Quantifying the Influence of Cognitive Presence for Student Learning in MOOCs

• In Event: Instructional Technology SIG Poster Session 2: Instructional Technology in Higher Education and Corporate Settings

Abstract

Linking cognitive processes and learning outcomes is helpful to support student learning in Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Based on the cognitive presence of Community of Inquiry framework, this study quantified the effect of cognitive presence on students’ learning performance by analyzing more than 400,000 posts of 13 MOOC courses. The study built a machine learning model with high prediction performance to automatically assess the cognitive presence in forum posts. Multilevel modeling was used to quantify the influence of learners’ cognitive presence on their learning performance. Results showed that different phases of cognitive presence influenced students’ learning variously. The findings help MOOC instructors make better learning design and provide appropriate cognitive feedback and support to students.

Authors

• Bowen Liu, East China Normal University

• Wanli Xing, University of Florida

• Yifang Zeng, Texas Tech University

• Tiantong Liu, University of Florida

• Yonghe Wu, East China Normal University