The Impact of Student Misconceptions on Student Persistence in an Astronomy MOOC

• In Event: Highlighting Promising Practices in MOOCs

Abstract

Massive Online Open Courses provide opportunities to learn a vast range of subjects. Because MOOCs are open to anyone with computer access and rarely have prerequisite requirements, the range of student backgrounds can be far more varied than in conventional classroom-based courses. Prior studies have shown that misconceptions have a huge impact on students’ learning performance; however, no study has empirically examined the relationship between misconceptions and learning persistence. This study of 12,913 MOOC-takers examines how students’ misconceptions about the upcoming course material affect course completion. Using survival analysis, we found that, controlling for the pre-course test score, students holding more misconceptions had a higher dropout rate at the start of the course, an effect that diminished over time.

Authors

• Chen Chen, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

• Gerhard Sonnert, Harvard University

• Philip M. Sadler, Harvard University

• Colin Fredericks, Harvard University

• Dimitar Sasselov, Harvard University