Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Course
written by
Michael Dubson, Ed Johnsen, David Lieberman, Jack R. Olsen, and Noah D. Finkelstein
In the fall of 2013, we taught the calculus-based introductory physics course at the University of Colorado at Boulder and, at the same time we taught a MOOC version of the same course, through Coursera. Students in both courses received identical lectures, homework assignments, and timed exams. We present data on participation rates and exam performance for the two groups. We find that the MOOC is like a drug targeted at a very specific population. When it works, it works well, but it works for very few. This MOOC worked well for older, well-educated students, who already have a good understanding of Newtonian mechanics.
Physics Education Research Conference 2014
Part of the PER Conference Plenary Paper series
Minneapolis, MN: July 30-31, 2014
Pages 9-12
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the published article's author(s), title, proceedings citation, and DOI.
<a href="https://www.compadre.org/introphys/items/detail.cfm?ID=13512">Dubson, M, E. Johnsen, D. Lieberman, J. Olsen, and N. Finkelstein. "Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Course." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2014, Minneapolis, MN, July 30-31, 2014.</a>
M. Dubson, E. Johnsen, D. Lieberman, J. Olsen, and N. Finkelstein, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2014, Minneapolis, MN, 2014, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13512&DocID=4107).
M. Dubson, E. Johnsen, D. Lieberman, J. Olsen, and N. Finkelstein, Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Course, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2014, Minneapolis, MN, 2014, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13512&DocID=4107>.
Dubson, M., Johnsen, E., Lieberman, D., Olsen, J., & Finkelstein, N. (2014, July 30-31). Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Course. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2014, Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved December 14, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13512&DocID=4107
Dubson, M, E. Johnsen, D. Lieberman, J. Olsen, and N. Finkelstein. "Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Course." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2014, Minneapolis, MN, July 30-31, 2014. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13512&DocID=4107 (accessed 14 December 2024).
Dubson, Michael, Ed Johnsen, David Lieberman, Jack R. Olsen, and Noah Finkelstein. "Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Course." Physics Education Research Conference 2014. Minneapolis, MN: 2014. 9-12 of PER Conference Plenary Paper. 14 Dec. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13512&DocID=4107>.
@inproceedings{
Author = "Michael Dubson and Ed Johnsen and David Lieberman and Jack R. Olsen and Noah Finkelstein",
Title = {Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Course},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2014},
Pages = {9-12},
Address = {Minneapolis, MN},
Series = {PER Conference Plenary Paper},
Month = {July 30-31},
Year = {2014}
}
%A Michael Dubson %A Ed Johnsen %A David Lieberman %A Jack R. Olsen %A Noah Finkelstein %T Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Course %S PER Conference Plenary Paper %D July 30-31 2014 %P 9-12 %C Minneapolis, MN %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13512&DocID=4107 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2014 %O July 30-31 %O application/pdf
%0 Conference Proceedings %A Dubson, Michael %A Johnsen, Ed %A Lieberman, David %A Olsen, Jack R. %A Finkelstein, Noah %D July 30-31 2014 %T Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Course %B Physics Education Research Conference 2014 %C Minneapolis, MN %P 9-12 %S PER Conference Plenary Paper %8 July 30-31 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13512&DocID=4107
Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
Record Link
Save to my folders