The researchers in this study examined the influence of questions designed with the Practical Inquiry Model (PIM), compared with the regular (playground) questions, on students' levels of cognitive presence in online discussions. Students' discussion postings were collected and categorized according to the four levels of cognitive presence: "triggering events," "exploration," "integration," and "resolution." The data were analyzed using quantitative content analysis and nonparametric statistics. Results revealed that students' responses to questions based on the PIM resulted in higher levels of students' cognitive presence--integration of ideas and resolution of problems--compared with the responses based on the regular (playground) questions. These results suggest that instructors can use the PIM as a guiding framework to design questions that may influence cognitive presence in online discussions.