Web-based Learning Solutions for Communities of Practice

The Role of Learner in an Online Community of Inquiry
this is the case for some students, in some groups.
In other groups, much more direct instruction and
facilitation is required.
Social Presence
Instructors made reference to their role in the social
group with the students, but only as it related to
an effective role as instructor; appropriate social
presence is a necessary but insufficient condition
for teaching presence. Online learners expressed
a need for time to feel comfortable communicating
in a text-only environment and to adjust to
expressing emotion and communicating openly
without visual or other context cues. Instructors
need to be sensitive and supportive in this regard.
“I think if you do they do. You set the tone for
what the comfort zone is in there, both in what
you post and in how you post.” Instructors provide
opportunities for a student to engage each other in
various ways; group project, joint presentations,
special interest groups. Some students were happy
to connect with one or a few other learners in a
small group activity while others found this difficult
to manage. Both instructors and students had
stories to tell of group members who dominated
the group. Instructors saw these ‘leaders’ as, at
times, helpful to group development and learning,
and at other times a hindrance.
Teaching Presence
The importance of teaching presence is demonstrated
in differences noted across instructors.
Evidence here affirms Garrison & Cleveland-
Innes’ (2005) premise that “teaching presence
must be available, either from the facilitator or the
other learners, in order to transition from social
to cognitive presence.” (p. 16). Without adequate
support from the instructor, adjustment occurs
without a clear point of reference to expectations.
This lack may create a situation fails to sustain
interest and engagement. This supports previous
evidence that learners without guidance operate
remotely: “without instructor’s explicit guidance
and ‘teaching presence,’ students were found to
engage primarily in ‘serial monologues’” (Pawan,
et al., 2003, p. 119). Teaching presence supports
sustained, beneficial academic interaction, movement
within the presences of online community
and, for first-time online learners, points of reference
regarding expectations in the adjustment to
the online environment.
Interaction
Interaction was seen as crucial means to relieve
initial anxieties and to create group cohesion.
Through communication, students come to learn
that they are not alone with their fears and that
others can offer valuable insights to assist them in
overcoming obstacles. By sharing their opinions
and experiences, students become familiarized
with each other and develop mutual bonds that
increase their motivation to learn. But group dynamics
can differ with each course offering: one
cohort may develop a strong learning community
with vigorous exchanges, while another group
may never gel and conversations may be stilted.
When cohesion is strong, groups can take on a life
of their own, requiring little effort on the part of
instructors. But when cohesion is weak, coaxing
students to interact is “kind of like dragging a sled
over gravel…it’s really hard work.”
Student interactions also serve to broaden
their understanding of subject matter and reexamine
their positions. As different backgrounds
and experiences come to bear on the subject,
students are given an opportunity to consider
matters from several perspectives. They may be
forced to re-examine their own interpretations
and positions in light of these new perspectives
and refine their views as a consequence. “The
experience they brought was extremely valuable
and without that [student interactions] the course
would simply not have been. Whatever value the
course would have had it wouldn’t have had it
without that.”
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