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 279 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
HarvardX and MITx: The first year of open online courses: Fall 2012-summer 2013
Ho, Andrew Dean; Reich, Justin; Nesterko, Sergiy O.; Seaton, Daniel Thomas; et al.
HarvardX and MITx are collaborative institutional efforts between Harvard University and MIT to enhance campus-based education, advance educational research, and increase access to online learning opportunities ...
Match: mooc; united states; north america
MOOCs and the AI-Stanford Like Courses: Two Successful and Distinct Course Formats for Massive Open Online Courses
Rodriguez, C. Osvaldo
Open online courses (OOC) with a massive number of students have represented an important development for online education in the past years.
A course on artificial intelligence, CS221, at the University of Stanford ...
Match: mooc; united states; north america
MOOCs: Branding, enrollment, and multiple measures of success
Leeds, Elke M.; Cope, Jim
Match: mooc; united states; north america
MOOCs and their afterlives: Experiments in scale and access in higher education
Losh, Elizabeth
A trio of headlines in the Chronicle of Higher Education seem to say it all: in 2013, “A Bold Move Toward MOOCs Sends Shock Waves;” in 2014, “Doubts About MOOCs Continue to Rise,” and in 2015, “The MOOC Hype ...
Match: mooc; united states; north america
MORF: The MOOC Replication Framework
Educational Technology Collective
The MOOC Replication Framework (MORF) is a framework that facilitates the replication of previously published findings across multiple data sets. It facilitates the construction and evaluation of end-to-end pipelines ...
Match: mooc; united states; north america
MOOCs: Expectations and reality: Full report
Hollands, Fiona M.; Tirthali, Devayani
The Question: Do MOOCs cost-effectively produce desirable educational outcomes compared to face-to-face and other online options?
The Study: Based on extensive research and interviews, The Centre for Benefit-Cost ...
Match: mooc; united states; north america
Changing course: Ten years of tracking online education in the United States
Allen, Elaine I.; Seaman, Jeff
Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States is the tenth annual report on the state of online learning among higher education institutions in the United States. The study is aimed at ...
Match: mooc; united states; north america
The "Promises" of higher education: Access
Campaign for the Future of Higher Education
The “promise” that online learning will dramatically expand access to higher education is at the center of the recent push in the MOOC/Online movement. This paper examines research that can help us answer a crucial ...
Match: mooc; united states; north america
Analysis of 450 MOOC-based microcredentials reveals many options but little consistency
Pickard, Laurie
One trend Class Central has been keeping tabs on in the MOOC and online learning space is the rise of microcredentials. A microcredential is any one of a number of new certifications that covers more than a single ...
Match: mooc; united states; north america