Conceptualizing effective feedback practice through an online community of inquiry

This study applied Garrison, Anderson, and Archer's (2000) community of inquiry (CoI) framework to teacher learning by designing and investigating online participatory practice in which 14 prospective teachers (PT) were engaged in collectively evaluating and reconstructing their written feedback in their teaching, cognitive, and social presences. Data included the PTs' action logs in the three presences, their observation notes on fellow teachers' feedback practice, their feedback on students' different versions of texts, and transcripts of discussion forums and chat rooms. Results showed that in an online teacher learning community, the teaching presence reinforced and sustained the cognitive and social presences in the virtual community as the PTs learned to serve as subject matter experts. Through these three presences, the PTs provided micro- and macro-level feedback and observed each other's practices in the teaching presence. An online participatory practice allowed the PTs to recognize problems in feedback practice and develop principles of effective written feedback through collaborative efforts. Practical implications and useful functionalities of an online system for teacher learning were also discussed.