Investigating the Communities of Inquiry in Blended Learning Environments

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the Community of Inquiry supports deep approaches to learning and especially within blended learning contexts. The research was conducted through quantitative methods. For the inquiry a questionnaire was delivered to participants in electronic form. All the participants were students from three universities in Belgium (Flanders and Capital Region) – only the departments that used blended learning within their teaching strategies. The survey was conducted from November 2014 until June 2015. The results of the inquiry agree with international studies that within blended environment, Cognitive Presence is highly related with deep learning (Akyol & Garrison, 2011; Akyol, Garrison, & Ozden, 2009; Garrison & Cleveland- Innes, 2005). Though, further research should be conducted, focusing on linking quantitative comparatives of the development of education and learning approaches.