Online Survey Tool for Multi-Cohort Courses

Abstract

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) survey is a validated survey instrument for assessing student experience through teaching, social, and cognitive presence. Certain course formats involve students within the same course experiencing learning through different pathways, such as multi-campus courses, where students participate in a course at different physical locations or campuses; or hybrid courses where some students participate primarily asynchronously and others primarily synchronously. We have produced a rapid, online, CoI-based survey application with integrated MANOVA analytics to support the instructors in assessing how learning is experienced within a course consisting of multiple, diverse cohorts of students. The tool is intended to provide easy, early feedback to instructors on perceived equity and learning experience discrepancies between student communities within the course. Further information is also provided by the tool on pedagogy that could contribute to causes and solutions of diverging perceptions of presence in multi-cohort courses.