Factors affecting students' performance and satisfaction towards computer conferencing: an empirical study of the Community of Inquiry model

Henry M F Choi
The Open University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong SAR, China

Text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC), especially computer conferencing, has been widely accepted as an effective medium to enhance interaction in open and online learning. While the computer network has become popular, more and more distance learning courses provide online support and make CMC one of the major communication channels. Even teachers in conventional universities and schools have adopted CMC to facilitate the teaching and learning process. However, as some scholars have pointed out, there has been a considerable growth in this mode of learning, but 'literature in the field reveals a conceptually fragmented framework lacking in both theoretical foundation and programmatic research' (McIsaac and Gunawardena 1996, p.404).

Adapting the theories of presence in studying computer conferences in online learning, Garrison, Anderson & Archer (2000, 2003) attempted to establish a new model to encompass the major elements that influence learning via computer conferencing. The 'Community of Inquiry' (CoI) model suggests that learning through computer conferencing occurs within an online community through the interaction of three core elements; that is, cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence.

Although the CoI model is considered a promising endeavour in the field, empirical studies other than content analysis have not been common and the influence of the three presences on students' learning has not been fully investigated. If social, cognitive and teaching presences are the three core elements that determine students' learning, they should have significant influences on students' performance and satisfaction in the process of learning. However, most of the existing studies have focused on one particular presence and its effect on students' learning, and the effect of the entire model as a whole has not yet been revealed.

The present empirical study is a preliminary examination of the explanatory power of the CoI model on the use of computer conferencing in online learning courses. A sample of Open University of Hong Kong students was invited to respond to an online survey. The effects of different presences on students' performance and satisfaction were examined in a quantitative manner. The present study should reveal if the CoI model sufficiently explains students' performance and satisfaction in an online conference, particularly in a community of Chinese distance learners in Hong Kong.