Shanali Govender, Tasneem Jaffer University of Cape Town

1. “The best part was the contact”:
Understanding postgraduate students’
experiences of wrapped MOOCs in a South
African university
Tasneem Jaffer, Shanali Govender & Cheryl Brown
1

2. M
C
0
0
assive
pen
nline
ourse
• Large course sign-ups (Mustafaraj, 2014)
• No prerequisites or admission requirements (Sandeen,
2013)
• Relatively low completion rates (Jordan, 2014; Khalil
and Ebner, 2014)
• Generally no institutional accreditation (Chauhan, 2014)
• No cost for enrollment and participation, (McAuley,
Stewart, Siemens & Cormier, 2010)
• Relatively low cost for certification (Dellarocas & Van
Alstyne, 2013)

3. 3
Blended learning

4. Blended learning landscape
4
Online
Face-to-
Face
Formal
Eg:
Accreditation
Non-
Formal
EG:
Summer
school
Semi -
Formal
EG:
Short
courses
Curriculum landsacpe

5. Blended learning - MOOCs and face-to-face
contexts5
Online
Face-to-
Face
Formal
Eg:
Accreditatio
n
Non-
Formal
Eg:
Summer
school
Semi -
Formal
Eg:
Short
courses
MOOCs
Curriculum landsacpe

6. Wrapped MOOCs
6

7. Questions?
◻ Is an institution or organization hosting and supporting the
face-to-face element of the learning experience?
◻ What kind of institution is it - a regulated educational institution, or an
employer, non-governmental organisation, or a professional body?
◻ If the former, then is the MOOC incorporated into the formal academic
curriculum or the co-curricula activities of the institution?
7

8. Types of Wrapped MOOCs
◻ Type 1: Peer Wrapped
◻ Type 2: Collegial Wrap
◻ Type 3: Co-curricula Wrap
◻ Type 4: Formal, Curricula Wrap
8

9. Background of UCT
● Research-intensive ● PGs drawn from
beyond UCT
9

10. The Office of Postgraduate Studies
◻ OPS supports PGs in completing their studies. Identified a problem: PGS
are
⬜ Diverse in their levels of preparedness for postgraduate study (Essa,
2011; Hanyane, 2015),
⬜ Diverse in their attainment of graduate attributes by the end of a
programme (Mouton, 2007; Le Grange & Newmark, 2002)
⬜ Identified MOOCs as a possible site for learning - opted to wrap
MOOCs to mitigate high attrition rates
⬜ Local facilitator with class of 15-20 students
⬜ NB facilitators designed to support students not teach
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11. Method
◻ Qualitative, case study approach
◻ Data collection: A range of primary and secondary data, sample of 406
students, including:
⬜ 3 semi-structured student & 5 facilitator interviews = 7 hours of data
⬜ 35 online student experience surveys ; and
⬜ 62 open-ended course evaluations (secondary data)
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12. The framework
12
◻ Data analysis: Analytical framework:
Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s (2000)
Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework
⬜ Content analysis (Stemler, 2001),
with the CoI presences providing
predetermined codes
⬜ The context and literature
provided a guide for additional
themes which emerged during
the analysis.
⬜ Established ‘learner presence’
and ‘structural factors’ as
additions to the framework

13. 13

14. 14
Finding #1
Having an authority
figure is important

15. Findings - Teaching Presence
◻ Replaced the MOOC instructor
⬜ MOOC became unimportant - students only came to sessions
⬜ “people only came to the facilitated sessions and did little -- if
anything -- of the online work”
⬜ “we weren’t watching [the MOOC videos], please tell us what you
found important”
◻ Provided context (local and disciplinary)
⬜ Students enjoyed the “practical application in [a] South African
context”
⬜ Students were able “to relate the course to our own research and
background”
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16. Findings - Teaching Presence
◻ Flattened classroom
⬜ Students came expecting traditional authority - they were “quite at sea
with all this equalness”
⬜ Facilitators were PG students themselves - established a comfortable
environment
⬜ Hierarchy was still necessary - learning activities, answering questions
◻ Clarify MOOC content
⬜ “The facilitator was able to clarify some concepts that I failed to
understand online by giving very good examples.”
◻ Facilitator central link to foster social and cognitive presence
⬜ E.g. facilitators creates a practical learning activity which prompts
discussion and the cognitive learning process
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17. 17
Finding #2
People like real people

18. Findings - Social Presence
◻ Preference for face-to-face interaction
⬜ “I was able to ask questions and interact with other students
having the same queries, which is not possible with a purely
online course”
⬜ “The discussions were more real than that of online peers”
◻ Place to share postgraduate student experiences
⬜ “it may sound cheesy but I felt far less alone to know that
colleagues in science or whatever were facing similar
challenges
⬜ One facilitator referred to sessions as “group therapy”
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19. 19
Finding #3
People learned stuff

20. Findings - Cognitive Presence
◻ Adapted MOOC assignments to the class for e.g writing and public
speaking MOOC
◻ Students were able to apply knowledge to their research
⬜ “I won best poster presentation at the School of Public Health's
annual research day, so thank you - I could not have done
without your help” - Public speaking student
⬜ “The course has had a huge implication for me and has now
altered the route of my thesis and where I project myself in the
long haul of life”
⬜ “I have a better grasp of how to manage a project for both my
discipline and personal life.”
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21. 21
Finding #4
Independent learning
is hard

22. Findings - Learner Presence
◻ Voluntary programme
⬜ Student intrinsically motivated
⬜ Wrapped MOOC experience requires more “self-motivation
than normal undergraduate lectures”
◻ Dropout remained high despite facilitated sessions
⬜ “heavy workload forced my withdrawal from the course”
⬜ “I stopped attending toward the end because I felt that it was
eating into my other course time”
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23. 23
Finding #4
Logistics matter

24. Findings - Structural factors
◻ Structure and format
⬜ Period between MOOC content being released & facilitated sessions
was too short.
◻ Venue
⬜ Computer lab was not conducive for discussion, meeting rooms were
preferred
◻ Duration of the session
⬜ “Too short to accomplish much.”
⬜ “More time, especially the discussion needs more time allocation.”
◻ Group size
⬜ Some sessions had two people attending - not enough for discussion
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25. Conclusion
25
◻ Facilitated sessions provided a meaningful experience to students
- addressed their cognitive need
◻ Students still struggled with independent learning, even with
facilitated support
◻ This study foregrounded the social issues of being a PG student

26. 26
Questions?

27. Authors
Tasneem
Jaffer
Cheryl
Brown
Shanali
Govender
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28. ◻ Corresponding author:
tasneem.jaffer@uct.ac.za
@Noobprincess
◻ Find us at the Centre for Innovation in Learning and
Learning - CILT
www.cilt.uct.ac.za
Contact details
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