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Issues in the design of
Massive Open Online Course
Wilfried Admiraal
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Structure
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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
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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
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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
Assessment for learning
Lecture videos, text-based readings,
assignments
MC-tests, quizzes, peer review
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Taxonomy of MOOCs (2)
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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 Openness
Open and flexible
Less
More
Smaller
SPOC
miniMOOC
cMOOC
DOCC
POOC
gMOOC
Larger
BOOC
HOOC
SMOC
xMOOC
tMOOC
Massiveness
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ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Diversity
• Openness:
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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
Instruction
Interaction
Assessment
More
Less
Text, video-taped
instructor
Recorded lectures,
animation/avatars
Student-student:
Discussion board (Q&A,
dialogue)
Student-teacher:
static posts
Open ended
Student-student:
Chat, discussion prompts
Student-teacher:
Teacher active, live event
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 & practice
Organisation
Learning
materials
Differentiation
Peer
interaction
Assignments
Assessment
Guidance
Instruction
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
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Peer interaction
Assignments
Guidance
Assessment
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
Research agenda:
1. Peer interaction
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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
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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
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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
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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:
w.f.admiraal@iclon.leidenuniv.nl
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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.
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching