Running Head:

IMPACT OF CLASS TYPE ON COMPLETION IN MOOCS

The Potential Impact of Class Type on Completion in MOOCs.

Khalifa Elgosabi

Farraj Alshehri

Naif Jabli

Northern Illinois University

Spring, 2015
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Introduction

Online learning is moving forward to include the newly born type of higher education

(Saadatmand & Kumpulainen, 2014). This trend, which online learning has been witnessing is

called Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and has been defined as an open source

movement (Ebben & Murphy, 2014). Furthermore, MOOCs, as a newly introduced subject, is

known for being a tremendous innovation of online learning.

This paper is trying to explore the relationship between course completion in MOOCs and

two types of MOOC groups, namely (1) the Auto correction group; (2) the peer correction group.

The researches are going to investigate what happens when the students are assigned to different

groups of MOOCs in terms of correction techniques and procedures. According to previous

research there is evidence that leaners of MOOCs find it difficult to complete the courses despite

their enthusiasm toward enrolment and participation (Mackness et al., 2013; Jordan, 2014; and

Perna et al., 2014). The proportions of learners who tend to maintain interest levels an finish the

courses to obtain results and certificates are continually dropping. Moreover, it seems that

researchers have stressed this area of study due to the importance of knowing learners actions

toward what happens during the different learning strategies such as completion (Saadatmand &

Kumpulainen, 2014). Consequently, in this paper the purpose of the researchers is to show that

the students completion rates and their feelings toward this type of learning might be determined

by investigating the types of correction procedures in the class. This study is an attempt to

answer question of whether there is difference between auto correction grouping and peer

correction grouping in MOOCs regarding the potential of affecting the students completion

rates. The following is the research question of the study: Does the type of group, in MOOCs,

have the potential of affecting completion rates?

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The researches up to date have pointed out the issue of completion in MOOCs and a study

such as this present attempt might help contribute information to fill the research gap. For

sampling and data collection purposes the study will use information, which has been released by

MOOCs providers and course designers. Data about enrolment and completion rates will be

gathered from visualizations such as data links, charts, graphs, tables, online news stories and

blogs. The data will be analyzed through use of SPSS program and descriptive statistics. The

discussion of the data analyses will include the consistency of this study results with findings of

previous literature research.

Literature review

The researchers found empirical peer reviewed studies through the databases of Eric, Eric

ProQuest, Ebesco, and Google Scholar in order to synthesize literature for this paper. In the

literature review, the researchers will discuss the following two themes: (1) completion in

MOOCs, (2) and Learners characteristics in MOOCs. It is worth mentioning that there are

researches who investigated MOOCs in different countries and fields such as: self-directed

learning in MOOCs (Kop & Fournier, 2011); serendipity in open network environments (Kop,

2012; Saadatmand & Kumpulainen, 2013); the challenges of learning in MOOCs (Kop, 2011);

chaos, complexity, and emergence in MOOCs (de Waard et al., 2011; Kop & Fournier, 2011;

Williams, Karousou, & Mackness, 2011); autonomy and self-organized learning (Mackness,

Mak, & Williams, 2010; Tschofen & Mackness, 2012); and MOOCs as a platform for mobile

learning (de Waard et al., 2011).

In this literature review, the researchers focus will be the scholarly themes of

completion in MOOCs and learners characteristics that are related to types of grouping.

Completion in MOOCs
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Jordan (2014) studied completion in MOOCs and found that there is a relationship between

continuing a MOOC course and the learners ambition of getting a degree at the end of the

course. As a researcher, Jordan was trying to find a relationship between course completion and

instructional design for MOOCs. The study concluded that most of the students who completed

their courses were driven by the need to achieve some sort of certification not because they are

interested in completion as a means (Jordan, 2014). In other research attempts, researchers

investigated registration rates and participation frequencies in MOOC as well as how learners

behaviors are related to completion and test results (Perna et al., 2014). However, the issue of

finding a workable definition of completion might impact the results of research studies

concerning MOOCs course completion (Jordan, 2014). According to Jordan (2014), the

following definition of completion, which is as the percentages of students who had satisfied

the courses criteria in order to gain a certificate. (135), can limit the courses to one

measurement and be open to criticism.

Mackness et al., 2013; Jordan, 2014; and Perna et al., 2014 have done research

investigations of how people learn in MOOCs and studied factors that have influence on

completion of MOOCs. The findings showed a relationship between course completion and the

factors of learner autonomy, test scores, and accreditation (Mackness et al., 2013; Jordan, 2014;

Perna et al., 2014). For example, Mackness et al. (2013) found that autonomy and learner

involvement are directly related to participants decisions for completion of MOOCs.

Moreover, Perna et al. (2014) used descriptive analysis in their study to investigate

connections between learner characteristics on one hand and MOOCs achievement and

completions on the other. They found that completing a MOOC course dependent on learner

motivation and learner persistence rather than on just being present on a computer or an I-pad.
IMPACT OF CLASS TYPE ON COMPLETION IN MOOCS 5

According to their study the number of students who finished the courses successfully was down,

which may reflect curiosity, browsing, and lack of interest or motivation to complete, especially

for these first-generation courses (p. 428). In general, the findings indicated that although

completion is dependent on many factors, the way learners react when taking MOOCs is a major

indicator of a high percentage of achievement and completion. Researchers recommended that

future studies should concentrate on students characteristics such as satisfaction with learning

experiences, and employers acceptance of students skill levels. Related research also covered

the questions of implementing appropriate course design to meet specifications in learners

results, and to provide an understanding concerning the course designers determination of

learning goals (Mackness et al., 2013; Jordan, 2014; Perna et al., 2014).

Learners characteristics in MOOCs

Conclusions, which came from previous research, indicated that there is an important and

valuable source of information that should be investigated by research studies to determine

effectiveness and retention of MOOCs (Zutshi, OHare, & Rodafinos, 2013). This source of

information includes the learners themselves, their activities during the course, their learning

techniques and preferences, as well as their acceptance of course design and the instructional

materials. For example blogs, used by one study, included information about students who wrote

them and gave information about their participation experience in MOOCs. The sample of a

previous study included 21 blog posts and the researchers were able to conclude that use of

technology, amount of access, and being connected with a group of MOOCs managed to increase

the possibility that learners would benefit from feeling positive about their MOOCs experiences

(Zutshi, OHare, & Rodafinos, 2013).

Some empirical research focused on learners in MOOCs in term of their characteristics,

IMPACT OF CLASS TYPE ON COMPLETION IN MOOCS 6

perceptions, and achievements (e.g. Mackness, Waite, Roberts, & Lovegrove, 2013; Rodriguez,

2013; Zutshi et al., 2013; Najafi, Evans, & Federico, 2014). The findings of many studies proved

that MOOCs as a type of medium of instruction required special kinds of learners who are

different in many ways (Mackness et al, 2013 & Rodriguez, 2013; Zutshi et al., 2013). The

evidence, which came from such studies, supported the hypotheses that a MOOC learner was in

a special-case situation for owning characteristics such as being autonomous, indulgent in

learning, and directly responsible for challenges from context and technological backgrounds.

According to Rodriguez (2013), the delivery of content through special course design impacted

the learning styles of the participants and made changes to their actions, which they take as

distance learners and instructional technology students. In addition to the learning characteristics

possessed by the MOOC student, social media and instructional technology in which MOOCs

content and materials are delivered would help solve and clear many challenges (Rodriguez,

2013). Furthermore, studies discovered that the most interesting research innovation was that

learners showed willingness and openness to provide support for others if they discovered their

lack of experience in this type of education. This is a new dimension of MOOCs, which might

not be known to researchers yet (Mackness et al., 2013; Rodriguez, 2013). Thus, the learners

involvement in learning is maintained through autonomy, diversity, openness and interactivity

(Rodriguez, 2013, p.79). For example, learner activities such as self-adjustment, serious

involvement, and compiling of strengths created autonomy and independence during the courses;

whereas, interaction, communication and group / peer correction gave way to constructive and

supportive learning. Although the learner is in the center of the process, the number of students

in each course is not important; what is important is the accessibility to online media, interacting

with others, and the availability of instructional design goals (Rodriguez, 2013).
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Zutshi, OHare, and Rodafinos (2013) investigated MOOC students perceptions after the

researchers had collected data from public blogs to see whether the experience of students of

online learning in general and of MOOCs in particular had any effects on the quality and type of

blog interaction. They discovered a positive relationship between learning experience and

students who could control their workloads. Also, it was clear that learners reported feeling

anonymous and missing personal contact (Zutshi et al., 2013, p. 226). They stated Student

blogs are valuable sources of information for students, teachers, and MOOC providers in

addition to official feedback surveys, in-depth qualitative interviews, and case studies and can

offer rich insights into behavior and experiences (Zutshi et al., 2013, p.227).

Also, Najafi, Evans, and Federico (2014) investigated high school environment where

MOOCs were chosen as a design of instruction. The two groups of participants in this study

were: (1) MOOCs-only group of 14 students, and (2) blended-mode group of 15 students who

took MOOCs and additionally met their teacher once a week. They found that the students who

studied with MOOCs only procedures achieved higher scores than their schoolmates in the

control group in this case blended-mode group whose scores were generally lower than

MOOC-only students. However, in this study members of the blended-mode group showed more

frequency in the number of the quizzes that they took, which perhaps reflected the role of face-

to-face instruction in encouraging the students to take tests and learn from them. Moreover,

Najafi et al. (2014) mentioned that in MOOCs engagement of the learner may be affected in a

strong way when the students notice the progress they have made and the scores of improvement

they have reached, and this is due to the positive motivation rates, which the learners gain as a

result of success and achievement.

In general, research studies showed that the relationship between learner characteristics and
IMPACT OF CLASS TYPE ON COMPLETION IN MOOCS 8

continuation as well as completion in MOOCs is a strong one. Thus information about the

MOOC learner and his attitudes and experiences might help researcher to put hand on many

priceless data to understand this type of education. The learner is very important and thus his

enrollment, participation and completion should not be ignored because they are important, too.

Methodology

The data for this study were collected by means of filtering charts showing completion

rates, tables displaying plotted figures of completion and length of courses, blogs written by

MOOC students themselves, as well as online news stories revealing non-official completion

rates. The purpose of the researchers is to determine whether there is a relationship between the

variables of completion rates on hand and the type of MOOCs group on the other. The sample of

this study was divided into two groups in terms of correction procedures. One group was called

the Auto group which means that the correction of learning tasks and quizzes was done

automatically through use of computers and software. The other group was named as the peer

group which indicates that the correction for learning tasks and assessment was done by peers

inside the group. The selection for assigning the participant to both groups was done randomly.

Results of tests and evaluations and grades were collected from each group on a daily basis. This

data then were analyzed to see how being in different groups of correction procedures might

affect the rate of course completion and continuation.

Results and Discussion

To answer the question of whether type of group affected completion rates for student in

both groups, the researchers did the analysis using SPSS program and then calculated some

factors such as pooled standard deviation, effect magnitude, and the critical value of t for ( =
IMPACT OF CLASS TYPE ON COMPLETION IN MOOCS 9

0.05). The Students in both groups were given tasks and assignments and exercises to do and to

mark interchangeably so that each student received the same number of jobs.

The hypotheses were aimed to test if there is difference between the populations means of

both groups. The critical value of t for ( = 0.05) was 2.14 and the df was 14.4. These statistical

results led to the rejection of the null hypothesis that said there is no difference, because the

value of t = 4.5 making it greater than critical value for alpha. According to the results of SPSS

analyses in figure 1, the significance of difference between the scores of both independent

samples became evident. Pooled standard deviation was also calculated to see how scores

behaved away from each other. It seems that due to the large mean difference the pooled s

became large too. The effect size was calculated using Cohens d, which revealed a magnitude of

0.1, which means that the effect size was considerably small but statistically it is reliable and

indicates the presence of difference on a weak scale.

Figure1. Independent sample test

Obviously, the SPSS results displayed a clear picture of how both groups were different in

terms of benefiting from procedural and instructional correction and how it might affect

completion rates of each group. In the present study, there was a slightly significant influence of

types of groups on the students rates of course completion in MOOCs. This finding reflected

that in practice for MOOCs Auto correction leads to better completion rates and vice versa. On
IMPACT OF CLASS TYPE ON COMPLETION IN MOOCS 10

the other hand students who did not receive correction of their works, assignments and quizzes

automatically by means of software programs or LMSs showed slightly lower retention and

completion rates, perhaps due to lack of interaction and communication. Therefore, the null

hypothesis was rejected. As predicted, students who did not peer supported connection and

assessment were more likely to quit the course faster than those who received feedback and

correction by their peers. Nearly all the students in the auto group completed the courses and

their rates were better than those of the other group. This reflects advantages of use of

technology in education. Only a small percentage of the participants of the auto group found it

difficult to continue the course perhaps the difference in completion rates can be counted for use

of technology in correcting student works which means more confidentiality and self-reliance led

to more independence and self-timing and individual pace. It should be noted that the highest

frequency scores were registered to the members of the auto group mode rather than to peer

correction group, whose scores appeared to have outliers statistically means that the distribution

was in favor of the auto group members.

Figure2. Completion and frequency

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The findings of this study came supportive to results from the previous research that

indicated the relationship between MOOCs completion and other factors such as connectivity

and motivation (Perna et al., 2014). The sample of this study included MOOC students from

different social and socio-economic background, which makes it consistent with the findings of

Rodriguez (2013) in arguing that other factors including learner characteristics might affect

learning with MOOCs strategies. The researchers also found that completion rates though

slightly different in both groups were still affected by anther factors than group type. For

example the factors of learner-learner interaction, time of the year the course is taken, and cost of

the enrollment in the course (Mackness et al., 2013; Jordan, 2014; Perna et al., 2014).

However, the role of peer correction remains a prominent issue in MOOCs research, and as

a result cannot be ignored.

According to Rodriguez (2013) the delivery of content through special course design

impacted the learning styles of the participants and made changes to their actions, which they

take as distance learners and instructional technology students. In addition to the learning

characteristics possessed by the MOOC student, social media and instructional technology in

which MOOCs content and materials are delivered would help solve and clear many challenges

(Rodriguez, 2013). Furthermore, studies discovered that the most interesting research innovation

was that learners showed willingness and openness to provide support to their peers on line. This

finding of previous research could have been replicated in the present study and affected the

scores of the Auto group. To be exact, the auto group could have received correction from

computers and still got some feedback from their peers during their communication online with

other members of their group. Thus their chances of benefiting from the correction are multiplied

by the fact that delivery of materials and instruction via Internet included also peer feedback.
IMPACT OF CLASS TYPE ON COMPLETION IN MOOCS 12

Based on the analysis of results discussion can extend to include the argument that this study

may not have a real level of external validity. Despite random sampling for assigning the

students to their groups, the control over the delivery system of MOOCs was not in the hands of

the researcher to manipulate and this fact alone could have awarded the auto group extra means

of correction than the computer-based correction the experiment was designed to provide. In

other words it is clear that the auto group members were not deprived completely from peer

communication a fact, which all previous research proved. Thus, these results may not be

representative of all participants in MOOCS courses. Further future researchers are invited to

investigate more the effects of group types on course completion in MOOCs to determine which

factors might be directly responsible for higher rates of completion. Also, the present study did

not separate the factors such as gender and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc. Future research

should be conducted on each factor separately to determine any differences between group types

and other variables of participation and completion in MOOCs.

Conclusion

Hopefully this paper has served to enrich some aspects of MOOCs and discuss the

increasing of MOOCs value. However, according to many research studies, there is a need for

further research about learners' experiences, perceptions of those who are involved about

MOOCs and data about what it means to be learning or teaching in MOOC networks, and most

importantly the learners' views about this newly born type of education; therefore, still MOOCs

need more studies to reach more conclusions and understand this domain (Saadatmand &

Kumpulainen, 2014).
IMPACT OF CLASS TYPE ON COMPLETION IN MOOCS 13

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