massive open on-line courses in engineering n. al-mutawaly, mohawk college, hamilton, ontario m....
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MASSIVE OPEN ON-LINE COURSES
IN ENGINEERINGN. AL-MUTAWALY, MOHAWK COLLEGE, HAMILTON, ONTARIO
M. PICZAK, MOHAWK COLLEGE, HAMILTON, ONTARIO
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MOOCs in Engineering
Remote delivery/Distance/Blended Asynchronous/SynchronousMOOC:
M: “massive” class cohortsO: “open” to anyone often with no prereq’s.O: “on-line” delivery typically asynchronousC: “courses” collection of instructional content
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Success In Traditional Classroom
Many factors predictive of academic success:
Self efficacy Tutoring
Remaining on task Academic advice
Instrumentality perceptions
Personal life factors
Vocational intent Collegiate career centers
Co-op education Communication
Feedback: frequency/quality
Class size
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Attractions
MOOCs attractive when: Class sizes traditionally large = 35,000 Limited instructor contact Paper & pencil demonstration of cognitive ability suffices Tuition costs = obstacle Students spatially separated from delivering institution Extending the brand beyond local area Glitter of windfall cashflows
Many assume F2F simply translates into MOOC Capital cost avoidance for bricks and mortar Democratization of education Elevating level of human capital on planet
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Weaknesses
Pedagogical approach – fact accumulation, problem depth, discussion/argument
Class size – delivery, evaluation, drop out rates, influence of one person on millions
Achieving learning outcomes (design, hands-on skills/labs)
Isolation & lack of attachment to course, campus, institution
Long term ability to monetize ‘free’ education
Not generally favoured for any number of ‘pet’ reasons
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But If Others Are Doing It, Then…
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Platforms
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MOOCs by Stakeholder
1. Accrediting Bodies: Design elements/skills, labs
2. Institutions: financial potential
3. Students: flexibility/convenience, unlimited access to material, global connections, pride in presenting credentials from world renowned institutions
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Empirical Assessment of Completion Rates
Disciplines: engineering, management & ‘other’ courses Dependent variable: completion rates, dataset n = 111 Independent variables:
Class sizeAcademic disciplineEvaluation methodDelivery platformCourse duration
Data from Ph.D. thesis; adopted by British Department of Innovation & Skills, European Commission
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Deficiencies On Dependent Variable
Completion rates = primary dependent variable
Free riders, stay-at-homes, seeking alternate information source
High no-show (40-50%)
New metrics yet to be constructed
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Study Findings
Statistic Full Eng. Mgmt. Other
Courses 111 30 16 65
Students 4034956 1452708 416044 2175204
Class size 36432 48424 26002 33464
Max. 226652 160000 87000 226652
Min. 168 573 391 168
Compl’n Rate 14.0% 12.7% 19.3% 13.3%Std. dev. 11.3% 10.7% 11.9% 11.3%
Min. .7% .9% 4.4% .7%
Max. 52.1% 52.1% 35.8% 41.6%
Completion Rate = f(class size, discipline, evaluation, delivery platform, duration)
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Class Size & Academic Discipline
Statistic Full Eng. Mgmt. Other
R2 .27 .21 .55 .25
Adj. R2 .27 .18 .52 .24
SE .097 9.7 8.3 9.8
Sign. F* Yes Yes Yes Yes
Intercept* 19.0 18.0 25.9 17.7
Coef.* -.0001 -.0001 -.0003 -.0001
n 111 30 16 65
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Course Duration
Statistic Full Eng. Mgmt. Other
Courses 111 30 16 65
Duration (wks) 6.7 8.2 5.3 6.3
Std. dev. 3.0 4.08 3.6 2.5
R2 .23 .17 .60 .34
Adj. R2 .22 .14 .57 .33
SE 9.0 9.9 7.8 9.2 Sign. F** Yes Yes Yes Yes
Intercept** 22.7 21.7 45.7 30.3
Coef.** -1.45 -1.08 -4.91 -2.68
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Conclusions & Discussion
Study completion rate (14%) in agreement with others (4 -15%)
For completion rates: Class size: significant impact (high 1-R2)
Discipline: differential impact (not significant)
Evaluation method: no significant effects
Platform: no significant effects
Course duration: negatively proportional across all subjects (significant)
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Recommendations for Engineering
1. MOOCs may lend themselves to engineering courses
2. Basic engineering courses, consider experiment kits/simulation software to capture lab components
3. Advanced engineering labs, consider compressed lab formats
4. To satisfy accrediting bodies, adopt MOOCs CAREFULLY to ensure all competencies satisfied
5. More MOOC research be conducted
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At The End Of The Day…
“ one Coursera course = more students than I would teach in a
lifetime… ”
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MASSIVE OPEN ON-LINE COURSES
IN ENGINEERINGN. AL-MUTAWALY, MOHAWK COLLEGE, HAMILTON, ONTARIO
M. PICZAK, MOHAWK COLLEGE, HAMILTON, ONTARIO
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