Comparing Community of Inquiry and
Online Collaborative Learning
Community of Inquiry
Nota:
Doesn't really list specific instructional guidelines and, as such is more of a theory than a model
Subject matter expert, intellectual/scholarly leader; Designer, facilitator,
& director of learners' social & cognitive processes, Interaction facilitator,
'master learner'
Notice that the teacher is
concerned with cognitive &
social/motivational factors.
To be present - cognitively & socially; to work with group to explore,
integrate, and resolve ideas; to interact and to help become 'master learner'
Content - activity or reading - triggers intellectual curiosity; discussion
becomes part of content to explore, integrate, resolve ideas
Discussion, Direction Instruction, pragmatic inquiry
Online environments - synchronous & asynchronous
Increased engagement, excellent for developing HOTS, faculty may find it easier
to transition to collaborative learning since this theory has elements of direct
instruction,
Complex, evaluating indicators for social, cognitive, teaching presence is challenging &
time-consuming, a lot of pressure on teacher to create and maintain an optimal educational
experience. Difficult to get students to go beyond the 'exploration' phase.
Online Collaborative Learning Theory
Nota:
Lists specific instructional activities so it's more of a model in support of the theory of collaborative learning
Act as representative 'expert' in field with knowledge of values/norms/foundational
knowledge in field. Lead the group through discussion & contribute to knowledge
community
Engage in discourse - brainstorm,
organize, synthesize
Discussion is primary source of content,; textbooks, etc. are 'supplementary
Asynchronous Discussion
online asynchronous environments; primary learning
objectives/outcomes are HOTS
Excellent for developing higher order thinking skills
Helping maintain intellectual rigor in discussions is time consuming;
this model doesn't scale well. Also, in its original form, it doesn't
support STEM well.. Discussion is a highly culturally contextualized
activity. This could be challenging for cliverse classrooms.
Notice that the teacher's primary focus is
on cognitive development. Not much
mention is made of social/motivational
factors.