A Case Study of the Application of Community of Inquiry Framework in a Blended Learning Course

The community of inquiry framework is a means for instructors to develop instructional activities to engage students in a collaborative learning process. In courses designed with the community of inquiry framework, students engage in the learning process through the communication and collaboration. Further, the community of inquiry framework is comprised of three presences (a) teaching, (b) social, and (c) cognitive. Teaching presence is incorporated into a course through instructional activities, facilitation of the learning activities, and delivery of the content. Social presence occurs when learners engage in open communication and express emotions to create group cohesion during discussions. Students scaffold new concepts through instructional activities and open communication, which are indicators of the cognitive presence. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of a useful framework to develop instructional activities to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing among learners in a blended learning course developed for the Navy. Commodores and command master chiefs from different Navy Expeditionary Combat Force communities were the focus of this case study. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive case study was to examine a blended learning course design based on the community of inquiry framework to develop communication and knowledge sharing skills among the commodores and command master chiefs. The primary investigator used the community of inquiry framework as an instructional strategy to create a collaborative learning environment to encourage communication and knowledge sharing among the students. Seven commodores volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews, and the questions were modified from the community of inquiry survey. The participant's responses to the questions were analyzed based on the community of inquiry framework predetermined presences, categories, and indicators. The participants felt open-communication and knowledge sharing important aspects to the discussions during the course. Based on the findings, curriculum developers are encouraged to design and revise traditional courses based on the community of inquiry framework. Further, course designers could use the community of inquiry framework as a method to design and develop courses. Finally, the community of inquiry framework was a practical method to develop a course to foster communication and knowledge sharing among the students.