a five-point Likert scale over 5 weeks. The WVC CBD sessions were facilitated by 50 faculty members.

RESULTS

82% of respondents were highly satisfied with the WVC CBD session's teaching quality. The majority agreed that the sessions were intellectually challenging, that the instructors were dynamic, and encouraged students to participate. No statistically significant correlation was found between student satisfaction and technical issues (r = 0.037, p = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

WVC teaching had an overall positive outcome on student satisfaction, and teaching quality relied on teaching, cognitive, and social presence rather than technology. However, technology remains an important platform that supports teachers' educational activities. Thus, implementing a blended pediatric course to augment future course delivery is optimal.

Aesthetic presence: The role of the arts in the education of creative arts therapists in the classroom and online

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Arts based and aesthetic pedagogy is a necessary part of training in the creative arts therapies.

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Aesthetic presence supports creative arts therapies pedagogy online and in-person.

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Aesthetic presence enhances the Community of Inquiry online pedagogical framework.

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Aesthetic presence supports accessibility principles of Universal Design for Learning.

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Multi-sensory engagement attends to absence of a physical encounter and the ubiquity of multimedia.

Literature about the integral role of the arts in learning is widely available, but much less has been written about how the arts and aesthetics support education in the creative arts therapies, particularly in the online learning environment. This article introduces the concept of aesthetic presence within the Community of Inquiry pedagogical model in line with values espoused within a Universal Design for Learning framework. The authors contextualize this concept with examples of how attention to the use of aesthetic and multimedia strategies in the classroom and in the online learning environment may foster openness and connection, encourage flexibility, humor, critical thinking, and animate and facilitate conversations about emergent and emotionally difficult themes while increasing accessibility for different kinds of learners.

The Blended Reflective Inquiry Educators Framework; origins, development and utilisation

Reflective practice is widely considered to be an integral part of contemporary pedagogical practice in higher education. The integration of reflection and reflective practice into professional education curricula in areas such as nursing, education and the social sciences, has coincided with an expansion of the reflective practice literature which continues to proliferate within a range of disciplinary fields. However, an interesting paradox is beginning to emerge whereby educators who are charged with developing students reflective ability are often required to do so in the absence of practical educator-focused frameworks and/or guidelines. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate by presenting the 'Blended Reflective Inquiry Educators Framework' which is designed for educators who wish to support students to develop their reflective abilities and reflective capacity. This innovative framework was developed following a two stage action research study which was designed to investigate how registered nurses can be facilitated to develop reflective practice skills and abilities. The study resulted in the development of this innovative educator's framework which uses an inquiry based, blended learning approach, to facilitate reflective practice.