research
Take a look about what we are studying about design and learner engagement.
researchTake a look about what we are studying about design and learner engagement.
Application and Evaluation of a Revision Framework to the Formative Assessments in a MOOC. Caitlin Friend, Darcy Gordon, Mary Ellen Wiltrout. Learning With MOOCS (LWMOOCS). IEEE, 2023. go to paper»
Key takeaway: This paper applies our 2022 published framework for course revision of formative assessments in a cell biology MOOC across 3 runs.
How to Build the Future of Teaching and Learning While Growing from the Changes and Challenges of 2020-21. Mary Ellen Wiltrout. Advances in Online Education, 2022. go to paper»
Key takeaway: This article reflects on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning as activites returned to in person. There are seven categories of discussion: course logistics, tools, assessment of learning and class activities, student services and programs, work culture, attitudes, and relationships.
Framework for Revising MOOC Assessments. Caitlin Friend, Monika Avello, Darcy Gordon, Mary Ellen Wiltrout. Learning With MOOCS (LWMOOCS). IEEE, 2022. go to paper»
Key takeaway: This paper discusses our decsion-making process for course revision for formative assessment. The figure provides the overview of the process.
Learning During COVID-19: Engagement and Attainment in an Introductory Biology MOOC. Virginia Katherine Blackwell and Mary Ellen Wiltrout. EMOOCs 2021. June 30, 2021. go to paper»
Key takeaway: We present how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the engagement in our Introductory Biology MOOC. Despite overall numbers of registration and verified learners increasing during the pandemic, the engagement metrics are not always higher in terms of proportion of learners trying problems, watching videos, or posting to a discussion forum. There is evidence that patterns of engagement will return to pre-pandemic numbers. Learners during the second run of the pandemic were not as active as any of the earlier runs as well, a possible sign of pandemic fatigue.
A Framework for Applying the Learning Sciences to MOOC Design. Darcy G. Gordon and Mary Ellen Wiltrout. Frontiers in Education. 2021. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2020.500481 go to paper»
Key takeaway: We present a description of how and why we use specific evidence-based learning science practices in a biochemistry MOOC with the intention to contribute to the discussion about the quality of online learning experiences, and lower the barrier for other practitioners seeking a scientific approach to course design.
Impact of Course Delivery Mode on Learner Engagement in MOOCs. Monika Avello; Mary Ellen Wiltrout; Ana Bell; Christin Vonder Haar; Shira Fruchtman. 2020 IEEE Learning With MOOCS (LWMOOCS), 2020, pp. 68-72, doi: 10.1109/LWMOOCS50143.2020.9234325. Conference paper: go to paper »
Key takeaway: Despite the assumptions that self-paced course delivery allows learners more opportunity to interact or complete the course, the results from comparing the same courses run multiple times in both self-paced and instructor-paced modes show that self-paced delivery does not improve engagement metrics.
The Digital Learning Laboratory Model to Catalyze University Teaching and Learning. Jessica Sandland and Mary Ellen Wiltrout. Sixth International Conference on Higher Education Advances, June 2020, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11038 Conference paper: go to paper »
Key takeaway: This paper outlines the Digital Learning Lab model at MIT. This community of practice started with the creation of MOOCs and has expanded to blended learning across campus. The members have subject matter expertise and academic appointments in departments to work to design digital projects and online courses in collaboration with their faculty colleagues.
Assessment That Matters: Balancing Reliability and Learner-centered Pedagogy in MOOC Assessment. Alexandron, G., Wiltrout, M. E., Berg, A., & Ruipérez-Valiente, J. A. LAK 2020. Preprint: go to paper » Conference paper: go to paper »
Key takeaway: We can intentionly design online assessments and course structure to prevent cheating and measure the impact of the design with an analytical method. This paper gives one example of an assessment model and metrics on the impact to cheating based on our 7.00x Introduction to Biology MOOC.
The Effect of Course Content Position on Student Attempts of Practice Problems in Introductory Biology. Wiltrout, ME, Roy, Anindya. Learning With MOOCS (LWMOOCS). IEEE, 2018. go to paper »
Key takeaway: We can encourage students to do more practice problems by placing the problems after videos in a learning sequence instead of a separate practice problem set or exam section.
Criteria for Video Engagement in a Biology MOOC. Thornton, S, Riley, C, Wiltrout, ME. Proceedings of the Fourth ACM Conference on Learning@Scale. ACM, 2017. go to paper »
Key takeaway: We find that our animated, scripted videos in 7.28.1x Molecular Biology MOOC show decreased learner completion compared to the unscripted lecture videos. We tested a variety of hypotheses and lean toward learners more experienced in the topic engage less in those videos. Additionally, you can see in the analysis of our course data that engagement with any video is independent of video length. This finding opposes the "6-minute rule" established for MOOC video length based on Guo et al.'s paper.
Teaching MIT Students to Think Like Cell Biologists: A Visual Approach. Thornton, S, Wiltrout, ME. EducationXpress, 2015. go to paper »
Key takeaway: This paper is more of a case study to describe the 7.06 Cell Biology project that we did with Professors Frank Solomon and Adam Martin. In this project, we created animated videos to walk through the scientific thinking of a published paper. We found that MIT students and teaching staff responded very positively to these videos and the alignment with the course materials. Learn more through the hybrid tab.
If you are interested in having a workshop be part of your conference or event, contact us.
How to Build the Future of Teaching and Learning While Learning from the Changes and Challenges of 2020-21, Berlin, Germany
go to the OEB conference website »
Mary Ellen Wiltrout led this workshop as part of the OEB conference held early December 2021. The focus centered on the question: How do we take the lessons learned from difficult times and great challenges to transition to a better future rather than just a blind return to the pre-pandemic state of teaching and learning?
Learning Engineering @ Scale, virtual,
Learning@Scale conference
go to the workshop summary paper »
Mary Ellen Wiltrout and Monika Avello from the group led this workshop with collaborators Jim Goodell and Aaron Kessler as part of the Learning@Scale conference held June 2021. The focus centered on discussion of the definition of learning engineering and examples of the application of that definition in our projects.
Utilizing the Wealth of Data Available to Manage and Improve your Online & e-Learning Strategy, virtual (Australia), Online & e-Learning Virtual Summit Mary Ellen Wiltrout led this workshop as part of the Summit held during October 2020. The focus centered on the question: How do we use data to improve learning design or strategy?
Learning Design for Engaging Digital STEM Assessments, London, England
go to the Reimagine Education conference website »
Mary Ellen Wiltrout led this workshop as part of the Reimagine Education conference held December 2019. The focus centered on assessment in digital learning.
Toolkit to Master Learning Design for Student Success, Melbourne, Australia
go to the Learning Design conference website »
Mary Ellen Wiltrout led this workshop as part of the Learning Design Summit held August 2019. The focus centered on the question: How do we assess learning online? The learning outcomes included:
Engaging Digital Learning Experiences 2019, Cambridge, MA
go to LINC website »
go to program website »
Similar to the goals of MOOC makers, the Digital Learning Lab and MITx brought together a community of practictioners and LINC participants to discuss current work in creating digital learning experiences for MOOCs or hybrid/blended learning.
HybridEd Workshop 2019: Smart, Data-Informed Blended Learning, Paris, France
go to event website »
With our international collaborators and support from MIT MISTI, we brought together an international community in Paris, France to discuss the current work in blended or hybrid learning.
HybridEd Workshop 2018: Successful and Promising Experiences in Blended Learning with MOOCs, Cambridge, MA
go to event website »
With our international collaborators and support from MIT MISTI, we brought together an international community at MIT to discuss the current work in hybrid/blended learning.
HybridEd Workshop 2016: MOOC Makers, Cambridge, MA
go to event website »
The Digital Learning Lab and MITx created an event that focused on bringing together a community of practioners creating MOOCs and blended learning experiences prior to the LINC event at MIT.