Theses and Dissertations Collection

This three-article dissertation studied the student perceptions of the Community of Inquiry’s cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence in education and general education online community college courses. Students were queried over several semesters using the Community of Inquiry (CoI) instrument.

Manuscript 1 evaluated CoI’s cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence as self-reported by community college students in one instructor’s online education courses. The research focused on the associations between the three constructs. The results of a multiple linear regression analysis indicated the teaching presence and social presence explained 68% of the variability of the cognitive presence. Further investigation of the associations of each CoI presence with sub-constructs from the remaining two CoI presences indicated a pair of predictor variables for each presence. The cognitive presence sub-construct exploration and the teaching presence sub-construct design and organization showed a significant, strong positive correlation to the social presence. The teaching presence was significantly, positively associated with two cognitive presence sub-constructs resolution and exploration. The analysis also showed a significant association between the cognitive presence and the teaching presence sub-construct facilitation and the social presence sub-construct group cohesive. Using indicators for each CoI sub-construct from previous research, this study aligned pedagogical benchmarks to the predictor variables.

In Manuscript 2, the CoI framework and instrument is used to investigate the commonalities and differences between perceived CoI presences experienced by community college students enrolled in an online education (major-specific) course as compared to students enrolled in an online freshmen orientation (general education) course. A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was calculated for each of the paired associations between CoI constructs within each group of students. The data used was an interval scale measure because it was an average of several values. Both groups showed significant correlations between the teaching presence and the cognitive presence, as well as the social presence and the cognitive presence. Multiple regression models indicated the teaching presence and social presence explained 68% of the variability of the cognitive presence in the major-specific group. For the general education group, the teaching and social presences explained 76% of the variability of the cognitive presence.

Within each group, multiple linear regression was used to study associations between each CoI presence and sub-constructs from the remaining two CoI presences. The cognitive presence sub-construct exploration and the teaching presence sub-construct design and organization were significant predictors, explaining 61% of the variance of the social presence within the major-specific sample. Sixty-five percent of the variance of the social presence within the general education sample was explained by the cognitive presence sub-construct integration and the teaching presence sub-construct facilitation. The cognitive presence sub-constructs resolution and exploration were significant predictors, explaining 63% of the variance of the teaching presence for the major-specific group. The cognitive presence sub-construct integration and the social presence sub-construct group cohesion were significant predictors explaining 66% of the variance in the teaching presence for the general education group. Both teaching presence sub-construct facilitation and the social presence sub-construct group cohesive were significant predictors, explaining 73% of the variability of the cognitive presence in the major-specific group, and 75% of the variability of the cognitive presence in the general education group. Once each CoI sub-construct was aligned to previously established indicators, this study defined specific pedagogical benchmarks to each predictor variable to provide instructional suggestions specific to a major-specific or general education online course.

The satisfaction construct was introduced in Manuscript 3, to better understand the relationship between the students’ perceived CoI presences and course satisfaction. Used in conjunction with the CoI instrument, online community college students enrolled in education (major-specific) or freshmen orientation (general education) online courses were surveyed to provide a stronger understanding of their online learning experience. A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was calculated for each of the paired associations between the CoI presences and the satisfaction construct. Analysis showed a significant, strong positive correlation between the teaching presence and the satisfaction construct. The cognitive presence showed a slightly less significant, strong positive correlation to the satisfaction construct. The social presence also displayed a significant, strong positive correlation to the satisfaction construct. A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was calculated for each of the paired associations between the CoI sub-presences and the satisfaction construct. For each pairwise comparison, a significant correlation was found. The two strongest associations occurred between the teaching presence’s sub-construct facilitation and satisfaction; and the cognitive presence’s sub-construct resolution and satisfaction.

Multiple linear regression was used to further investigate the strengths of the associations between variables. The results indicated the teaching and social presences explained 70% of the variability of the satisfaction construct. When multiple linear regression was conducted using the satisfaction construct and CoI sub-constructs, two predictive variables were identified. In this model, the teaching presence sub-construct facilitation and the cognitive presence sub-construct resolution were significant predictors, explaining 70% of the variance of the satisfaction construct. A one-way ANOVA was calculated for each demographic item and the satisfaction construct. No significant differences were found between the demographic items and the satisfaction construct.