Share Paper: Assessing MOOC Pedagogies

1. Karen Swan, University of Illinois Springfield, United States
2. Leonard Bogle, University of Illinois Springfield, United States
3. Scott Day, University of Illinois Springfield, United States
4. Traci van Prooyen, University of Illinois Springfield, United States
5. Jennifer Richardson, Purdue University, United States

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to report on ongoing research to design and validate an instrument that characterizes the pedagogical approaches taken in MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses), and to use that instrument to characterize and distinguish among the pedagogical strategies used by differing MOOCs and MOOC providers. Preliminary testing on 17 different MOOCs demonstrated >80% inter-reliability and the facility of the measure to distinguish differing pedagogical patterns. The patterns distinguished crossed content areas and seemed to be related to what Sfard (1998) termed metaphors for learning – acquisition vs. participation.