Analysing successful massive open online courses using the community of inquiry model as perceived by students

• Published in: Journal of computer assisted learning Vol. 34; no. 5; pp. 544 - 556
• Main Authors: Cohen, A., Holstein, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Wiley-Blackwell 01.10.2018; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: CAI; Cluster analysis; Cognitive Processes; Communities; Communities of Practice; community of inquiry; Community Relations; Computer assisted instruction; Construction materials; Content analysis; Data mining; Difficulty Level; Distance learning; Educational Environment; Educational Quality; Electronic Learning; Instructional Effectiveness; Instructional Materials; Learning Activities; lifelong learning; MOOC; MOOCs; Multivariate Analysis; Online Courses; Online instruction; online learning; Outcomes of Education; Perception; Preferences; Semantics; Students; Success; Teacher Role; Teachers; Teaching; Workload; Workloads
• ISSN: 0266-4909; 1365-2729
• DOI: 10.1111/jcal.12259

This research examines the characteristics that contributed to the success of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in the fields of software, sciences, and management using data mining and semantic analysis together with content analysis. A total of 3,460 reviews regarding 5 different MOOCs that received a 5/5 grade were extracted from the CourseTalk website and analysed according to the community of inquiry model. It was found that, as well as in academic online courses, the characteristics that contributed to MOOCs' success were distributed between all 3 presence elements according to the community of inquiry model: teaching (36%), social (23%), and cognitive (36%; and technological [5%]). This is contrary to the perception that MOOCs mostly contain teaching presence elements. The four leading characteristics were teacher, exercise, atmosphere, and workload. Cluster analysis resulted in 5 types of students with similar presence element preferences. This shows that successful MOOCs enable students with different preferences to consume content and activities according to their individual preferences. These findings could be the base of future research on the subject of adapting MOOC activities and content to students' varied preferences, as well as further understanding the characteristics that contribute to successful MOOCs or other fully online courses. Lay Description Currently known about the subject matter: Even though massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been broadly accepted, there is wide discourse as to their quality. There is a perception that MOOCs mostly contain teaching presence elements. Community of inquiry model defines teaching, social, and cognitive presence for analysing online learning. An extension to the community of inquiry model adds learning presence to the above. This paper adds: Characteristics that contributed to MOOCs' success belong to teaching, social, and cognitive presences. The leading characteristics of successful MOOCs are teacher, exercise, atmosphere, and workload. This, as opposed to the perception that MOOCs mostly contain teaching presence elements. Five types of students were found: Social, Cognitive, two types of Teaching, and No preferences presences. The implications of study findings for practitioners: Implement the found characteristics to contribute to successful MOOCs or other online courses. Adapt MOOC activities and content to the students' varied preferences. Build learning material to allow students to choose between teaching, social, and cognitive presence elements. Use MOOCs' large data set information to promote the practice of online learning.