Christine Brown

c12brown@ryerson.ca

Agenda

• Study details

• Community of Inquiry

• Discussion board analysis

• How students wrote

• What students wrote

• Some observations

• Questions?

Study Details

• University in a large Canadian city

• School of Business

• 45 students in each of 2 sections

• Random assignment to 2 classes

• Blended learning – definition– 3 face-to-face meetings

• Course management system

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105

Discussion Board Analysis

Discussion Board Analysis

• 356 postings– 191 by the experimental group– 165 by the control group

• FAQ – 30 by the experimental group– 69 by the control group

• Introductions– 28 by the experimental group– 39 by the control group

Discussion board postings

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level• Developed by US Government Department of

Defense as a standard test

• Looks at– Number of words per sentence

– Number of syllables per word

• Used as a numerical indication of the complexity of a piece of writing (eg. 9.8 – grade 9 level)

• Lowest -3.6 and highest is 13

Results: How students wrote

Community of Inquiry ModelCognitive Presence

• Triggering Event – Recognize problem, express puzzlement

• Exploration– Divergence, information exchange, brainstorming

• Integration– Convergence, connecting ideas, suggesting solutions

• Resolution and Application– Application to real world problems, defend solutions

Triggering Event

Exploration Integration Resolution and Application

Experimental 14 307 11 0

Control 33 372 8 11

Community of Inquiry ModelSocial Presence

• Affective– Emotions, humor, self-disclosure, emoticons

• Open Communication– Continuing threads, quoting or referring to others’

messages, asking questions

– complimenting, expressing agreement

• Group Cohesion– Vocatives, inclusive postings, personal salutations

Affective Open Communication

Group Cohesion

Experimental 24 38 36

Control 7 29 35

Posting content –Discussion Forum

Results: What students wrote

Interesting bits …

• One-offs– 2 instances of swearing

– 2 instances of insulting/sarcastic postings

– 1 instance of student suggesting a solution to another student

• Consent forms

c12brown@ryerson.ca