Where is research on massive open online courses headed? A data analysis of the MOOC research initiative
By Dragan Gasevic, V. Kovanović, Srecko Joksimovic, George Siemens. 2014
329 citations recorded by the source corpus.
This paper reports on the results of an analysis of the research proposals submitted to the MOOC Research Initiative (MRI) funded by the Gates Foundation and administered by Athabasca University. The goal of MRI was to mobilize researchers to engage into critical interrogation of MOOCs. The submissions – 266 in Phase 1, out of which 78 was recommended for resubmission in the extended form in Phase 2, and finally, 28 funded – were analyzed by applying conventional and automated content analysis methods as well as citation network analysis methods. The results revealed the main research themes that could form a framework of the future MOOC research: i) student engagement and learning success, ii) MOOC design and curriculum, iii) self-regulated learning and social learning, iv) social network analysis and networked learning, and v) motivation, attitude and success criteria. The theme of social learning received the greatest interest and had the highest success in attracting funding. The submissions that planned on using learning analytics methods were more successful. The use of mixed methods was by far the most popular. Design-based research methods were also suggested commonly, but the questions about their applicability arose regarding the feasibility to perform multiple iterations in the MOOC context and rather a limited focus on technological support for interventions. The submissions were dominated by the researchers from the field of education (75% of the accepted proposals). Not only was this a possible cause of a complete lack of success of the educational technology innovation theme, but it could be a worrying sign of the fragmentation in the research community and the need to increased efforts towards enhancing interdisciplinarity.
Subfields: Computer Science Applications, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Education
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/8d85fe66de02a42cfb119684891b4b7ed7ebff99
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In Computer Science Applications
In Developmental and Educational Psychology
In Education
Citations in the corpus
- A Systematic Analysis and Synthesis of the Empirical MOOC Literature Published in 2013–2015 (2016, methodology): “In analyzing grant applications submitted to the MOOC Research Initiative for example, Gasevic et al. (2014) found that the geographic distribution of authors was heavily concentrated in North America, Europe, and Asia with 96% of accepted proposals originating from those three regions.”