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 468 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
Quality in MOOCs: Surveying the terrain
Hood, Nina; Littlejohn, Allison
The purpose of this review is to identify quality measures and to highlight some of the tensions surrounding notions of quality, as well as the need for new ways of thinking about and approaching quality in MOOCs. It ...
Match: MOOC
Virtually unlimited classrooms: Pedagogical practices in massive open online courses
Toven-Lindsey, Brit; Rhoads, Robert A.; Lozano, Jennifer Berdan
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have become a prominent feature of the higher education discourse in recent years. Yet, little is known about the effectiveness of these online courses in engaging participants in the ...
Match: MOOC
The impact and reach of MOOCs: A developing countries’ perspective
Liyanagunawardena, Tharindu Rekha; Williams, Shirley; Adams, Andrew; Koskinen, Tapio; Mor, Yishay
Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a recent but hugely popular phenomenon in the online learning world. They are hailed by many as a solution for the developing world’s lack of access to education because MOOCs ...
Match: MOOC
Implementation of Tel Aviv University MOOCs in academic curriculum: A pilot study
Soffer, Tal; Cohen, Anat; McGreal, Rory; Conrad, Dianne
The study presented in this paper examines the feasibility of using MOOCs as a learning environment in academic courses. This paper focuses on the students who participated in two MOOCs offered by Tel Aviv University ...
Match: MOOC
All Digital Academy Project: Upskilling Adult Educators on Key Digital Emerging Technologies
Manfredini, Alessia; Casella, Monica; Esposito, Raffaella; Marocco, Davide
Recent advances in technology present vast opportunities, yet the European Commission reports that only 56% of people aged 16–74 possess basic digital skills. To bridge this gap, the All Digital Academy (ADA) project ...
Match: MOOC
MOOCs in Europe: Overview of papers representing a collective European response on MOOCs as presented during the HOME conference in Rome November 2015
Bang, Joergen; Dalsgaard, Christian; Kjaer, Arne; O’Donovan, Maria; et al.
Table of contents
Foreword
Part 1: Regional MOOC initiatives
Building OOC layers on top of existing courses
(M)OOCs in Iceland: Language and learning communities
EduOpen network in Italy
Part 2: Role media ...
Match: MOOC
Exploring co-studied Massive Open Online Course subjects via social network analysis
Jordan, Katy
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) allow students to study online courses without requiring previous experience or qualifications. This offers students the freedom to study a wide variety of topics, freed from the ...
Match: MOOC
MOBIMOOC 2012: A new tree structure for the delivery of Connectivist MOOCs
Rodriguez, Osvaldo C.
Based on the explicit principles of connectivism (autonomy, diversity, openness and interactivity) and on the activities of aggregation, remixing, repurposing and feeding forward resources and learning, connectivist ...
Match: MOOC









