Date of Award

5-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Nobuya Inagaki

Second Advisor

Dr. Alexander Kuskis

Abstract

Online education has experienced a significant growth, especially in higher education settings, in both enrollments and in institutional course and program offerings. Some scholars doubt the efficacy of online programs even though research has revealed that there are “no significant differences (NSD) in student outcomes between alternate modes of education delivery” (Russell, 2010, para 1). There are many indicators that reveal positive effects of online education on students’ learning. Course effectiveness can be influenced by many factors such as students’ approach to learning, quality of the course content and course design, and pedagogical practices. This project employed the community of inquiry model (Garrison & Archer, 2000) to evaluate online courses, based on the capability of the course to encourage and sustain higher-order thinking and cognitive engagement in students through developing social, cognitive, and teaching presence in an online learning environment, the three major tenets of the model. This project designed an undergraduate level online interpersonal communication course, created with specific course components and pedagogical practices that have been recognized by the research as essential components that foster and sustain cognitive engagement through the development of social, cognitive and teaching presence.

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