The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework stresses teaching, social, and cognitive presence to develop and facilitate effective online learning experiences. Facilitators must use specialized tactics for each presence to create an engaging, dynamic, and safe space for learning. Dunlop et al. (2018).

My program that I teach at Kwantlen Polytechnic University is Human Resources Management. I offer Post Baccalaureate courses for international students, as well as the BBA program for local students.

I started with social presence, as there is so much community connection that needs to happen for international students to feel safe, secure, and protected in this extremely new environment of learning (Lalonde, 2020).

Forum posts and discussions help students and I identify and learn about our community, creating a psychologically secure area to value and appreciate one another. We use interactive icebreakers and content-related “getting to know you” exercises. I build relationships by learning about each student through forum postings and group icebreakers, then remembering and applying this knowledge throughout interactions and discussions. Through forum posts and in-class exercises, I use peer review, group projects, and information spaces to interact (Vaughan et al., 2013).

Cognitive presence refers to the learner’s ability to deeply engage with knowledge, develop critical thinking abilities, and construct meaning via reflection and conversation (Lalonde, 2020). Throughout my courses, I embrace reflective learning and develop scaffold learning activities that build students’ knowledge and skills from simple to complex. In problem-based learning, students apply theory to practice. (Boettcher, n.d.). Questions like assessing multiple solutions may help students apply their knowledge. I also aim to include puzzles in the course that strengthen the subject matter and foster teamwork.

Teaching presence ensures that the instructor creates, organizes, and leads the course to help students learn. I design and facilitate learning activities that guide students throughout the weeks of my courses. I begin with clearly defined learning objectives and well-defined learning goals, including module or assignment goals. This provides students with a plan and keeps them focused. Setting explicit expectations helps students stay on track and focused on their learning goals (Vaughan et al., 2013). I ensure that I walk students through the course multiple times as we progress through the modules, explaining how earlier topics relate to the ones we are going to begin. I always use feedback for assignments, group projects, e-portfolios, and weekly lesson work.

My teaching presence must include activities that encourage reflection and discourse, so students can learn together in a safe space and have a deeper cognitive and social experience in my courses.

The COI concept emphasizes harmonizing each presence’s overlapping duties to produce a unified learning experience. Facilitators can help students achieve their goals while feeling engaged and challenged by using these tactics, creating a rich, immersive learning experience (Lalonde, 2020).