Principles and Guidelines for Establishing Communities of Inquiry in Blended Learning to Broaden Student Participation

Abstract

Blended learning provides possibilities for redesigning courses to be more inclusive and to accommodate diverse student learning needs. Various factors, including socio-economic inequalities and the digital divide, hinder students in higher education from experiencing the full potential benefits of blended learning. Events around the COVID-19 outbreak required that educational programs be offered online or in a blended mode, ensuring the continuation of educational programs. The community of inquiry (CoI) framework is a valid instrument to measure quality of online learning focusing on four important presences that contribute to quality learning. It can therefore be used by lecturers to (re)design and evaluate effective blended learning environments. The study focused on developing practical guidelines with applicable examples for establishing and sustaining CoI in blended learning to include more students with diverse access to resources. In addition, overarching recommendations for amelioration of the digital divide of students in blended learning were made.