1. CoI: Putting Theory into Practice #CommunityCourse
@phylisebanner
Fostering Teaching Excellence with
the Community of Inquiry Framework
A Community Course at APUS
Phylise H. Banner, Director of Teaching and Curriculum Quality
Center for Teaching and Learning

2. #CommunityCourse @phylisebanner
CoI: Putting Theory into Practice
Fostering Teaching Excellence with
the Community of Inquiry Framework:
A Community Course at APUS
A faculty development initiative focused on the
application of CoI principles to course delivery,
with an exploration of CoI indicators and related
strategies for success.

3. CoI: Putting Theory into Practice
How Do We Know What They Know?

4. CoI: Putting Theory into Practice
A Few Challenges
Over 2,000 remote faculty
Limited time frame
Limited funds

5. CoI: Putting Theory into Practice
Traditional course in Sakai
MOOC
Community Course

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Community Course Components
Web Course Commons: The hub for learning resources and content curated from
Community Course participants.
Readings and Resources: Readings and associated resources related to the
weekly topics, conversations, and study group activities.
Study Groups: Sakai Study Group sites provide access to facilitated group
discussions, and collaborative project areas. Each study group has a facilitator, who
is responsible for keeping conversations on track, and helping out with the
collaborative project logistics.
Weekly Special Topic Presentations: Course facilitators will host guest
presentations live each week via Adobe Connect, to share their insight on effective
teaching and learning practices related to the Community of Inquiry.
Q&A Sessions: Course facilitators will host a live Q&A session each week via
Adobe Connect, in support of the Study Group Leaders.

7. CoI: Putting Theory into Practice
Structure: Course Commons (CMS)
Welcome (Home Page)
 Week 1: The CoI Framework
 Week 2: Teaching and Learning within a Community of Practice
 Week 3: Setting the Climate for Participatory Learning
 Week 4: Fostering Critical Thinking Skills
 Week 5: A CoI Inspired Teaching Approach
 Access Your Study Group
 Earn Your Badges
 Contribute Content
 Guest Speaker Series
 Share Your Stories
 More to Explore

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Structure: Study Groups (Sakai)
 Overview
 Announcements
 Discussion Forums:
- Week 1: Introduction to the CoI
- Week 2: Teaching and Learning within a Community of Practice
- Week 3: Setting the Climate for Participatory Learning
- Week 4: Fostering Critical Thinking Skills
- Week 5: A CoI Inspired Teaching Approach
 Effective Practice Compendia:
- Social Presence
- Teaching Presence
- Cognitive Presence

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Study Group Leaders
Study Group Leaders are only responsible for
managing course work that is done by Community
Course participants assigned as students in their
Sakai course site.
Study Group Leaders are not expected to be content
experts, but rather guides through the course
learning activities – keeping the conversation on
track, and guiding participants to the resources they
need in order to succeed.

15. CoI: Putting Theory into Practice
Study Group Leader Responsibilities
Moderating discussion forums
Posting announcements
Moderating Effective Practice Compendia
Reviewing progress and reporting issues
Sending End-of-Week messages
Releasing weekly badges
Sending Unsatisfactory Progress messages
Providing help and guidance

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Study Group Leader Resources
Pre-populated announcements
Weekly message templates
Unsatisfactory progress message template
Grading form*
Study Group Leader Guide
 Task overview
 Task details and instructions
 Task checklist
 Schedule
Weekly meetings

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Tracking Progress with Badges

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Social Media Components
CTL Facebook Page
CTL LinkedIn Group
CTL Diigo Group
CTL Blog, Community Course Blog
CTL YouTube Channel
Other Social Media: All posts tagged with
#CoICommunity will be aggregated throughout the
duration of the course.

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Challenges

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How Do We Know What They Know?

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Success
Enrolled Completed %
Cohort 1 616 597 97%
Cohort 2 1153 1063 92%
Cohort 3 199 150 75%
Total 1,968 1,810 88%

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Questions?
pbanner@apus.edu

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Explore More
Community Course at APUS Blog:
http://communitycourse.wordpress.com/
CTL Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/apusctl
CTL LinkedIn Group: http://tinyurl.com/CTL-LinkedIn
CTL Diigo Group: http://www.diigo.com/user/apusctl
CTL YouTube Channel: http://tinyurl.com/CTL-YouTube
CTL Twitter Feed: http://www.twitter.com/apusctl