Examples of Universities which have used CoI as a framework

[Tony BurkeParticipant]

Hello everyone. I would like to ask the the CoI community if they are aware of any examples of Universities which have adopted the CoI framework as a model on an institution-wide basis.

I am currently involved in a significant University-wide programme at my own institution which seeks (amongst other things) to transform the student and staff experience of learning and and teaching. We have identified a variety of different work streams and the programme is progressing well. However, I feel personally that it needs a unifying theme to draw all the different strands of the programme together. In my opinion, the Community of Inquiry framework could provide exactly that, and I am intending to propose it to my colleagues. However, I am anticipating challenges and queries about this, so I am looking for evidence from other institutions where such an approach has been successfully adopted.

I would be very grateful for any suggestions.

Tony Burke

[Madelaine BefusKey Master]

Very interesting post Tony. I’m aware of courses and programs that are structured around the CoI framework, but haven’t heard of any institution-wide initiatives.

Would your institution’s initiative include onsite, online and/or blended contexts?

Here are a few papers that explore CoI-based program developments:

Kumar, S., Dawson, K., Black, E. W., Cavanaugh, C., & Sessums, C. D. (2011). Applying the Community of Inquiry Framework to an Online Professional Practice Doctoral Program. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12(6), 126–142.

Swan, K., Day, S. L., Bogle, L. R., & Matthews, D. B. (2013). A collaborative, design-based approach to improving an online program. The Internet and Higher Education. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S109675161300050X

Jackson, L. C., Jackson, A. C., & Chambers, D. (2013). Establishing an online community of inquiry at the Distance Education Centre, Victoria. Distance Education, 34(3), 353–367. (This one is K-12 education, not post-secondary)

Madelaine

[Tony BurkeParticipant]

Thank you very much for your response, Madelaine. I will have a look at those references. Most of our cur current delivery is essentially face-to-face, but there are pockets where a blended learning approach is operating. I would like to see blended learning integrated more effectively, but the online component would mainly be to enhance the F2F rather than to replace it.

[Christy ScottParticipant]

Hi Tony,

I am an adjunct instructor at American Public University System (APUS) – which is a virtual university (no brick and mortar classes at all) in the U.S. They definitely use the CoI framework on an institutional level as part of their teaching philosophy. We are required to take a faculty development course on it and are evaluated in part by our representation of each presence in our classes. This is where I first learned about the CoI framework actually and am now using it in my dissertation.

I suggest you contact the APUS Center for Teaching and Learning at ctl@apus.edu. There is an entire page on the CoI Framework on the faculty section of the website, but I don’t think you would be able to access a link to it because the site is password protected. I actually thought the school was working with Dr. Garrison in some form because of the extent to which they have incorporated it into their practice!

Cheers,
Christy

[Tony BurkeParticipant]

Thank you, Christy – that sounds very promising and I will definitely follow this up.

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