Despite the growing body of research on the effects of different strategies on cognitive presence in online discussions, there is little known about the design of questions that may influence cognitive presence in online discussions. Cognitive presence is associated with ‘the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse in a critical community of inquiry’ (Garrison et al., 2001, p. 11). The concept of cognitive presence emerged from the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework proposed by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000), to guide the use of online learning environments in support of social constructivist approach to learning. In this practice, we designed discussion questions with the Practical Inquiry Model (PIM) to increase cognitive presence in online discussions. During online discussions, students were presented a case followed by four question prompts representing four levels–Triggereing, exploration, integration, and resolution–of cognitive presence. The results of the practice showed that students’ responses to questions based on the PIM resulted in higher levels of students’ cognitive presence, i.e., integration of ideas and resolution of problems. Other findings are provided in the support document to validate the efficacy of the use of discussion questions designed with PIM as an effective practice for online learning. I also discuss how the use of PIM questions aligns with the Online Learning Consortium’s Five Pillars of Quality Online Education.