“Houston, we have a problem”: Revealing MOOC practitioners' experiences regarding feedback provision to learners facing difficulties

Abstract

In spite of the high impact of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), learners frequently disengage from the course contents and activities due to unexpected problems of different natures, such as content-related or technical issues. Feedback has been identified as an important aspect of the learning process directly connected with learners' engagement. However, the massive and impersonal nature of MOOCs hinders the provision of efficient and timely feedback to those learners facing problems. This paper examines how MOOC practitioners identify and support learners facing problems, what challenges they encounter, and what strategies they apply to overcome such challenges.Additionally, the current study aims to compare the learners' problems and practitioners' experiences between engineering-related and nonengineering related MOOCs. A qualitative phenomenological study has been conducted through semistructured interviews with 14 MOOC practitioners. The evidence gathered shows diverse learners' and practitioners' problems shared among engineering and nonengineering courses and a general concern on how to address individual learners' needs in time. A common practice of problem identification regards checking the self-reported issues in communication forums. Identification strategies with the use of learning analytics are limited due to platform restrictions or lack of practitioners' skills in interpreting the provided information. The synthesis of MOOC practitioners from both engineering and nonengineering disciplines may provide insights that are either globally applicable to all disciplines or specific to engineering. The results could be shaped into conceptual and technological solutions to help MOOC stakeholders (e.g., researchers, practitioners) identify potential learners facing difficulties and support them during the course process.

Zoom In, Zoom Out: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Classroom

“…In fact, in addition to (i) designing and implementing course contents and activities (for example, recording videos, setting up activities); (ii) promoting the interaction of the participants; (iii) solving unexpected technical problems; and (iv) obtaining feedback for future versions of the course, MOOC teachers are also responsible for (v) assisting participants through private messages and forum posts during the course. Therefore, their heavy workload, together with the massive character of MOOCs, makes it difficult for teachers to provide individual attention and feedback to each student [28].…”

Can Feedback based on Predictive Data Improve Learners' Passing Rates in MOOCs? A Preliminary Analysis

“…However, recent work shows that most learners experience several difficulties for engaging the course, including those learners with high intrinsic motivation in the course and good self-regulated skills [2]. Among the most common difficulties, studies refer to the lack of time [2,3,4] and the lack of timely support [3,5].…”

“…However, recent work shows that most learners experience several difficulties for engaging the course, including those learners with high intrinsic motivation in the course and good self-regulated skills [2]. Among the most common difficulties, studies refer to the lack of time [2,3,4] and the lack of timely support [3,5]. Prior studies show that timely feedback is one of the key elements to assist students [7], proving them with support to persist in their learning process [8].…”

Guest editorial: Distance learning, MOOCs and globalisation of engineering education

“…This could be due to the expertise of the guest editorial team, but it is also true that MOOCs continue to receive a lot of attention in the Computer-Assisted Education research community, as Yousef and Summer [1] point out in this volume. Nevertheless, the use of MOOCs in the specific domain of Engineering Education was somewhat under-researched when the call was launched, which is reflected in this special issue with a number of relevant contributions such as Sahin's [14] analysis of optics software teaching tools, the studies on how learners interact in discussion forums [9,11], learners' behaviour and performance when watching online lecture videos [8], technologyenhanced interventions to increase engineering learners' engagement [2,12], including the best approaches to feedback for those with difficulties [16] and those whose English is not their first language [13].…”