The document discusses engaging students in online learning through developing a community of inquiry. It begins by stating that student engagement directly impacts motivation and learning quality. It then describes the Community of Inquiry framework, which promotes learning through cognitive, teacher, and social presence in online environments. These presences are interdependent and together create meaningful learning experiences. The document provides tips and strategies for incorporating this framework into virtual classrooms to build engagement.

1. ENGAGING STUDENTS IN
ONLINE LEARNING:
DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY
OF INQUIRY
Julie Gilbert and Elle Ting
CENTRE FOR TEACHING, LEARNING, AND RESEARCH (CTLR)
5 June 2020

2. Acknowledgement
of Traditional
Territories

3. What’s one thing you’re doing
to keep yourself grounded?
In just a few words,
please share in the chat box.

4. By the end of this session, you will be able to:
Discuss the value of student
engagement in the online classroom
1
Describe the fundamental principles
of the Community of Inquiry model
and how they support student
engagement
2
Identify strategies to support a
community of inquiry in the virtual
classroom
3

5. Student
Engagement
in Learning
In your experience, what impedes student engagement?

6. TRIZ activity: “Worst. Class. Ever.”
• Let’s make a list of all the ways we can imagine to make students unengaged. If
we were trying to make an online class as awful as possible for them, what
might we do?
• Go down this list item by item and ask, “Do I see any of these things happening
in my class[es] now?” Make a “troubleshooting” list for yourself — and be
brutally honest!
• Go through the items on your troubleshooting list and decide what first steps
will help you stop undesirable results.
(http://www.liberatingstructures.com/6-making-space-with-triz/)

7. Student Engagement
(or lack thereof)
in COVID-19 times
Of 3089 Higher Education Students Surveyed in May
2020:
• 75% miss face-to-face interaction with faculty and students
• 78 % of students* say the online class experience is unengaging
*Of these students:
53% are spending less time on coursework
39% don’t enjoy or see the value in real-time learning
75% think online instruction is worse than in-person instruction
(https://tophat.com/press-releases/adrift-in-a-pandemic-survey/)

8. Community of Inquiry (CoI) Framework
(Garrison, Anderson, and Archer, 2000; qtd. in Fiock, 2020)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338525880_Design
ing_a_Community_of_Inquiry_in_Online_Courses

9. HOW do you
build a
community
of Inquiry ?
Let’s consider our own classes for a moment: what are some
ways that we and our learners could build and grow
social / cognitive / teacher presence?
1 - 2 – 4 – All (abridged)
Record your ideas @ Creating "Presence" Online

10. “Presence”:
What does it look like
in the virtual
classroom?

11. Summary
• Student Engagement has a direct impact on motivation and quality of learning.
• Community of Inquiry is a framework that promotes quality of learning through development of cognitive, teacher, and social
presence in the online environment.
• These presences are interdependent and together create a meaningful learning experience.

12. Share and enjoy!
Integrate the
Community of
Inquiry framework
into your virtual
classroom.

13. Tips,
Tools, and
Resources
• Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based
environment: computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher
Education, 2 (2-3), 87-105 http://communitiesofinquiry.com/model
• Fiock, Holly. (2020). Designing a Community of Inquiry in Online Courses. The
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning. 21. 134-152.
10.19173/irrodl.v20i5.3985.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338525880_Designing_a_Community_
of_Inquiry_in_Online_Courses
• Liberating Structures: Including and Unleashing Everyone
http://www.liberatingstructures.com/
• Training for Change: Leading Groups Online
https://www.trainingforchange.org/training_tools/leading-groups-online-book/
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

14. Questions?
IAsupport@vcc.ca

15. THANK YOU!