Research Article
Naureen Shehzad, Tendai Charles
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 4, Article No: ep484
ABSTRACT
Digital pedagogies have impacted traditional approaches towards teaching and as this phenomenon continues to expand, a clearer understanding of the role of instructors’ social presence in online learning environments is imperative. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, this study investigates instructor social presence and its impact on student engagement at higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates. The study includes data collected through a survey, which was distributed amongst faculty members (n=30), followed by several in-depth interviews. The study explores the relationship between constructs of instructor social presence and student engagement. Findings suggest that instructor social presence positively influences student engagement and attrition. The study also identifies different strategies and barriers instructors face in establishing their online social presence. The study has practical implications for stakeholders and curriculum designers seeking to improve and enhance the learning outcomes in online education.
Keywords: higher education, social presence, student engagement, community of inquiry
Research Article
Jiseung Yoo, Min Kyeong Kim
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 3, Article No: ep438
ABSTRACT
This study focuses on how teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of mathematics may differ depending on teacher interactions in an online teacher community of practice (CoP). The study utilizes data from 26,857 posts collected from the South Korean self-generated online teacher CoP, ‘Indischool’. This data was then analyzed using natural language processing techniques; specifically, text classification with word2vec, BERT, and machine learning classifiers was used. The results indicate that the texts of posts can predict the level of teacher interactions in the online CoP. BERT embedding and classifier exhibited the best performance, ultimately achieving an F1 score of .756. Moreover, topic modeling utilizing BERT embedding is used to uncover the specific PCK of teachers through high- and low-interaction posts. The results reveal that high-interaction posts with numerous likes and replies demonstrate more in-depth reflections on teaching mathematics and refined PCK. This study makes two significant contributions. First, it applies a data science framework that allows for the analysis of real data from an actual online teacher community. Secondly, it sheds light on the intricacies of knowledge management in an online teacher CoP, an area that has to this point received limited empirical attention.
Keywords: online community of practice, natural language processing, mathematics pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge management
Research Article
Tufan Adiguzel, Mehmet Haldun Kaya, Mehmet Akin Bulut, Sinem Emine Mete, Yesim Nalkesen-Akin
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 2, Article No: ep417
ABSTRACT
For K-12 teachers to improve effective teaching skills, cognitive presence (CP) integration into teaching and learning process is of utmost value. CP strategy training can serve as a facilitating component in supporting K-12 teachers’ instructional capacity. This study presents findings of a teacher professional development training aiming CP strategy implementation at K-12 level. Following a mixed-method methodology, the present research was carried out with 53 teachers from four different campuses and grade levels, who were guided to implement CP strategies in their teaching context. The data sources were CP-integrated lesson plans, trainers’ feedback on these lesson plans, teacher responses on a questionnaire. The data collection methods were utilizing an end-of-the-training questionnaire directed to teachers, lesson plan evaluation through a CP rubric, content analysis of trainer feedback on lesson plans and revised lesson plans. Results unveiled that this professional development training designed and implemented for K-12 teachers led to significantly positive changes in teachers’ CP strategy integration into lesson plans regardless of levels, subjects or topics. This study could also provide important contributions to designing teacher professional development training for researchers, practitioners and teacher trainers, particularly in CP dimension.
Keywords: cognitive presence, professional development, K-12, learning community, practical inquiry model
Research Article
Kulthida Tuamsuk, Lan Thi Nguyen, Issara Kanjug, Grichawat Lowatcharin, Teeradej Manakul, Kornwipa Poonpon, Weerachai Sarakorn, Anucha Somabut, Niwat Srisawasdi, Saksuriya Traiyarach
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 2, Article No: ep408
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to investigate the success factors for transforming classrooms into learning communities in digital learning ecosystem (DLE) of Thailand’s secondary schools. Quantitative research was conducted by using a questionnaire as the research instrument to measure teachers’ evaluation of factors. Purposive sampling was applied to obtain a sample group of secondary schools. The questionnaires were sent to teachers at secondary schools in 20 provinces in Northeast Thailand that were employing the smart learning project for their teaching and learning. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. The results revealed that learning support technologies, teachers, and learners were the three most important factors influencing the development of DLE (x =4.64, x =4.61, and x =4.49, respectively). The findings of this study have implications for educators, administrators, and teachers to review and discover appropriate ways to invest the necessary conditions that can enhance the quality of DLEs and improve teaching and learning activities in the digital environment at secondary schools.
Keywords: success factors, learning community, digital learning ecosystem, secondary schools, Thailand
Research Article
Amka Amka, Juhriyansyah Dalle
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 14, Issue 1, Article No: ep334
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 had a disastrous impact on the education sector resulting in a boom of online learning systems. This shift has severely impacted the underprivileged students with special needs due to the sudden implementation of prolonged distance learning. Thus, it creates an immense need to analyze distance learning media’s effectiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic for students with special needs. The E-learning readiness and satisfaction of special needs students are scarcely investigated areas in education and e-learning literature. Established on the community of inquiry (COI) model, this study aims to determine the factors that underpin students’ satisfaction with their e-learning experience through the mediated mechanism of students online learning readiness. Surveying 178 special needs students from various Indonesian universities revealed that teaching presence, cognitive and social presence, and content quality, directly and indirectly, influence e-learning satisfaction. This extended and more comprehensive model would help educators better understand e-learning’s use as an effective pedagogical platform, especially in the context of special needs students. Key policy implications and directions for future research are suggested.
Keywords: community of inquiry model, content quality, online learning readiness, students’ cognitive presence, social presence, students’ satisfaction with e-learning experience, teaching presence
Research Article
Olgun Sadik
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 13, Issue 1, Article No: ep285
ABSTRACT
This research was designed and conducted considering the theoretical and practical suggestions of design-based research (DBR) methodology and aimed to identify and address problems in a one-semester technology integration course at a Midwest university in the US. Community of practice (CoP) was used as the theoretical framework in this research to design and implement interventions, and improve the quality of the course. The researcher observed a community of teacher educators and aimed to make suggestions for building successful strategies for communities of practice in similar contexts. The study results showcased the connection between pedagogy, content and technology as an important theme for preparing future teachers in technology integration courses but also in all the teacher education courses. Furthermore, aligned with the previous literature, pre-service teachers’ beliefs and confidence were identified as important conditions for effective technology integration. CoP was found as a challenging but helpful model when all the members share ideas in a supportive and balanced environment. An experienced member of the community acting as a moderator and facilitating the discussions was helpful to address the communication issues in a community of teacher educators.
Keywords: community of practice, design-based research, teacher education, technology integration
Research Article
Cigdem Ozbek, Irem Comoglu, Bahar Baran
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 3, pp. 280-302
ABSTRACT
This study aims to design of the two activities “introducing an innovation” and “role playing” in Second Life (SL) and to evaluate qualitatively Turkish foreign language learner’s roles and outputs before, while, and after the implementation of the activities. The study used community of inquiry model consisting of cognitive presence and social presence as a theoretical frame to discuss the roles and outputs. The participants were twelve students and two English teachers from two different high schools. Teaching and learning in SL took six weeks. The first activity “introducing an innovation” let students develop an innovation and introduce it in English at a congress hall. The second activity “role playing” had four different scenarios in which students would be involved in; travel agency, get permission from family to go out, restaurant, and renting a car. It was found that the two activities in Second Life had various requirements in terms of the teacher, the student and the social environment and that they differed in pre-activity, while-activity and post-activity phases in terms of outputs. When the learning contexts created in this study are considered in terms of cognitive presence, the outcomes of the interaction effect between the teacher, the student, and the social environment were higher in the role-playing activity than in the second activity. Written preparations done before the activity in both teaching activities had positive effects on students’ performance during the activity. The fact that students responded to the questions spontaneously without following the scenario and that they found the correct answer through discussion affected their cognitive presence positively. For social presence, the role-play activity resulted in highersocial presence than introducing an innovation since the students studied individually in the introduction of an innovation.
Keywords: Language education, Technology in foreign language learning, Community of inquiry, Second Life, Role playing
Research Article
Mustafa Serkan Gunbatar, Tolga Guyer
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 2, pp. 158-175
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study, with reference to Community of Inquiry, is to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of Learning activities based on Online Inquiry differentiating as Open and Guided Inquiries. This study employs mixed research method and explanatory design. The data were collected with the Community of Inquiry Index and the Student Process Survey. According to the Community of Inquiry index results, scores of all guided inquiry students in terms of the scale were higher at a statistically significant level than those of open group. Similarly, regarding the subscales of community of inquiry index teaching presence and cognitive presence factor scores were higher in favor of the guided inquiry students. There is no significant difference between the social presence scores of the groups. Obtained qualitative data also support this result. According to these findings, we can arrive at the conclusion that, within the scope of Community of Inquiry, the students in the guided inquiry group had a more efficient working process than the students in the open inquiry group.
Keywords: online learning, inquiry-based learning, community of inquiry model, open inquiry, guided inquiry
Research Article
Heather M. Ross, Ryan Banow, Stan Yu
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 6, Issue 2, pp. 126-139
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this two-year quantitative study was to determine the usefulness of the micro-blogging tool Twitter in large classes for improving the students’ sense of community and belonging. Three instructors of large classes were recruited to test the outcomes of using Twitter as a learning tool, one each from the Departments of Geography and Psychology, and the College of Nursing. Twitter was used as a learning tool to allow students to engage in discussion and ask questions in real time during class as well as outside of class. The method used by the authors included surveys that measured students’ perception of their sense of community and belonging, their engagement with the Twitter portion of the course, and their thoughts on the use of Twitter for academic purposes in a higher-education classroom setting. Data about students’ use of Twitter was further collected using the Twitter Archiving Google Spreadsheet tool. The authors conclude this study showed that Twitter, if integrated into the course and supported by instructor and/or assistants who are familiar with the use of Twitter, improved the sense of community reported by students.
Keywords: Microblogging, Twitter, Learning technologies, Community, Large classes, Higher education
Research Article
Rouhollah Khodabandelou, Habibah Ab Jalil, Wan Zah Wan Ali, Shaffe bin Mohd Daud
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 5, Issue 3, pp. 257-271
ABSTRACT
It is conceivably important that demographic variables such as gender may have an impact on community of inquiry (CoI) and perceived learning. This study is in response with Garrison et al. (2010) who suggest that there is a need to determine moderation effects of gender on the relationship between CoI elements and perceived learning. A total of 348 undergraduate students were drawn from blended programs in three public universities in Malaysia to be the sample of the study. As research instrumentation, participation in online and face to face session, the community of inquiry questionnaire, and a perceived learning scale were distributed among the respondents. All the questionnaires were validated by a panel of experts, reliability of the instrument was tested in a pilot study and assumptions of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were checked before analyzing the data. The findings of the study have shown that although differences between the two groups of undergraduate students (male and female) were statistically significant, the amount of differences were not enough to moderate the relationship between CoI components and perceived learning in undergraduate blended learning environments. However, the findings indicate that differences between the two groups of undergraduate students (male and female) were statistically significant
Keywords: Community of Inquiry, Blended Learning Environment, Perceived Learning, Gender, Higher Education