Cognitive Process and SRL

Many of us are still trying to identify effective methods to support students with their learning, especially as more online courses are offered. So, this week I would like to share a recent article entitled, “Cognitive presence and self-regulated learning (SRL): Learning transfer in an online course” by Maranna et al. (2025). The study focused on the following research questions (RQ):

• RQ1. What is the relationship between cognitive presence and SRL in an online course? (Data analysis by descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient)

• RQ2. How does cognitive presence in general and SRL affect students’ ability to transfer learned knowledge from online courses to the workplace? (Data analysis by descriptive statistics and thematic qualitative analysis.)

• RQ2. How does the Resolution phase of cognitive presence affect students’ ability to transfer learned knowledge from online courses to the workplace? (Data analysis by Coding for Resolution and course grade evaluation)

Data collection included:

(1) an online questionnaire to measure cognitive presence and SRL; 

(2) an online interview to explore students' perceptions of transfer, and 

(3) LMS data, including student grades and online discussion text to measure the resolution phase of cognitive presence.

Online learning has become more common, but  limited research has examined factors affecting students' ability to transfer learning from online to the real world. This  mixed-methods  study explored the relationships between higher-order thinking skills (cognitive presence and self- regulation) and their roles in learning transfer. Performance data was evaluated for 53 students. Students also completed questionnaire measures of cognitive  presence and online self-regulation, and seven students were interviewed about learning transfer. Cognitive presence and online self-regulation strategies were positively correlated. Interviews revealed  that internal factors, such as cognitive presence and self-regulation, and external factors, such as supervisor support and workload, affected online learning transfer.

For online learning, the Community of Inquiry framework provides direction for the acquisition and transfer  of  student  skills  (Garrison  et  al.,  2000).  It  proposes  three  essential  interdependent presences for a successful educational experience:

1. Cognitive presence (ability to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse in a virtual learning environment (Garrison et al.,  2010);

2. Social presence; and

3. Teaching  presence. 

Cognitive presence has  four phases: 

1. Triggering (problem is identified, initiating the inquiry process),

2. Exploration (earners explore relevant information, either individually or in collaboration with peers),

3. Integration (learners construct meaning from generated ideas and share these within the community), and 

4. Resolution (learners apply or defend potential solutions to the problems with new ideas).

Recall from several prior SoTL posts that Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) refers to the learner's ability to select and apply appropriate strategies to achieve desired academic outcomes (Zimmerman, 2002). Some represent it as a cyclical process of forethought, performance, and self-reflection (Barnard-Brak et al., 2010). SRL includes goal setting, time management, task  strategies, environmental  structuring, self- monitoring and help-seeking (Schunk & Greene, 2017).

The key contribution of this study is identifying the link between the Resolution phase of cognitive presence and internal or near transfer in online contexts. In the community of inquiry literature, Resolution is achieved when learners create new insights through practical applications, such as case presentation or experiments (Garrison et al., 2001). As Resolution is the learners’ ability to test knowledge application in real-world situations, it is essentially near transfer in online contexts. Increased cognitive presence increases students’ ability to apply learnt knowledge.

References

Maranna, S., Claassen, A., Joksimovic, S., Willison, J., Parange, N., & Costabile, M. (2025). Cognitive presence and self-regulated learning: Learning transfer in an online allied health course. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.53761/h2gnev81