MOOCs in STEM Education: Teacher Preparation and Views
- PDF / 830,332 Bytes
- 26 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 81 Downloads / 202 Views
MOOCs in STEM Education: Teacher Preparation and Views Bekir Yıldırım1 Accepted: 17 October 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract This study investigated teachers’ views of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The sample consisted of 30 teachers recruited from different cities of Turkey using criteria sampling. Phenomenology was the research method of choice. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview form and analyzed using content analysis. Participants use MOOCs because they are free of charge and have good content and high quality. MOOCs help them learn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, gain professional knowledge, and develop skills, and positive attitudes and values. Most participants are interested in integrating MOOCs in their classes; however, they face various problems during MOOCs, such as loss of motivation and Internet connection issues. It is recommended that MOOCs be designed in such a way that they increase participants’ motivation and allow for feedback. Keywords MOOC · Teacher · Teacher preparation · Views
1 Introduction Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have transformed not only various fields of knowledge (from health to law) but also how we perceive education. This change has led to a revision of higher education and promoted the efforts to integrate ICTs in higher education (Turan et al. 2013). Recent developments of ICT provide flexibility and facilitate access to information, leading to the emergence of online higher education platforms, one of which is massive open online courses (MOOCs).
2 Massive Open Online Courses Massive Open Online Courses are free and easily accessible courses that allow thousands of people to receive education at the same time. MOOCs were inspired by the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge course developed by Downes and Siemens in 2008 * Bekir Yıldırım [email protected] 1
Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Education, Mus Alparslan University, Mus 49250, Turkey
13
Vol.:(0123456789)
B. Yıldırım
(Cormier and Siemens 2010). Massive Open Online Courses have attracted widespread interest in the last decade, but they have been offering courses and certificates on such websites as Coursera, edX, and Udemy since 2012 (Baggaley 2013). Today, MOOCs are also used as a new version of e-learning in higher education and professional development programs (Conole 2014; Laurillard 2016; Vivian et al. 2014; Wang et al. 2018). Massive Open Online Courses have been a point of controversy since they became part of higher education and professional development programs. For example, Martin (2012) and Miller (2012) argue that MOOCs are a disruptive innovation for higher education, whereas Lederman (2013) states that they result in less learning than face-to-face education. Besides, only about 25% of those who enroll in MOOCs complete the courses, which is one of the major setbacks (Bozna 2016; Castaño-Muñoz et al. 2018; Jordan 2014; Radoiu 2014). Another setback is the inadequate techno
Data Loading...
