The rapid learning environment transition initiated by the COVID-19 pandemic impacted students’ perception of, comfort with, and self-efficacy in the online learning environment. Garrison’s Community of Inquiry framework provides a lens for examining students’ online learning experiences through three interdependent elements: social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. Researchers in this study developed and validated the Learning Modality Change Community of Inquiry and Self-Efficacy scales to measure health professions students’ self-efficacy with online learning, while exploring how cognitive, social, and teaching presence is experienced by students who transition from one learning environment to another. The two scales demonstrate strong validity and reliability evidence and can be used by educators to explore the impacts of learning modality changes on student learning experiences. As learning environments continue to evolve, understanding the impact of these transitions can inform how educators consider curriculum design and learning environment changes.
Background Sustained remote learning environments, like those experienced in late 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, share characteristics with online courses but were not intentionally designed to delivered virtually. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Community of Inquiry, a widely used online learning environment framework, and self-efficacy on perceived student attitudes within sustained remote learning environments. Methods An interinstitutional team of health professions education researchers collected survey data from 205 students representing a wide range of health professions in five U.S. institutions. Latent mediation models under structural equation modeling framework were used to examine whether student self-efficacy mediates the relationship between Community of Inquiry presence and student’s favorability of sustained remote learning delivered in the prolonged stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results Higher levels of teaching presence and social presence in the remote learning environment were associated with higher levels of remote learning self-efficacy which, in turn, predicts variance in positive attitudes toward remote learning. When mediated by self-efficacy, significant variance in student’s favorability of sustained remote learning was explained by teaching presence (61%), social presence (64%), and cognitive presence (88%) and self-efficacy. Significant direct and indirect effects for teaching and social presence, and only direct effects for cognitive presence were observed. Conclusions This study establishes the Community of Inquiry and its three presence types as a relevant and stable framework for investigating sustained remote health professions teaching and learning environments, not only carefully designed online learning environments. Faculty may focus course design strategies which enhance presence and increase student self-efficacy for the sustained remote learning environment.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Community of Inquiry (CoI) presence types and self-efficacy on perceived student attitudes within a sustained remote learning environment. As institutions must remain ready for modality-altering situations, a better understanding of CoI and self-efficacy in sustained remote teaching and learning environments may help address gaps in current practices and perceived student attitudes. An interinstitutional team of health professions education researchers from six U.S. universities collected survey data from 205 health professions students representing a wide range of professions in five U.S. institutions. Latent mediation models under structural equation modeling framework were used to examine whether student self-efficacy mediates the relationship between CoI presence and student’s favorability of sustained remote learning delivered in the prolonged stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results showed that higher levels of teaching presence and social presence in the remote learning environment were associated with higher levels of remote learning self-efficacy which, in turn, predicts variance in positive attitudes toward remote learning. Only direct effects for cognitive presence and self-efficacy on the favorability of sustained remote learning were observed. CoI presence types explained 61%, 64%, and 88% of the variance respectively in student’s favorability of sustained remote learning. Theoretical implications of this study include the establishment of the CoI and its three presence types as a relevant and stable framework for investigating sustained remote health professions teaching and learning environments, not only carefully designed online learning environments.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Community of Inquiry (CoI) presence types and self-efficacy on perceived student attitudes within a sustained remote learning environment. As institutions must remain ready for modality-altering situations, a better understanding of CoI and self-efficacy in sustained remote teaching and learning environments may help address gaps in current practices and perceived student attitudes. An interinstitutional team of health professions education researchers from six U.S. universities collected survey data from 205 health professions students representing a wide range of professions in five U.S. institutions. Latent mediation models under structural equation modeling framework were used to examine whether student self-efficacy mediates the relationship between CoI presence and student’s favorability of sustained remote learning delivered in the prolonged stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results showed that higher levels of teaching presence and social presence in the remote learning environment were associated with higher levels of remote learning self-efficacy which, in turn, predicts variance in positive attitudes toward remote learning. Only direct effects for cognitive presence and self-efficacy on the favorability of sustained remote learning were observed. CoI presence types explained 61%, 64%, and 88% of the variance respectively in student’s favorability of sustained remote learning. Theoretical implications of this study include the establishment of the CoI and its three presence types as a relevant and stable framework for investigating sustained remote health professions teaching and learning environments, not only carefully designed online learning environments.
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