A Pre-Calculus Course:From classroom to online to MOOC

Sarah EichhornAssociate Dean, Distance Learning

& Faculty, School of Physical Sciences

• Face-to-Face Course • Online Course

• Hybrid Course• Coursera MOOC

Optional

Course Asset Details• Video Lectures– 140 tablet written

narrated PowerPoints– 6 green screen unit

introductions – weekly JIT webcam videos

• Assessments– Traditional final exams

• Similar to textbook homework problems

• Short answer and multiple choice versions

– ALEKS Learning Software• Adaptive learning system• Individualized paths of

study for each student• Reevaluates students for

mastery learning• Final exam with multiple

versions of each problem

F2F vs. OnlineIndicators and Findings• Grades and Final Exams in Pre-Calculus

– Too many confounding factors to analyze grades effectively– Final exam performance on paired problems shows no discernable

difference between online and F2F

• Time spent on problem solving – F2F students reported spending 6 hrs/wk on course work– Online students spent on average 11 hrs/wk in ALEKS

• Instructor/Course Evaluations– Online students much less happy with course, but has improved

• Common Final Exam for Calculus I and Calculus II– Online does 2-5% better on Calculus final than F2F students– In progress: Drill down on individual topics

F2F vs. Online

Online vs. MOOC

Online Course MOOC

Enrollment (typical section) 300 45,000

Retention Rate 93% 12%

Pass Rate 75% 8%

Final exam average 69% 72%

Time spent in ALEKS 11 hrs/wk 7 hrs/wk*

• Courses both:– 10 weeks long– covered the same content– had a comprehensive final exam

F2F vs. Hybrid

The Study• University System of Maryland• Embedded repurposed MOOC

content into hybrid course• Goal “to explore the potential

for MOOCS … to improve student learning” and “to understand the conditions that make use of these materials more or less effective and efficient for student learning”

The Results• 2 out of 6 sections taught as

hybrid with MOOC content• Hybrid sections were larger

and had less class time• Hybrid sections were 2nd

and 3rd highest scores on common course assessment

• ** Several confounding factors still not studied

• Thank you!

• Questions?