In the context of a larger discussion of blended learning and Massive Open Online Courses, this session provides details on three research studies at Georgia Tech where online learning resources (video tutorials, simulations, peer review, etc.) from MOOCs were used in the professors' campus courses in science and engineering.
Research on the use of blended classrooms – where online resources are used to provide lectures and other material outside of class while class time is spent on problem-based learning – has produced a number of publications aimed at making the practice easier, more effective for learning, and more cost-effective (see, e.g., Picciano, Dziuban & Graham 2014). Meanwhile, the evaluation of the effects of Massive Open Online Courses as means to provide learning opportunities to vast audiences has shown mixed results (Reich 2015). Combining the two, wherein the online resources developed for a MOOC are used for the out-of-class component of a blended class, provides a wealth of opportunities for these seemingly different modalities to mesh in ways that are exciting and beneficial.
In this presentation, attendees will learn about three studies completed at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The first will examine the effects of a flipped classroom in a Fluid Mechanics course that demonstrate that student comprehension improved significantly in a flipped version of the course compared to a traditional in-class lecture format. We will discuss the potential for the video lectures, tutorials, and problem-based learning to inform the creation of MOOC content.
In the second study, participants in an Introduction to Physics MOOC were given the opportunity both to present what they had learned about physics in video demonstrations as well as to review the video demonstrations provided by their peers. A calibrated peer-review tool that accounts for the differences between student and instructor reviews of these videos will be presented. While the effectiveness of the use of the calibrated peer reviews is mixed, it provides keen understanding for how student collaboration that is usually reserved for on-campus courses can be used in the massive online setting of MOOCs.
Finally, the third study shows how a professor in a Circuits and Electronics course combined the best of both worlds – the online resources from her MOOCs in linear circuits and introduction to electronics and the on-ground peer-to-peer learning opportunities – to create a “flipped MOOC.” Students in the on-ground courses signed up for the MOOC and learned from the professor’s lectures and simulations, then came into the classroom to engage in minilabs, hands-on activities, and Q&A with the professor and her teaching assistants. This approach yielded encouraging results in that, despite having several hundred students spread across nine course sections (each taught by a different instructor/TA), topics were covered with greater consistency, average grades were more stable from one section to another, and students had new opportunities to engage in in-class labs.
Wrapping all this together, attendees will learn about Georgia Tech’s approach to MOOCs and blended learning in courses ranging from physics to engineering to computer science to English. There will be discussion of both the investments required for, and the benefits of each approach and how combining the two allows for greater learning value.
Institutions considering either entering the MOOC space or taking on a blended approach will benefit from learning how the two actually inform each other in a symbiotic way. Ample time will be provided for audience discussion and Q&A.
References
Picciano, A.G., Dziuban, C.D., & Graham, C.R. (2014). Blended learning: research perspectives, volume 2. New York: Routledge.
Reich, J. (2015). Rebooting MOOC Research. Science 347 (6217), 34-35.