Time well spent: Creating a community of inquiry in blended first-year writing courses

Abstract

Abstract This study examines whether blended first-year writing courses can function as Communities of Inquiry and analyzes whether the amount of time spent online impacts the extent to which students positively perceive teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. A modified version of the 34-item Community of Inquiry survey instrument was delivered to students enrolled in 22 sections of a FYW course at the same university. Findings indicate students in high blend (50% online) classes perceived greater degrees of teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence than students in medium blend (33% online) classes. Analysis of survey results, alongside observations of the assigned online activities, suggest a correlation between online time on task and interactive learning activities that promote collaborative student-student interactions. Implications for blended writing instructors and opportunities for future research are discussed.