The OER Knowledge Cloud makes use of cookies. By continuing, you consent to this use. More information.
Deconstructing disengagement: analyzing learner subpopulations in massive open online courses
Kizilcec, René F. · Piech, Chris · Schneider, Emily

PublishedApril 2013
ConferenceLAK '13: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge
Pages 170-179
CountryUnited 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 atCalifornia
LanguageEnglish
RefereedYes
DOI10.1145/2460296.2460330
Export optionsBibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar


Viewed by 432 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

Graphic classes in the worldwide classroom: A comparison of two MOOC experiences
Pujadas-Gispert, Ester; Redondo Domínguez, Ernest; Estela-Carbonell, María Rosa; Marcos, Carlos L.
Graphics are present in the day-to-day professional practice of architects and engineers, not only to receive and transmit information, but also to design and create. Students who are accepted on university courses have ...
Match: mooc

MOOC usage: A Review and Prospect
Kulkarni, Savita; Bhattacharya, Shubhasheesh
The purpose of this research is to investigate the combined impact of main components of massive open online courses (MOOCs), such as MOOC kinds, instructional design, and learner-related characteristics, on actual MOOC ...
Match: mooc

Examining the relations among student motivation, engagement, and retention in a MOOC: A structural equation modeling approach
Xiong, Yao; Li, Hongli; Kornhaber, Mindy L.; Suen, Hoi K.; et al.
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 ...
Match: mooc

Research ethics in emerging forms of online learning: issues arising from a hypothetical study on a MOOC
Esposito, Antonella
This paper is concerned with how research ethics is evolving along with emerging online research methods and settings. In particular, it focuses on ethics issues implied in a hypothetical virtual ethnography study ...
Match: mooc

MOOCs and open education around the world
Bonk, Curtis J.; Lee, Mimi Miyoung; Reeves, T C.; Reynolds, Taylor
As new digital forms of formal and informal learning proliferate, there is an increasing need to better understand how people in different regions of the world are implementing massive open online courses (MOOCs) and ...
Match: mooc

An attempt at MOOC localization for Chinese-speaking users
Che, Xiaoyin; Luo, Sheng; Wang, Cheng; Meinel, Christoph; Hasso Plattner Institute, Potsdam, Germany
Internetworking with TCP/IP is a massive open online course (MOOC) provided by Germany-based MOOC platform ―openHPI‖, which has been offered in German, English and – recently – Chinese respectively, with similar ...
Match: mooc

Massive Open Online Courses: Innovation in education?
Siemens, George; McGreal, Rory; Kinuthia, Wanjira; Marshall, Stewart
Match: mooc

Co-regulation in technology enhanced learning environments
Kaplan, Jonathan; Uden, Lorna; Sinclair, Jane; Tao, Yu-Hui; Liberona, Dario
This paper discusses the importance of strategy use in regulating cognitive processes, with a particular interest in co-regulation of the learning by peers in technology enhanced learning environments. Research on ...
Match: mooc