Instructor's Use of Social Presence, Teaching Presence, and Attitudinal Dissonance in a Human Trafficking Massive Open Online Course

• In Event: Roundtable Session 27
  In Roundtable Session: Online Teaching and Learning SIG Roundtable Session 1

Abstract

While MOOCs initially were primarily offered in the hard sciences and computer programming, course offerings have become increasingly diverse with numerous offerings in the social sciences, including those with targeted attitudinal outcomes. Despite attitudinal change’s common inclusion as a goal in various disciplines, such as health or citizenship education, the research literature around effective facilitation practices for attitudinal change is limited. Likewise, there have also been limited studies that focus on MOOC instructors’ facilitation strategies (Liyanagunawardena et al., 2013). This study examines an instructor’s use of social presence, teaching presence and dissonance within a MOOC for attitudinal change. It provides implications for effective approaches to facilitating attitudinal change broadly, and within a MOOC specifically.

Authors

• Sunnie Lee Watson, Purdue University

• William R. Watson, Purdue University

• Jamie Loizzo, Purdue University

• Jennifer C. Richardson, Purdue University