ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Issues in the design ofMassive Open Online Course
Wilfried Admiraal
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Structure
• Taxonomy of MOOCs
• Definition of MOOCs as open online learning
• Research on MOOCs
• Rethinking educational variables
• Research agenda
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Some Leiden University MOOCs
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
MOOC platforms
• Coursera (www.coursera.org)
• EdX (www.edx.org)
• Udacity (www.udacity.org)
• OpenupEd (www.opened.ed)
• Other national platforms in Europe, Asia and
Australia (Futurelearn, iversity, ALISON,
Open2Study, XuetangX.com)
• Local university platforms
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Typical (?) MOOC
• Course 4-12 weeks• Video lectures• Online materials• Discussion platform• Quizzes, essay assignments & final MC-exam• Thousands of registrants• Only a few hundred obtain certificate• Learner commitment wanes• Learners: 2-6 hrs per week
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Taxonomy of MOOCs (1)cMOOC xMOOC
Socio-constructivist view Behaviorist-cognitive view
Participant driven Subject driven
Student-student, student-teacher, student-environment interaction
Student-environment interaction
Teacher is facilitator/collaborator Teacher is expert/authority
Social media, student-created materials
Lecture videos, text-based readings, assignments
Assessment for learning MC-tests, quizzes, peer review
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Taxonomy of MOOCs (2)
• DOCC (Distributed Open Collaborative Course)• POOC (Participatory Open Online Course)• SPOC (Small Private Online Course)• BOOC (Big Open Online Course)• HOOC (Hybrid Open Online Course)• gMOOC (game MOOC)• SMOC (synchronous Massive Online Course• miniMOOC (short version of a MOOC)• tMOOC (task-based MOOC)
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Massiveness and OpennessOpen and flexible
Less More
Massiveness
SmallerSPOC
miniMOOC
cMOOCDOCCPOOC
gMOOC
LargerBOOCHOOCSMOC
xMOOCtMOOC
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ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Diversity
• Openness:• Flexibility in time,
• Blended or not with campus education,
• Adaptivity in pace and tracks,
• Accessibility
• Free or little costs
• Massiveness
• Focus
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Simple definition of MOOC
“MOOCs are online environments that feature courselike experiences – for example lectures, labs, discussions, and assessments- for little to no cost” (p. 74 DeBoer et al., 2014)
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Review MOOC research
• Thoughts about design(Creelman et al., 2014; Statey, 2014;Walker & Loch, 2014)
• Course evaluations (students and teachers)(Hew & Cheung, 2014; Walker & Loch, 2014)
• Descriptive research on student profiles(Hew & Cheung, 2014)
• Descriptive research on implementation(DeBoer et al., 2014; Toven-Lindsay et al., 2015)
• Taxonomies of pedagogies(Conole, 2014; Margaryan et al., 2015; Swan et al., 2015)
• No controlled experiments or A/B testing
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Instruction, interaction & assessment(Toven-Lindsey et al., 2015); 24 MOOCs
Modes of More Less
InstructionText, video-taped instructor
Recorded lectures,animation/avatars
Interaction
Student-student:Discussion board (Q&A, dialogue)Student-teacher:static posts
Student-student:Chat, discussion prompts
Student-teacher:Teacher active, live event
AssessmentOpen ended MC, activity, discussion board
posts, external resources
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Instructional quality(Margaryan et al., 2015); 76 MOOCs
Problem centred Real-world, ill-structured problems
Activation Activate prior knowledge & experiences
Demonstration Good & poor examples
Application Apply particular knowledge in context
Integration Integrate knowlede in everyday work
Collective Reciprocal interdepence students
Collaboration Peer interaction
Differentiation Learning options
Authentic resources Real-world materials
Feedback Expert feedback
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
MOOC pedagogy: theory & practiceOrganisation
Learningmaterials
Peerinteraction
Guidance
Instruction
Assessment
Assignments
Differentiation
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
MOOC data:differences with campus education
• Magnitude of data gathered (numbers of students,
observation per student and types of information)
• Diversity in student population (reasons for
registration and background)
• Non-linear learning paths
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Rethink educational variables(DeBoer et al. , 2014)
• Enrollment:• dynamic starts, diversity reasons to register, diversity
educational level (and unknown)
• Participation:• Huge variety in what learners do (watching video,
reading, assignments, quizzes, forums)
• Curriculum and teacher:• Non-linear and large variety in learning routes
• Achievement and assessment:• Final exam/grades for a small minority
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Research agenda
• Controlled experiments or A/B testing• With in mind:
• Theories of (online) learning• Reconceptualizing educational variables• Pragmatics of teaching MOOCs
1. Peer interaction2. Assignments3. Guidance4. Assessment
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Research agenda:1. Peer interaction
• Peer feedback / peer assistance
• Reciprocal interdependence
• Discussion groups (focus, moderation, composition)
• Social media outside course
• Live events with peers
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Research agenda:2. Assignments
• Assignment to create/produce
• Ill-structured probems
• Learner regulation / autonomy
• Multiple perspectives (background student)
• Follow-up events
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Research agenda:3. Guidance
• Differentiation in learning paths / tracks
• Adaptive instruction (fading scaffolding)
• Simulations and games
• Formal and informal learners (blend with campus)
• More experts than one expert teacher
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Research agenda:4. Assessment
• Self, peer en co-assessment• Quality of automated assessments• Assessment of what (activities, participation and
knowledge)?
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Research agenda:Make use of student data for
• Peer interaction
• Assignments
• Guidance
• Assessment
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
I would like to thank my colleagues Olga Pilli and Bart Huisman for their contribution
More information: [email protected]
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ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Suggested readings
Conole, G. (2014). A new classification schema for MOOCs. International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning,
2(3), 65-77.
Creelman, A., Ehlers, U-D., & Ossiannilsson, E. (2014). Perpsectives on MOOC quality. International Journal for
Innovation and Quality in Learning, 78-87.
DeBoer, J., Ho, A. D., Stump, G. S., & Breslow, L. (2014). Changing "Course": Reconceptualizing Educational Variables
for Massive Open Online Courses. Educational Researcher, 43(2), 74-84.
Hew, K. F., & Cheung, W. S. (2014). Students' and instructors' use of massive open online courses (MOOCs):
Motivations and challenges. Educational Research Review, 12, 45-58.
Margaryan, A., Bianco, M., & Littlejohn, A. (2015). Instructional quality of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOVs).
Computers & Education, 80, 77-83.
Stacey, P. (2014). Pedagogy of MOOCs. International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning, 111-115.
Swan, K., Bogle, L., Day, S., Matthews, D. (2014, April). The Assessing MOOC Pedagogies (AMP) project. Paper presented
at the annual conference of the AERA, Philadelphia, USA.
Toven-Lindsey, B., Rhoads, R. A., & Lozano, J. B. (2015). Virtually unlimited classrooms: Pedagogical practices in
massive open online courses. The Internet and Higher Education, 24, 1-12.
Walker, L., & Loch, B. (2014). Academics’ perception on the quality of MOOCs: An empirical study. International
Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning, 53-63.