The Presence of the Teacher: Theory into Practice

Abstract

The concept of presence of the teacher augments the “social presence” and “teacher presence” components of the community of inquiry (COI) theory and points to the significance of the being-ness of the teacher in pedagogy. This chapter presents various theoretical framings of the presence of the teacher, along with research that supports its value in achieving student success and enhancing student learning outcomes in online and face-to-face learning. The chapter ends with suggestions for implementation and an argument for the importance of the presence of the teacher in higher education.