Examining Emergency Remote Teaching Using the Community of Inquiry Framework: Lecturer Experiences in a Kenyan University

Abstract

The COVID-19 global pandemic has forced many universities worldwide to switch from face-to-face classes to emergency remote teaching (ERT) to allow students to continue learning. Using the community of inquiry framework, this study aimed to examine a group of lecturers’ experiences of ERT at a university in Kenya. The study was conducted using a qualitative case study design within an interpretive paradigm. Ten lecturers were purposively selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that these lecturers had established teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence to enhance students’ learning experiences during the time they engaged in ERT. The community of inquiry was found to be a useful framework by the researchers for lecturers to use in order to rethink, organize, and guide ERT at the university, which was the site of the study. This study has practical implications for course designers, researchers, and students at universities and other educational institutions concerning curriculum re-design using a CoI as a framework.