Adapting a Community of Inquiry Model to Foster Student Engagement in a Large, Higher Education, Gender Studies Classroom

Several research cycles were conducted using an action research methodology to explore student engagement in a higher education classroom. Cycle 0 focused on gathering data about the local context. This was followed by Cycle 1 - where the flipped classroom approach was implemented as a mini-intervention. After data collection and further reflection on the local context led to Cycle 2 - where the Community of Inquiry model was adopted. This body of study captures the outline of each of these cycles. The monograph tells the story of the earlier cycles of research. While the manuscript focuses on implementing the final intervention, the community of inquiry model. The interrogation of each intervention resists instructor-centered pedagogies and seeks to foster student-led ones. Following discussion of these interventions, this study makes recommendations for fostering engagement in a large gender studies classroom through interrogating learning experiences.