ERIC Number: EJ1302964
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1027-5207
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
International Online Graduate Students' Perceptions of CoI
Bissessar, Charmaine; Black, Debra; Boolaky, Mehraz
European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning, v23 n1 p61-83 2020
With the current issue of student retention and attrition as a major aspect of online education, this interpretivist qualitative case study sought to determine whether online facilitators and online student-to-student relationships affect online graduate students' ability to complete their modules and achieve student learning objectives and outcomes (LOO). This study encompassed CoI (Community of Inquiry) and surveyed 54 participants who indicated that the three interdependent presences that form part of CoI (cognitive, social, and teaching) were instrumental in helping them to complete their modules and to achieve student learning objectives and outcomes (LOO). Students' feedback on online facilitators exemplified their cognitive presence in the form of statements linked to triggering events and exploring of ideas. However, there were few statements connected to integration and none linked to resolution. Overall, most of the data collected connected to subsets of teaching and social presences rather than cognitive presence. Additionally, students' feedback on their peers suggests that social presence that fosters group cohesion is the most critical factor to assist in completion of the modules and achieving student LOO. Open communication was also indicated and, to a lesser degree, personal/affective subsets of social presence were evident. The findings of this study suggest that more research is needed on the components of the three presences and their relationship to students' ability to complete the module and achieve student LOO.
Descriptors: Foreign Students, Online Courses, Graduate Students, Student Attitudes, Communities of Practice, Inquiry, Learner Engagement, Group Dynamics, Foreign Countries, Peer Relationship, Teacher Student Relationship
European Distance and E-Learning Network. Available from: EDEN Secretariat, c/o Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Egry Jozsef u 1, H-1111, Hungary. Tel: +36-1-463-1628; Fax: +36-1-463-1858; e-mail: secretariat@eurodl.org; Web site: http://www.eurodl.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (Liverpool)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A