Online course models and their effectiveness

 

The COVID-19 pandemic opened the door to an increasing wave of online instruction or e-learning, especially in university courses. Because of this, there is a strong need for a pedagogically effective instructional design model for online instruction to facilitate the development and delivery of online learning environments (Chen, 2015).

A poor-designed online course often makes the students lose their focus and feel frustrated. Online students will not know where to start, what to do, when to communicate, and how to learn if an online course is not well-designed (Chen, 2015).

Two instructional design models, the Pedagogically Effective Online Instruction Design Model, and the Community of Inquiry Model, are two models that are good to use to create an engaging and pedagogically effective online course.

We will look at both of these models and how they work.

 

Pedagogically Online Instructional Design Model

            According to Dr. Li-Ling Chen, there are four main steps in the Pedagogically Online Instructional Design Model:

1.     Identify

2.     Select

3.     Create

4.     Assess

 

Identify – Identifying a course format is essential in the initial process when designing an online course. As an instructor, he/she needs to identify which course format that he/she would like to adopt for instruction first. Then, an instructor has to identify instructional objectives, identify learners’ needs and characteristics, identify appropriate pedagogical approach whether online teaching will apply behaviorism and / or constructivism approach. In addition, online instructors also have to identify the learning context in order to maximize student’s learning.

 

Select - At this stage, online instructors select web-based content organization to be linear or nonlinear., select interaction and communication methods, select technologies for communication and content delivery, and then select resources to help their learners learn. The resources can include both curriculum related resources, technical support resources, and mentoring supporting resources.

             Create - At this step, online instructors start building and creating intuitive course path or flow,              create instructional methods and materials for content presentation, assignment, and                                 assessment, create interactive communication methods, and create supporting materials for                     students.

 Assess - The final step in this model is for online instructors to assess students’ performance                 with multiple strategies, such as projects, presentation, assignments, test, communication posts,             etc. Online instructors should also assess the effectiveness of instructional methods and                           materials by checking with their online students either via survey, questionnaire, interview,                    online observations, or others.

Chen states that there are several advantages of applying the proposed model for online course design.

First, the model is built upon with considerations from traditional instructional design models as well as currently existing online ID models. Furthermore, both pedagogical approach and learning theories are also taken into account. Second, it is well-designed by outlining conceptual framework for online instruction. Third, the model is flexible. That is, online instructors can tailor the instructional sub-steps in the model to meet their own specific online teaching needs. Fourth, the model is learners centered. According to the model, online instructors have to identify their learner’s needs, prior knowledge, characteristics, and learning context in order to provide appropriate instruction that matches their learners’ learning needs.

Community of Inquiry

             In their article, “Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based Environment: Computer Conferencing in Higher Education,” D. Randy Garrison, Terry Anderson, and Walter Archer discuss the Community of Inquiry Model. A worthwhile educational experience is embedded within a Community of Inquiry that is composed of teachers and students – the key participants in the educational process. The model (shown above) of this Community of Inquiry assumes that learning occurs with the Community through the interaction of three core elements:

1.     Cognitive Presence

2.     Social Presence

3.     Teaching Prescence

 

Out of the three elements, cognitive presence is the most basic to success in higher education, and is a vital element in critical thinking (Garrison, et. al, 2000).

The social presence is defined as the ability of participants in the model to project their personal characteristics into the community, thereby presenting themselves to the other participants as “real people.” The primary importance of this element is its function as a support for cognitive presence, indirectly facilitating the process of critical thinking carried on by the community of learners (Garrison, et. al, 2000).

            The third element of the model, teaching presence, consists of two general functions, which may be performed by any one participant in a Community of Inquiry; however, in an educational environment, these functions are likely to be the primary responsibility of the teacher (Garrison, et. al, 2000). The first function is the design of the educational experience, which includes selection, organization, and primary presentation of course content, as well as the design and development of learning activities and assessment. The first function is primarily performed by the teacher or instructor. The second function, facilitation, is a responsibility that may be shared among the teacher and some or all of the other participants or students. This sharing of the facilitation function is appropriate in higher education and common in computer conferencing. In either case, the element of teaching presence is a means to an end-to support and enhance social and cognitive presence for the purpose of realizing educational outcomes (Garrison, et. al, 2000).

            In the Community of Inquiry framework, cognitive, social, and teaching presences are interconnected and mutually influential (Sundgren, 2023). The ultimate goal of the Community of Inquiry is an educative experience resulting in deep and meaningful learning (Sundgren, 2023).

 

 The Future

            Both the Pedagogically Online Instructional Design Model and the Community of Inquiry Model can create effective online instructional design. The Pedagogically Online Instructional Design Model is one that is newer, and is still in its infancy, but I feel that it is a stronger model due to the advantages Chen states in his article.

            In my mind, though, it will be interesting to see how these models work in today’s world with artificial intelligence on the rise. Instructional designers are using AI technology to create and continuously adapt learning management systems to execute specific learning activities (Gibson, 2023). Customized instructional methods to meet student’s specific needs, adaptive learning systems that can adjust the pace and difficulty of course material based on the learner’s performance, and AI-powered natural language processing technology enables conversational interfaces, such as chatbots and virtual assistants, to answer learners’ questions and provide guidance in a conversational manner (Gibson, 2023).

The use of AI in course design and instruction is not a new concept, but given the speed of the changes, course design and instructional design process will look much different in the coming months and years (Gibson, 2023).

References

Chen, L.L. (2015). Pedagogically Effective Online Instructional Design Model. In S. Carliner, C. Fulford & N. Ostashewski (Eds.), Proceedings of EdMedia 2015--World Conference on Educational Media and Technology (pp. 1551-1554). Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved November 18, 2023 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/151533/.

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based Environment: Computer Conferencing in Higher Education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7516(00)00016-6

Gibson, R. (2023, August 14). 10 Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Instructional Design. EDUCAUSE Review. Retrieved November 18, 2023, from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2023/8/10-ways-artificial-intelligence-is-transforming-instructional-design

Sundgren, M. (2023). Exploring digital technologies in higher educational settings: Enabling a community of inquiry. Volume Mid Sweden University Doctoral Thesis, (393), 138. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-49193