The rapid proliferation of online learning in higher education has accentuated the need for a deeper understanding of attentional distractions that affect learners. This study explored how doctoral students experience and manage attentional distractions in asynchronous online learning environments. Drawing on the Community of Inquiry framework,…

Although researchers recognize the importance of discussing support for math learning within online learning communities, there is a lack of relevant network classifying methods and analyses at the group level to understand the behavioral differences between groups with varying levels of activity, including their mathematical literacies. In this…

In this study, I identified, implemented, and evaluated an appropriate solution set to improve the quality of asynchronous online training (i.e., eLearning) project intake at a research site in a government agency. The current project intake mechanism left eLearning production teams without sufficient information to move forward with educational…

Members in online communities of practice (CoPs) take advantage of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to exchange practical or work-related knowledge in asynchronous online environments. Practical knowledge represents individuals' mental models allowing them to interact with the environment and perform tasks. With ICTs, practical…

This research brief comprises three articles published in the three-article dissertation at the University of Missouri (MU) in February 2023. The three-article dissertation, "An Exploration of Online Information Spaces That Support Instructional Design and Teacher Professional Development," examined three online communities of practice…

Asynchronous, online mathematics teacher professional development (PD) was designed to align with research on teacher professional learning as well as to support Communities of Inquiry (e.g., Garrison et al., 2000). The intervention included two actively facilitated formats and a structured independent condition, where facilitation was integrated…

Teacher education programs all around the world are challenged with the emergency transition to remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Human-centered design can help generate creative solutions to the pedagogical problems that teacher educators face during this transition. In this paper, we present a case of the Advanced Learning…

Online instructional design and how to engage students cognitively in online asynchronous courses have been an ongoing question. This case study presents an intentional design of an asynchronous online graduate course to foster cognitive presence. The research questions investigate students' cognitive presence (CP) captured by two measures:…

Students gain a lasting impression of a course and of the instructor on the first day of class (Lang, 2019). In asynchronous online or hybrid classes, the equivalent of the first day of class is the Start Here module. This orientation module should contain essential information about class expectations and technology requirements and provide help…

In this paper, we focus on perceived cognitive presence (CP) in three sections of an intermediate level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course facilitated online. The researchers intend to demonstrate how lesson design, scaffolding, and a blend of synchronous and asynchronous delivery create perceived CP. Data was collected from the CoI survey…

According to the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000), an enriching educational experience online in a collaborative learning environment requires three interdependent elements: social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence. Social presence provides interaction in the online environment that allows…

Background: New emerging online technologies have made dynamic changes in the structure of the online environment possible to address varying needs of diverse learners. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the changes that occurred in online instructional design and strategies in mathematics education courses taught over a course of…

Purpose: This report explores the notion of signature pedagogies within the field of e-learning for higher education. Methodology: We build on previous work that examined signature pedagogies in education, linking the concepts of signature pedagogies, the profession of education and e-learning as a means to help educators develop their practice…

Instructional designers need to be able to assess the level of knowledge construction generated by participants of a virtual learning community (VLC). Such participants include the learners engaged in threaded discussions within online courses. Assessing the level of knowledge construction enables course revisions that scaffold such knowledge…

In the following design case, Learning Technologists (LT's) charged with developing a program for distance and blended learning describe the creation of an online module for staff development that helps lecturers to develop their online teaching skills. Using the Community of Inquiry Framework, the LT's structured an environment in which staff…