Examining the relations among student motivation, engagement, and retention in a MOOC: A structural equation modeling approach
Published | 2015 |
Journal | Global Education Review Volume 2, Issue 3, Pages 23-33 |
ABSTRACT
Students who are enrolled in MOOCs tend to have different motivational patterns than fee-paying college students. A majority of MOOC students demonstrate characteristics akin more to "tourists" than formal learners. As a consequence, MOOC students’ completion rate is usually very low. The current study examines the relations among student motivation, engagement, and retention using structural equation modeling and data from a Penn State University MOOC. Three distinct types of motivation are examined: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and social motivation. Two main hypotheses are tested: (a) motivation predicts student course engagement; and (b) student engagement predicts their retention in the course. The results show that motivation is significantly predictive of student course engagement. Furthermore, engagement is a strong predictor of retention. The findings suggest that promoting student motivation and monitoring individual students’ online activities might improve course retention.Keywords | engagement · MOOC · motivation · retention |
ISSN | 2325-663X |
Refereed | Yes |
Rights | by/3.0 |
URL | http://ger.mercy.edu/index.php/ger/article/view/124 |
Export options | BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar |
AVAILABLE FILES
Viewed by 130 distinct readers
CLOUD COMMUNITY REVIEWS
The evaluations below represent the judgements of our readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cloud editors.










Click a star to be the first to rate this document
▶ POST A COMMENT
SIMILAR RECORDS
Assessment approaches in massive open online courses: Possibilities, challenges and future directions
Xiong, Yao; Suen, Hoi K.
The development of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has launched an era of large-scale interactive participation in education. While massive open enrolment and the advances of learning technology are creating ...
Match: xiong, yao; suen, hoi k.
Systematic mapping study of academic engagement in MOOC
Guajardo Leal, Brenda Edith; Navarro-Corona, Claudia
MOOCs are presented as an affordable and easily accessible modality that offers the opportunity to democratize education in our time; however, this convenience training favors a low completion rate of the participants. ...
Match: engagement; mooc
Understanding Chinese-speaking open courseware users: A case study on user engagement in an open courseware portal in Taiwan (Opensource Opencourse Prototype System)
Huang, Wen-Hao David; Lin, Meng-Fen Grace; Shen, Wendi
The open educational resource (OER) movement has reached a critical mass due to recent technology advancements. In Taiwan, to overcome the language barrier, the Opensource Opencourse Prototype System (OOPS) plays a ...
Match: engagement; motivation
Towards full engagement for open online education. A practical experience for a MicroMaster
Hernández, Rocael; Amado-Salvatierra, Hector R.; Kloos, Carlos Delgado; Jermann, Patrick; et al.
This work explores on the different phases of the student's participation in a MOOC. For this particular study three phases of a MOOC are defined: pre-MOOC, MOOC and post-MOOC. This work presents an innovative framework ...
Match: engagement; motivation
Deconstructing disengagement: analyzing learner subpopulations in massive open online courses
Kizilcec, René F.; Piech, Chris; Schneider, Emily
As MOOCs grow in popularity, the relatively low completion rates of learners has been a central criticism. This focus on completion rates, however, reflects a monolithic view of disengagement that does not allow MOOC ...
Match: engagement; mooc
Great news! OER courses can boost engagement
Ascione, Laura
A two-year study reveals that instructors found OER materials helped them make positive changes to their teaching
Match: engagement
MOOC – supporting continued vocational training
Drake, Merja; Rajaorko, Päivi; Ubachs, George; Konings, Lizzie
Researchers have been interested in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) from different viewpoints - the engagement and motivations of students, course completion and retention rates as well as course designs. MOOCs ...
Match: engagement; mooc; motivation
Learning through engagement: MOOCs as an emergent form of provision
Walji, Sukaina; Deacon, Andrew; Small, Janet; Czerniewicz, Laura
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a new form of educational provision occupying a space between formal online courses and informal learning. Adopting measures used with formal online courses to assess the outcomes ...
Match: engagement
Scholarship in the digital age: Open educational resources, publication and public engagement.
Scanlon, Eileen
This paper explores the impact of the digital age on the work life of academics and
reports research on how and whether technologies are facilitating and adapting the
teaching and research practices of academics, ...
Match: engagement
Understanding student engagement in large-scale open online courses: A machine learning facilitated analysis of student’s reflections in 18 highly rated MOOCs
Hew, Khe Foon; Qiao, Chen; Tang, Ying
Although massive open online courses (MOOCs) have attracted much worldwide attention, scholars still understand little about the specific elements that students find engaging in these large open courses. This study ...
Match: engagement