Exploratory study of MOOC learners’ demographics and motivation: The case of students involved in groups
Published | August 2016 |
Journal | Open Praxis Volume 8, Issue 3, Pages 223-233 |
ABSTRACT
This paper reports preliminary findings on students enrolled in a massive open online course, who were also assigned to work in groups. Part of a larger study on the effect of groups on retention and completion in MOOCs, the paper provides students’ demographics (i.e., location, gender, education level, and employment status), and motivation for taking the course. Findings show that women outnumbered men and that students mostly enrolled into the course because of a friend. Indeed, research on MOOCs demonstrates that men outnumber women and that educational pursuit and professional development are the main motivators for taking MOOCs. Yet, this paper shows that when group work is included in a MOOC, women participate more. Furthermore, for students assigned to groups in a MOOC, friends are the principal incentive for enrolling into the course. These results are discussed in light of previous research, and implications for teaching and learning in online environments addressed.Keywords | demographics · gender · group learning · MOOCs · motivations |
ISSN | 2304-070X |
Other number | 3 |
Refereed | Yes |
Rights | by/3.0 |
URL | http://www.openpraxis.org/index.php/OpenPraxis/article/view/282 |
Export options | BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar |
AVAILABLE FILES
Viewed by 103 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
The influence of national culture on educational videos: The case of MOOCs
Bayeck, Rebecca; Choi, Jinhee
This paper discusses the influence of cultural dimensions on Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) introductory videos. The study examined the introductory videos produced by three universities on Coursera platforms using ...
Match: bayeck, rebecca; moocs
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): Participant activity, demographics, and satisfaction
Shrader, Sara; Wu, Maryalice; Owens-Nicholson, Dawn; Ana, Kathleen Santa
This paper examines activity patterns, participant demographics, and levels of satisfaction in multiple MOOC offerings at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from August 2012—December 2013. Using the ...
Match: demographics; moocs
The role of MOOCs in engineering education: An exploratory systematic review of peer‐reviewed literature
Sezgin, Sezan; Sevim Çırak, Nese
The aim of the current study is to explore and evaluate the current status of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in the field of Engineering Education. In line with this aim, the study intends to identify and map the ...
Match: exploratory; moocs
Exploring demographics and students’ motivation as predictors of completion of a Massive Open Online Course
Zhang, Qing; Bonafini, Fernanda Cesar; Lockee, Barbara B.; Jablokow, Kathryn W.; Hu, Xiaoyong
This paper investigates the degree to which different variables affect the completion of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Data on those variables, such as age, gender, English proficiency, education level, and ...
Match: demographics
MOOCs in Europe: Evidence from pilot surveys with universities and MOOC learners
Muñoz, Jonatan Castaño; Punie, Yves; dos Santos, Andreia Inamorato; JRC-IPTS
Headlines
MOOCs are an important part of non-formal learning for individuals with higher education experience, particularly those who are either unemployed or low earners.
MOOC certificates currently have low ...
Match: moocs
Student perceptions of open pedagogy: An exploratory study
Hilton III, John; Wiley, David; Chaffee, Reta; Darrow, Jennifer; et al.
With the increasing development and adoption of Open Educational Resources, many researchers and practitioners are interested in more carefully examining pedagogies connected with their use. This study describes the ...
Match: exploratory
MOOCs
Haber, Jonathan
Overview
The New York Times declared 2012 to be “The Year of the MOOC” as millions of students enrolled in massive open online courses (known as MOOCs), millions of investment dollars flowed to the companies making ...
Match: moocs
Evaluation of the UNED MOOCs implementation: Demographics, learners' opinions and completion rates
Gil-Jaurena, Inés; Callejo-Gallego, Javier; Agudo, Yolanda
The paper is a study about the MOOC experience at the Spanish National University of Distance Education (UNED), where we have collected initial and final information about learners' profiles and opinions, as well as ...
Match: demographics
Open educational resources (OER): An exploratory study on implementation methods of OER in higher education
Miller, Amy W.
The goal of this qualitative research study was to explore the implementation strategies and methods of Open Educational Resources (OER) and programs that universities are currently using in order to detect and analyze ...
Match: exploratory
An exploratory literature review on open educational practices
Koseoglu, Suzan; Bozkurt, Aras
This paper presents a review of peer-reviewed publications (2007–2017) on digital open educational practices (OEPs). It explores trends and patterns in this emerging area of study by examining paper abstracts and ...
Match: exploratory