Learning through Design: MOOC Development as a Method for Exploring Teaching Methods

Exploring new pedagogical approaches and technologies in learning experiences such as MOOCs offers educators a clear opportunity to reflect on and expand their teaching methods and document effective practices. However, while research has affirmed the value of self-reflection as an important means to improve one’s pedagogical practices, very limited data about self-reflection during course design exists for online instructors in higher education. A team of MOOC course designers thus seized the opportunity to investigate whether they could improve their teaching practices by engaging in a connectivist and reflective process to create an innovative MOOC. The MOOC design team for Educational Technology and Media Massive Open Online Course (ETMOOC) created a virtual laboratory for reflecting on the pedagogical approaches and technologies they were considering. The underlying question they sought to answer was whether their experiences with the connectivist design process would impact their own self-reflective teaching practice. The design team encouraged exploration of various pedagogical models, leveraged the web to create connected learning experiences, networked learning, and reflected on the design throughout the development of the course. For the author, designing, developing, and teaching a MOOC created trigger moments for improving teaching. The author provides a list of suggested practices for reflecting on teaching and improving course design for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) in particular