Toward a new model within the community of inquiry framework: Multivariate linear regression analyses based on graduate student perceptions of learning online

Abstract

Online education has seen dramatic changes in recent years and been recognized as a significant learning platform. However, teaching and learning in these environments is not yet well understood. This study evaluated operational models of the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework that explain student perceptions of learning online. The study participants ( n = 256) were graduate students from multiple institutions who had taken at least one online course as part of their degree requirements. Survey data were collected using the WebTALK survey, a Likert-scale instrument. A two-phase, sequential quantitative research program composed of a series of multivariate linear regression analyses was conducted. The first phase was confirmatory and examined the measurement of four COI constructs: cognitive presence (CP), which represents students\u27 interaction with the course content; teaching presence (TP), which represents students\u27 interaction with instructional tools and learning activities; and social presence (SP), which represents students\u27 interaction with other learners and cultural aspects of the learning environment, and learning presence (LP), which represents students\u27 self-regulation and learning strategies. The first phase included a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) to evaluate the measurement models of the TP, SP, LP, and CP constructs individually, followed by the WebTALK measurement model, which modeled all four constructs simultaneously. The second phase focused on testing several hypotheses that explore how the COI constructs relate and interact with one another. These hypotheses were evaluated using SEM path analyses and hierarchical linear regression analyses. The findings indicate that the WebTALK instrument provided a reliable measure of all four COI constructs with Cronbach\u27s alpha values ranging from 0.63 to 0.92 and measurement models with very good model fit. While SP acted as a mediator between the other COI constructs when analyzed individually, mediation criteria were not met when all four constructs are included in the model simultaneously. In addition, LP did not have significant moderation effect in this study, which contradicts findings from independent prior research. Together, these findings indicate that LP significantly relates to the other COI constructs, but in a way that is not well-explained by the existing models. A post-hoc hypothesis was generated based on the analysis of the three hypotheses tested in the second phase of this study. Findings suggest that the post-hoc hypothesis, where both SP and LP act as mediators between TP and CP and SP has a direct effect on LP, should be accepted. This dissertation makes unique contributions to the study of online learning environments through the COI framework by introducing a comprehensive survey that includes learning presence and producing evidence on the multi-dimensionality of the COI constructs and strong relationship between learning presence and cognitive presence