Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Instruction & Curriculum Leadership

Committee Chair

Amanda Szapkiw

Committee Member

Andrew Tawfik

Committee Member

Celia Anderson

Committee Member

Rhonda Gregory

Abstract

Community colleges are experiencing an influx of online course enrollments. To meet this demand, colleges are hiring adjunct faculty who are experts in their field of study. Unfortunately, most adjunct instructors have no teaching experience or training, especially within online learning environments. To facilitate an effective online learning environment that promotes student learning, community college online adjunct faculty need formal educational experience or professional development (PD) that focuses on the facilitation of critical thinking and community within an online environment. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) Model provides a foundation upon which to build a PD course to train faculty who teach in online environments. CoI has been notably the most researched model since the evolution of online learning and is grounded in effective facilitation of online environments and focuses on teaching presence (TP), social presence (SP), and cognitive presence (CP). Design and facilitation (i.e., TP) guides the CP and SP, creating an educational and meaningful learning experience. Poor design and facilitation can result in a weak sense of community and learning, which can ultimately lead to a decrease in retention and persistence rates of online students. This study is grounded in the CoI model and seeks to provide academic administration with the most pertinent findings from various studies that justify the need for PD for online adjuncts.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest

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