RESOURCE: Welcome | Community of Inquiry
This site documents the work completed during a Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities research funded project entitled “A Study of the Characteristics and Qualities of Text-Based Computer Conferencing for Educational Purposes”. This project ran from 1997 to 2001. The theory, methodology and instruments developed during this project are described in the papers published in peer reviewed journals and copied at this site.
The work of this project has resulted in a variety of researchers replicating and further developing the tools and techniques that we developed. We invite anyone who uses this content to contribute their own papers, references, and links in the related sections. As well, feel free to share experiences, concerns or questions in the weblog. The purpose of this project is to support a personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning experience. Central to the study introduced here is the model of a community of inquiry that constitutes three elements essential to an educational experience: Cognitive Presence, Social Presence and Teaching Presence.
Written by Brian S McGowan, PhD
Brian is a research scientist and educational technologist. He helped transform Pfizer’s Medical Education Group and previously served in educational leadership roles at HealthAnswers, Inc.; Acumentis, LLC.; Cephalon; and Wyeth. He taught graduate medical education programs at Arcadia University for 10 years. Dr. McGowan recently authored the book "#socialQI: Simple Solutions for Improving Your Healthcare" and has been invited to speak internationally on the subject of information flow, technology, and learning in healthcare.
