What motivates enrolment in programming MOOCs?     

Piret Luik  Reelika Suviste  Marina Lepp  Tauno Palts  Eno Tõnisson  Merilin Säde  Kaspar Papli 《British journal of educational technology : journal of the Council for Educational Technology》2019,50(1):153-165

Learners who enrol in massive open online courses (MOOCs) have different backgrounds and tend to have different motivations than learners in traditional courses. Based on value-expectancy theory, an instrument was developed to measure motivation for enrolling in a programming MOOC. A study with 1229 adult participants in Estonian-language programming course “About Programming” was conducted to validate the instrument. Results of confirmatory factor analysis validated the 7-factor scale named factors influencing enrolment in MOOC (FIEM). FIEM comprises three factors of expectancies, three factors of values and one factor of social influence. The highest and lowest rated motivational factors influencing enrolment in programming MOOC are discussed in the paper. Interest in and expectations for the course, personal suitability of distance learning and suitability for family and work are the highest-rated motivational factors for those who enrol in MOOC. Usefulness related to own children, social influence and usefulness to related to certification were the lowest rated. The results of this study can be useful for designers of programming MOOCs and the developed scale might be used in future studies.  相似文献   

Programming MOOCs – different learners and different motivation     

Piret Luik  Marina Lepp  Lidia Feklistova  Merilin Säde  Marili Rõõm  Tauno Palts 《International Journal of Lifelong Education》2020,39(3):305-318

ABSTRACT

MOOCs for learning the basics of programming have become popular among people with a diverse range of backgrounds, interests and learning contexts. Studies show that learners who enrol in MOOCs tend to have different motivation from learners in traditional courses, but it is not known how motivation differs for people with different backgrounds. This study aims to describe how the motivational factors behind enrolment in programming MOOCs relate to learners’ characteristics. The data were gathered in the spring of 2017 with a motivation scale (FIEM) from 1,536 participants of the MOOC ‘About Programming’. Using comparative analysis, differences in motivational factors between groups by gender, employment status and previous experiences in programming were found. Correlational analysis revealed that educational level, age and self-evaluated probability of completing the MOOC were also related to motivational factors. Different people are motivated by different factors, indicating that this knowledge could be used to design interesting and motivating programming MOOCs, which are relevant to learners with various backgrounds.  相似文献