LACOI - Representation of a Community of Inquiry in Cooperative Online-based Courses through Learning Analytics
Fördergeber: FWF - Austrian Research Agency (P 32915-G)
Laufzeit: 2020 - 2024
Kooperationspartner: Dr. Leah Macfadyen, University of British Columbia
Projektteam: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Elske Ammenwerth, Lisa-Maria Norz MSc.
Numerous academic programs are now offered as online-based programs. Online learning has many advantages over traditional face-to-face teaching but also presents some challenges. For instance, online learning can lead to isolated learning, which can significantly negatively impact the quality of learning.
Current learning theories and frameworks therefore focus on fostering a cooperative learning atmosphere between students and instructors. Such an atmosphere is an essential prerequisite for collaborative learning. The Community of Inquiry framework is an internationally recognized framework that describes how cooperative online learning processes should be organized. However, instructors often find it difficult to objectively assess whether they have successfully created a Community of Inquiry in their online course.
In this project, we investigated whether it is possible to automatically measure the degree of Community of Inquiry in an online course. First, we developed a standardized German-language questionnaire to measure the Community of Inquiry. We demonstrated that students' social presence—their sense of learning together as part of a group—can be measured and represented through six indicators. These indicators can be derived from log data and social network analysis using data from the learning management system. They could be displayed to instructors in real time via a teacher dashboard. Building on this, we showed that such teacher dashboards could indeed serve as valuable tools for instructors.
Additionally, we developed machine learning approaches to automatically determine the degree of cognitive presence from students' written contributions. This methodology is more accurate than previous approaches. Finally, we found that existing coding schemes for measuring cognitive presence are insufficient to adequately capture students' critical thinking.
Overall, our research enabled the development and refinement of methods for measuring social and cognitive presence, as well as the formulation of recommendations for effective online pedagogy.
Selected publications:
Ammenwerth E, Netzer M, Hackl WO. Learning Analytics and the Community of Inquiry: Indicators to Analyze and Visualize Online-Based Learning. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2020;271:67-68. doi:10.3233/SHTI200076
Dornauer V, Netzer M, Kaczko E, Norz LM, Ammenwerth E. Automatic Classification of Online Discussions and Other Learning Traces to Detect Cognitive Presence. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, May 2023, 1-21. 10.1007/s40593-023-00335-4
Kaczko E, Norz L-M, Dornauer V, Ammenwerth E. Community-of-Inquiry-Rahmenwerk: Deutschsprachiger Kodierungsleitfaden zur Inhaltsanalyse der kognitiven und sozialen Präsenz. Austria, Hall in Tirol: UMIT TIROL. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15719.93605. Open access.
Kaczko E, Ostendorf A. Critical thinking in the community of inquiry framework: An analysis of the theoretical model and cognitive presence coding schemes. Computers & Education (IF 11,2). 104662.
Norz LM, Hackl WO, Benning N, Knaup-Gregori P, Ammenwerth E. Development and validation of the German version of the Community of Inquiry Survey. Online Education Journal. 2023; 27 (1):468-484.
Norz LM, Dornauer V, Ammenwerth E, Hackl WO, Ammenwerth E. Measuring social presence in online-based learning: An exploratory path analysis using log data and social network analysis. The Internet and Higher Education. Jan 2023, Volume 56.
Norz LM, Kaczkó É, Netzer M, Ammenwerth E. Quantifying Social Presence in Online-Based Learning - A Statistical and Pedagogical Analysis of Indicators from Social Network Analysis. Online Education Journal. 2024; 28(4); DOI: 10.24059/olj.v28i4.4134