Teaching and cognitive presences: The mediating effect of social presence in a developing world context

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Authors

Maré, Sune
Mutezo, Ashley Teedzwi

Issue Date

2023-02-01

Type

Article

Language

en

Keywords

community of inquiry , teaching cognitive and social presence , learner interaction , open distance e-learning

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Abstract

Online learning has become a significant trend in education due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Online educators, course designers and institutions need to understand the importance of social presence in the dynamics of a community of inquiry and its association with teaching and cognitive presence. This study examined whether social presence mediated the relationship between teaching and cognitive presence. The participants were a random sample of 572 postgraduate honours students (mean age of 35.4 years; SD = 8.39 years). Participants were registered in the College of Economic and Management Sciences and the College of Science, Engineering and Technology at the University of South Africa, an Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) institution. The students completed a standardised measure of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) instrument. The results indicated that social presence mediated the relationship between teaching and cognitive presence. The findings highlight the importance of social presence as a fundamental aspect of collaborative online learning as institutions turn to fully online teaching platforms. By implication, academic institutions and teachers must provide a more collaborative and interactive online learning environment and promote productive online communities.

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Citation

Ashley Teedzwi Mutezo & Suné Maré (2023) Teaching and cognitive presences: The mediating effect of social presence in a developing world context, Cogent Education, 10:1, DOI: 10.1080/2331186X.2023.2171176

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

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ISSN

Online ISSN: 2331-186X

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