Synchronous meetings, community of inquiry, COVID-19, and online graduate teacher education

Abstract

With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, teacher colleges across the country suddenly shifted to online. In many cases, faculty, wary of shortchanging students of a meaningful learning experience, leveraged synchronous meetings as a way of compensating for the abrupt removal of face-to-face (F2F) interactions. This mixed-methods self-study explored advanced licensure candidates' perceptions of developing a Community of Inquiry (COI) across three sections of a Spring 2020 online course taught by the same instructor. This course was fashioned as a literature circle about immigrant communities and K-12 schools. In one section, five one-hour synchronous meetings punctuated the shared readings of five book-length ethnographies. The other two sections remained completely asynchronous. Sixty-nine students across the three courses were electronically surveyed at the close of the semester. Fifteen students were subsequently interviewed as an additional layer of data collection. Survey analysis indicated that monthly synchronous meetings did not significantly impact students' perceptions of COI development. Follow-up interviews provided further insights into methods that students perceived as essential for advancing teaching, cognitive, and social presences. We conclude with broad and specific recommendations for better practices and future research for COI in graduate teacher education online coursework in and beyond COVID-19.

Declaration of interest statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Beth Oyarzun

Beth Oyarzun, Ph. D., is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Learning. Design and Technology (LDT) and the program director for the graduate certificates and the Master of Education in LDT at UNC Charlotte. She is an active member of the Association for Educational Communications Technology (AECT). She enjoys providing professional development for faculty through the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at UNC Charlotte. Previously, Beth served as an instructional designer in the higher education environment for more than ten years. As an instructional designer, Beth taught undergraduate online courses in instructional technology while providing professional development for faculty in online teaching pedagogy. Prior to working in higher education, Beth was a Nationally Board Certified high school mathematics teacher for nine years.

Charlotte Hancock

Charlotte R. Hancock is a graduate assistant in the Department of Middle, Secondary, and K-12 Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a doctoral student in the Curriculum & Instruction, Urban Literacy, TESL program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She earned a Master’s degree in Spanish with a concentration in Literature, Languages, and Culture from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research focuses on best and effective practices in dual language and world language, policies and practices that support multilingualism, and culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Her scholarship is informed by her prior work as a high school Spanish teacher and an elementary school dual language teacher and coordinator. She currently serves as 2^nd Vice President to the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina and the Treasurer of the Urban Educators for Change organization at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Spencer Salas

Spencer Salas, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Middle, Secondary, and K-12 Education at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he leads the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction Urban Literacies/TESL sub-concentration.

Florence Martin

Dr. Florence Martin is a Professor in the Learning, Design and Technology program at University of North Carolina Charlotte. She received her Doctorate and Master's degrees in Educational Technology from Arizona State University. Prior to her current position, she was a tenured Associate Professor at University of North Carolina Wilmington. She has also worked on instructional design projects for Shooolini University, Viridis Learning, Maricopa Community College District, University of Phoenix, Intel, Cisco Learning Institute, and Arizona State University and taught online for North Carolina State University and Walden University. She teaches courses on learning, design and technology 100% online. Dr. Martin engages in research focusing on the effective design of instruction and integration of digital technology to improve learning and performance. Her research has resulted in over 75 publications and 100 presentations. Dr. Martin served as the President of Multimedia Production Division in 2012–2013 and as the President of the Division of Distance Learning in 2017–2018 for Association for Educational Communications and Technology. She serves on the advisory council for North Carolina Virtual Public Schools and on the board for International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction. For her detailed bio visit, https://www.florencemartin.net