Exploring university students’ learning experiences in the Covid-19 semester through the community of inquiry framework

Abstract

This mixed-method study was conducted to validate the factor structure of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework in the COVID-19 semester (Spring 2020). Spring 2020 is typically characterized as an emergency remote teaching (ERT) period, distinguished from purposefully-designed instruction for online teaching. To examine the CoI framework’s usefulness for understanding university students’ online learning experiences in this period, the authors collected data using the CoI survey and interviews. The structural equation modeling analyses indicated that teaching presence predicted social and cognitive presences more significantly in the ERT period than regular times. The qualitative findings showed that the courses where teaching presence was high were evaluated as effective by participants even when cognitive and social presences in these courses were relatively low. These findings suggested that course instructors should prioritize planning well-designed online course activities to ensure their teaching presence in times of emergency.