Skip to main content
Log in

20 Years of the Community of Inquiry Framework

  • Column: History Corner
  • Published:
TechTrends Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Community of Inquiry framework is a collaborative-constructivist process model that describes the essential elements of a successful online higher education learning experience. This history column entry briefly describes the 20 years of progress in the framework. The column is divided into two decades, first, explaining the establishment of the framework from 2000-2009. Second, discussing the use of the instrument to measure the dimensions of the Community of Inquiry and criticism to the framework from 2010-2019. Finally, current work and future directions are provided.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akyol, Z., & Garrison, D. R. (2008). The development of a community of inquiry over time in an online course: Understanding the progression and integration of social, cognitive and teaching presence. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Network, 12(3), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v12i3.66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akyol, Z., & Garrison, D. R. (2013). Educational communities of inquiry: Theoretical framework, research and practice. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-2110-7.

  • Anderson, T., Rourke, L., Garrison, D. R., & Archer, W. (2001). Journal of asynchronous learning networks. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5(2), 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arbaugh, J. B., Cleveland-Innes, M., Diaz, S. R., Garrison, D. R., Ice, P., Richardson, J. C., & Swan, K. P. (2008). Developing a community of inquiry instrument: Testing a measure of the Community of Inquiry framework using a multi-institutional sample. Internet and Higher Education, 11(3–4), 133–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2008.06.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bage, L. (2018). Satisfaction with online learning options in the insurance industry: Does mindfulness play a role [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Pennsylvania.

  • Cleveland-Innes, M., & Campbell, P. (2012). Emotional presence, learning, and the online learning environment. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(4), 269–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz, S. R., Swan, K., Ice, P., & Kupczynski, L. (2010). Student ratings of the importance of survey items, multiplicative factor analysis, and the validity of the community of inquiry survey. Internet and Higher Education, 13(1–2), 22–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.11.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, H., & Barnett, J. (2009). Learning to teach online: What works for pre-service teachers. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 40(3), 357–376. https://doi.org/10.2190/EC.40.3.f.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiock, H. (2020). Designing a community of inquiry in online courses. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 21(1).

  • Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2–3), 87–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7516(00)00016-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2001). Critical thinking, cognitive presence, and computer conferencing in distance education. American Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 7–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2010a). The first decade of the community of inquiry framework: A retrospective. Internet and Higher Education, 3, 5–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.10.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrison, D. R., & Arbaugh, J. B. (2007). Researching the community of inquiry framework: Review, issues, and future directions. Internet and Higher Education, 10(3), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2007.04.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrison, D. R., Cleveland-Innes, M., & Fung, T. S. (2010b). Exploring causal relationships among teaching, cognitive and social presence: Student perceptions of the community of inquiry framework. Internet and Higher Education, 13(1–2), 31–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.10.002.

  • Garrison, D. (2017). E-learning in the 21st century: A community of inquiry framework for research and practice (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315667263

  • Gutiérrez-Santiuste, E., Rodríguez-Sabiote, C., & Gallego-Arrufat, M. J. (2015). Cognitive presence through social and teaching presence in communities of inquiry: A correlational-predictive study. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 31(3), 349–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrell, K. B., & Wendt, J. L. (2019). The impact of blended learning on community of inquiry and perceived learning among high school learners enrolled in a public charter school. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 51(3), 259–272. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2019.1590167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jan, S., Vlachopoulos, P., & Parsell, M. (2019). Social network analysis and online learning in communities in higher education: A systematic literature review. Online Learning, 23(1), 249–265. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i1.1398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kozan, K., & Caskurlu, S. (2018). On the nth presence for the Community of Inquiry framework. Computers and Education, 122(March), 104–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.03.010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lam, J. Y. C. (2015). Autonomy presence in the extended community of inquiry. International Journal of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning, 8(1), 39–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, S., Hung, T. C., & Lee, C. T. (2015). Revalidate forms of presence in training effectiveness: Mediating effect of self-efficacy. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 53(1), 32–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oriogun, P. K. (2009). Detecting aspects of critical thinking by cleaning online message transcript through code-recode. The American Journal of Distance Education, 23(1), 34–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923640802661694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rourke, L., Anderson, T., Garrison, D. R., & Archer, W. (1999). Assessing social presence in asynchronous text-based computer conferencing. Journal of Distance Education, 14(2), 50–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rourke, L., & Kanuka, H. (2009). Learning in communities of inquiry: A review of the literature. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education, 23(1), 19–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, J. C., Arbaugh, B., Cleveland-Innes, M., Ice, P., Swan, K., & Garrison, R. (2012). Using the Community of Iquiry framework to inform effective instructional design. In L. Moller & J. Huett (Eds.), The next generation of distance education (pp. 97–125). Springer.

  • Richardson, J. C., Maeda, Y., Lv, J., & Caskurlu, S. (2017). Social presence in relation to students’ satisfaction and learning in the online environment: A meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 402–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shea, P., Hayes, S., Vickers, J., Gozza-Cohen, M., Uzuner, S., Mehta, R., et al. (2010). A re-examination of the community of inquiry framework: Social network and content analysis. Internet and Higher Education, 13(1–2), 10–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.11.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sorensen, C., & Baylen, D. M. (2009). Learning online: Adapting the seven principles of good practice to a web-based instructional environment. In A. Orellana, T. L. Hudgins, & M. Simonson (Eds.), The perfect online course: Best practices for designing and teaching (pp. 69–86). Information Age Publishing.

  • Stenbom, S. (2018). A systematic review of the Community of Inquiry survey. Internet and Higher Education, 39(June), 22–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2018.06.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stenbom, S., Hrastinski, S., & Cleveland-Innes, M. (2012). Student-student online coaching as a relationship of inquiry: An exploratory study from the coach perspective. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Network, 16(5), 37–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swan, K., & Ice, P. (2010). The community of inquiry framework ten years later: Introduction to the special issue [special section]. Internet and Higher Education, 13(1–2), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.11.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swan, K. P., Richardson, J. C., Ice, P., Garrison, D. R., Cleveland-Innes, M., & Arbaugh, J. B. (2008). Validating a measurement tool of presence in online communities of inquiry. E-Mentor, 24(2), 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tirado-Morueta, R., Maraver-López, P., Hernando-Gómez, Á., & Harris, V. W. (2016). Exploring social and cognitive presences in communities of inquiry to perform higher cognitive tasks. Internet and Higher Education, 31, 122–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2016.07.00.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • York, C. S., & Richardson, J. C. (2012). Interpersonal interaction in online learning: Experienced online instructors’ perceptions of influencing factors. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Network, 16(4), 83–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zehra, A., Arbaugh, J. B., Cleveland-Innes, M., Garrison, D. R., Richardson, J. C., & Swan, K. (2009). A response to the review of the community of inquiry framework. Journal of Distance Education, 23(2), 123–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zydney, J. M., Denoyelles, A., & Kyeong-Ju Seo, K. (2012). Creating a community of inquiry in online environments: An exploratory study on the effect of a protocol on interactions within asynchronous discussions. Computers and Education, 58(1), 77–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.07.009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniela Castellanos-Reyes.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Castellanos-Reyes, D. 20 Years of the Community of Inquiry Framework. TechTrends 64, 557–560 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-020-00491-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-020-00491-7

Keywords

Navigation