Educational Communities of Inquiry: Theoretical Framework, Research, and Practice

Communications technologies have been continuously integrated into learning and training environments which has revealed the need for a clear understanding of the process. The Community of Inquiry (COI) Theoretical Framework has a philosophical foundation which provides planned guidelines and principles to development useful learning environments and guarantees successful educational experiences. Educational Communities of Inquiry: Theoretical Framework, Research, and Practice is an extensive reference that offers theoretical foundations and developments associated with the COl theoretical framework. This collection is a valuable source of ideas, research opportunities, and challenges for scholars and practitioners in the field of education technology.

Zehra Akyol is a researcher and practitioner with interest in teaching and learning online and blended learning environments. She got her PhD degree in the field of Educational Technology. She conducted her doctoral research at University of Calgary focusing community development in online and blended learning environments and the factors affecting the development of communities of inquiry in these learning environments. Recently, she is studying metacognitive development in a community of inquiry environment in relation to learning and cognition. She is a member of the community of inquiry research group and on editorial review boards of several journals in the distance education and educational technology.

Dr. D. Randy Garrison is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary. Dr. Garrison has published extensively on teaching and learning in adult, higher and distance education contexts. He has authored, co-authored or edited nine books and over 100 refereed articles/papers. His recent books are Blended Learning in Higher Education (2008); An Introduction to Distance Education: Understanding Teaching and Learning in a New Era (2010); and E-Learning in the 21st century (2nd Ed.) (2011). He has also won several awards including the 2009 Sloan-C Award for Most Outstanding Achievement in Online Learning by an Individual.