Abstract
Instructors play a significant role in shaping students’ learning experiences. Despite the existence of numerous strategies for online teaching, implementation of them has been variable across different settings. The aim of this study was to investigate the rationale behind the teaching presence (TP) behaviours exhibited by online instructors. An explanatory case-study approach was undertaken whereby six asynchronous online instructors from across two New Zealand tertiary institutions (university and vocational education) were interviewed for their perspectives on the roles they perform. Six themes were identified through analysis of interview transcripts: instructor proactive behaviours, instructor reactive behaviours, perceived student engagement, perceived student attitudes towards learning, perceived organisational provisions, and perceived organisational constraints. Overall, the instructor, and institutional and learning presences were found to be contributing factors to instructors’ TP-behaviours. This study has implications for those involved in the design and delivery of online courses (i.e., online facilitators, instructional designers, and organisational leaders) and recognises the challenge that online instructors face of having to negotiate the needs of all stakeholders.
Keywords: Community of Inquiry; teaching presence; learner presence; institutional presence; asynchronous online teaching
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