Massive Open Online Course Engagement Strategies
Summary
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have transformed access to education by enabling large-scale participation across diverse contexts. Effective engagement strategies in MOOCs address the twin challenges of learner motivation and sustained participation. Core approaches include the design of clear learning pathways, incorporation of interactive multimedia, adaptive feedback systems and the facilitation of peer interaction. Personalisation through learner analytics can identify at-risk participants and trigger targeted interventions such as reminder prompts or scaffolded tasks. Social presence is bolstered by discussion forums, peer review and instructor accessibility, which together nurture a sense of community. Self-regulation support, through goal-setting exercises and progress dashboards, helps learners to manage time and maintain focus. Collectively, these strategies aim to optimise cognitive, behavioural and affective engagement, enhancing retention and fostering meaningful learning outcomes on a global scale.
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Massive Open Online Course Engagement Strategies publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in massive open online course engagement strategies across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Self-efficacy: A learner’s belief in their ability to succeed in specific tasks.
Intrinsic value: The inherent enjoyment or interest a learner derives from an activity.
Expectancy-value theory: A framework positing that motivation is a function of expected success and the value assigned to the task.
Self-determination theory: A theory that emphasises the role of autonomy, competence and relatedness in driving motivation.
Latent profile analysis: A statistical method for identifying subgroups within a population based on response patterns.
References
- What rationale would work? Unfolding the role of learners’ attitudes and motivation in predicting learning engagement and perceived learning outcomes in MOOCs. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (2024).
- Not easy to get off track: Motivational trajectories of learners completing a non-formal online course. Computers in Human Behavior (2024).
- Examining learning engagement in MOOCs: a self-determination theoretical perspective using mixed method. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (2020).
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