Exploring University Students' Learning Experiences in the COVID-19 Semester through the Community of Inquiry Framework - 20 Nisan 2021

Abstract

This mixed-method study was conducted with undergraduate students from different disciplines at a large state university in the Covid-19 semester (Spring 2020) in Turkey. Investigating the Community of Inquiry framework, previous studies show that teaching presence predicts cognitive and social presence in online or blended courses. Considering the unusual emergency remote teaching circumstances during Spring 2020, the authors examined the extent teaching presence predicted cognitive and social presence in the Covid-19 semester and explored students’ online learning experiences. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through the CoI survey and semi-structured interviews, respectively. While the quantitative data were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, a thematic content analysis was conducted for the qualitative data. The quantitative results indicated that teaching presence predicted social and cognitive presence more significantly during the emergency remote teaching period than it did during regular online or blended education. The qualitative findings showed that when instructors provided feedback, kept communication with students constant, designed interactive lessons, and adjusted assessment tools to online teaching in a course, students became more cognitively and socially present in the course.