Matt’s Notes
G’day, howdy! We’re bringing you another episode after exactly one week… which aligns with the original intent of the programme… wherein we are finishing up our deep dives on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework… at least for now!… with a close look at cognitive presence! Please see the media below, & click accordingly!
Going strictly by the clock, we went long on this episode! That may be due to the early hour; 10:00 (Atlantic Standard Time) / Way way earlier than that (Pacific).
And cause it seems I’m constitutionally incapable of doing things on any kind of “normal” timeframe… I’ll own that it’s before 03:00 PST as I’m typing these notes…
My chronic and severe obstructive sleep apnea ensures that I can’t sleep for more than three hours at a time without waking up… often in gasping, coughing distress… I was on a really good run using a machine to help with this… but I’ve lately fallen off the “fully oxygenated brain” wagon… despite remaining steadfast in my vegan diet, enhanced exercise programme, and abstinence from alcohol, cannabis, and anything else “fun” really… besides caffeine… which I’ve taken to taking in enhanced quantities…
What’s this to do with cognitive presence? Nothing… and everything… to the extent that everything in this podcast is, for better or for worse, processed through the three-pound organ encased in my totally normal human cranium… with cognition… a function of the mind… seated in that throne of bone & gray matter…
*And what goes on in Doug’s three-pound organ is entirely unique… and also equally vital to this (podcasting) endeavour…
What’s awesome about the CoI elements is that they’re all interdependent in the enterprise of e-learning… cognitive presence, therefore, requires both social and teaching presences in order to manifest… effectively answering the age-old question about the tree falling in the forest… as per CoI, it does NOT make a sound… to the extent that sound is a human construct requiring the presence of human beings to be meaningful… whether sound exists as phenomena for birds, woodchucks, or other creatures of the forest is beside the point… learning, like sound in the proverbial forest as the metaphorical tree crashes whether from lightning strike, earthquake or what-have-you… is a thing for humans… and while other orders of sentient beings… [insert nervous quip about AI here]… may “learn”… learning as we experience it requires self-referential capacity… i.e., an advanced mirroring function of neurons… and advanced levels of neuroplasticity… which have yet to be observed in other sentient beings… mechanical or otherwise…
All of which is accounted for in the simple, elegant construct of cognitive presence.
Phew… that is about as much pseudo-philosophical extemporizing as I’m capable of today… and by “today” I mean at least until the next episode… which, in keeping with our “schedule correction” will be recorded and produced in three days and a wake-up…
Thanks as ever to Doug for bringing CoI to the forefront of this enterprise… it’s been a slice… and for sure we’ll be revisiting this… and potentially going deeper still… in episodes to come.
Doug’s Notes
A Deeper Dive into COI – Cognitive Presence
- a triggering event (defining and understanding the problem),
- exploration (exploring the issue through discussion and critical reflection),
- integration (constructing meaning from ideas developed through exploration), and
- resolution (applying new knowledge in a real-world context).
Element Categories Indicators (Examples Only)
Sample from DCOImooc.org
When not enough effort went into designing for cognitive presence.
The task here was to identify the essential properties of asynchronous online learning that will enhance cognitive presence and learning effectiveness. It is the asynchronicity and connectivity properties of online learning that offer the potential for the unique integration of reflective and collaborative learning opportunities.
Garrison, D. (2003). Cognitive presence for effective asynchronous online learning: The role of reflective inquiry, self-direction and metacognition. Elements of Quality Online Education: Practice and Direction, 4(1), 47-58.
This oft used process is the opposite of cognitive presence.
Cognitive presence is the extent to which learners are able to construct meaning through sustained communication. Moreover, cognitive presence is the key element in critical thinking, a necessary element for higher levels of thinking and learning.
Kanuka, H. & Garrison, D (2004). Cognitive presence in online learning. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 15(2), 21-39.
Some Community of Inquiry educators need to be like the caddy.
Reviews of the literature are some of my favourites!
A final note for practitioners to consider is how they might continue to contribute to the literature as they implement activities that foster CoI. … However, many of the articles did not provide great specificity or examples of instructional approaches deployed. As more research is conducted around cognitive presence and CoI, practitioners can provide best practice recommendations to be adopted and applied to online courses.
Moore, R. & Miller, C. (2022). Fostering cognitive presence in online courses: A systematic review (2008-2020) Online Learning, 26(1).
Our podcast is safe.
Implications for Teaching Practice
- Higher education students enrolled in online courses should be taught how to learn effectively in the online mode
- Online educators must embed learning tasks that foster self-regulation and higher-order skills in students
- Online course design should include authentic tasks for students to apply new knowledge to real-life scenarios
- Online educators must be offered ample professional development activities to build their skills in online pedagogy
- Institutions should encourage translation of online educational research to practice
Maranna, S., Willison, J., Joksimovic, S., Parange, N., & Costabile, M. (2022). Factors that influence cognitive presence: A scoping review. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 38(4), 95-111.
Word of the Podcast
Practitioners
Question of the Podcast
Are we designing to reduce cognitive presence in our teaching?
We have thought… or is that thunk?… our way to the end of another episode! We’re looking forward to seeing you again really, really soon (really!)!
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