Are Teachers Enrolling in MITx Massive Open Online Courses?

• In Event: 14.036 - Massive Open Online Course Students in Context: Equity, Motivation, and Performance

Abstract

Objectives

The advent of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has led to tremendous dialogue regarding the future of higher education (Pappano, 2012). Some scholars have identified the tremendous potential for developing networks of educators within or around a specific course (Fisher et. al 2012). Educators from a variety of institutions could contribute, discuss, and refine content, all within the context of a course. Paramount to such ideals is a simple question; are a substantial number of educators already enrolling in open online courses? This paper addresses teacher enrollment in MITx MOOCs and discusses implications for teacher professional development.

Perspective

Early MITx MOOC experiments indicated teacher enrollment. One example, 8.MReV: Mechanics Review, unexpectedly enrolled a large contingent of teachers (Fredericks 2013). In all the three subsequent offerings of 8.MReV, continuing education units (CUEs) were offered through partnerships with teachers associations.

The example above indicates the viability of teacher professional development within MOOCs, but is there a need to change the status quo? A report from the Center for Public Education (Gulamhussein, 2013) summarized how educational reform like the Common Core Standards requires equally impactful reform of professional development. Key issues include moving away from one-day workshops, and developing peer networks. Because MOOCs are still in the developmental stage, platforms offer flexibility in addressing such issues.

Methodology

In the spring of 2014, entrance and exit surveys addressing the motivations and backgrounds of participants were given in 10 MITx courses. Over 31,000 participants responded to the entrance surveys (a 16.5% response rate), which contained questions broadly addressing teacher enrollment. In this paper, we report on two fundamental questions:
• Are a significant number of teachers enrolling in MITx open online courses?
• What are the instructional backgrounds of enrolling teachers?

Preliminary Results

Preliminary results from 10 spring 2014 MITx courses indicate 1 in 4 (26.9%) survey respondents self-identify as past or present teachers, while nearly one in ten (8.3%) identify as current teachers, and 1 in 20 (5.4%) have or currently teach the course subject. Note, small percentages in open online courses are not small numbers; across all survey respondents, there are 8,495 self-identifying teachers, 2,529 currently practicing teachers, and 1594 participants that have or currently teach the topic. Instructional backgrounds have also been identified; 73.0% were Primary/Secondary School, College/University, or Support Staff, e.g., Teaching Assistant.


Scholarly Significance

The significance of this work involves quantifying the total number of teachers already participating in MITx MOOCs. Ultimately, reform is in the hands of content teams and course providers interested in creating more meaningful course spaces for teachers.


References
Fisher, D. H. (2012, November 6). Warming up to MOOC's. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/warming-up-to-moocs/44022
Fredericks et. al. (2013). From Flipped to Open Instruction: The Mechanics Online Course. Sixth Conference of MIT’s Learning International Network Consortium.
Gulamhussein, A. (2013). The Core of Professional Development. American School Board Journal, 197(1), 22-6.
Pappano, Laura. "The Year of the MOOC." The New York Times 2.12 (2012): 2012.

Authors

• Daniel T. Seaton, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Jon P. Daries, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Cody A. Coleman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology