The OER Knowledge Cloud makes use of cookies. By continuing, you consent to this use. More information.
The discrete optimization MOOC: An exploration in discovery-based learning
Coffrin, Carleton and Hentenryck, Pascal Van

Alternate titleIssue No.37 Experiences and best practices in and around MOOCs
PublishedMarch 2014
JournaleLearning Papers
Volume 37, Issue March 2014, Pages 51-56
Publisherelearningeuropa.info
Original PublicationEMOOCS 2014 conference
EditorsUllmo, Pierre-Antoine and Koskinen, Tapio
CountrySpain

ABSTRACT
The practice of discrete optimization involves modeling and solving complex problems which have never been encountered before and for which no universal computational paradigm exists. Teaching such skills is challenging: students must learn not only the core technical skills, but also an ability to think creatively in order to select and adapt a paradigm to solve the problem at hand.
This paper explores the question of whether the teaching of such creative skills translates to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). It first describes a discovery-based learning methodology for teaching discrete optimization, which has been successful in the classroom for over fifteen years. It then evaluates the success of a MOOC version of the class via data analytics enabled by the wealth of information produced in the MOOC.

Keywords computer science education · discovery-based learning · MOOC · problem solving skills

Published atBarcelona
ISSN1887-1542
RefereedYes
Rightsby-nc-nd/3.0
URLhttp://openeducationeuropa.eu/en/article/The-Discrete-Optimization-MOOC%3A-An-Exploration-in-Discovery-Based-Learning?paper=136477
Export optionsBibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar



AVAILABLE FILES
From-field_37_2.pdf · 743.4KB94 downloads



Viewed by 365 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

Mathematics courses: Fostering individuality through EMOOCs
Martschink, Bastian; Ullmo, Pierre-Antoine; Koskinen, Tapio
When it comes to university-level mathematics in engineering education, it is getting harder and harder to bridge the gap between the requirements of the curriculum and the actual mathematic skills of first-year ...
Match: MOOC; Spain

Mind to MOOC
Kanwar, Asha
MESSAGE Open University of China & ICDE Seminar, Beijing, China, 21 October 2013 by Professor Asha Kanwar, Commonwealth of Learning // The Commonwealth of Learning is an intergovernmental organization which promotes ...
Match: MOOC

Open Education, Open Educational Practice and the concept of Openness: Issues and challenges
Gaskell, Anne
All the articles in this issue contribute to the debates surrounding Open Education, including Open Universities, Open Educational Resources (OER) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

Second language learning in the context of MOOCs
Wu, Shaoqun; Fitzgerald, Alannah; Witten, Ian H.
Massive Open Online Courses are becoming popular educational vehicles through which universities reach out to non-traditional audiences. Many enrolees hail from other countries and cultures, and struggle to cope with ...
Match: MOOC; Spain

Opportunities in online education -Staying ahead of the curve: The case of the MOOC
Wood, Michael T.
I propose to share with you today some personal thoughts about MOOCs. I claim no particular expertise or corner of the market. However, I have taught extensively in the classroom, online, and in the corporate boardroom. ...
Match: MOOC

The AlphaMOOC: Building a Massive Open Online Course one graduate student at a time
McCallum, Carmen; Thomas, Stephen; Libarkin, Julie C.; Mor, Yishay; Koskinen, Tapio
Traditionally, developing courses in higher education involves a single individual working to build materials that will be implemented by that individual. More rarely, groups work together to build ...
Match: MOOC; Spain

Alexander the MOOC lands
Rogers, Guy M.
Almost four months ago my EdX/WellesleyX course, “Was Alexander Great?” was launched to test three questions about online education: whether a Massive Open Online Course could be as intellectually rigorous as a ...
Match: MOOC

How to develop a pedagogic and workable MOOC
Kananen, Päivi; Kytölä, Liisa; Ubachs, George; Konings, Lizzie
Overview of papers on enhancement of European Higher Education as presented during the Online, Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference in Rome, October 2016 Finnish education system has been successful at PISA ...
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

Open, online, and blended: Transactional interactions with MOOC content by learners in three different course formats
Emanuel, Jeffrey; Lamb, Anne
During the 2013-14 academic year, Harvard University piloted the use of MOOCs as tools for blended learning in select undergraduate and graduate residential and online courses. One of these courses, The Ancient Greek ...
Match: MOOC