Exploring teaching and cognitive presence in blended learning: promoting pre-service teachers’ critical thinking

(1)

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND

Exploring teaching and cognitive presence in blended

learning: promoting pre-service teachers’ critical thinking

A Dissertation submitted by

Petrea Redmond

Dip. Teach, B.Bus, M.Ed

For the award of

Doctor of Philosophy

(2)

(3)

i

Abstract

Despite extensive expenditure by universities on technology tools, the impact on

teaching practice and students’ critical thinking remains disappointing to many.

Current research which investigates the impact of teaching presence on cognitive

presence in undergraduate blended learning is scarce.

This study investigated teaching and cognitive presence in blended undergraduate

teacher education courses. Garrison, Anderson, and Archer’s (2000) Community of

Inquiry (CoI) framework has been used as a conceptual framework and as a lens to

investigate critical thinking. A multi-case study was used to identify the impact of

teaching presence on cognitive presence and the promotion of critical thinking. The

mixed methods of data collection and data analysis used surveys, content analysis,

interviews, and document analysis to detect elements of teaching and cognitive

presence and gain insights from participants’ perspectives.

The findings of this study suggest that indicators of cognitive and teaching presence

are found in a variety of spaces within a blended course. The majority of teacher

online discussion contributions were those of direct instruction, even for instructors

who considered themselves constructivist educators. In the online discussion

(4)

ii

Certification of Dissertation

I certify that the ideas, experimental work, results, analyses, software and

conclusions reported in this dissertation are entirely my own effort, except where

otherwise acknowledged. I also certify that the work is original and has not been

previously submitted for any other award, except where otherwise acknowledged.

__________________________________

_____________________

Signature of Candidate

Date

ENDORSEMENT

___________________________________

______________________

Associate Professor Peter Albion

Date

___________________________________

_______________________

(5)

iii

Acknowledgements

This dissertation is a result of compromise, patience, support, and encouragement of

a number of individuals. I would like to thank Dr Peter Albion for his continual

encouragement and ongoing guidance, insights, and mentorship. Dr Glen Postle,

thank you for your thoughts and views of my dissertation.

I am grateful for the support of my colleagues. Particularly to Alison, Lesley, Chris,

Alice, and Steve who endured my complaints, came with me for writing retreats,

discussed conceptual frameworks, and shared the frustration of Endnote and SPSS

while on their own research journey.

Thank you to those pre-service teachers and teacher educators who enthusiastically

participated in my case studies. I hope that my representation of your work,

thoughts, and dialogue honour the stories of those who participated.

(6)

iv

Table of Contents

Abstract ... i

Certification of Dissertation ... ii

Acknowledgements ... iii

Table of Contents ... iv

List of Figures... vi

List of Tables ... vii

CHAPTER 1:INTRODUCTION ... 1

Overview ... 1

Theoretical Perspectives ... 2

Community of Inquiry ... 2

Blended Learning and Teaching ... 4

Critical Thinking ... 4

Research Problem ... 5

Research Questions ... 6

Research Goals ... 6

Research Design ... 8

Significance of Study ... 8

Structure of Thesis ... 9

Definitions ...10

Abbreviations... 11

Chapter Summary ...11

CHAPTER 2:LITERATURE REVIEW ... 13

Overview ...13

Blended Learning and Teaching ...13

Teaching in Higher Education ...18

Teacher Education ... 20

Disconnect ... 21

Engagement and Interaction ... 22

Dialogue ...25

Cognitive Thinking Processes: Critical Thinking and Reflection ...29

Communities of Inquiry...36

Community of Inquiry as a Conceptual Framework ...39

Social Presence ...45

Cognitive Presence ...48

Practical Inquiry ... 49

Reflection as an Element of Cognitive Presence ... 53

Teaching Presence ...56

Research Gaps ...64

CHAPTER 3:METHODOLOGY ... 69

Overview ...69

Research Design and Methodology ...69

Setting, Participants and Scope ... 70

Research Questions ... 72

Case Study Methodology ...72

Multiple Case Study ... 73

Mixed Methodology ...74

Role of the Researcher ... 77

Conceptual Framework ...79

Sampling ... 82

Data Collection ...83

Student Experience Survey ... 83

(7)

v

Semi-structured Interview with Course Instructors ... 89

Open Ended Initial Interview Questions ... 90

Course Documentation ... 91

Data Analysis and Data Reduction Procedures ...91

Integrity of the Data and Conclusions ...93

Ethical Considerations ...96

CHAPTER 4:FINDINGS ... 99

Introduction to Chapter...99

Case A ... 100

Context ... 100

Results ... 100

Summary of Findings ... 115

Case B ... 116

Context ... 116

Results ... 116

Case C ... 140

Context ... 140

Results ... 140

Cross-Case Analysis ... 156

Chapter Summary ... 163

CHAPTER 5:Discussion ... 165

Overview ... 165

Discussion of Findings ... 166

Subsidiary question 1: What is the nature of student cognitive presence in the online discussion element of a blended course? ... 166

Subsidiary question 2: What is the nature of teaching presence in a blended course? ... 168

Subsidiary question 3: What aspects of teaching presence promote cognitive presence? ... 172

Subsidiary question 4: How can teaching presence in the online component of undergraduate blended courses be modified to enhance cognitive presence and the development of critical thinking? ... 176

Subsidiary question 5: How might reflection be positioned within cognitive presence? ... 181

Key research question: In what ways can teaching presence enhance the development of cognitive presence in a blended undergraduate teacher education course? ... 184

Other Research Outcomes and Emergent Themes ... 186

Personal Reflection ... 189

Chapter Summary ... 190

CHAPTER 6:CONCLUSIONS ... 191

Overview ... 191

Conclusions ... 191

Implications ... 193

Limitations of the Study ... 196

Directions for Future Research ... 197

Summary ... 198

References ... 199

Appendices ... 217

(8)

vi

[image:8.595.89.525.105.412.2]

List of Figures

Figure 1.1. Community of Inquiry ... 3

Figure 2.1. Learning and teaching continuum with ICT/Web ... 15

Figure 2.2. Community of Inquiry ... 43

Figure 2.3. Practical Inquiry ... 50

Figure 2.4. TPACK ... 59

Figure 3.1. Concurrent research design ... 76

Figure 4.1. Case A mapping the course against Cognitive Presence phases ... 103

Figure 4.2. Instructor perceptions of Teaching Presence ... 104

Figure 4.3. Instructor perceptions of Cognitive Presence ... 105

Figure 4.4. Cognitive presence responses to design and organisation posts ... 111

Figure 4.5. Cognitive presence responses facilitating discourse posts... 112

Figure 4.6. Case A Cognitive presence responses to direct instruction posts ... 113

Figure 4.7. Mapping the course against Cognitive Presence phases ... 120

Figure 4.8. Instructor perceptions of Teaching Presence ... 122

Figure 4.9. Instructor perceptions of Cognitive Presence ... 122

Figure 4.10. Case B pre-service teacher responses to design and organisation posts by the instructor ... 133

Figure 4.11. Case B pre-service teacher responses to facilitating discourse posts by the instructor ... 134

Figure 4.12. Case B pre-service teacher responses to direct instruction posts by the instructor ... 135

Figure 4.13. Case C Mapping the course against Cognitive Presence ... 143

Figure 4.14. Instructor perceptions of Teaching Presence ... 144

Figure 4.15. Instructor perceptions of Cognitive Presence ... 144

Figure 4.16. Case C pre-service teacher responses to design and organisation posts by the instructor. ... 151

Figure 4.17. Case C pre-service teacher responses to discussion facilitation posts by the instructor. ... 152

Figure 4.18. Case C pre-service teacher responses to direct instruction posts by the instructor. ... 153

Figure 4.19. Case comparison of Cognitive Presence posts ... 159

(9)

vii

[image:9.595.99.526.115.556.2]

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Phases of Critical Thinking ... 34

Table 2.2 Common Features of Communities of Inquiry ... 38

Table 2.3 Henri’s (1992) Content Analysis Model For Asynchronous Conferencing ... 40

Table 2.4 Community of Inquiry Categories and Indicators ... 42

Table 2.5 Social Presence Categories and Indicators ... 46

Table 2.6 Practical Inquiry Phases and Indicators ... 52

Table 2.7 Recommended Modification to Resolution Phase of Teaching Presence ... 56

Table 2.8 Teaching Roles ... 58

Table 2.9 Teaching Presence Categories and Indicators ... 61

Table 2.10 Proposed Modifications to Direct Instruction ... 62

Table 3.1 Case C Role Clarification ... 77

Table 3.2 Cognitive Presence Coding Protocol ... 81

Table 3.3Teaching Presence Coding Protocol ... 81

Table 4.1 Case A Instructor Perceptions of Blended Teaching... 102

Table 4.2 Cognitive Presence Analysis of Discussion Forums for Case A ... 107

Table 4.3 Category of Teaching Presence Posts for Case A ... 109

Table 4.4 Case A Comparing Teaching Presence and Cognitive Presence ... 114

Table 4.5 Case B Instructor Perceptions of Blended Teaching... 119

Table 4.6 Case B Mean Values for the Categories of Teaching Presence and Cognitive Presence ... 123

Table 4.7 How the Learners Perceived the Effectiveness of the Environments ... 124

Table 4.8 How the Learners Perceived the Face-to-Face and Online Work Enhancing Each Other ... 126

Table 4.9 Case B Student Commentary on Teaching Presence... 127

Table 4.10 Cognitive Presence Analysis of Discussion Forums for Case B ... 128

Table 4.11 Teaching Presence Posts for Case B ... 131

Table 4.12 Summary of Instructor and Student Posts in Case B ... 136

Table 4.13 Case C Instructor Reflective Data ... 142

Table 4.14 Case C Average Values for the Categories of Teaching Presence and Cognitive Presence ... 145

Table 4.15 Case C Student Commentary on Elements of a Blended Course ... 146

Table 4.16 Cognitive Presence Analysis from Discussion Forums Case C ... 148

Table 4.17 Teaching Presence Posts for Case C ... 150

Table 4.18 Case C Teaching Presence Posts and Resulting Cognitive Presence Posts ... 154

Table 4.19 Cross-case Survey Demographics ... 156

Table 4.20 Summary of Online Discussion Posts Across Cases ... 158

Table 4.21 Teaching Presence and Cognitive Presence Posts for Combined Cases ... 160

Table 4.22 Comparing the Elements of Cognitive Presence Online and Face-To-Face for Students ... 162

Table 5.1 Summary of Student and Instructor Posts ... 172

Table 5.2 Modified Cognitive Presence Indicators ... 181