Teaching an online science course during the pandemic: A multiple case study on teaching presence

The COVID-19 outbreak upended educational systems worldwide and demanded a change in the instructional delivery approaches of schools, colleges, and universities. While many higher education institutions adopted online learning as an adaptive response to the health crisis, the responsibility of carrying out the educational mission was relinquished to instructors who were compelled to upgrade their skills expeditiously and adjust to the new learning environment. Teaching in the new normal meant facilitating instruction remotely from home where technical support is not readily available and disruptions from the mundane events of daily living abound. In addition, lack of ownership of appropriate devices, insufficient funds for Internet subscriptions, and unreliable connectivity continually challenge the teaching and learning process online. This dissertation examined how three science teachers designed online learning experiences and constructed online teaching during the pandemic. Although teachers share the same mission of teaching a similar course in online modality, how each of them plans their instruction and how this plan is executed vary from one another in light of their teaching approaches, prior experiences, and individual contexts. When I investigated their online practices, from how they designed the course and how they delivered instruction in real-time, to how they described and made sense of their own experiences, I used the lens of teaching presence. As one of three elements in the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, teaching presence consists of three categories: instructional design and organization, facilitating discourse, and direct instruction. Teaching presence is manifested in multiple ways by different teachers, and it was this multiplicity of expressions and situatedness that I explored, narrated, and interpreted using a multiple case study design. As a multicase research, my primary aim was to elucidate the phenomenon of teaching presence (i.e., the quintain) that bound Leon, Edna, and Lara (pseudonyms) together as cases. Based on the information I obtained from the case and student interviews, synchronous class observations, and course website reviews, I offered rich and thoughtful accounts in the single-case reports so that readers like you may construct your own interpretation from the experiences of the three science teachers. Fourteen (14) individual findings exemplified how teaching presence was manifested across cases. These findings generated three assertions that are linked to online educator roles and provided a better appreciation of the quintain in the multicase report. Collectively, the cases were observed to perform pedagogical, design, and support roles when they created learning experiences and enacted teaching in a challenging online setting. The pedagogical role plays a crucial part in applying important learning theories to help students build knowledge through carefully planned activities that encourage participation. The design role highlights a technical function by employing technology for pedagogical and administrative purposes and supporting technology use by learners. Finally, the support role embodies instructional practices that reflect caring attention to learners during remote and emergency situations. The characterization of these roles affirmed our knowledge about the responsibilities of teachers in virtual classrooms. More importantly, it augmented our understanding of what it takes to be effective online teachers in a crisis-stricken educational landscape from the real-life experiences of Leon, Edna, and Lara. The assertions noted in this investigation have the potential to inform, reform, or transform teacher development for online instruction and science education pedagogy. Additionally, directions for future studies are supplied as part of the recommendations. Keywords: Community of inquiry, Multiple case study, Online educator roles, Teaching presenc