UROP Project

Distribution of teaching presence in online learning

teaching presence, community of inquiry framework, online learning
Research Mentor: Secil Caskurlu , She/her/hers
Department, College, Affiliation: Educational Psychology and Learning Systems , Education
Contact Email: scaskurlu@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Computer science or psychology
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours , Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

Teaching presence is one of the essential components of Community of Inquiry framework which focuses on creating meaningful learning experiences in online courses. In this study, the primary objective is to use machine learning approaches to create a library for the automated analysis of interactions between students and online instructors using the teaching presence indicators. The next step will focus on identifying the distribution of teaching presence between and among instructors and students in online learning environments, aligned with the Community of Inquiry Framework.


Research Tasks: The research assistant(s) will assist in literature review, data collection, data preparation, and data analysis. The research mentor will additionally provide guidance to students throughout the research process, ranging from planning to publication.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Recommended skills include programming experience.

Mentoring Philosophy

My mentoring philosophy focuses on making a difference on my mentee's development towards becoming an independent scholar/practitioner. I believe that each mentee can bring different experiences and perspectives that may impact their experience as a mentee. To address the diversity of mentees, my role as a mentor is to help my mentees identify and use their strengths to achieve their short- and long-term goals. To achieve these, I listen my mentees to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and challenges to provide them directions and recommendations as they navigate through their studies/research. Finally, I create opportunities for my students to become independent scholars and/or practitioners. During this process, I provide my students with timely and constructive feedback so that they can graduate with a set of strong skills that demonstrates a strong potential for scholarship.

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