Creating Shared Understanding through Chats in a Community of Inquiry

This study investigated the process by which shared understanding develops in a chat learning space. It used a practical inquiry model to assess the development of cognitive presence. The study also explored how the pattern of conversation in synchronous discussion supports cognitive presence and how cognitive presence changes over time. Results show that there is a pattern among group members that involves reacquainting themselves through social presence and orienting themselves to the cognitive task through teaching presence. Individual meaning contributed by each member of the group through triggering events and exploratory statements is transformed as members see the text on the screen and respond to it through questioning and collective exploration. This group exploration enables the transition to shared understanding.