Instructor Communication across Two Contexts: An Examination of Teaching Online and Face-to-Face

This research investigates the ways in which two instructors’ communication differs, if it does at all, between online and face-to-face environments. The research is grounded in the literature of online learning, particularly focusing on Garrison, et al’s model of “the community of inquiry” (2000), and on communication theory – particularly that of media richness and immediacy behaviors. It has been well established in the literature of online learning that both teachers and students in online classes attempt to develop social presence through the inclusion of personal stories, group cohesion behaviors, and even emoticons and punctuation. This project investigates the communication behaviors of two different faculty members, both of whom taught in the fall, 2014 semester both online and face-to-face. Thus, the research allows for the comparison of individual teachers’ behaviors in two contexts. The data for this discourse analysis includes video recordings of face-to-face classes and discussion board postings from online classes. The research highlights the major differences in how the instructors communicate across contexts and provides an opportunity to evaluate instructor communication behaviors – the central ingredient in the community of inquiry model – in online environments specifically