What can influence your MOOC learning success?
MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) courses are a popular way for people to learn new skills and gain qualifications. These courses are open to anyone with an internet connection and a lot of them are completely free. MOOCs also offer flexibility in terms of when and where you can learn, which is especially beneficial for people who have busy schedules or live in remote areas. The new EU statistic below confirms that online learning remains in demand, even though there is a small decrease after social restrictions eased after the pandemic. Overall, MOOCs are a great way to access education and expand your knowledge and skills. The thing is, how to get the most out of them? Are there any strategies for making your MOOC learning effective?
MOOCs attract learners at different education levels, from non-university students to postgraduates. Each learner may have different goals for taking the course, such as gaining a broad understanding of the subject, focusing on specific topics, or just taking assessments to apply their knowledge and earn a certificate. Additionally, experts in the field may also take the course to stay up-to-date on current trends in the subject (Arora, 2017).
This makes it especially hard to give general advice for effective learning. MOOCs come in a variety of formats, such as video lectures, quizzes, and discussion forums, which cater to different learning styles. Some people prefer to watch videos and take notes, while others prefer to read and engage in discussions. These styles can affect how they experience learning in different environments, including MOOC courses (Chang, Hung & Lin, 2015).
There are studies that confirm that the factors which can influence student engagement in traditional online courses also apply to courses that are massive and open (Hew, 2016).
What is interesting, Chang, Hung & Lin’s study (2015) has shown that the participants with higher reflective abilities were less likely to use MOOCs. Reflective learners tend to do well in independent or one-on-one situations, so to motivate them to use MOOCs, the course content should include short summaries and opportunities for independent thinking or writing. However, that may not work for students with lower reflective abilities.
There are various approaches used by course designers to enhance learning and motivate students. In the study (Chang, Hung & Lin, 2015), students were evaluating the effectiveness of three MOOC learning approaches. The study found that collaborative, query-based, and game-based learning approaches were preferred by MOOC participants almost equally. Collaborative learning allows students to learn together and explore questions or create projects, which is facilitated by online forums and social networking tools. Participants who had successfully used MOOCs felt that collaborative learning provided them with more opportunities to communicate with one another, and it strengthened their motivation. Game-based learning, which engages learners and improves their problem-solving skills by incorporating games into the educational setting, was also considered an effective approach for MOOCs as it enhanced motivation, particularly for learners with no prior learning experience in that environment. Query-based learning, which offers students learning suggestions and information related to the presented content, was also seen as helpful. Overall, these learning approaches were found to be effective methods for motivating learners in MOOCs.
Online courses also demand more independence from students and require them to take charge of their own learning (Broadbent & Poon, 2015). This makes self-regulation learning (SRL) particularly important for students to make the most out of MOOCs. The goal of Broadbent & Poon’s study was to identify the most effective ways for students to use SRL strategies to succeed academically in online environments. This was done by reviewing 10 years of research that looked at the relationship between SRL strategies and academic performance in online settings. They examined the usage of the following SRL strategies:
- Metacognition = the awareness and control of mental thoughts. For example, an online student who is having difficulty understanding the material will actively try to figure it out by reviewing it again.
- Time management = the ability to plan study time and tasks. For example, an online learner may set aside a specific time each week to read through the assigned materials.
- Effort regulation = the capacity to persist when confronted with academic challenges. For example, when an online learner continues to study even when the learning material is uninteresting.
- Peer learning = collaborating with other learners in order to aid one’s learning. For example, an online learner gets together with other online learners to study.
- Elaboration = the ability to fuse new and existing information with the goal of remembering the new material.
- Rehearsal = learning by repetition, such as a learner who listens to an online lecture over and over again.
- Organisation = the ability to highlight main points during learning. For example, an online learner creates visual aids such as charts and tables to organize the online material.
- Critical thinking = the ability to carefully examine learning material. For example, when an online learner reflects on different perspectives after reading the online material.
- Help seeking = obtaining assistance from instructors with the aim of overcoming academic challenges, such as when an online learner emails their instructor seeking clarification of the learning material.
The studies have shown that only four of these strategies were strongly connected to academic achievements — strategies such as time management, metacognition, critical thinking, and effort regulation have positive correlations with academic success in online environments, although the impact of these strategies is generally weaker than in traditional classrooms. Additionally, the importance of peer learning in online environments should not be left out, as the results of the review were influenced by one research that put the meta-analysis score of this strategy down, and further research is needed to determine the best way to measure its impact.
On the other hand, strategies like rehearsal, organisation, and elaboration have been found to be less effective for online learners (help seeking was not analysed, as there was only one study about it). Rehearsal strategies are considered to be shallow and not effective for deep learning, unlike elaboration, which is a deeper-level strategy that involves processing information in-depth. However, this technique seems to be less effective in an online setting. The results suggest that online learners should not focus on using elaboration, rehearsal, and organising strategies when learning new material, as they may not improve academic success.
Further studies could be done to investigate how certain factors, such as motivation, work with SRL strategies to enhance our understanding of how learner self-regulation impacts academic achievement in online settings — MOOCs including.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arora, S., Manav G., A. Sai Sabitha, & Deepti M. (2017). Learner groups in massive open online courses. American Journal of Distance Education 31, no. 2: 80–97. DOI: 10.1080/08923647.2017.1300461
Broadbent, J. & Poon, W. (2015). Self-regulated learning strategies & academic achievement in online higher education learning environments: A systematic review. The Internet and Higher Education. 27. 10.1016/j.iheduc.2015.04.007.
Chang, R.I., Hung, Y.H. & Lin, C.F. (2015). Learning style preference, MOOCs and data mining. Br J Educ Technol, 46: 528–541. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12275
Hew, K.F. (2016). Engagement: lessons from MOOCs. Br J Educ Technol, 47: 320–341. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12235
