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Paper: MOOC Learners' Motivation and Course Performance: Preliminary Study
Volume: 524, Advancing Astronomy for All (ASP 2018)
Page: 163
Authors: Buxner, S.; Formanek, M.; Wenger, M.; Impey, C. D.
Abstract: This work reports on learners enrolled in an astronomy cohort-based Massive Open Online Course. Through an external survey we collected data from over 2,500 participants between December 2016 and March 2018. We present demographic composition of the learners and we document their progression through the assignments and video lectures in the course. Finally, we list the reasons for signing up for the course and motivational scores on the Science Motivation Questionnaire II. We show that almost everyone had a high interest in astronomy. Two other main reasons for signing up was the reputation of the instructor and the fact that the course was free. All survey respondents had on average high intrinsic motivation and low social, grade, and career motivation. This works serves as a basis for a future study of relationship between learners' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and course performance including final grades, video usage, and participation in discussion forums and peer grading assignments.
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