The discrete optimization MOOC: An exploration in discovery-based learning
Coffrin, Carleton and Hentenryck, Pascal Van

Alternate titleIssue No.37 Experiences and best practices in and around MOOCs
PublishedMarch 2014
JournaleLearning Papers
Volume 37, Issue March 2014, Pages 51-56
Publisherelearningeuropa.info
Original PublicationEMOOCS 2014 conference
EditorsUllmo, Pierre-Antoine and Koskinen, Tapio
CountrySpain

ABSTRACT
The practice of discrete optimization involves modeling and solving complex problems which have never been encountered before and for which no universal computational paradigm exists. Teaching such skills is challenging: students must learn not only the core technical skills, but also an ability to think creatively in order to select and adapt a paradigm to solve the problem at hand.
This paper explores the question of whether the teaching of such creative skills translates to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). It first describes a discovery-based learning methodology for teaching discrete optimization, which has been successful in the classroom for over fifteen years. It then evaluates the success of a MOOC version of the class via data analytics enabled by the wealth of information produced in the MOOC.

Keywords computer science education · discovery-based learning · MOOC · problem solving skills

Published atBarcelona
ISSN1887-1542
RefereedYes
Rightsby-nc-nd/3.0
URLhttp://openeducationeuropa.eu/en/article/The-Discrete-Optimization-MOOC%3A-An-Exploration-in-Discovery-Based-Learning?paper=136477
Export optionsBibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar



AVAILABLE FILES
From-field_37_2.pdf · 743.4KB97 downloads



Viewed by 388 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

Quality in MOOCs: Surveying the terrain
Hood, Nina; Littlejohn, Allison
The purpose of this review is to identify quality measures and to highlight some of the tensions surrounding notions of quality, as well as the need for new ways of thinking about and approaching quality in MOOCs. It ...
Match: MOOC

Second language learning in the context of MOOCs
Wu, Shaoqun; Fitzgerald, Alannah; Witten, Ian H.
Massive Open Online Courses are becoming popular educational vehicles through which universities reach out to non-traditional audiences. Many enrolees hail from other countries and cultures, and struggle to cope with ...
Match: MOOC; Spain

MOOCs for professional teacher development
Jobe, William; Östlund, Christian; Svensson, Lars
A MOOC is a trending concept in education that is disrupting traditional methods of learning consumption. The emergence and use of MOOCs for professional teacher development is still uncommon, but on the verge of ...
Match: MOOC

Alexander the MOOC lands
Rogers, Guy M.
Almost four months ago my EdX/WellesleyX course, “Was Alexander Great?” was launched to test three questions about online education: whether a Massive Open Online Course could be as intellectually rigorous as a ...
Match: MOOC

Perfil e perceções dos potenciais participantes num MOOC
Simões, Dora; Barbosa, Belem; Pinto, Carolina
The MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) are the latest training model offered. They are online training courses, open and free, and for massive access. But are these features enough to attract potential participants? ...
Match: MOOC

The next game changer: The historical antecedents of the MOOC movement in education
Boven, David T.; Mor, Yishay; Koskinen, Tapio
Though the history of massive open online courses is very short, scholars can gain insights by looking at similar movements in the past. This paper examines several historical moments in education to develop an ...
Match: MOOC; Spain

Learners' Discussion Patterns, Perceptions, and Preferences in a Chinese Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
Ouyang, Fan; Li, Xu; Sun, Dan; Jiao, Pengcheng; Yao, Jiajia
The development of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has proceeded through three generations, and in all three, online discussions have been considered a critical component. Although discussions in MOOCs have the ...
Match: MOOC

MOOC user persistence
Heutte, Jean; Kaplan, Jonathan; Fenouillet, Fabien; Caron, Pierre-André; et al.
This research explores user persistence in a massive open online course (MOOC) that was set up as an experiment before the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research launched in October 2013 the French Digital ...
Match: MOOC

Evaluation of Student Feedback Within a MOOC Using Sentiment Analysis and Target Groups
Lundqvist, Karsten Ø.; Liyanagunawardena, Tharindu; Starkey, Louise
Many course designers trying to evaluate the experience of participants in a MOOC will find it difficult to track and analyse the online actions and interactions of students because there may be thousands of learners ...
Match: MOOC

Open education
Pisutova, K.
Introduction to some concepts of openness in education. This presentation addresses concepts of Open Licensing (Creative Commons licenses), Open Content, Open Coursewere, Open Educational Resources, and Open Teaching ...
Match: MOOC