Temi Bidjerano

Cognitive presence and online learner engagement: a cluster analysis of the community of inquiry framework

In this paper we make the case that online learning continues to grow at a rapid rate and that understanding this innovative mode of education requires analysis that is both conceptually and empirically driven. This study inquires into the concept of cognitive presence a multivariate measure of significant learning derived from the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison et al. in Am J Distance Educ, 15(1): 3–21, 2001). The CoI framework conceptualizes online knowledge building as a result of collaborative work among members in learning communities characterized by instructional orchestration appropriate to the online environments (teaching presence) and a supportive and collaborative online setting (social presence). We present results of a study of 5,000 online learners to attempt to further validate the CoI framework and articulate the relationships among the constructs within it. Utilizing cluster analysis we propose that the three forms of presence that characterize the CoI framework can be understood through an equilibrium model and that this model has important implications for the design of online instruction and the success of collaborative online learning.

Does online learning impede degree completion? A national study of community college students

Abstract Using a nationally representative sample (The Beginning Postsecondary Student Survey, BPS 04/09), this study examined the associations between enrollment in credit-bearing distance education courses and degree attainment. We sought to determine whether US students enrolled in distance education courses during their first year of study at a community college tend to complete a degree (certificate, associate, or bachelors) at significantly lower rates than those who were not enrolled in such courses or programs. Consistent with previous large-scale research at the State level in Virginia and Washington (Smith Jaggars & Xu, 2010; Xu & Smith Jaggars, 2011), we hypothesized that community college students who participate in distance education in early semesters graduate at lower rates than students who do not. Contrary to expectations, the study found that controlling for relevant background characteristics; students who take some of their early courses online or at a distance have a significantly better chance of attaining a community college credential than do their classroom only counterparts. These results imply that a new model of student retention in the age of the internet, one that assumes transactional adaptation, may be warranted.

Understanding distinctions in learning in hybrid, and online environments: an empirical investigation of the community of inquiry framework

This study of 723 college students seeks to assess the adequacy of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework for describing and explaining differences in learning outcomes in hybrid and fully online learning environments. Hypothesizing that the CoI models theoretical constructs of presence reflect educational effectiveness in a variety of environments, this article seeks evidence of whether students in varying learning environments are likely to rank them differently with regard to teaching, social, and cognitive presence. The study utilizes factor-, hierarchical-regression-, and path analyses to determine the validity of the CoI constructs as well as to characterize the nature of relationships between them. Results suggest that the model is coherent and accounts for the small but significant differences recently reported in the literature regarding the superiority of hybrid environments relative to fully online environments (Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2009). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning studies. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development). Recommendations for future research and practice are included.

Autonomy in After-School Activity Choice Among Preadolescents From Taiwan and the United States

The study examined boys’ and girls’ autonomy of choice of activities in the after-school hours with samples of children from two different countries. Preadolescent children from Taiwan (n = 289) and the United States (n = 195) completed a questionnaire on their usual after-school activities indicating who determines the choice of any particular activity and the extent to which the activity engendered positive affect. The two samples of children differed significantly with respect to the proportion of self-chosen time spent in particular activities (educational activities, organized activities, media use, and personal care and household chores) and overall. Patterns for the two genders were largely consistent across the two samples. Girls reported somewhat less choice in activities overall, and hanging out with peers specifically, whereas boys disclosed less choice in academic activities. However, it was found that for both samples and genders, proportion of autonomy in activities was positively related to reported enjoyment and inversely related to anxiety.

Self-Conscious Emotions in Response to Perceived Failure: A Structural Equation Model

This study explored the occurrence of self-concsious emotions in response to perceived academic failure among 4th-grade students from the United States and Bulgaria, and the author investigated potential contributors to such negative emotional experiences. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that regardless of country, negative affectivity—as an individual predisposition to experience highly negative emotions—predicted self-conscious emotions toward academic failure. However, culture appeared to condition the relative importance of some family process variables in childrens experiences of self-consious emotions. Bulgarian childrens emotional experiences were amplified by the negative valence of their parents’ evaluative feedback in the aftermath of academic failure. In contrast, U.S. childrens perceptions of failure appeared to be less influenced by their parents’ judgments. The findings of the study are interpreted in the light of cultural differences.

Factor Structure of a Bulgarian Translation of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale

The study examined the dimensionality of the Revised Childrens Manifest Anxiety Scale with a sample of 486 10- and 11-yr.-old Bulgarian children. Findings supported the established factor structure of this scale. Certain departures from the American version of the scale were also observed. Bulgarian girls scored significantly higher on the Anxiety scale than Bulgarian boys, and 10-yr.-old Bulgarian boys scored significantly lower than their American peers. Bulgarian children tended to score higher than the American children on the Lie scale. At present this Bulgarian version of the Revised Childrens Manifest Anxiety Scale could be employed as a rough screening test for anxiety.