Abstract:

Project-based learning could be more realistic when students interact physically to pursue the project. However, in these situations where institutions of learning are adopting new learning approaches other than the conventional approaches, how will such approaches influence the learning experiences of students? In the context of this study, an interdisciplinary project-based course was migrated to the virtual classroom, and students were expected to collaborate within a given time frame to complete a project. Teaching and learning activities were completely carried out online. Students were assigned project tasks in which they were required to work in an interdisciplinary group. In addition to student-teacher interaction sections, students engaged each other in their respective groups and subsequently presented the final project for evaluation. In this study, an attempt is made to explore the entire outcome of the teaching and learning experiences from the viewpoint of the students. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) was used as the theoretical base for the study. The objective was to explore the correlations between the CoI elements in supporting students' learning experiences. Consequently, an online questionnaire designed with the parameters of CoI; a) teaching presence, b) social presence and c) cognitive presence, was used in eliciting views of students about the subject matter. The expected results should inform the design and teaching of project-based learning exclusively online.

Keywords:

Community of Inquiry (CoI), online learning, Project-based learning, students' learning, learning theories.