Learners in Advanced Nanotechnology MOOCs: Understanding their Intention and Motivation

Authors: Kerrie Douglas, Nathan Hicks, Heidi Diefes-Dux, Krishna Madhavan, B.P. Mihalec-Adkins and P. Bermel
Journal / Conference: Computers in Education
Contact Name: Kerrie Douglas
Very little is known about the specific types of learners and their various needs and intentions with regards to STEM-related MOOCs. As MOOCs become increasingly popular and completion rates stay in the single digits, it is important to understand who is enrolling in MOOCs, what is motivating them to do so, and what they want from the courses.

Results from a survey of 1,624 learners enrolled in three highly-technical STEM MOOCs revealed that while learners are coming from a variety of backgrounds, 64% of respondents indicated engineering or architecture as their primary field of study. In addition, 47% indicated desire to apply information obtained to an engineering project, and 29% desired to obtain a deep level of knowledge. These findings suggest that MOOCs can be marketed as professional development of working engineers and dissemination of highly technical information.

Douglas, K.A.*, Mihalec-Adkins, B.P.*, Hicks, N.M.*, Diefes-Dux, H.A., Bermel, P., & Madhavan, K.  “Learners in Advanced Nanotechnology MOOCs: Understanding their Intention and Motivation.” Computers in Education, 8(1), pp. 94 – 105. (2017).