Community of inquiry
Encyclopedia
A community of inquiry is the social and educational context that leads to “questioning, reasoning, connecting, deliberating, challenging, and developing problem-solving techniques” as described by Matthew Lipman
(2003).
Lipman (2003, p. 20) attributes the concept of ‘community of inquiry’ to 19th century philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce. According to Lipman
, Peirce originally meant the community of scientists. John Dewey
broadened this to the educational context as a whole (Lipman, 2003, pp. 20-21). Students and teachers involved in inquiry form a community of inquiry under certain circumstances. Therefore, a holistic understanding of a community of students and teachers engaged in authentic inquiry is the working definition of the key term ‘community of inquiry’. There is a gestalt dimension to the concept that is underlined by Lipman. He points to “….the profound educational implications of fusing together, as Peirce had, the two independently powerful notions of inquiry and community into the single transformative concept of community of inquiry” (2003, p. 84).
ic statements that contrasts the standard educational paradigm
with the reflective educational paradigm in which communities of inquiry can occur.
The standard paradigm poses the following:
The reflective paradigm, in contrast, poses the following:
A community of inquiry can be seen to exist to the degree that it avoids the qualities of this standard paradigm and shows the qualities of this reflective paradigm.
. The project was led by Randy Garrison, Terry Anderson and Walter Archer. The purpose of the study was to provide conceptual order and a tool for the use of Computer-mediated communication
in supporting an educational experience.
Central to the work is a model of community inquiry that constitutes three elements essential to an educational transaction - cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. Indicators (key words/phrases) for each of the three elements emerged from the analysis of computer conferencing transcripts. The indicators described represent a template or tool for researchers to analyze written transcripts as well as a heuristic
guide to educators for the optimal use of computer conferencing as a medium to facilitate an educational transaction. This research suggested that computer conferencing has considerable potential to create a community of inquiry for educational purposes.
This project led to production of many scholarly papers, a book and replication of the Community of Inquiry model by distance education researchers globally. The Community of Inquiry model is also used to conceptually guide study research and practice in other forms of mediated, blended and classroom education.
Matthew Lipman
Matthew Lipman is recognized as the founder of Philosophy for Children. His decision to bring philosophy to young people came from his experience as a professor at Columbia University, where he witnessed underdeveloped reasoning skills in his students...
(2003).
Lipman (2003, p. 20) attributes the concept of ‘community of inquiry’ to 19th century philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce. According to Lipman
Lipman
Lipman is a surname, and may refer to:* Alan Lipman, clinical psychologist and pundit* Daniel Lipman, writer and producer from Baltimore, Maryland, United States* David J...
, Peirce originally meant the community of scientists. John Dewey
John Dewey
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
broadened this to the educational context as a whole (Lipman, 2003, pp. 20-21). Students and teachers involved in inquiry form a community of inquiry under certain circumstances. Therefore, a holistic understanding of a community of students and teachers engaged in authentic inquiry is the working definition of the key term ‘community of inquiry’. There is a gestalt dimension to the concept that is underlined by Lipman. He points to “….the profound educational implications of fusing together, as Peirce had, the two independently powerful notions of inquiry and community into the single transformative concept of community of inquiry” (2003, p. 84).
Paradigms
Lipman also provides a useful set of antonymAntonym
In lexical semantics, opposites are words that lie in an inherently incompatible binary relationship as in the opposite pairs male : female, long : short, up : down, and precede : follow. The notion of incompatibility here refers to the fact that one word in an opposite pair entails that it is not...
ic statements that contrasts the standard educational paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
with the reflective educational paradigm in which communities of inquiry can occur.
The standard paradigm poses the following:
- education as knowledge transmission
- knowledge as unambiguous, unequivocal and un-mysterious,
- knowledge is divided into non-overlapping disciplines
- teachers as authoritative sources of knowledge.
The reflective paradigm, in contrast, poses the following:
- education is the outcome of participation in a teacher-guided community of inquiry
- teachers stir students to think about the world when teachers reveal knowledge to be ambiguous, equivocal, and mysterious,
- knowledge disciplines are overlapping and therefore problematic,
- teachers are ready to concede fallibility,
- students are expected to be reflective and increasingly reasonable and judicious
- the educational process is not information acquisition but a grasp of relationships among disciplines (2003, pp 18-19).
A community of inquiry can be seen to exist to the degree that it avoids the qualities of this standard paradigm and shows the qualities of this reflective paradigm.
Online learning
Lipman's and Dewey's ideas were expanded and applied to online learning contexts in a Canadian project that originated in 1996 at the University of AlbertaUniversity of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. The project was led by Randy Garrison, Terry Anderson and Walter Archer. The purpose of the study was to provide conceptual order and a tool for the use of Computer-mediated communication
Computer-mediated communication
Computer-mediated communication is defined as any communicative transaction that occurs through the use of two or more networked computers...
in supporting an educational experience.
Central to the work is a model of community inquiry that constitutes three elements essential to an educational transaction - cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. Indicators (key words/phrases) for each of the three elements emerged from the analysis of computer conferencing transcripts. The indicators described represent a template or tool for researchers to analyze written transcripts as well as a heuristic
Heuristic
Heuristic refers to experience-based techniques for problem solving, learning, and discovery. Heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution, where an exhaustive search is impractical...
guide to educators for the optimal use of computer conferencing as a medium to facilitate an educational transaction. This research suggested that computer conferencing has considerable potential to create a community of inquiry for educational purposes.
This project led to production of many scholarly papers, a book and replication of the Community of Inquiry model by distance education researchers globally. The Community of Inquiry model is also used to conceptually guide study research and practice in other forms of mediated, blended and classroom education.
Related to
- Community of actionCommunity of actionA community of action , unlike a community of practice , exists in a situation that is structurally more open, where actors have the possibility of bringing about change...
- Community of circumstanceCommunity of circumstanceA community of circumstance is similar to a community of practice, except that it is driven by position, circumstance or life experiences rather than a shared interest. Examples might include cancer sufferers using a support newsgroup or the members of gay/lesbian newsgroups...
- Community of interestCommunity of interestA community of interest is a community of people who share a common interest or passion. These people exchange ideas and thoughts about the given passion, but may know little about each other outside of this area...
- Community of placeCommunity of placeA community of place or place-based community is a community of people who are bound together because of where they reside, work, visit or otherwise spend a continuous portion of their time...
- Community of positionCommunity of positionA community of position is distinguished from a community of practice in that it tends to be more personally focused. Communities of Position built around life stages provide individuals with the opportunity to build relationships with others during that particular phase of their lives.-Related...
- Community of practiceCommunity of practiceA community of practice is, according to cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession. The group can evolve naturally because of the members' common interest in a particular domain or area, or it can be created...
- Community of purposeCommunity of purposeA community of purpose is a community of people who are going through the same process or are trying to achieve a similar objective. Such communities serve a functional purpose, smoothing the path of the member for a limited period surrounding a given activity...