This Community of Inquiry (COI) Matrix helps faculty course developers identify how to incorporate COI strategies for selecting content, setting climate, and supporting discourse at each course level based on Bloom’s Taxonomy.
| Course Level | Bloom's Taxonomy | Sample Verbs | Community of Inquiry (COI) Strategies |
| Introductory & Intermediate | Remember |
Define, Duplicate, List, Memorize, Repeat, Recall, State
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Selecting Content: Share term glossaries, guided note-taking documents, study guides, and flashcards. |
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Setting Climate: Offer optional synchronous sessions to review materials or exit tickets/knowledge-check quizzes at the end of each module. |
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Supporting Discourse: Utilize FAQ discussions and key terms in assessment/assignment feedback and conversations with students. |
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| Introductory & Intermediate | Understand |
Classify, Describe, Discuss, Explain, Identify, Locate, Recognize, Report, Select, Translate
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Selecting Content: Share labeled diagrams and infographics and provide content in alternative formats like written, audio, and video. |
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Setting Climate: Provide explanations of how course content is tied to course assessments. Prompt students with simple multiple-choice or true/false questions to check for understanding. |
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Supporting Discourse: Participate regularly in required course discussions. Prompt students with additional questions, highlight exceptional posts, and steer transactional posts toward transformational learning. |
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| Introductory, Intermediate, & Advanced | Apply |
Execute, Implement, Solve, Use, Demonstrate, Interpret, Operate, Schedule, Sketch, Perform
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Selecting Content: Provide lecture demonstrations and real-world examples that illustrate application of knowledge. |
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Setting Climate: Offer examples and demonstrations that provide a variety of applications to encourage strategic thinking. |
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Supporting Discourse: Support students in small group discussions where they work together solve problems, demonstrate competency, or solve equations. |
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| Introductory, Intermediate, & Advanced | Analyze |
Debate, Justify, Differentiate, Organize, Relate, Distinguish, Examine, Experiment, Question, Test
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Selecting Content: Provide open-ended questions in assessments, offer scenario-based examples, and ask students to experiment with solutions. |
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Setting Climate: Ask reflection questions at the beginning of each module that tie to course content and assessments for that week. |
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Supporting Discourse: Promote healthy debate in discussions by asking students to select one side of an issue and justify their stance. |
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| Intermediate & Advanced | Evaluate |
Appraise, Argue, Defend, Assess, Determine, Judge, Select, Support, Value, Critique, Weigh
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Selecting Content: Provide examples of quality feedback and evaluation. Scaffold major assessments to provide opportunities for self- and peer-evaluation. |
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Setting Climate: Ask students to provide an assessment of their own work via rubrics when submitting a major course assessment. |
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Supporting Discourse: Ask students to practice providing feedback by evaluating each other’s work in peer-review discussions. |
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| Intermediate & Advanced | Create |
Design, Integrate, Assemble, Construct, Conjecture, Develop, Formulate, Author, Investigate
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Selecting Content: Provide exemplars and non-exemplars of student work in major course assessments. Offer alternative pathways for students to complete their assessment (paper, presentation, multimedia creation, etc.). |
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Setting Climate: Scaffold large creative projects to help students with time management and provide regular feedback on progress. |
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Supporting Discourse: Offer case studies for small groups of students to develop solutions as a team. |
