MOOCs and Problem-Based Learning: A Happy Marriage?

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) target a large number of participants, typically without entry requirements and for free. Inherently, the amount of teacher support is limited and interaction is often limited. This exploratory study aims to investigate whether characteristics of PBL can be implemented in a MOOC, thus applying a student-centred instructional design. The results of two runs of the MOOC Problem-Based Learning: Principles and design. Students at the centre! show that it is possible to design a MOOC based on student-centred learning theories. Participants discussed authentic problem cases in groups and followed a similar structure as in regular Problem-Based Learning (PBL): a brainstorm phase in which they collaboratively generated their own learning questions, a self-study phase in which they individually searched resources to study, and a reporting phase in which they collaboratively discussed what they had found. In the absence of tutor guidance and feedback, participants learned with and from each other. Participants were positive about the design, the learning materials, and the learning process in the PBL. Successful groups managed to collect insights and genuinely co-construct knowledge. However, the absence of a tutor makes means that this design is not comparable to traditional forms of PBL and is not successful for all MOOC participants.