The OER Knowledge Cloud makes use of cookies. By continuing, you consent to this use. More information.
Upscaling the number of learners, fragmenting the role of teachers: How do massive open online courses (MOOCs) form new conditions for learning design?
Buhl, Mie · Andreasen, Lars Birch · Pushpanadham, Karanam

PublishedApril 2018
JournalInternational Review of Education
Volume 64, Issue 2, Pages 179-195
PublisherSpringer Netherlands
CountryDenmark, Europe

ABSTRACT
The proliferation and expansion of massive open online courses (MOOCs) prompts a need to revisit classical pedagogical questions. In what ways will MOOCs facilitate and promote new e-learning pedagogies? Is current learning design adequate for the "massiveness" and "openness" of MOOCs? This article discusses the ways in which MOOCs create new conditions for designing learning processes. The authors present various theoretical approaches to learning design and discuss a combination of theoretical perspectives. They discern a fragmentation of the teacher role; where the teacher was once the main person responsible for planning, practice and reflection, those activities may now be performed by different actors with different areas of responsibility. The theoretical discussion is complemented by a review of recent studies of new practices and design formats aiming to overcome the upscaling issues of MOOCs. The authors present a multifaceted picture of MOOC methodologies, including a typology of hybrid approaches to MOOC design. Through the example of MOOC implementation in India, they address the integration of MOOCs into formal higher education systems. They conclude their article with the contention that, through upscaling, important facets of students' intellectual development and critical thinking might be left to the students themselves. This may cause problems. Adequate scaffolding from a teacher, such as adapting activities to the specific situation, might be needed to develop the skills required to be a self-directed learner. Furthermore, upscaling seems to promote a separation of the formerly unified teacher functions of planning, teaching and assessing, which necessitates increased collaboration among the many new actors in the field of pedagogy.

ABSTRACT
Multiplier le nombre d’apprenants, fragmenter le rôle des enseignants : comment les formations en ligne ouvertes à tous (FLOT) créent de nouvelles conditions pour la conception pédagogique – La prolifération et l’expansion des formations en ligne ouvertes à tous (FLOT) entraînent la nécessité de réexaminer les questions pédagogiques classiques. Dans quelle mesure les FLOT faciliteront et favoriseront-elles de nouvelles pédagogies d’apprentissage électronique ? La conception pédagogique actuelle se prête-t-elle à la « massivité » et à l’« ouverture » des FLOT ? Cet article examine de quelles manières les FLOT créent de nouvelles conditions pour la conception des processus d’apprentissage. Les auteurs présentent diverses approches théoriques de la conception pédagogique et analysent un ensemble de perspectives théoriques. Ils perçoivent une fragmentation du rôle de l’enseignant : si celui-ci était autrefois principal responsable de la programmation, de la pratique et de la réflexion, ces activités peuvent aujourd’hui être assumées par différents acteurs investis de différents domaines de responsabilité. L’analyse théorique est complétée par un recensement des études récentes sur les nouvelles pratiques et formes de conception visant à résoudre les problèmes d’échelle des FLOT. Les auteurs présentent une image pluridimensionnelle des méthodologies des FLOT, dont une typologie d’approches hybrides pour leur conception. À travers l’exemple de la réalisation des FLOT en Inde, ils abordent la question de leur intégration dans les systèmes formels d’enseignement supérieur. Ils concluent leur article par l’affirmation qu’en raison de la massification, d’importants aspects du développement intellectuel et de la pensée critique pourraient être abandonnés aux seuls étudiants. Cette tendance pourrait créer des problèmes. Un soutien approprié de la part de l’enseignant, tel que des activités d’adaptation à la situation spécifique, pourrait être requis pour développer les compétences nécessaires à un apprenant auto-dirigé. En outre, la massification semble favoriser une séparation des fonctions auparavant concentrées chez l’enseignant, à savoir programmation, enseignement et évaluation, ce qui nécessite une coopération accrue entre les nombreux nouveaux acteurs présents sur la scène pédagogique.

Keywords course design · designing learning processes · instructional design · learning design · massive open online courses in higher education · teacher roles

Published atNetherlands
ISSN1573-0638
RefereedYes
Rights© Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature, and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2018
DOI10.1007/s11159-018-9714-1
Export optionsBibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar


Viewed by 59 distinct readers




CLOUD COMMUNITY REVIEWS

The evaluations below represent the judgements of our readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cloud editors.

Click a star to be the first to rate this document


POST A COMMENT
SIMILAR RECORDS

Learning potentials and educational challenges of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in lifelong learning
Buhl, Mie; Andreasen, Lars Birch
Match: Buhl, Mie; Andreasen, Lars Birch; Denmark; Europe

New design approaches to repurposing open educational resources for collaborative learning using mediating artefacts
Dimitriadis, Yannis; McAndrew, Patrick; Conole, Gráinne; Makriyannis, Elpida
In spite of high expectations and the support given by prestigious funding and educational institutions, Open Educational Resources (OER) have not been adopted widely by teachers and learners in practice. From a ...
Match: instructional design; learning design

Innovation in EU communication: MOOCs from the European Committee of the Regions
Gosset, Martin; Petzold, Wolfgang; Kloos, Carlos Delgado; Jermann, Patrick; et al.
Towards the background of its political work and communication activities, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives, became in the last two years the first EU ...
Match: course design; Europe

OpenLearn research report 2006-2008
McAndrew, Patrick; Santos, A.; Lane, Andy; Godwin, Stephen; et al.
This report takes the experience of OpenLearn over its two-years of operation to reflect on what it means to offer free resources and the issues that we have been able to explore and learn from. The structure of the ...
Match: instructional design; Europe

An international collaboration in the design experience of a MOOC series
Sancassani, Susanna; Corti, Paola; Baudo, Valeria; Kloos, Carlos Delgado; et al.
Is it possible to accelerate didactical innovation processes by building new kinds of collaboration between different institutions in the Higher Education scenario? Using MOOCs as a lever to share experiences and ...
Match: instructional design; Europe

Reusable content matters: A learning object authoring tool for smart learning environments
Çinici, Mehmet Ali; Altun, Arif
This study reports the design and evaluation process of an authoring tool that is developed for content developers and/or instructors to be able to reuse and repackage existing learning objects (LOs) according to ...
Match: instructional design; Europe

Investigation of temporal dynamics in MOOC learning trajectories: A geocultural perspective
Rizvi, Saman Zehra; Rienties, Bart; Rogaten, Jekaterina; Penstein Rosé, Carolyn; et al.
Openness, scalability, and reachability are intrinsic features of MOOCs. However, research studies in MOOCs indicated low participation from some cultural clusters, mostly from less privileged strata of the world's ...
Match: learning design; Europe

Learning design and open education
Conole, Gráinne
Learning Design has emerged in the last fifteen years or so as a new methodology to help practitioners make more pedagogically informed design decisions that make appropriate use of digital technologies. In parallel we ...
Match: learning design; Europe

Output 6 SCORE2020 : Train-the-trainer mOOC (micro open online course)
SCORE2020
The SCORE2020 project focused on (regional) support structures in the development and delivery of Open Education and especially of MOOCs. In total, thirteen intellectual outputs are ...
Match: instructional design; Europe

Once upon a tip… A story of MOOCs and gamification
Bidarra, José; Coelho, José; Ubachs, George; Konings, Lizzie
This paper discusses the future of MOOCs based on recent research and acknowledged affordances of videogame’s design. The interest in MOOCS for educational purposes has increased over the last few years, with ...
Match: learning design; Europe