PerspectivesX: A Proposed Tool to Scaffold Collaborative Learning Activities within MOOCs

In this work-in-progress paper, we introduce the PerspectivesX tool which aims to scaffold collaborative learning activities within MOOCs. The PerspectivesX tool has been designed to promote learner knowledge construction and curation for a range of multi-perspective elaboration techniques (e.g., SWOT analysis and Six Thinking Hats). The PerspectivesX tool is designed to store learner submissions in a searchable knowledge base which is able to be persisted across course re-runs and promotes the use of natural language processing techniques to allow course moderators to provide scalable feedback. In this paper we outline the design principles that structured collaborative learning tools need to adhere to, design a prototype tool (PerspectivesX) and evaluate whether MOOC platform extension frameworks are able to support the implementation of the tool.Comment: Accepted as a Work In Progress paper at EMOOC 201

Your click decides your fate: Inferring Information Processing and Attrition Behavior from MOOC Video Clickstream Interactions

In this work, we explore video lecture interaction in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which is central to student learning experience on these educational platforms. As a research contribution, we operationalize video lecture clickstreams of students into cognitively plausible higher level behaviors, and construct a quantitative information processing index, which can aid instructors to better understand MOOC hurdles and reason about unsatisfactory learning outcomes. Our results illustrate how such a metric inspired by cognitive psychology can help answer critical questions regarding students' engagement, their future click interactions and participation trajectories that lead to in-video & course dropouts. Implications for research and practice are discusse

Sissejuhatava programmeerimise MOOCi õppijad: taustamuutujad, kaasatuse mustrid ja õpisooritus

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsiooneÜks võimalus personaalseks ja professionaalseks arenguks on osalemine vaba juurdepääsuga e-kursustel (ingl massive open online courses, MOOCs). MOOCide osalejatel on suurem autonoomia võrreldes traditsiooniliste klassiruumides toimuvate tundidega. Samuti arvestades suurt osalejate hulka ja nende erinevat tausta, on kõikide õppijate kaasatus (ingl engagement) õppeprotsessis MOOCide korraldajatele väljakutseks. Osalejate taustamuutujate (ingl background variables) mõju kaasatusele, mis omakorda võib mõjutada õpisooritust (ingl performance), on jätkuvalt alauuritud valdkond. Doktoritöö eesmärk oli uurida MOOCide osalejate taustamuutujaid ja nende mõju kursusele registreerumisele ning lõpetamise tõenäosusele, tuvastada lõpetajate seas käitumuslikke (ingl behavioural engagement) ja kognitiivseid (ingl cognitive engagement) kaasatuse rühmasid ning uurida neid taustamuutujate ja õpisoorituse osas. Uurimuse fookuses oli MOOC “Programmeerimisest maalähedaselt”. Selle MOOCi osalejate ja lõpetajate taustamuutujad võrreldi MOOCidega „Programmeerimise alused I“ ja „Programmeerimise alused II“. MOOCil “Programmeerimisest maalähedaselt” oli rohkem naisi ja neid, kelle haridustase oli madalam. Lõpetajate osas selgus, et põhifookuses olnud MOOCil, ei olnud statistiliselt olulist erinevust nais- ja meeslõpetajate osakaalu ning erinevate tööhõive staatuste vahel. Suurem lõpetajate osakaal oli magistrikraadiga lõpetajate hulgas. Väiksem lõpetajate osakaal oli nende õppijate puhul, kes ei ole varem programmeerimist õppinud. Samad tulemused lõpetajate kohta olid ka MOOCil “Programmeerimise alused I“. Uurides MOOCi “Programmeerimisest maalähedaselt” lõpetajate ja mittelõpetajate õpisooritust, selgus, et nad vajasid testi sooritamiseks keskmiselt sama palju katseid. Mittelõpetajatel oli programmeerimisülesannete lahenduste esitamiskordade arv suurem ja neil oli testipunktid madalamad. Lõpetajate käitumusliku ja kognitiivse kaasatuse analüüs näitas, et lõpetajad ei ole homogeenne rühm. Käitumusliku kaasatuse puhul eristati lähtudes tegevuste hulgast 4 rühma. Uurimuse tulemused näitasid, et MOOCil võivad olla lõpetajad, kes teevad kõiki tegevusi, aga ka need, kes teevad vaid mõnda tegevust. Kognitiivse kaasatuse korral eristus 5 rühma, mille puhul kasutati abiallikaid erineva sagedusega. Tulemused näitasid, et lõpetajate erinevat sagedust erinevate abiallikate kasutamisel võib pidada märgiks püsivast soovist MOOC edukalt läbida. Samuti selgus, et abiallikate kasutamise võib võtta aluseks kognitiivse kaasatuse tuvastamiseks ja mõõtmiseks MOOCidel. Lõpetajate taustamuutujad ja õpisooritused varieerusid eristatud rühmade vahel. Doktoritöös esitatud tulemused aitavad uurijatel paremini aru saada MOOCi fenomenist ja kursuste korraldajatel pakkuda tulevikus kulutõhusamaid MOOCe. Uurimistulemustest võib järeldada, et MOOCide korraldajad peavad pakkuma erinevaid tegevusi ja abiallikaid, mis oleksid suunatud konkreetsetele sihtrühmadele. See võib hõlbustada personaliseeritud õppimist ja õppijate tõhusat kaasatust õppeprotsessis.One opportunity to facilitate personal and professional development is to participate in massive open online courses (MOOCs). MOOCs participants have greater autonomy compared to traditional physical classes. In addition, considering the huge number of participants and diversity of their backgrounds, it is a challenge for MOOCs instructors to engage them all in learning. The impact of background variables on engagement, which in turn may influence performance, remains understudied. The doctoral thesis aimed to study MOOCs participants’ background variables and their impact on course enrolment and completion probability, and explore different behavioural and cognitive engagement clusters among completers in terms of background variables and performance. The thesis focused on a MOOC “About Programming”. The MOOC participants’ and completers’ background variables were examined in comparison to MOOCs “Introduction to Programming I” and “Introduction to Programming II”. Females and those with a lower education level dominated in the MOOC “About Programming”. In this course, among completers there was no difference by gender and employment statuses. Master’s degree holders were more likely to complete the MOOC, while inexperienced in programming were less likely to complete it. The same results about completers were found in the MOOC “Introduction to Programming I”. With regard to performance, no difference between the MOOC “About programming” completers and non-completers in the average number of attempts per quiz was found. But non-completers made on average more attempts per programming task and received lower scores per quiz. The analysis of behavioural and cognitive engagement solely among completers indicated that they cannot be considered a homogeneous group. In terms of behavioural engagement, there were identified 4 groups based on the amount of activities a completer engaged with during the MOOC. The study results indicated that in a MOOC there can be completers who engage with all activities, as well as those who engage with only a few activities. In terms of cognitive engagement, there were identified 5 groups that were engaged with help sources at different frequency. The results indicated that the different frequency, with which completers use different help sources, can be considered as a sign of persistent desire to successfully complete the MOOC. In addition, it was revealed that the use of help sources can be applied as a basis for identifying and measuring cognitive engagement in the MOOC context. The background variables and performance of completers from different identified groups varied. The results of the thesis can prove quite beneficial to the scientific literature to understand the phenomenon of MOOC. This comprehension in terms of a variety of background variables, engagement patterns and performance can be helpful for course instructors to develop cost-effective MOOCs and provide personalised learning where different course activities and help sources can be targeted at specific groups.  https://www.ester.ee/record=b552843

Analysing self-regulated learning strategies of MOOC learners through self-reported data

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) require registered learners to be autonomous in their learning. Nevertheless, prior research studies showed that many learners lack the necessary self-regulated learning (SRL) skills to succeed in MOOCs. This research study aimed to gain insights into the relationships that exist between SRL and background information from MOOC learners. To this end, a series of three MOOCs on computer programming offered through edX were used to collect self-reported data from learners using an adaptation of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Results show significant differences in general learning strategies and motivation by continent, prior computing experience and percentage of completed MOOCs. Men reported higher motivation than women, whereas pre-university learners needed further guidance to improve their learning strategies.This work was supported in part by the FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades-Agencia Estatal de Investigación, through the Smartlet Project under Grant TIN2017-85179-C3-1-R, and in part by the Madrid Regional Government through the e-Madrid-CM Project under Grant S2018/TCS-4307, a project which is co-funded by the European Structural Funds (FSE and FEDER). Partial support has also been received from the European Commission through Erasmus+ Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education projects, more specifically through projects LALA, InnovaT and PROF-XXI (586120-EPP-1-2017-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), (598758-EPP-1-2018-1-AT-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), (609767-EPP-1-2019-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP). This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and funders cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

Tavoiteorientaatioprofiilit ja suoriutuminen ohjelmoinnin MOOC-kurssilla

Tavoitteet. Valtaosa tietojenkäsittelytieteen kontekstissa tehdystä tavoiteorientaatiotutkimuksesta on ollut muuttujalähtöistä. Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena oli syventää ymmärrystä tietojenkäsittelytieteen opiskelijoista ja saavutusmotivaatiosta henkilösuuntautunutta lähestymistapaa käyttäen. Eri tavoiteorientaatioiden välistä vuorovaikutusta tarkasteltiin tunnistamalla yleisimmät tavoiteorientaatioprofiilit ja tutkimalla niiden välisiä eroja suoriutumisessa. Toisin kuin aiemmissa henkilösuuntautunutta lähestymistapaa hyödyntävissä tutkimuksissa, ryhmittely-muuttujina käytettiin oppimisorientaation lisäksi suoritusorientaatiota jaoteltuna tarkemmin tavoitteisiin päihittää toiset (normative goal) ja vaikuttaa pätevältä (appearance goal). Menetelmät. Tutkimukseen osallistui 2059 avoimen internet-pohjaisen ohjelmoinnin alkeiskurssin opiskelijaa. Aineisto kerättiin kyselylomakkeella, automaattisesti arvioiduista ohjelmointitehtävistä ja loppukokeesta. Tavoiteorientaatiomittarin rakennetta tarkasteltiin eksploratiivisella faktorianalyysillä (EFA). Opiskelijat luokiteltiin ryhmiin tavoiteorientaatioiden perusteella TwoStep-klusterianalyysia käyttäen. Profiilien ominaispiirteitä ja eroja suoriutumisessa tutkittiin ristiintaulukointien ja varianssianalyysien (ANOVA) avulla. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Tavoiteorientaatioprofiileja tunnistettiin viisi: Saavutusorientoituneet (31,2%), Suoritusorientoituneet (18,9%), Oppimis- ja suoritusorientoituneet (18,0%), Vähäisesti motivoituneet (17,6%) ja Oppimisorientoituneet (14,3%). Oppimis- ja suoritusorientoituneiden opiskelijoiden suoriutuminen oli kahden mittarin osalta tilastollisesti merkitsevästi parempaa kuin Vähäisesti motivoituneiden opiskelijoiden. Aiempien tutkimusten tapaan tuloksissa korostuu useampaan tavoitteeseen pyrkimisen ja suoriutumisen välinen positiivinen yhteys. Lisää tutkimusta tarvitaan tavoiteorientaatioprofiilien ja muiden koulutukseen liittyvien tulosten yhteyksien selvittämiseen ohjelmoinnin opetuksen kontekstissa. Tämänkaltaista tietoa voidaan hyödyntää uusia oppimisinterventioita ja kursseja suunniteltaessa. Tähän tutkielmaan perustuva artikkeli ‘Achievement Goal Orientation Profiles and Performance in a Programming MOOC’ tullaan esittelemään ITiCSE 2020 -konferenssissa ja julkaisemaan konferenssijulkaisussa.Aims. In the context of computing education, the vast majority of prior research examining achievement goal orientations has been conducted using variable-centred methods. In order to deepen understanding of the student population and achievement motivation, this Master’s Thesis employed person-oriented perspectives. The interplay of different goal orientations was explored by identifying prevalent motivational profiles and investigating profile differences in performance. Normative and appearance performance goals were handled as separate clustering variables in addition to mastery goals for the first time. Methods. The participants were 2059 introductory programming MOOC students. Data were collected by a questionnaire and from automatically assessed programming assignments and final exam. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted for the achievement goal orientation items to examine the factor structure. Using TwoStep cluster analysis, the students were classified into clusters according to their achievement goal orientations. Cross tabulations and analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to investigate profile characteristics and differences in performance. Results and Conclusions. Five distinct achievement goal orientation profiles were identified: Approach-Oriented (31.2%), Performance-Oriented (18.9%), Combined Mastery and Performance Goals (18.0%), Low Goals (17.6.%) and Mastery-Oriented (14.3.%). Students with Combined Mastery and Performance Goals performed significantly better than students with Low Goals regarding two metrics. Consistent with previous findings, the results highlight the positive link between multiple goal pursuit and performance. Further studies are needed to investigate motivational profiles in relation to other educational outcomes in the context of computing education. This kind of knowledge is valuable for designing interventions and new courses. The article ‘Achievement Goal Orientation Profiles and Performance in a Programming MOOC’, which is based on the present thesis, will be presented at ITiCSE 2020 (Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education) conference and published in conference proceedings

Assessing Self-Regulation of Learning Dimensions in a Stand-alone MOOC Platform

A capacity for self-regulated learning (SRL) has long been recognised as an important factor in successful studies. Although educational researchers have started to investigate the concept of SRL in the context of online education, very little is yet known about SRL in relation to massive open online courses (MOOCs) or of appropriate strategies to foster SRL skills in MOOC learners. Self-regulation is particularly important in a MOOC-based study, which demands effective independent learning, and where widely acknowledged high dropout rates are observed. This study reports an investigation and assessment of the concept of SRL using a novel MOOC platform (eLDa) by providing study options (either via a self-directed learning or instructor-led learning) using a novel learning tool. In view of this, the research presents general description of self-regulated learning and explored the various existing dimensions used to expose the learners SRL skills. Drawing comparison of the online tool, the results and findings of the data were analysed. The study dis¬cusses how the various dimensions contributed to the knowledge representation of the self-regulated learning abilities shown by the learners. We present how these SRL dimensions captured using the measuring instrument contributes to our growing understanding of the distinctive features of the individual learner’s self-regulated learning. MOOCs success required a high performance of self-regulated learning abilities which at the moment very little has shown these degree of supporting SRL skills. This paper presents preliminary evaluation of a novel e-learning tool known, as ‘eLDa’ developed to implement this investi¬gation of self-regulation of learning. The research applied a modified online self-regulated learning questionnaire (OSLQ) as the instrument to measure the SRL skills. The modified questionnaire known as MOOC OSLQ (MOSLQ) was developed with a 19-item scale questions that exposes the six SRL dimensions used in this study

How to design for persistence and retention in MOOCs?

Design of educational interventions is typically carried out following a design cycle involving phases of investigation, conceptualization, prototyping, implementation, execution and evaluation. This cycle can be applied at different levels of granularity e.g. learning activity, module, course or programme. In this paper we consider an aspect of learner behavior that can be critical to the success of many MOOCs i.e. their persistence to study, and the related theme of learner retention. We reflect on the impact that consideration of these can have on design decisions at different stages in the design cycle with the aim of en-hancing MOOC design in relation to learner persistence and retention, with particular attention to the European context

Diseño de aprendizaje de un MOOC de programación y robótica para profesores y educadores/as de infantil

In early childhood, the curricular integration of computational thinking, programming, and robotics topics is ever more pressing. Therefore, preparing teachers and educators to implement this integration in the curriculum is fundamental. In the project «Laboratory of Technologies and Learning of Programming and Robotics in basic and pre-school education in Portugal», the proposal of a MOOC was designed to meet this demand. This paper discusses aspects of the architecture of MOOCs, and their typologies, in the context of the challenges that the researchers encountered in the design process of the present MOOC. To do so, the Interaction Equivalency Theorem was considered, which equates the fundamental types of interaction to be considered in course design (learner-instructor; learner-content; learner-learner). Considering that learning design is both a process and a product the design of the MOOC is analysed in terms of its socio-technical context and systemic tensions present in work-based learning. Through a qualitative analysis of an individual interview and of a focus group, the paper describes formal and informal interactions and attempts to define a common vision, consensus, and divergences and contradictions that are part of the learning design process. Finally, the MOOC is presented, and its pedagogical design is substantiated.En la primera infancia, la integración curricular del pensamiento computacional, la programación y la robótica es cada vez más urgente, y es esencial preparar a los profesores y educadores para aplicarla. En el proyecto "Laboratório de Tecnologias e Aprendizagem de Programação e Robótica no Ensino Primário e Pré-Escolar em Portugal", se diseñó un MOOC para responder a esta demanda. Este artículo analiza aspectos de la arquitectura de los MOOC y sus tipologías, en el contexto de los retos encontrados durante el diseño de este MOOC. Se tuvo en cuenta el Teorema de la Equivalencia de la Interacción, que considera los tipos de interacción que deben tenerse en cuenta al diseñar un curso (alumnoinstructor; alumno-contenido; alumno-aprendizaje). Considerando que el diseño del aprendizaje es tanto un proceso como un producto, el diseño de los MOOC se analiza en función de su contexto sociotécnico y de las tensiones sistémicas del aprendizaje en contexto de trabajo. Mediante el análisis cualitativo de una entrevista individual y de un grupo de discusión, se describen las interacciones y se intenta definir una visión común, las divergencias y las contradicciones que forman parte del proceso de aprendizaje. Por último, se presenta el MOOC y se fundamenta su diseño pedagógico.Research performed in the scope of the Project “KML II - Laboratory of technologies and learning of programming and robotics for preschool and primary school”. Co-financed by FEDER through the COMPETE 2020 - Operational Thematic Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI) and national funds through FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under project reference number PTDC/CEDEDG/28710/2017.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio