Teaching Presence

In this lesson, we will explore more about teaching presence in the context of learners' engagement in the online course. Please review the general introduction to the Community of Inquiry in the previous lessons of this video series.

Teaching presence is the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realising personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001).

Teaching presence begins before the course commences as the teacher, acting as an instructional designer, plans and prepares the course of studies, and it continues during the course, as the instructor facilitates the discourse and provides direct instruction when required (Anderson, et al, 2001).

In short, teaching presence is manifested in everything the instructor does to guide, support, and shape the learners’ experiences.