An interesting article Garrison, Anderson and Archer pose to identify empirical research to how CMC is deficient in community of inquiry. During my initial studies online, I felt the disconnect of being in classrooms where I did not think about the challenges on the instructors to create an engaging and meaningful learning environment.
I’ve noticed from my first post that higher-order critical thinking did not reflect my professional practice where I much more focused on the learning material and outcomes without questions ‘so what?’. As critical thinking is an ongoing process, I need to be mindful to value cognitive presence within educational scope without focusing on the ‘end goals’ of assessments and assignments as this is a great discrepancy.
I really resonated with Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s research about exploration where brainstorming permits people to share their insights because I believe engaging students in respectful and safe environment can work towards creating a Community of Inquiry.