Research Proposal: Moderating Relationships Between Online Learners and Teaching Presence

Broad Topic Area

The predictive relationship between online learners’ perceptions of their NDI’s teaching presence and learners’ cognitive presence and whether or to what extent the frequencies of learners’ use of instructional media moderate that predictive relationship.

Literature Review

Background/Gap

Learners enrolled in higher education online courses benefit from flexibility to complete course requirements often report lack of support when they need focused instruction around key or difficult concepts/skills (Ladyshewsky, 2013; MacDonald & Campbell, 2012).

Richardson and colleagues (2015, 2016) found that student success factors are positively impacted when components of the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework, first established by

Garrison and colleagues (2000), are implemented and present within online learning scenarios.

Research was proposed that further investigates the components of the COI model in the context of non-designer instructors (Richardson et al., 2016) and that investigates the mediating role of course design on learning outcomes (Richardson et al., 2015).

Theoretical Foundation

COI has become a model for designing, facilitating and evaluating online learning scenarios in recent years (Garrison, 2016). Findings support following the COI framework to design and facilitate online learning and to enhance learning and satisfaction (Akyol, Vaughan & Garrison, 2011).

Teaching presence is a component of the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework, along with social presence and cognitive presence that together promote connection, cohesion and learning among members within a virtual community (Lambert & Fisher, 2013; Mouzouri, 2016).

Teaching presence is manifested in the instructional design and organization of course components that advance the learning outcomes for the course (Garrison, 2016). Course components include the course structure, learning activities, materials and supporting instructional resources including media that support students’ learning during the course (Lambert & Fisher, 2013; Layne & Ice, 2016).

Themes in the Literature

Online education grew from its teleconferencing roots in the 1970s to a new modality for alternative and continuing education in the early 2000s. Higher education institutions slowly began to adopt it as a way to provide more access to students who could not attend campus-based courses. Today, it has grown to become a prominent arm of any college or university seeking to expand its market share as well as open its doors to the working adult learner, an increasing demographic enrolled in online education (Allen & Seaman, 2015; Harasim, 2000).

Due to work-life balance challenges, adult learners, often labeled as non-traditional students (MacDonald & Campbell, 2012), struggle in their academic progress, often resulting in retention issues (Allen & Seaman, 2015; Lowenthal, 2016). Part-time and adjunct instructors represent a growing percentage of the online teaching workforce (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014). A growing majority of them teach online courses they did not design (Lowenthal, 2016).

The Community of Inquiry (COI) framework is a model that explains three components of presence that can be measured in an online learning experience (Garrison et al., 2000). At its core, it is seen as presenting methods of critical inquiry, as well as procedures for designing and facilitating online learning (Garrison, 2016).

The 34-item, quantitative COI survey instrument is modeled after the framework, measuring the three components as follows: 13 items on teaching presence, 9 items on social presence and 11 items measure cognitive presence (Arbaugh et al., 2008). The instrument has been validated in a multitude of studies throughout its existence and has withstood numerous analyses for reliability (Swan et al., 2008).

Social presence is measured on 3 sub-factors: affective expression, open communication and group cohesion. Teaching presence is measured on the 3 sub-factors of course design, facilitation of discourse and direct instruction. Cognitive presence is measured across 4 sub-factors including triggering event, exploration, integration, and resolution.

Of the three components of presence in the COI, teaching presence has been found to be a cornerstone for sustained social presence and perceived cognitive presence in online learning contexts (Garrison, Cleveland-Innes & Fung). Online learners have reported that the course design sub-factor of teaching presence is more highly valued than others, reporting their perceptions that it impacts their academic progress (Lupczynski, Ice, Wiesenmayer, & McCluskey, 2010).

This study investigates whether or to what extent online learners’ perceptions of their NDI’s teaching presence predicts learners’ cognitive presence and whether or to what degree the frequencies of online learners’ use of instructional media moderates that predictive relationship.

The current study’s findings could potentially contribute to the body of literature should strategies come to light for designing course resources that promote teaching presence, regardless of an instructor’s role in designing the online course.

Problem Statement

It is not known whether or to what extent online learners’ perceptions of their non-designer instructors’ teaching presence predicts learners’ cognitive presence, whether or to what extent frequencies of online learners’ use of online instructional media resources moderate that predictive power, while enrolled in higher education online courses in a private, non-profit university in the western United States.

Research Questions

R_1:To what extent, if any, do online learners’ perceptions of their NDI’s teaching presence predict their cognitive presence?

R_2:To what extent, if any, does the frequency of online learners’ use of instructional media resources moderate the relationship between their perceptions of their NDI’s teaching presence and learners’ cognitive presence?

Sample and Location

Target population is approximately 409 online learners enrolled in designated 8-week academic terms.
Required sample size according to G*Power is 89 in order to conduct analysis assuming Confidence Level: 95%; Confidence Interval: 5%; Power: .80; Effect: .5 (Buchner, 2013).
Multiple sections of 8-week online courses within undergraduate and graduate programs in a private, non-profit university in the western United States.
Adult learners
Average age:
Work/life balance:
Report feelings of isolation when perceptions of instructor presence are low (MacDonald & Campbell, 2012).
Highly value and expect a well-structured and delivered course with relevant learning, clear expectations, and access to quality, effective learning resources that aid their completion of assigned course work (Kupczynski, Ice, Weisenmayer, & McCluskey, 2010).
Expect immediate access to instructional support that is available when needed (O’Toole & Essex, 2012.)
Expect and value meaningful feedback and timely responsiveness to questions or requests for additional instructional intervention (Hostetter & Busch, 2013).

Hypothesis/Variables

Variables

Predictor Variable: Online learners’ perceptions of their NDI’s teaching presence (continuous)

Criterion Variable: Online learner’s Cognitive Presence (continuous)

Moderator Variable: Frequency of online learners’ use of instructional media resources in their online courses (continuous)

Hypotheses

H1₀: Online learners’ perceptions of their NDI’s teaching presence do not significantly predict online learners’ own cognitive presence.

H1_a: Online learners’ perceptions of NDI’s teaching presence significantly predict online learners’ own cognitive presence.

H2₀: The frequency of online learners’ use of instructional media resources does not significantly moderate the relationship between online learners’ perceptions of their NDI’s teaching presence and learners’ cognitive presence.

H2 The frequency of online learners’ use of instructional media resources significantly moderates the relationship between their NDI’s teaching presence and learners’ cognitive presence.

Methodology & Design

To address the problem statement and research questions, a quantitative methodology using a non-experimental, predictive-correlational research design will be implemented.

Purpose Statement

This quantitative, predictive correlational research study will examine whether or to what extent online learners’ perceptions of the teaching presence of their non-designer instructors (NDI) predicts learners’ cognitive presence and whether or to what extent the frequencies of online learners’ use of instructional media resources moderates that predictive power, while enrolled in a private, non-profit university in the western United States (Richardson et al., 2016).

The predictor variable, teaching presence and the criterion variable, cognitive presence will be measured using the subscales of the Community of Inquiry Survey (Arbaugh et al., 2008).
The frequencies of instructional media use is the moderator variable and will be measured as user activity data within learning management system, Moodle (Moodle.org, 2016).

Data Collection Approach

The Community of Inquiry Survey is comprised of 34 Likert-scale measures of cognitive, social and teaching presence, each broken down as subscales (see Appendix C) from Arbaugh et al. (2008 as cited Lambert & Fisher, 2013).
Each learner will only be eligible to participate in the survey once, regardless of how many courses in which they are enrolled.
The established measurement instrument has been validated through various studies to analyze the relationships between the respective elements of the COI model and student success factors, as well as course design in online learning environments (Akyol, 2012; Alman, 2012; Breivik, 2016; Chao et al., 2016; Cui, Lockee, & Meng, 2013; Cunningham, 2015; Daspit & D’Souza, 2012; Garrison, Cleveland-Innes, & Fung, 2010; Gutiérrez-Santiuste, Rodrigues-Sabiote, & Gallego-Arrufat, 2015; Horzum, 2015; Kilic-Cakmak, Cebi & Kan, 2014). 2013).
Ten $10 Amazon.com e-gift cards will be offered for learners who participate and wish to be included in the raffle after the survey closes. Learners who start but do not complete the survey will be eligible for the raffle if they chose to be included in it. Each learner will only be eligible to win one gift card.

Data Analysis Approach

Descriptive statistics will reveal frequency tables, histograms and plots that allow data to be screened for missing or outlier data points, evaluated for statistical assumptions, as well as to analyze how the population sample represents the target population.
Statistical analysis will be executed using SPSS software to test statistical assumptions for conducting multiple regression analysis, using COI survey data and archival data from the learning management system (LMS) regarding learners’ access to instructional media resources.
Bivariate linear regression will be computed in order to determine what the relationship between NDI’s teaching presence and learners’ cognitive presence shows.
Multiple linear regression analysis will determine whether a moderating relationship exists between the frequencies of use of instructional media resources and the predictive power of NDI’s teaching presence on learners’ cognitive presence.
After electronically acknowledging informed consent, demographic data will be required that includes participant’s age, ethnicity, race, gender, academic level, number of prior courses taken at the university, technology comfort level and the types of instructional media resources the student encountered. This data will be reported as descriptive statistics.
Within two weeks after the end of each academic term, user activity will be collected from archival data recorded in the learning management system to determine frequencies of online learners’ use of instructional media resources.