Design-Based Approach for the Implementation of an International Cyberlearning Community of Inquiry for Medical Education

Abstract

This chapter describes the conceptualization and implementation of a cyberlearning environment as a community of inquiry (CoI). This environment includes 13 medical schools from Sub-Saharan Africa and their 50-plus partners from around the world. The theoretical foundations of Communities of Inquiry provided the framework that drove the design of the web-based platform used in this project. Through an emphasis on learning from conversations, the resulting cyberlearning environment was designed to foster engagement among faculty, staff, and students of the 13 medical schools and their partners. Recognizing that generating a virtual community of inquiry framed around the cognitive, social, and teaching presence is no easy task, the approach taken for the design was based on conceptualizing the development of such a community along a continuum that addressed the depth of interaction for each presence. This type of design assumes a phased-in implementation. The chapter describes this conceptualization by addressing the core communication strategy used, which underlies the interactions to support learning from conversations. In addition, the chapter addresses key environmental constraints and how these constraints guided operational decisions during implementation. In addition, the chapter discusses challenges and solutions, as well as lessons learned.