Pedagogical Approach: Home

In addition to using a pedagogy-first approach in online and blended teaching environments, CCT encourages faculty to create communities of inquiry Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000).

The Community of Inquiry approach encourages students to have a strong social presence in the virtual classroom in which they express themselves authentically, exchange knowledge and collaborate to construct meaning and understanding. In equal part, teachers are encouraged to have a strong participative presence in the virtual classroom in which they authentically share knowledge and encourage active student engagement. 

Online teaching and learning expert Tony Bates (2015) states that "an educational community of inquiry is a group of individuals who collaboratively engage in purposeful critical discourse and reflection to construct personal meaning and confirm mutual understanding."
 

Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) argue that there are three essential elements of a Community of Inquiry:
Social presence ”is the ability of participants to identify with the community (e.g., course of study), communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop inter-personal relationships by way of projecting their individual personalities.” 

Teaching presence is “the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes." See also Professor Leigh Grave's infographic on presence in online teaching. 

Cognitive presence “is the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse.”