Establishing Social, Cognitive and Teacher Presences During Emergency Remote Teaching: Reflections of Certified Online Instructors in the United Arab Emirates

Lawrence Meda; Areej ElSayary

doi:10.30935/cedtech/11073

Lawrence Meda ¹ ^* , Areej ElSayary ¹

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CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 13, Issue 4, Article No: ep318

https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11073

Submitted: 11 March 2021, Published Online: 13 July 2021

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Abstract

COVID-19 has forced many universities across the globe to implement emergency remote teaching as a preventative measure. Many faculty staff members were not adequately equipped with knowledge and skills of facilitating remote teaching. This made the establishment of social, cognitive and teacher presences difficult for them. The purpose of this study is to examine ways in which certified online instructors established social, cognitive and teacher presences during emergency remote teaching at a university in the United Arab Emirates. The study is guided by one critical question: How did certified online instructors establish social, cognitive and teacher presences in their online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic? The study adopted a qualitative case study within an interpretivist paradigm. Two certified online instructors were purposely selected to reflect on their experiences in establishing social, cognitive and teaching presences in their remote classes. It was found that students’ engagement, critical thinking and self-directed learning and continual engagement play an indispensable role in students’ remote learning. The study concludes that the establishment of the three components of a community of inquiry enhance students’ learning experiences and allow instructors to cater for the diverse learning needs of all students in an online community.

Keywords: emergency remote teaching, social presence, teaching presence, cognitive presence, online learning

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Citation

Meda, L., & ElSayary, A. (2021). Establishing Social, Cognitive and Teacher Presences During Emergency Remote Teaching: Reflections of Certified Online Instructors in the United Arab Emirates. Contemporary Educational Technology, 13(4), ep318. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11073

Meda, L., and ElSayary, A. (2021). Establishing Social, Cognitive and Teacher Presences During Emergency Remote Teaching: Reflections of Certified Online Instructors in the United Arab Emirates. Contemporary Educational Technology, 13(4), ep318. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11073

Meda L, ElSayary A. Establishing Social, Cognitive and Teacher Presences During Emergency Remote Teaching: Reflections of Certified Online Instructors in the United Arab Emirates. CONT ED TECHNOLOGY. 2021;13(4), ep318. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11073

Meda, Lawrence, and Areej ElSayary. "Establishing Social, Cognitive and Teacher Presences During Emergency Remote Teaching: Reflections of Certified Online Instructors in the United Arab Emirates". Contemporary Educational Technology 2021 13 no. 4 (2021): ep318. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11073

Meda, Lawrence et al. "Establishing Social, Cognitive and Teacher Presences During Emergency Remote Teaching: Reflections of Certified Online Instructors in the United Arab Emirates". Contemporary Educational Technology, vol. 13, no. 4, 2021, ep318. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11073

Meda L, ElSayary A. Establishing Social, Cognitive and Teacher Presences During Emergency Remote Teaching: Reflections of Certified Online Instructors in the United Arab Emirates. CONT ED TECHNOLOGY. 2021;13(4):ep318. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11073