Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are usually six to ten weeks long.Participation tends to decrease as the courses progress, leading to low completion rates. This led to the question: Could shorter MOOCs contribute to learners' engagement, retention and success? This paper compares two versions of Study Skills MOOC, which shared the same content but were delivered in different length formats. One was deployed as a single six-week course and the other as two three-week blocks. In total, 617 people registered for the two versions. Data sources included learning analytics, surveys and the Spanish version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Both versions of the Study Skills MOOC resulted in increased participants' self-efficacy. However, learners enrolled in the version composed of two three-week blocks were also more engaged with course content, other students and the facilitators. Their retention and completion rates were higher than those in the longer version of the course. Reasons linked to goal proximity, motivation, interactions and social modelling are discussed.
La presente investigación está basada en la perspectiva teórica de Enfoques de Aprendizaje del Estudiante. El objetivo de este estudio fue conocer cuáles eran los enfoques de aprendizaje que adoptaba el alumnado de la titulación de CAFD (España) y Organización Deportiva (México), diferencialmente, en función del centro donde cursan sus estudios y del género. Han participado 458 alumnos, pertenecientes a cuatro facultades, tres localizadas en España: Facultad de Ciencias del Deporte de la Universidad de Extremadura (Cáceres) y Facultades de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte (INEF) de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid y de la Universidad de La Coruña; y una cuarta situada en México: la Facultad de Organización Deportiva (FOD) de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León. Para la recogida de información se ha utilizado el Cuestionario de procesos de estudio de Biggs (R-SPQ-2F, 2001), en su versión en español. Las conclusiones indican que los alumnos de las titulaciones de CAFD y FOD, pertenecientes a la muestra estudiada, adoptan, mayoritariamente, un enfoque de aprendizaje profundo, seguido de un enfoque superficial y un escaso porcentaje de enfoque equilibrado. Por género, las mujeres adoptan mayoritaria y significativamente un enfoque profundo en relación a los hombres. Finalmente, el enfoque de aprendizaje profundo es el predominante en los cuatro centros estudiados, no existiendo diferencias significativas entre los mismos.
The aim of this study was to detect and analyze the conceptions of teaching, learning activities and assessment of learning in classroom, and blended courses for university professor's face-to-face courses. The study design was non-experimental, descriptive, and mixed cut. The sample was not random with participation of 129 university professors' face-to-face courses. As was applied, the open questions questionnaire on teaching and learning conceptions of teachers and data reported six questions related to the conception of teaching, didactic activities and assessment of learning of courses in classroom and blended courses. The data were worked through content analysis and percentages. The findings showed a conception of classroom teaching with a focus on learning and a conception blended teaching with a strong focus on teaching. The most reported didactic activities in classroom courses at a decreasing hierarchy were: exposition and presentation, case study and mixed courses, technology per se, discussion forums, chat and Wikis. In classroom assessment courses predominated, in the abstract tests, participation, and research and blended courses the research, Wikis, forums and blog, and a significant number of teachers did not specify evaluation resources.
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