The Learning Design of MOOC Discussion Forums: An Analysis of Forum Instructions and Their Role in Supporting the Social Construction of Knowledge

Social constructivism emphasises the role of meaningful interactions as a vehicle for learning. Meaningful interactions engage learners cognitively and socially with others to construct knowledge. Such interactions, however, require an environment specially designed to facilitate and guide learners’...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Technology, knowledge and learning knowledge and learning, 2024-06, Vol.29 (2), p.585-615
Main Authors: Rivera, Dennis A., Frenay, Mariane, Swaen, Valérie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive Processes
Constructivism
Constructivism (Learning)
Creativity and Arts Education
Education
Educational Technology
Instructional design
Learner Engagement
Learning
Learning and Instruction
MOOCs
Online instruction
Original Research
Science Education
Social construction
Socialization
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Summary:Social constructivism emphasises the role of meaningful interactions as a vehicle for learning. Meaningful interactions engage learners cognitively and socially with others to construct knowledge. Such interactions, however, require an environment specially designed to facilitate and guide learners’ cognitive and social processes towards the construction of knowledge. Forums in massive open online courses (MOOCs) could potentially provide such an environment. However, research on how MOOC forums are designed to facilitate and guide cognitive and social processes is scarce. This study adopts a qualitative lens to examine the specifications, pedagogical instructions, and guidance provided in the forums of 4 edX MOOCs to help learners engage in meaningful interactions. We sought to uncover how MOOC forums are designed to support the social construction of knowledge. We found that MOOC forums mainly seek to facilitate cognitive processes while giving scant support or guidance to social processes. Such a learning design might favour the individual over the social construction of knowledge. To a certain extent, our findings help explain the questionable effectiveness of MOOC forums as social learning environments.
ISSN:2211-1662
2211-1670
DOI:10.1007/s10758-023-09670-w