Boost Student Engagement: Plan and Examine Your Online Community of Inquiry

Streamed Session

Brief Abstract

This interactive session guides online instructors and developers through instructor and peer-generated easily-implemented ways to enhance the online community of inquiry. Enhancing the cognitive, instructor, and social presence elements provides evidence-based scaffolding from which to boost student engagement and experience in online courses. 

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Meredith Butulis, State College of Florida and Rasmussen College

Dr. Meredith Butulis brings a diverse educational and experience-based background. Meredith holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Northeastern University, Master's in Physical Therapy from Boston University, Master's in Business Administration from Globe University, Bachelor's in Health Studies from Boston University, and a dual minor in Psychology and Dance from Boston University. Meredith also has numerous advanced certifications including Orthopedic Board Certified Specialist, American College of Sports Medicine Exercise Physiologist, National Strength and Conditioning Association Certified Strength & Conditioning Coach, and National Academy of Sports Medicine Performance Enhancement Specialist and Behavior Change Specialist. Meredith is currently on the Physical Therapist Assistant Program core faculty at the State College of Florida. She was previously the Dean of Exercise Science, and online course developer, and a multi-course instructor for Globe University. She has been in the field of higher education and career education since 2003, and in the wellness industry since 1998.

Extended Abstract

Student engagement influences student success, course completion, and instructor ratings. While many instructors are familiar with the Community of Inquiry model, they are not specifically trained in actions to enact the model in the online space. Training online instructors in specific tactical operations for each step can help improve student connection with content, the instructor, and the community in ways that facilitate student experience and retention.

The Community of Inquiry model, which bridges cognitive presence, teaching presence, and social presence to create a student experience positively correlated with retention (Boston, et al, 2017).  Many instructors are familiar with the model, but they attempt to emulate residential techniques online. The attempted emulation results are disappointed students, rising attrition, and frustration. The residential COI techniques typically do not translate into the online environment; this gap could be improved with specific training for online instructor development. The three components for such planning include:

  1. Cognitive presence

  2. Instructor presence

  3. Social presence

This workshop shares strategies for online instructors to enhance cognitive, instructor, and social presence to cultivate an environment of active, engaged online learners. The workshop goes beyond sharing ideas, as participants are guided through both a self-assessment of their own online course, as well as a peer assessment for real-time objective feedback. 

Participants will leave with specific instructor-shared, and peer-feedback driven ways to easily enhance their online community of inquiry. 

Note: Instructors not familiar with the Community of Inquiry model are still invited to attend, as previous familiarity is not a prerequisite. Having a current or previous online course is also not a prerequisite.