Academic thriving and online course design: a conceptual model

ABSTRACT

The concept of thriving in post-secondary education has largely been studied in the context of academic advising and student support services, with limited research that links thriving to pedagogical practices. This paper presents a conceptual model created using an integrative literature review to illustrate how instructional choices made during the design and teaching phases of online courses may impact students’ academic thriving. The Instructional Design for Academic Thriving (IDAT) model, nested within the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework for online learning, supports online course design practices that emphasize student wellbeing and allow students to not just succeed but thrive academically.

KEYWORDS:

• Community of Inquiry framework
• course design
• instructional design
• online learning
• thriving

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Ken Meadows for his immense support in the development and review of this manuscript, and thank Ms. Aisha Haque and Dr. Beth Hundey for sharing their insights and providing valuable feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bushra Jaleel

Bushra Jaleel is a Research Associate at Western’s Centre for Teaching and Learning, with research experience in the fields of educational management, information system adoption, and strategic management.

Stephanie Horsley

Stephanie Horsley is the Associate Director for eLearning at the Centre for Teaching and Learning and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western. Her current research focuses on ways in which social media impacts teaching and learning in formal and informal contexts.

Melanie-Anne Atkins

Melanie-Anne Atkins is the Associate Director for TA Programs at Western’s Centre for Teaching and Learning. She led the development of the Wellness Education Centre, a student-driven wellness education innovation hub, teaching evidence-based strategies to improve the mental health and wellness of the Western community.