Facilitating Learning Community

Earlier in Module 2: Learner-Centered Course Design you were introduced to the CoI (Community of Inquiry). This module revisits these ideas of online personas, but shifts from the teaching presence and covers online facilitation strategies to build a supportive, diverse and inclusive learning community.

CoI diagram showing social, cognitive, and teaching presences. which intersect at the educational experience.
COI Graphic (created by CDL Graphics) is a derivative of
Community of Inquiry Model Links to an external site.by Matbury, which is
licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Links to an external site.

Teaching Presence: encouraging students to interact with you

  • E.g., roleplaying, student-only discussions, student debates, group projects

Cognitive Presence:  encouraging students to interact with the content you've selected

  • E.g., practice activities, assignment rubrics, and samples, interactive online games

Social Presence: encouraging students to interact with each other

  • E.g., instructor introductions, virtual office hours, FAQ discussion board, audio/video feedback, and announcements

Facilitating Learning Community

Some learners can sometimes feel disconnected in digital learning classes, especially when there are few opportunities to interact with others. When students enter the classroom, they are not empty vessels; they bring with them a diverse set of experiences and knowledge. Given that learning is ultimately rooted in social interaction (Dewey, 1963), it is important to offer some interactive opportunities in an online environment. Over the years,  <Replace -  Institution Name>  has included a student panel that asked the question, "What makes a strong instructor in your online class?" The following answers are aggregates of answers faculty have given: 

  • Caring/compassionate/supportive
  • Authoritative/trustworthy
  • Flexible/creative/humorous
  • Establishes a clear pace/routine
  • Provides interaction/feedback
  • Organized/methodical/systematic/integrates redundancy/provides clear instructions
  • High expectations of students/seeking student success and input
  • Promotes community building/networking

COI Graphic (created by CDL Graphics) is a derivative of the Community of Inquiry Model by Matbury, which is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Links to an external site.