The Community of Inquiry in blended synchronous designs

Blended synchronous courses are characterized by students attending the same session both face-to-face and via digital technologies. Challenges have been identified when it comes to establishing and sustaining a shared community among all participants in these contexts. This chapter reports applying the Community of Inquiry theoretical framework in a program where students living close to the university attend face-to-face, while remote students attend the sessions synchronously online. The principles of collaboration and co-construction of knowledge are transformed into guiding principles that foster all students’ integration and equal engagement in a blended, synchronous, community of inquiry.