Community of Inquiry

Description

The genesis of the concept of a community of inquiry can be historically traced to ancient Greece and is consistent with modern social constructivist epistemology. However, the term brings with it a degree of imprecision. The philosophical foundation of the community of inquiry concept has its origins in the work of John Dewey. Community and inquiry were important themes in Dewey's work that recognized the inseparability of the public and private worlds. Dewey believed that an educational experience must be socially worthwhile and personally meaningful. It is the fusion of public discourse and personal reflection that goes to the heart of the process of inquiry.

We begin our assessment of what constitutes a community of inquiry by analyzing the core concept of inquiry. In general terms, inquiry is a process leading to deep and meaningful understanding. We define inquiry here as a process of critical thinking and problem-solving based on the generalized scientific method, with the purpose of resolving a problem or dilemma and resulting in the growth of personal and collective knowledge. Critical thinking and making sense of questions are central to the inquiry process; however, inquiry does not take place in isolation.

For example, inquiry is not privately surfing the Internet. The Internet encourages ideological cocooning. It allows one to live within a set of assumptions and beliefs without challenge. It makes possible the reinforcement of one's biases with the avoidance of contrary perspectives and facts. On the other hand, communities of inquiry make use of the technological affordances of a rapidly evolving digital world that has the potential to create the conditions for sustained critical discourse, where breadth of access to information is fused with depth of critical thinking. In short, inquiry is inherently social and depends upon collaboration and community. Communities of inquiry take advantage of the connectivity of the digital world around us and actively engage learners in deep and meaningful learning experiences.

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