Embodiment in online education: promising practices

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a quick change to online teaching and learning, emphasising the importance of the community of inquiry (CoI) framework in reimagining the quality of higher education in an online setting. In the study reported on here I focused on how lecturers adopted the CoI to enhance the quality of online learning and teaching of a research module. Additionally, it examines the extent to which students experienced the 3 key presences within the CoI framework, namely the teaching, social and cognitive presence during online teaching and learning of the research module. I employed a design-based research (DBR) approach, focusing on teachers studying B.Ed. Hons. part time. Data were generated through a CoI survey and students’ reflections. The findings reveal that the lecturer’s use of diverse instructional strategies resulted in students experiencing a higher level of teaching presence, a varied range of social presence, and a high level of cognitive presence. These high levels of cognitive and teaching presences could suggest the enhancement of online learning and teaching within the research module.

Using the Theory of Social Support and the Community of Inquiry as theoretical frameworks, this qualitative study explored international students’ experiences, challenges, and perceptions of online learning environments during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. By conducting three virtual focus group interviews with 18 international students, we identified four key themes that encapsulate participants’ challenges and experiences of online learning: social isolation in online learning spaces, difficulties with engaging in online class discussions and activities, limited opportunities for improving English proficiency in the online setting and limited academic support from faculty and advisors. Implications for research and practice to support international students are discussed.

This paper aims to identify challenges to students’ engagement in online learning at the Qatar branch campus of America’s Georgetown University, and to propose solutions. Specifically, it: 1) identifies challenges and solutions from students’ perspectives; 2) provides recommendations for developing instructional policies to maximise student engagement in synchronous learning contexts; and 3) aims to contribute to the literature on the engagement of Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL) learners and Arabic Heritage Learners (AHLs) in online learning in higher education (HE) in the Middle East. It did so by collecting qualitative data, using an open-ended questionnaire from 13 Arabic as a Foreign Language and Arab Heritage learners. We investigate these learners’ perceptions and experiences of student engagement in online learning within the social presence dimension of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. In addition to presenting a set of challenges that our students experienced in their online learning, especially under the unprecedented health, social and mental constraints created by Covid-19, we highlight their solutions to these challenges. We conclude by offering a set of recommendations that we hope AFL and Arabic Heritage (AH) programmes and institutions will find useful.Keywords: student engagement; online learning; community of inquiry; social presence; Arabic as a foreign language; Arabic heritage learnersPart of the Special Issue Technology enhanced learning in the MENA region <https://doi.org/10.21428/8c225f6e.1fd869f8>

Online learning has gained prominence in higher education institutions globally. Its actual and potential benefits are linked to improving access to and quality of education. It is also considered as a vital strategy for contributing to the UN SDG 4 agenda which aims at ensuring inclusive, equal and equitable lifelong education for all by the year 2030. Unfortunately, not much has been documented on how visually impaired students (VIS) have been included in online learning. To extend our understanding of this neglected but significant topic, this qualitative developmental phenomenographic study engages 14 faculty and six Administrators from two Ghanaian higher education institutions to explore challenges and possible strategies for the inclusion of VIS in online learning. The findings indicate that general policy frameworks are available in the studied universities but they are limited in salience and significance as they do not consider the inclusion of VIS in online learning. Some forms of digital technology are also available in the studied institutions but their accessibility and usability remain a challenge to the VIS. Besides, the universities have specialized units to support students with special needs generally but their practices to support VIS in online settings have remained a challenge. Consequently, universities need to develop adaptive and agile policies through inclusive and participatory approaches. Additionally, higher education institutions should strategically build the capacities of their faculty and staff to better serve VIS in online learning settings. The creation of strategic partnerships with civil society, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the private sector generally is deemed vital for the mobilization of resources to support VIS in online learning spaces.

Online learning in higher education has rapidly grown in recent years and has become the norm. However, pedagogical aspects on online learning environments are still developing. This chapter focuses on one foundational aspect of online and blended learning known as presence. First, the concept of presence in online learning is described i.e. teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. Secondly, strategies for ensuring presence are discussed from different angles: course design, course instructors and course facilitators, and course participants. Thirdly, the implications for future research are outlined. This chapter enhances the research on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework a useful guide to the design of learning experiences that support learners' critical reflection and engagement within collaborative online learning environments.

Objective – The aim of this study is to assess and compare the metacognitive awareness of university students in online and in-person learning environments. Secondly, the study aims to explore the students’ preferences for online and in-person learning to compare themetacognitive awareness of students based on their preferences. Methods – A total of 79 university students completed the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, providing self-reported data on their metacognitive awareness. The study used a paired sample t-test to compare mean scores of metacognitive awareness between online and in-person classroom settings. Additionally, participants evaluated their experiences with online and in-person learning using a pairwise comparison as a scaling method. Results – The t-test results indicate statistically significant differences in metacognitive awareness between online and in-person classroom settings. Specifically, significant differences were found in declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, conditional knowledge, planning, information management strategies, monitoring, debugging strategies, and evaluation of learning. Students showed higher levels of metacognitive awareness across all facets in traditional in-person learning setting. Descriptive analysis of scaling pairwise comparison revealed that online learning was strongly preferred for comfort, while in-person learning was preferred modality for motivation to study and active participation. In oppose to t-test results, ANOVA did not reveal significant differences in metacognitive awareness based on students’ preferences in online nor in traditional learning settings. Conclusions – The results provide valuable information on the metacognitive awareness and preferences of the students in two different learning environments.

Researchers continue to extend the community of inquiry (COI) framework, highlighting its utility in online and blended learning environments for providing a successful learning experience. Recent studies have added the learning presence dimension to the classic COI framework which contains teaching, social, and cognitive presences, to represent online students’ traits of self-regulation. However, there is a need to examine whether this additional presence structurally represents relationships with other COI presences. Attempting to fill this gap, this study examines the statistical structure of the extended COI framework (integrating the classic COI presences with the additional learning presence) as well as the structural path between the four presences, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Data were collected from 205 undergraduate students who were enrolled in blended courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study findings revealed that learning presence has strong correlations with the classic COI counterparts, especially cognitive presence. Furthermore, learning presence has significant positive relationships with cognitive presence and social presence. Overall, the validity and reliability of the extended COI framework (which integrates the classic COI presences with the additional learning presence) had been proven in this study. This study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive framework of the extended COI framework, proving their multi-dimensionality and inter-relationality.

This study investigated how the community of inquiry (CoI) framework can inform digital platform design for interprofessional continuing professional development (ICPD) in healthcare. Using a three-stage comparative methodology, we analyzed technological tools from foundational CoI literature (stage 1), conducted a rapid review of current digital ICPD practices (stage 2), and synthesized findings through matrix-based comparison (stage 3). The analysis of 10 foundational CoI studies and 11 digital interprofessional education studies revealed four distinct adaptation patterns: (a) technological convergence in core communication tools (asynchronous forums, Learning Management System (LMS) platforms); (b) evolutionary divergence in collaborative technologies (video conferencing, real-time document sharing); (c) implementation gaps in reflective and scaffolding tools; and (d) professional context adaptations addressing healthcare-specific needs. While current ICPD practices have demonstrated strong alignment with CoI principles in communication and collaboration tools, significant gaps exist in structured reflection mechanisms, automated feedback systems, and adaptive facilitation features. Critically, systematic CoI framework application in authentic ICPD contexts with practicing professionals has remained largely unexplored, with studies predominantly focused on pre-licensure interprofessional education. Current implementations have used CoI retrospectively as an analytical framework rather than proactively for design guidance. These findings suggest selective rather than comprehensive CoI integration in professional continuing education contexts. The study provided preliminary theoretical guidance for enhancing digital ICPD through CoI-informed design while highlighting the urgent need for empirical validation with practicing healthcare professionals.

Background Effective teaching of university chemistry in an online environment not only requires teachers to have specific discipline content knowledge; it also requires them to have knowledge and skills in technology-enhanced teaching practices. When transitioning from traditional face-to-face teaching into online contexts, teachers must learn new strategies and methods, along with a shift in their beliefs. Whilst online learning of chemistry is commonplace in many higher education institutions globally, the integration of computer and digital technologies in teaching chemistry in developing countries had been limited prior to the 2020 pandemic. Purpose In this study, the experiences, perceptions, and teaching strategies of university chemistry teachers in the Philippines have been explored during the transition of their instruction to emergency remote teaching at two timepoints during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sample Data were collected in the form of survey responses from 139 participants representing 35 universities and colleges across the nation. Results No strong relationships were found between participants’ experiences and their academic rank, length of service, or institution type, suggesting university chemistry teachers took similar approaches to quickly adopt and adapt available technologies to deliver the required curriculum. Since the Philippines continues to struggle to establish a robust infrastructure to promote online and technology-enhanced learning, participants had to devise pedagogies and practices that would allow accessible learning experiences for their students by curating online tools that would require minimal bandwidth and low internet data consumption. Using abductive methodology, the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework was employed as a guide in interpreting university chemistry teachers’ experiences and perceptions about their implementation of emergency remote teaching using online technologies. Whilst participants had limited prior experiences in employing online learning pedagogies, key elements of the CoI framework became apparent through the new technologies and practices implemented by university chemistry teachers which fostered teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence.

This paper presents a study of online teaching in higher education during the 2021/2022 school year, during the Covid 19 pandemic. The theoretical foundation of this research is Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, according to which online teaching is realized through social presence (students’ interaction), teaching presence (student-teacher interaction) and cognitive presence (student-content interaction). This quantitative research was conducted in six countries: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Romania and Russia, and the answers were received from 808 students. At all participating faculties, online teaching was applied during the observed period, and in almost 80% of cases it was realized in full or to a greater extent than in in-person classes. The aim was to determine CoI presences and to identify possible differences among countries. The obtained data was processed with quantitative descriptive analysis and Kruskal–Wallis H test. The highest values of CoI presence were noted in Russia and Romania, then Slovenia and Croatia, and the lowest in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. In the whole sample, teaching presence has been most represented, followed by social presence, while the cognitive presence has been scored the least. Entire CoI presence was assessed as partially represented, as well as its three elements, the lowest of which is cognitive presence. In order to improve the online teaching process, in this paper technological and pedagogical training of teachers for online teaching, support for students for the use of digital tools for online learning and the provision of IT experts as necessary technical support are recommended.

This study examined asynchronous online courses that were pre‑designed with the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework to foster teaching presence (TP), cognitive presence (CP), and social presence (SP). It focused on how these CoI elements relate to student engagement and shared metacognition in activities such as case‑based discussions, peer reviews, role‑based tasks, Practical Inquiry Model‑based learning, and scenario‑based exercises. The findings revealed that students perceived shared metacognition more strongly than they did the individual CoI presences or engagement. All three presences were significantly and positively correlated; CP linked to both TP and SP, and TP also correlated with SP. Every presence was meaningfully associated with overall engagement, though TP and SP showed only weak to moderate but significant correlations with engagement, unlike performance measures. CP and TP correlated with shared metacognition in both self‑regulation and co‑regulation aspects; SP did not correlate significantly with self‑regulation. Overall engagement correlated with shared metacognition, and self‑regulation was strongly associated with both self- and co‑regulation. These results suggest that courses deliberately built around the CoI framework can enhance shared metacognition through their presences and, consequently, student engagement. The study offers practical insights for instructional designers, educators, and researchers who aim to strengthen undergraduate group work and support regulated, engaged learning.

The purpose of this chapter is to explain the capability of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework as a research model to study student learning and satisfaction. The framework identifies three elements (social, cognitive, and teaching presence) that contribute directly to the success of an e-learning experience through the development of an effective CoI. It is argued that a CoI leads to higher learning and increased satisfaction. The chapter presents findings from two online courses designed using the CoI approach. Overall, the students in these courses had high levels of perceived learning and satisfaction, as well as actual learning outcomes.

Online learning has become an integral part of higher education, and while its adoption was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it will continue to be an important mode of learning in higher education. However, research indicates that accounting students are experiencing the online learning component as a significantly bigger challenge than the face-to-face learning component. Providing a responsive online accounting learning environment requires an effective framework to assist with the design of the teaching and learning environment, facilitating optimal online learning. This article reports on a systematic literature review to determine the nature of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework within the context of online undergraduate accounting education. Utilising scholarly databases (Scopus, Web of Science, African Journals and EbscoHost), a literature search was conducted for the period 2012–2022, resulting in the identification of 35 articles for full-text review. The results of this review highlighted that all three presences of the CoI (social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence) were present. Most of the articles reported on group cohesion and affective/personal connections within social presence, and instructional design within teaching presence. Sub-themes such as triggering events within cognitive presence and direct instruction within teaching presence received the least coverage in the sampled articles. The insufficient inclusion of certain sub-themes in the presences indicated the need for further application to create a responsive online learning environment in accounting education.

Modelling the role of learner presence within the community of inquiry framework to determine online course satisfaction in distance education

Exploring communities of inquiry in Massive Open Online Courses