Principle: Plan to establish a climate that will encourage open communication and create trust. (Garrison, 2008)
Prior to each F2F meeting, each member of the class receives instruction on the same topics / content which provides them adequate resource to participate and engage in their small group discussions. This equips every student the ability to establish their social presence during the F2F session. The requirement to answer formative questions and use of a technology which automatically stops when the content consumer switches windows forces the learner to maintain continuous engagement to be "successful" with the online content. With every member of the group starting with the same basic knowledge, no one student will dominate the discussion each and every time. Students will be adequately prepared to support or critique each other.
This robust social presence brought about by the F2F small group and class interaction enhances deep and meaningful learning (cognitive presence).
Principle: Plan for critical reflection, discourse, and tasks that will support systematic inquiry. (Garrison, 2008)
The consumption of online content asynchronously generates high levels of cognitive activity and provides the learner a safe space for metacognition. This adds to the learner's confidence to fully engage during the small-group F2F clinical decision-making session. It provides the student with "cognitive and internal orientation" which will allow them for improved "broader and deeper participation" in the small-group F2F session.
The initial consumption of information asynchronously provides a structured cognitive experience. The F2F small group discussion, which later widens to a whole-class discussion, is a systematic, progression of the student's cognitive presence. Over time, this can even manifest in how the student views or reviews the peer-reviewed articles provided before the F2F session.
Sustain Community by Shifting to Purposeful, Collaborative Communication
Encourage and Support the Progression of Inquiry
The sequence of engagement, from remote, asynchronous individual to F2F small group helps foster this climate of open communication and trust. Engaging with content individually remotely gives each student the choice when to engage with content. With this choice is the ability to explore additional resources related to the content. They have the ability to ask questions and seek answers to their questions. Questions which they cannot answer on their own can be presented to the class and answered by other members of a community of learners.
Manage Collaborative Relationships to Support Students in Assuming Increasing Responsibility for Their Learning