Learner-Centric MOOC For Teachers On Effective ICT . - IIT Bombay

Learning by Doing (LbD) activities: LbDs areformative assessment activities (allowing multipleattempts), designed by an instructor for students tocheck their level of understanding, apply concepts,or integrate knowledge. Each LbD provides learnerswith constructive and customized feedback thatguides them to improve their learning. The feedbackcan either be designed by the instructor as anautomated system response, or as a self-assessmentreview, or given in a peer-review process.use of ICT for school teachers’, was conductedthrough IITBombayX, a MOOCs platform in IITBombay. The course was offered twice: spanning sixweeks (April-May, 2017) in its first offering (T1),and four weeks (October-November, 2017) in itssubsequent offering (T2).The goal of the MOOC was to train schoolteachers in learner-centred pedagogy andconstructive alignment for effective integration oftechnology in their classrooms. This MOOC aspireda shift from the teacher-centric view towardslearner-centric model of teaching, and the coursedemonstrated how technology can be a facilitator forthe same. The contents of the course includedlearning outcomes, active learning strategies (thinkpair-share, peer instruction), assessment strategies,integration of visualizations, Bloom’s digitaltaxonomy, alignment of assessment with learningobjectives, and creation of lesson plans.Learning Experience Interaction (LxI): LxIsconsist of a discussion forum guided by a focusquestion. The goal of the focus question could be toelicit diverse learner views or experiences, or sharelearner created artefacts. The focus question requiresthe learners to interact with their peers by viewingand responding to others’ posts. Each LxI discussionis followed by a short graded activity called thereflection quiz, in which learners reflect on theinteraction by answering specific questions relatedto their experience in the discussion forum. Peerreview is also a part of LxI activity which aids inproviding effective peer feedback. The focusquestion in an LxI ensures that the discussion doesnot scatter, and the reflection quiz ensures learners’participation.Figs. 1 & 2 show screenshots of two LCMelements in the TPD MOOC. Fig. 1 shows aReflection Spot from a LeD on the topic of peerinstruction. In the reflection spot, participants areasked to pause the LeD, and perform an activityrelevant to the course. Fig. 2 shows an LxIcontaining a focus question for discussion, followedby a reflection quiz.Learning Extension Trajectories (LxT): LxTsprovide a variety of resources to advance learning,and cater to the needs of diverse learners in aMOOC. Each trajectory includes resources such asadditional readings, videos and links with specificgoals such as ensuring pre-requisites, increasing thedepth or breadth of learners’ existing knowledge, orsupporting learners’ language needs. These arefollowed by a short graded activity calledassimilation quiz to ensure that learners assimilatethe key concept from the resource.IV. TPD MOOC DETAILSThe TPD MOOC, titled ‘Pedagogy for effectiveFigure 1. Screenshot of a Reflection spot in a LeD.Figure 2. Screenshot of a LxI along with Reflection Quiz.79

V. METHODSelement or activity, to be answered on a 3-pointLikert scale (1-Low; 2-Medium; 3-High). Toprovide an example of the design, the followingquestions were asked for the LxI element.A. Research QuestionsThe goals of the study were to evaluate both thecontent of the MOOC (understanding of activelearning techniques, effective ICT integrationstrategies), and the pedagogical format (the learnercentric elements and strategies employed) of theMOOC. In this study, the term perseverance denotesthe behaviour of being engaged, focused andpersistent throughout the course in pursuit oflearning goals [20]. The following researchquestions were investigated in this study:Based on your experience, please rate theusefulness of LxI, on a 3-point Likert scale, toachieve the given purposes.Were the LxIs of the course able to:a. Connect with peers in my domainb. Get feedback from peers about theresources that I createdc. See what problems others are facing whilepracticing constructive alignmentd. Share positive effects that I am seeing afterpracticing concepts taught in coursee. Identify possible technology tools thatothers are using in their own classrooms1. What are the teachers’ perception ofusefulness of the course?2. How successful was the course in terms ofparticipants persevering till the end of thecourse?3. What factors made the teachers persevere tillthe end of the course?The qualitative analysis, used for the study,involved an open-ended question “What were thefactors that made you persevere in the course?” toexplore the teachers’ pedagogical experience withthe course. This question allowed the teachers tothink more deeply, reflecting on their learningsduring the course, and have a voice regarding theirexperiences.We investigated these research questions using asurvey questionnaire containing both quantitativeand qualitative aspects. Herein, results have beenreported for two course offerings (T1 and T2),offered independently at different times in 2017.B. ParticipantsA total of 11,462 (T1) and 2,596 (T2) teachersenrolled for the course. Out of these, 3933 (T1) and1153 (T2) accessed the course material at least onceafter registration. These participants were labelled as‘active’. A subset of participants (245: T1, 278: T2),who persevered till the end of the course, respondedto a survey questionnaire at the end of the course.D. Data AnalysisThe study used two types of data analysis:quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative data onthe usefulness of the course was examined byperforming frequency analysis of data from Likertscale to yield percentages. The qualitative dataobtained from the responses of the teachers provideddetailed description on the factors that made thempersevere in the course till the end. Content analysisof the responses was performed to understand theirperceptions on usefulness of learner-centricelements in learning of the MOOC, and futureimplementation of ICT tools and active learningstrategies in classrooms. Responses werecategorized using open coding to classify teachers’conceptions, followed by frequency analysis for thesame. The percentage of participants whosuccessfully persevered till the end of the coursewere determined, based on the total number of initialteacher enrolments and total active participants foreach course.C. Study InstrumentsNine questions were chosen from the post-coursesurvey questionnaire for our analysis, since theywere most relevant to our study. The four aspects ofdemographic details included: gender, education,age and domain. Two quantitative analysis and onequalitative analysis were performed for the study.The first quantitative analysis was performed tounderstand teachers’ perceptions of the overallusefulness of the learner-centric elements of thecourse. It was rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 Strongly disagree; 5 Strongly agree).The second quantitative analysis was focusedtowards understanding teachers’ perceptions inachieving specific tasks through the learnings ofdifferent course elements. Some of these taskspertained to the content of the MOOC involvingteaching-learning practices using active learningstrategies, while some were focused on the format inwhich the LCM was approached. To come up withthese survey questions, we reflected on the purposefor which the LCM elements were designed, andincluded survey items which conceptualized thepurpose of the TPD.VI. RESULTSThe details on the end of the course demographicdata of the participants has been illustrated in Fig. 3.Of the whole group (n 245 for T1, n 278 for T2),23% of the respondents were males and 77% werefemales in each of the course offering. Majority ofthe teachers (55-58%) were placed in the age groupof 27-40 years. The highest qualification attained bymost of the teachers (62-69%) in the survey was apost-graduate Master’s degree, which was followedby teachers (22-26%) with an undergraduateBachelor’s degree. The analysis shows that our TPDThe question in the second quantitative analysisconsisted of several sub-questions, for each LCM80

Figure 3. Demographic details of the participants for the two course offerings: T1 and T2.MOOC catered to diverse audience of teachers fromvaried domains.usefuless of the course elements, through deeperunderstanding of these tasks, is expected topositively enhance their teaching practices towardseffective ICT integration.A. Quantitative Data AnalysisThe results from the first quantitative analysisindicated that the average usefulness of all thecourse elements and both the course offering wasfound to be 89.5%. As shown in Fig. 4, there was ahigh average usefulness for LeDs (T1: 92%, T2:91%), LbD activities (T1: 95%, T2: 94%), LxIs (T1:78%, T2: 76%), LxTs (T1: 86%, T2: 90%) andreflection spots (T1: 91%, T2: 87%).B. Participants’ PerseverenceA total of 11,462 and 2,596 participants enrolledalong the course duration in its first and secondoffering, respectively. It was observed that 1704(T1) and 418 (T2) participants successfully passedthe course, resulting in completion rates of 14.9%and 16.1% for T1 and T2, respectively. Thepersistence rates, defined as the percentage of theactive users who passed the course were found to be43.3% and 36.3% for T1 and T2, respectively.C. Qualitative Data AnalysisThe content analysis of the qualitative openended question on factors that made the teacherspersevere till the end of the course, showed differentcategories of conceptions that emerged amongst theteachers. Fig. 6 provides the frequency distributionfor each of these conceptions. We now describe thebenefits and aspects of each of these categories, asexpressed by the participants, which made thempersevere in the course. Examples of responsesobtained from teachers, for each category, have alsobeen cited.Figure 4. Perception results for usefulness of different LCMelements in T1 (n 245) and T2 (n 278).The results from the second quantitative questionwere analysed on a three-point Likert scale (1-Low;2-Medium; 3-High), assessing the perceivedusefulness of the LCM elements for specific tasks.The teachers’ perception in learning of these tasks isalso a reflection of the effectiveness of the course.Majority of the teachers, in both the courseofferings, rated the usefulness of the LCM elementsas ‘High’ in reviewing of concepts, thinking moredeeply about the content of the course, familiarizingwith research and identifying more resources foreducational practices, and identifying areas ofimprovement in their own practice (Fig. 5). In LxI,there was comparatively a lower response observedin getting feedback from peers and connecting withpeers in the same domain. However, the overallstrong positive perception of teachers’ on theLCM elements: The responses (23%: T1; 21%:T2) regarding LCM elements indicated explicitmention of one or more of the learner-centredpegagogies of the course, by the participant. Thisalso incorporated responses on the well-definedstructure of the course.“Interesting LeDs, LbDs and well plannedquizzes kept me going for the entire course. Overall,I found this course useful and engaging.”“Reflection quiz helped me look back at what Ihave learnt; LbD activities made us engaged inlearning; and the videos made the courseinteresting.”81

Figure 5. Perception results on the usefulness of different course elements in learning of specific tasks. For each question, the bars in pairsrepresent the results for the two course offerings. The upper and lower bar in the pair show results for T1 (n 245) and T2 (278), respectively.of learning effective integration of ICT tools in theirteaching practices, were collated in this category.“Lectures (LeDs), reflection spots anddiscussions (LxIs) helped in continued interest inlearning, which is a very important factor of thelearning process.”“The usefulness of the course in improving theeffective use of ICT in pedagogy, and its efficacy indelivering its objectives provided me an impetus inperseverance.”“The course was well-planned and wellorganised, which made me persevere. All theactivities including LeDs, LbDs, learning extensionresources etc. are helpful in learning new things. Iam thankful to all team members.”Professional Development: Responses (22%:T1; 16%: T2) in this category were in reference tothe training of teachers to enhance their ownprofessional knowledge and skills.Active learning strategies: Responses (23%: T1;30%: T2) regarding the learner-centric experience ofteachers in the course, their satistaction with thecontent, and their intent to implement these learnercentred strategies in their classrooms, were pooledin this category.“It was an enriching experience, and made mewiser. It has enhanced my level of confidence.”“This course helped me in learning new ways ofteaching. It helps in improving active learning. Itencourages the activity of learning by doing, whichis more easy and useful for student.”Technology-enhanced teaching and learningpractices: Teachers’ responses (23%: T1; 21%: T2)regarding introduction to technology, explicitexplanations of technological concepts, and benefitsFigure 6. Frequency distribution of conceptions (including LCMelements) resulting in participants’ perseverance in the courseofferings, T1 (n 230) and T2 (n 278).82

Others: There were some responses which didnot fit in any of the above mentioned categories, andhave thus been collated in this category. Some ofthese responses included deadlines, peer pressure,positive attitude, fear of failure etc.qualitative analysis, which also answers our thirdresearch question. As shown in Fig. 6, theparticipants reflected on four major factors whichcontributed towards their perseverance in the course.Explicit mention of participants regarding the LCMelements, as a reason for their perseverance in theMOOC, supports many literature studies focusingon the role of active learning in online education [8].VII. DISCUSSIONWe conducted a perception study of MOOCparticipants to gain insight into: 1) their learning ofthe MOOC content, that is, their perceptions towardsICT integration using learner-centric approaches,and 2) their experiences with the MOOCpedagogical format, that is, their perceivedusefulness of the learner-centric elements within thisMOOC for various purposes.Participants also reported that well-explainedconcepts of ICT and learner-centric strategies, andtheir benefits for enhanced teaching-learningpractices were other factors which led them topersevere. Since the expectation from the course iseffective implementation of ICT tools in schools, itwas encouraging to observe teachers’ responses ontheir intentions to employ the learnings of the coursein their respective domains. Some of the teachers’responses also implied that they have alreadycommenced the implementation of these strategiesin their classrooms, which is considered as anintegral success of the course.Quantitative results on teachers’ perception ofthe course established the usefulness of the MOOCin three different aspects: 1) LCM elements oractivities in the course pedagogy, 2) gains in contentknowledge and skills, and 3) application of theacquired skills in their teaching practices. Regardingthe usefulness of the LCM elements, majority of theteachers perceived all course elements to be useful.Specifically, we observed that LeDs and LbDs wereperceived as most useful by the teachers in both theofferings (Fig. 4). This also corroborates to previousstudies in online learning which emphasize on therole of learning by doing, and other active learningstrategies in classroom teaching [8, 11]. Majority ofthe respondents reported to have gained highly fromthe course with respect to content knowledge andskills (Fig. 5). Participants not only learnt newinstructional strategies but also came up with lessonplans to implement these strategies in their ownclassrooms. Regarding the application of these skillsin classrooms, most teachers perceived the course tobe useful in a variety of learning outcomes, and inredesigning their own teaching practices. They alsointended to create a similar learning experience fortheir students. The consistency of results betweenthe two offerings also provided confidence in thepedagogical features of the learner-centric MOOC.One limitation of our study is that our results areindicative and correlational, but not causal.However, effective learning with ICT has beenreported to be dependent on good pedagogicaldesign [23]. Our MOOC was based on a learnercentric pedagogical design, and the results showteachers’ perceptions about specific elements of thepedagogical design.Given the transactional distance in onlinelearning, there is support for emphasizing on peerconnect and peer learning, especially in MOOCs[24, 25]. In our study, the LxIs were explicitlymentioned by some teachers in the open-endedquestion, as a valuable platform for discussions andlearning with peers. However, as observed in thequantitative analysis (Fig. 5), LxI showedcomparatively lower response in getting feedbackfrom peers and connecting with peers. This indicatesthat further research is needed in understanding thespecific catalysts and inhibitors for increasing peerconnect, peer feedback mechanism, and sustaininglearner engagement in MOOC settings.To answer our second research question, thecompletion rates of the participants were determinedafter the end of the course. In online learning suchas MOOCs, it has been observed that the completionrates are typically 10-12% [21]. There is a knownfunnel of participation in MOOCs, which occursfrom the time of course awareness till thecompletion of the course [22]. In our LCM, weobserved that completion rates were 14.9% and16.1% for T1 and T2, respectively. However,considering active participants, the persistence rateswere found to be 43.3% and 36.3% for T1 and T2,respectively. It was encouraging to observe suchresults considering that the participants of the studywere in-service teachers, who completed the course,along with their daily teaching and academicresponsibilities.VIII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONAt present, most literature on MOOCs reflectsstrategic and design guidelines regarding theadoption of learner-centric approaches. Through ourstudy, we contribute towards the application andevaluation of a learner-centric pedagogical design ofa TPD MOOC, participated by thousands ofteachers. The MOOC employed the LCM modelcomprising LeDs, LbDs, LxIs and LxTs to fosteractive participation and learner engagement. Thepedagogical features were found to be successful interms of high ratings of usefulness observed throughparticipants’ evaluation in increased understandingof the subject, their intent to future application oflearnt strategies, their exclusively positiveresponses, and high rates of perseverance.To gain more insight on the perception ofparticipants, we performed an open-ended83

Reflecting on our results, learner-centricpedagogical design of the MOOC has played animportant role in the success of our course. Some ofthe specific pedagogical practices employed in theMOOC included: 1) Providing points of reflectionthrough reflection spots within LeDs, 2) Linkingactive LbD activities with participant’s actualpractice, and providing customized and constructivefeedback, 3) Focused thread-based LxI forumsrequiring peer interactions, 4) Identifying specifcLxT resources addressing different subject areas, 5)Use of learner-centred strategies with availablevisualizations, 6) Well-constructed examples oflearning outcomes from multiple domains, and 7)Providing detailed feedback in practice exercisesand quizzes. The overall pedagogical approach ofthe LCM model, employed in the course, can furtherbe explored by researchers to adapt the coursedesign features in their online or classroom learningto improve students’ engagement and learningoutcomes.[10] K. R. Koedinger, J. Kim, J.

programs incorporating active learning strategies, evaluating their impact on teachers, and its applicability to their educational practices [19]. III. PEDAGOGICAL BASIS OF THE LEARNER-CENTRIC MODEL The LCM model informs the design of a MOOC that incorporates learner-centric approaches. It is based on the principles of active learning, formative