The relationship between the community of inquiry and the students' learning outcomes in e-learning environments

This study aimed the relationship between the community of inquiry and the outcomes of learning among students in an e-learning setting, and the statistical population of this study included students of MehrAlborz Higher Education Institute and the University of Tehran in 3 fields of study. The data were collected online through the Survey of Garrison et al., 2000 and then analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Also, to evaluate the achievement of students' learning outcomes, the weighted average of their first two semesters was considered as a criterion. The validity of the questionnaire was estimated based on the validity of the content, and its reliability was based on Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.83. The results of data analysis showed that in terms of cognitive presence and social presence, students of MehrAlborz Higher Education Institute are at a higher level compared to the University of Tehran, but no difference was observed between the two groups in terms of teaching attendance. On the other hand, there is a positive and significant relationship between cognitive, social, and teaching presence with the students' learning outcomes at the Mehralborz Higher Education Institute. Finally, cognitive, presence has the highest correlation with the students' learning outcomes.