Deconstructing disengagement: analyzing learner subpopulations in massive open online courses
Published | April 2013 |
Conference | LAK '13: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge Pages 170-179 |
Country | United States, North America |
ABSTRACT
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 designers to target interventions or develop adaptive course features for particular subpopulations of learners. To address this, we present a simple, scalable, and informative classification method that identifies a small number of longitudinal engagement trajectories in MOOCs. Learners are classified based on their patterns of interaction with video lectures and assessments, the primary features of most MOOCs to date.In an analysis of three computer science MOOCs, the classifier consistently identifies four prototypical trajectories of engagement. The most notable of these is the learners who stay engaged through the course without taking assessments. These trajectories are also a useful framework for the comparison of learner engagement between different course structures or instructional approaches. We compare learners in each trajectory and course across demographics, forum participation, video access, and reports of overall experience. These results inform a discussion of future interventions, research, and design directions for MOOCs. Potential improvements to the classification mechanism are also discussed, including the introduction of more fine-grained analytics.
Keywords | MOOC · learner engagement · trajectories of engagement |
Published at | California |
Language | English |
Refereed | Yes |
DOI | 10.1145/2460296.2460330 |
Export options | BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar |
Viewed by 338 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
Digging deeper into learners' experiences in MOOCs: Participation in social networks outside of MOOCs, notetaking and contexts surrounding content consumption
Veletsianos, George; Collier, Amy; Schneider, Emily
Researchers describe with increasing confidence what they observe participants doing in massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, our understanding of learner activities in open courses is limited by researchers' ...
Match: schneider, emily
MOOCs for professional teacher development
Jobe, William; Östlund, Christian; Svensson, Lars
A MOOC is a trending concept in education that is disrupting traditional methods of
learning consumption. The emergence and use of MOOCs for professional teacher development is still uncommon, but on the verge of ...
Match: mooc; united states
Uncovering what enables and constrains 'open practices' in the Global South: Reflections from the ROER4D Project
Hodgkinson-Williams, Cheryl
Match: mooc
Open educational resources in Italy: Connecting the macro, meso and micro levels, towards a national OER ecosystem
Nascimbeni, Fabio
The chapter presents a snapshot of the state of the art of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Italy. It starts from the macro public policy level, noting that OER are part of the national school policy, to the advocacy ...
Match: mooc
MOOC for training: How far it benefits employees?
Rafiq, Karmila Rafiqah M.; Hashim, Harwati; Yunus, Melor Md
As the term 4th Industrial Revolution emerges globally, various industries are moving rapidly towards it. Malaysia, one of the developing countries, is also embracing the 4th Industrial Revolution.However, with the ...
Match: mooc
Practical skills in AutoCAD through a mass open online course
Kaygorodtseva, Natalia; Luzgina, Valeriia; Cocchiarella, Luigi
Mass open online courses (MOOC) are popular recently. Their advantages are obvious: training at any time, from anywhere in the world, from the best teachers, with the help of quality content. But is it possible to learn ...
Match: mooc
Case study on using MOOC materials in a small private online course
Chen, Whai-En; Uden, Lorna; Liberona, Dario; Feldmann, Birgit
In National Ilan University, we utilize Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as the courseware in a Small Private Online Course (SPOC). In this paper, we share the experience that how we manage and operate the SPOC ...
Match: mooc
From OER to PLAR: Credentialing for Open Education
Friesen, Norm; Wihak, Christine
Recent developments in OER and MOOCs (Open Educational Resources and Massive Open Online Courses) have raised questions as to how learners engaging with these courses and components might be assessed or credentialed. ...
Match: mooc
Designing for quality: The understanding dementia MOOC
King, Carolyn; Kelder, Jo-Anne; Doherty, Kathleen; Phillips, Rob; et al.
The introduction of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as a vehicle for education delivery presents opportunities and challenges. In the context of the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre (Wicking Centre), ...
Match: mooc
Adapting a MOOC for research: Lessons learned from the first presentation of literature and mental health: Reading for wellbeing
Hodge, Rachael
The University of Warwick’s FutureLearn MOOC Literature and Mental Health: Reading for Wellbeing, which began its first presentation February 2016, was identified as an opportunity to conduct some research into the ...
Match: mooc