Guidelines for TEACHERS supporting the design of innovative strategies for interprofessional teaching and learning
Section outline
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The following guidelines are conceived as a practical resource to help teachers translate the principles of the TEAMCARE curriculum into effective teaching practices. They are intended to support you in shaping your online or blended courses so that they not only transmit knowledge but also foster interaction, collaboration, and reflective engagement in interprofessional contexts. The structure of the guidelines draws on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, ensuring that teaching, social, and cognitive presence are intentionally embedded into course design and facilitation.
At the micro-design level, you will be required to make a series of decisions that connect the overall curriculum to the concrete reality of your teaching practice. Some of these choices will derive directly from the macro-design phase of your CBIT Interprofessional Curriculum, while others will depend on the specific knowledge domain and the learning objectives you wish to emphasise. The guidelines are structured around key questions that you may encounter when designing or delivering your module, and each question is explored through scenarios that combine theoretical grounding with practical implementation strategies.
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If you want to know more about one (or more) topic, just follow the related link.
Topics are independent from one another, so you can choose to start from any of them and none of them is mandatory.
Within each topic, you will find some introductory theoretical explanations about the concept(s) addressed. Moreover, you will find a number of scenarios, containing suggestions on how to practically implement the theory into your own teaching/module.
In each scenario, you will also find video tutorials explaining the technical functionalities of the TEAMCARE Integrated Platform that you will need to use.
Click on each recommened tool (Suggested feature set) to gain more information and watch the video tutorial explaining this tool of the platform.
Topic
Scenario
Suggested feature set
Page, Book, File, Text and Media Area, Completion Tracking, Forum
Page, Assignment, Forum, Quiz
FINAL CHECKLIST - Are you ready to go?
In an attempt to support you in the final phases of design and preparation of their modules/teachings, we provide here a final checklist. Before leaving this area and proceed with the delivery of your teaching(s)/module(s), we strongly suggest you to go through it.
NOTE: this is both for pilot coordinators and teachers!
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Within the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, Teaching Presence plays a key role in shaping effective and engaging online learning environments. It includes the intentional design of learning paths, facilitation of student engagement, and guidance through structured interactions.
In the TEAMCARE approach, this presence must be visible, supportive, and consistent throughout the course. The following scenarios illustrate how to integrate Teaching Presence practically into the TEAMCARE Integrated Platform based courses.
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In the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, Social Presence is defined as the ability of participants to present themselves as “real people,” interact authentically, and build trustful relationships in a virtual environment. In the TEAMCARE approach, fostering Social Presence means creating a learning atmosphere where students feel recognized, supported, and part of a community, even when learning remotely.
A strong Social Presence is critical for learner engagement, participation, and persistence. It can be developed through intentional activities, balanced use of communication tools, and peer–to–peer interaction. The following scenarios provide practical suggestions for integrating Social Presence into online/blended courses.
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Cognitive Presence is a central element of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, as it refers to the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through reflection and dialogue. Developing this dimension in an online or blended course requires careful design of learning activities that stimulate curiosity, promote exploration, foster synthesis, and ultimately lead to the practical application of knowledge.
In the TEAMCARE approach, Cognitive Presence is supported by structuring activities according to the Practical Inquiry Model. This model consists of four phases – Triggering Event, Exploration, Integration, and Resolution – through which students progressively move from initial curiosity to meaningful application of knowledge.
The following scenarios describe how teachers can reinforce Cognitive Presence in their online/blended courses.
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Monitoring students’ perceptions of their learning experience is an essential step to ensure that Teaching, Social, and Cognitive Presence are effectively supported throughout the course. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) Survey is a validated instrument that helps teachers collect structured feedback about these three dimensions, offering both quantitative and qualitative insights.
In the TEAMCARE approach, the CoI Survey is not only a tool for evaluation, but also a resource for reflective practice: it enables teachers to identify strengths and weaknesses in their design and facilitation and to make informed adjustments that enhance the overall quality of the learning environment.
The following scenarios illustrate how to integrate the CoI Survey into ad online/blended courses to improve monitoring and assessment.
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The duration of a course has a strong influence on its design, pacing, and facilitation strategies. Shorter courses require efficiency, clear prioritization, and rapid engagement, while longer courses allow for gradual development, deeper inquiry, and more autonomous learning. In the TEAMCARE approach, adapting to course duration ensures that learners remain engaged, motivated, and supported regardless of the available timeframe.
The following scenarios illustrate how to adjust course design according to different time constraints in online-blended courses environments.
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A course feels alive when people feel seen, heard, and safe to contribute. Social Presence is the fabric that holds this together: it turns a set of online activities into a learning community.
The following scenarios demonstrate practical, ready–to–use strategies you can weave into your TEAMCARE online/blended course to strengthen Social Presence.
Social presence is “the ability of participants to identify with the community (e.g., course of study), communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop inter-personal relationships by way of projecting their individual personalities” (Garrison, 2009, p. 352). The Social presence encompasses 3 main constructs:
- Affective expressions (personal /emotional projection). The ability and confidence to express feelings related to the educational experience. Two examples of affective/emotional expressions that bring people together in a community are the expression of humor and self-disclosure.
- Open communication. Examples of open communication are mutual awareness and recognition of each other’s contributions. Mutual awareness is concerned with respectfully attending to the comments and contributions of others. Recognition is the process that fuels the development and maintenance of exchange relationships.
- Group cohesion. Group cohesion is exemplified by expressions that build and sustain a sense of group commitment. This category might be described as focused collaborative communication that builds participation and empathy.
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Fostering Cognitive Presence means creating opportunities for students to reflect, explore different perspectives, integrate ideas, and apply what they've learned in authentic contexts. In an online/blended course, this process doesn't happen spontaneously: activities need to be structured to follow the phases of the Practical Inquiry Model (Trigger, Exploration, Integration, Resolution).
The following scenarios illustrate how to design learning experiences that guide students through each phase of cognitive development.
Cognitive presence is “the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse” (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001).
The Cognitive presence encompasses 4 main constructs:
- Triggering event. It occurs with expressions that purposively or indirectly add a trigger to the discourse. The trigger needs to be focused on the attainment of intended educational outcomes.
- Exploration. It occurs when brainstorming, questioning, and exchange of information take place. It is characterized by initial perception of the nature of the problem and then a shift to a fuller exploration of relevant information. This is a divergent phase characterized by iteratively moving between the private and shared worlds—that is, between critical reflection and discourse.
- Integration. Integration is characterized by constructing meaning from the ideas generated in the exploratory phase.
- Resolution/Application. Resolution entails a vicarious test of the proposed solution or hypothesis using thought experiments and consensus building. The results of the application phase might lead to further problems and new triggering events, thus causing the process to start over.
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Teaching Presence is the backbone of a well–structured online or blended course. It encompasses the intentional design of learning paths, the facilitation of dialogue, and the provision of direct instruction. When Teaching Presence is strong, students feel guided, supported, and oriented throughout the course journey.
The following scenarios show how to reinforce Teaching Presence in online/blended courses through clear design, active facilitation, and effective direct instruction.
Teaching presence is “the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes” (Rourke, Anderson, Garrison, & Archer, 2001).
The Teaching presence encompasses 3 main constructs:
- Design & organization. It takes place with significant upfront planning, including the creation of materials, lesson sequencing, and setting assignment guidelines.
- Facilitation. Facilitation entails consistently overseeing and providing feedback on participants’ contributions to sustain their interest, motivation, and engagement.
- Direct instruction. It takes place when focusing on clarifying concepts, addressing misconceptions, and providing resources, independent of the role assumed.
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