Community of Inquiry Framework in Basic Science Process During Synchronous Learning Modality

Abstract

This study was grounded on the established Community of Inquiry (CoI) Framework to assess the behavior of students during the synchronous classes and its association with the Basic Science Process Skills (BSPS). The participants of the study were twenty-eight students from the seventh grade class of a public elementary school in the Philippines. The quantitative data were collected from the survey questionnaires while the pre-test and post-test were measured using a rating scale instrument facilitated via Google forms. Pearson-r was used to find the correlation among the variables while the T-test for the differences between variables. The results divided the CoI into three presences. The teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence with an acceptable mean, implies a good sense of community among the learners. Furthermore, few students’ basic science process skills were advanced and proficient, while most were still approaching proficiency and developing levels. The constructs of the CoI Framework were associated with the basic science process skills for classifying. Similarly, there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the respondents in classifying and measuring. The results suggest that continuous exposure of the students to CoI during synchronous classes improves their ability to self-study during asynchronous classes.

Keywords

• community of inquiry
• basic science process skills
• synchronous learning