Inquiry MOOCs: Privileging Constructive Collaborative Learning for Continuing Professional Development

Abstract

Faculty and instructional designers from Athabasca University created a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Blended Learning Practice (BLP), delivered in partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning to provide open learning opportunities to educators primarily in the global south. The course design and delivery adapt the Community of Inquiry (CoI) theoretical framework to support deep learning and collective inquiry through a collaborative, community-based, constructive methodology and highlight the emerging role of the blended learning instructor as a bricoleur, integrating various available technologies and pedagogies empathetically with learners’ needs. Learning within a CoI while concurrently learning about CoI from a pedagogical perspective prepares educators to meet the challenges of designing and delivering blended learning programs in a post-pandemic world. This chapter discusses the effectiveness of the BLP MOOC, in terms of both professional development quality indicators and participant response, as a practical example of community-building pedagogical design for technology-enabled Continuing Professional Learning and Development (CPLD).