Creating an online learning environment that engages learners beyond the given course period is challenging. Open, participant-driven discussion forums, where participants are provided with greater agency on what to learn, how to learn, and whom to learn with, have a unique potential to help learners engage in learning experiences based on their interests and needs. Based on sequential and qualitative analysis of speech acts found in the participant-initiated discussion threads hosted as part of a massive open online course, this paper explored the impact of participant actions as facilitative moves to gain a better understanding of the types of actions in the discussion that stimulated deeper engagement with the ideas of interest. The analysis identified several facilitative moves that nurture or hinder deeper conversation in an open online discussion forum that has design implications. The paper also highlights the potential of analysing conversation sequences of posts as a promising method to study discussion forum data.

In an open online discussion forum, where there is no fixed structure or a facilitator like a course forum without any assigned themes, every participant is a facilitator shaping the direction and depth of a conversation. How can we as designers then make sure it leads to an engaging learning community that learners keep coming back to beyond the given course period? This paper reports on sequential analysis of 172 posts in 32 threads and close reading of two threads from an open online discussion forum in a free open online course, specifically looking at the impact of participant actions as facilitative moves, to gain better understanding of the types of actions that lead to deeper and sustained engagement with the ideas of interest. Sequential analysis is an approach that estimates which types of sequences of posts or interactions are most likely to occur in a threaded discussion. The results showed that sharing personal experiences attracted most responses, implying that it is important to encourage participants to share questions or cases connected to their personal experiences. In addition, somewhat paradoxically, we found that posts acknowledging responses tend to conclude and close down the conversation while posts that ask diverging questions tend to attract more discussion.

MOOCs (massive open online courses) were introduced into this landscape as the next big thing in HE, the tool for ‘innovative disruption’ that will improve education. In the true spirit of the Silicon Valley start‐ups, the big‐name MOOC platforms started with a large cash inflow, seemingly without a systematic revenue model worked out a priori. Coursera started with a venture capital backing of US$16 million in 2012 and raised US$85 million in three years [1]. edX started with US$30 million investment each from Harvard University and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), as well as buy‐in from the collaborating institutions in cash and/or resources. HEIs are also investing sizable resources to develop MOOCs, some of it in terms of faculty time, over and above regular teaching responsibilities. It is not realistic to imagine that such cash flow will keep MOOCs afloat to eternity. As the MOOC hype dies down and we move beyond the phase of ‘proof of concept’ for this innovation, the question of sustainability has become important. Sustainability of MOOCs at this stage has to be examined from the following two perspectives:

The evidence for whether IHEs have been able to achieve their goals through MOOCs is examined. While MOOCs may not have "democratized" education, they have made IHE offerings available to millions across the globe. IHEs have successfully attracted thousands of new "consumers" as a result of offering MOOCs, but it is unclear whether MOOC participants are subsequently inspired to enroll in fee-earning programs. The uptake for certified series of MOOCs or "specializations" has yielded some revenues for IHEs but cost savings are more elusive. MOOCs have catalyzed a great deal of innovation and experimentation with online and on-campus pedagogy, but it is not clear whether this has led to improved educational outcomes. They have also provided a rich substrate for research on teaching and learning.

Going forward, MOOCs could help IHEs achieve each of their stated goals to some extent, but neither as dramatically nor as easily as anticipated. Achieving wider access to higher education will require a variety of additional strategies ranging from intensive supports for college attendees at risk of dropping out, to alternative credentials of value for those who choose not to attend college. As the number of alternative credential providers increases, IHEs should differentiate themselves by leveraging their research capabilities to engage in continuous improvement of teaching and learning. Learners, employers, and society as a whole would be better served if the current emphasis on earning credentials shifted towards identifying desirable learning outcomes and finding ways for learners to demonstrate acquired skills and knowledge.

Despite dire depictions regarding the current state of higher education, demand for what IHEs provide is higher than ever. However, Institution of Higher Educations (IHEs) are facing considerable pressure to lower their costs, to broaden access to a wider audience, and to demonstrate that students are gaining useful knowledge and skills. Many look to technology to help address these challenges despite a mixed historical record on the success of technological innovations to improve productivity in education. MOOCs are introduced as the latest development in the trajectory of online learning, and the authors describe a study they conducted to investigate institutional goals and strategies with respect to MOOCs.

Based on interviews with individuals at 62 institutions, 6 major goals are identified for MOOC initiatives at IHEs and other organizations: extending the reach of the institution and access to education, building and maintaining brand, improving economics by lowering costs or increasing revenues, improving educational outcomes for both MOOC participants and on-campus students, innovation in teaching and learning, and conducting research on teaching and learning. Examples are provided to demonstrate how institutions use MOOCs to address each goal. Concerns regarding the ability of MOOCs to fulfill expectations and current obstacles are also identified.

MOOCs of the future are expected to be less "massive" and less 'Open" as producers target audiences more carefully and charge fees for certification and other services. They may become indistinguishable from "traditional" online courses. While enrollments may decrease, completion rates are likely to increase, especially if combinations of xMOOC and cMOOC pedagogy improve the overall learning experience. Key issues going forward for MOOCs and other non-traditional learning experiences are whether they will receive accreditation and qualify for federal student aid. We expect that competency-based learning and assessment will be the next "innovation" in higher education to receive widespread attention as the emphasis grows on bridging the gap between college education and employers' needs, and from reputation towards accountability.

Given the ongoing alarm regarding uncontrollable costs of higher education, it would be reasonable to expect not only concern about the impact of MOOCs on educational outcomes, but also systematic efforts to document the resources expended on their development and delivery. However, there is little publicly available information on MOOC costs that is based on rigorous analysis. In this article, we first address what institutional resources are required for the development and delivery of MOOCs, based on interviews conducted with 83 administrators, faculty members, researchers, and other actors in the MOOCspace. Subsequently, we use the ingredients method to present cost analyses of MOOC production and delivery at four institutions. We find costs ranging from $38,980 to $325,330 per MOOC, and costs per completer of $74-$272, substantially lower than costs per completer of regular online courses, by merit of scalability. Based on this metric, MOOCs appear more cost-effective than online courses, but we recommend judging MOOCs by impact on learning and caution that they may only be cost-effective for the most self-motivated learners. By demonstrating the methods of cost analysis as applied to MOOCs, we hope that future assessments of the value of MOOCs will combine both cost information and effectiveness data to yield cost-effectiveness ratios that can be compared with the cost-effectiveness of alternative modes of education delivery. Such information will help decision-makers in higher education make rational decisions regarding the most productive use of limited educational resources, to the benefit of both learners and taxpayers.

This paper will examine a robotics curriculum that is impacting educators and youth in both formal, middle and high school classrooms as well as in a variety of informal learning environments. We have made comparisons between formal and informal learning environments in an effort to understand the varying impacts of this novel program on student learning of science concepts, their skills and abilities in applying engineering design and problem-solving, and their awareness and interest in engineering careers and the individuals who pursue these careers. Data from teachers, informal educators and youth during the second year of project implementation suggest that strategies designed to improve the experience and learning of participants in informal learning environments ultimately improve the enjoyment, content learning, STEM interest and engagement of students in both informal and formal environments.

This paper reports on an ethnographic research to explore how adult users of a social network site focused on diabetes educate themselves about living with this condition. From the health education perspective these explorations shed light on the ongoing education in settings other than the clinics and how these settings support, draw from or subvert the traditional forms of diabetes education. More generally it adds to the theoretical writings and empirical studies that capture the educative aspects of practice of everyday living.

This paper will present powerful aspects of collectible card games (CCGs) and what these games might bring to a learning ecology by examining how CCGs stimulate creativity, cognition, and logical reasoning, and how these elements could aid players synthesizing knowledge, and develop skills that might be difficult to teach in a classroom setting. We will also present some key findings and implications of a survey study about CCGs that we conducted with players of a multi-player CCG (N = 365), Vampire the Eternal Struggle (VTES). We will conclude with recommendations for future studies on this topic.

Title: Teacher Professional Development Programs in Grades 3-8: Promoting Teachers’ and Students’ Content Knowledge in Science and Engineering MSP Project Name: Partnership to Improve Student Achievement in Physical Science: Integrating STEM Approaches (PISA) Author(s): Augusto Macalalag Jr., Devayani Tirthali, Elisabeth McGrath, Mercedes McKay, and Susan Lowes Presenter(s): Elisabeth McGrath and Augusto Macalalag, Jr.

Name Teacher Professional Development Programs in Grades 3-8: Promoting Teachers’ and Students’ Content Knowledge in Science and Engineering MSP Project Name: Partnership to Improve Student Achievement in Physical Science: Integrating STEM Approaches (PISA2) Authors: Augusto Macalalag Jr., Devayani Tirthali, Elisabeth McGrath, Mercedes McKay, and Susan Lowes Presenters: Elisabeth McGrath and Augusto Macalalag Jr. Strand 2: The use of student data to inform and refine MSP work: Examination of the links between professional development and data on student success. Summary: The NSF MSP Partnership to Improve Student Achievement in Physical Science: Integrating STEM Approaches (PISA2) is based on findings from a USED NJ MSP Project. This presentation examines components of the NJ MSP project’s PD program that contributed to science learning gains among teachers and students using a quasi-experimental design. In Year 3 of that three-year program, 46 elementary teachers attended a two-week summer institute, three school-year PD days, and received monthly classroom visits. Results indicated that teachers and students significantly increased their content knowledge in science and engineering compared to the comparison group; teacher post-test scores were a significant predictor of student science learning; as were the number of program lessons taught and the number of engineering lessons taught. Question/Issue for Dialogue at Learning Network Conference Session This paper will examine the links between professional development and data on student success. Research findings from a USED NJ MSP program provided a foundation for the development of the NSF Partnership to Improve Student Achievement in Physical Science: Integrating STEM Approaches (PISA2) project (start date June 1, 2010). In five years, over 400 Grade 3-8 teachers from 12 school district partners will participate in 15-credit hours of graduate coursework and related professional development to strengthen their science content knowledge in physical and earth sciences with emphasis on sustainability and global resources awareness. In addition, teachers will improve their understanding of how students learn STEM subjects, their use of science inquiry and engineering design, and their ability to facilitate student learning of 21st century skills such as innovation and creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork. School and district administrators will benefit from leadership training and strategic planning efforts to chart a course for strengthening STEM programs in their districts. Similar to the NJ MSP, monthly classroom visits will support teachers as they implement new lessons and content in their classrooms. Our evaluation and research questions in the PISA2 program focus on the contributions of a PD program which utilizes scientific inquiry and the engineering design process (EDP) to achieve increases in teachers’ content knowledge of science and engineering, on their attitudes and beliefs about teaching science; and on the program’s impact on students’ content knowledge of science and engineering and on their learning of 21st century skills, such as innovation, creativity, and problem-solving. Context of the work within the STEM education literature and within your MSP Project: Exemplary professional development (PD) for teachers can have a positive impact on students’ learning and the classroom environment. Specifically, Blank and de las Alas (2009) found successful PD experiences for math teachers contributed to an increase in teachers’ subject knowledge, pedagogy, and students’ content knowledge. The USED-sponsored NJ MSP program, Partnership to Improve Student Achievement (PISA) integrated engineering curricula with model-based science inquiry in a three-year program with approximately 50 Grade 3-5 teachers in six urban districts in northern NJ. The PISA program was launched in 2007 to infuse high quality, research-based engineering lessons into elementary science education with the aim of promoting problem-based learning approaches in science and increasing student and teacher content knowledge. The engineering component of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has been overlooked in K-12 teacher education for many years (Committee on K-12 Engineering Education, 2009). Results from the first and the second years of the program showed that teachers and students in the treatment group had statistically significant learning gains in science and engineering concepts and skills as well as in the targeted science content alone (Macalalag, Brockway, McKay, & McGrath, 2008; Macalalag, Lowes, Guo, McKay, McGrath, 2009). In the third year, 46 grade 3-5 teachers experienced 124 hours of PD consisting of inquiry-based coursework in physical science; experiential, problem-based learning activities using research-based science and engineering curricula; and classroom support visits. Teacher PD consisted of a two-week, 80-hour summer institute, three PD days during the school year, and monthly classroom support visits (coaching, modeling, curriculum alignment, and planning). These 46 treatment teachers impacted 796 Grade 3-5 students. A comparison group of 38 teachers with 769 students was selected and matched against the treatment group based on schools’ geographic location, demographics, grade level, and subjects taught by the teacher. Our research questions were: (1) Does the PD enhance the teachers’ content knowledge in targeted science and engineering topics? (2) Does the PD result in improved classroom practice, defined as implementation of science inquiry and the engineering design process (EDP)? and, (3) Will the treatment group of students improve their content knowledge in physical science topics and engineering after one year of an intensive teacher PD program? Data for this paper included pre and post tests administered to teachers and students in both treatment and comparison groups and the lesson implementation survey collected from teachers in the third year of the three year program. Each year of the three-year program focused on a different science discipline with associated engineering and technology content. As the program required that teachers engage with university-level content, teachers were challenged with higher-level content, through a variety of inquiry-based lessons presented by faculty and instructors. Year 1 was devoted to life and environmental sciences; Year 2, to earth and space sciences; and Year 3 to physical sciences. Classroom support visits were another component of the program intended to ensure that teachers successfully implemented new content in their classrooms. Visits were also used to document and assess the needs of teachers and students. Three PD sessions conducted during the school year (two face-to-face and one online) expanded and reinforced the science content knowledge that teachers learned during the summer institute. Professional Development Framework In this study we hypothesized that the teacher PD program would enhance teacher content knowledge, pedagogy, and student content knowledge. This path of inservice teacher education was described in the literature by Kennedy (1998). We hypothesized that through the instructional lessons in the workshops, which were designed to promote scientific inquiry and the engineering design process, teachers’ content knowledge and classroom practices would be enhanced. Students’ content knowledge, in turn, would indirectly improve as a result of these experiences. Ingvarson, Meiers, and Beavis (2005) conducted a survey with 3,250 teachers who participated in 80 individual PD studies. Their findings suggested that the program’s content has the most impact on teachers’ knowledge. Follow-up workshops also contribute to knowledge gains. In terms of factors that influence teachers’ classroom practices, programs that provide many opportunities for active learning and reflection on practice top the list. In another study that examined nine studies in terms of the effect of teacher PD on student achievement in science, mathematics, and language arts, Yoon, Duncan, Lee, Scarloss, & Shapley (2007) found a relationship between the number of PD hours for teachers and student achievement. Specifically, studies that had more than fourteen hours of PD showed a positive and significant effect on student achievement. The three studies that involved the least amount of PD (5-14 hours total) showed no statistically significant effects on student achievement. In looking at the PD that focused on preparing middle school teachers to implement engineering/technology education in the classroom, Hynes and dos Santos (2007) found that the two-week PD was successful in improving teachers’ confidence in their knowledge and in teaching engineering principles. Specifically, teachers benefited from the program by engaging in multiple hands-on opportunities with the materials by practicing teaching the engineering lessons in a safe environment afforded by the program, and by learning from other teachers. Our brief review described the different features of PD that influenced teachers’ and students’ achievement. Claim(s) or hypothesis(es) examined in the work (anticipating that veteran projects will have claims, newer projects will have hypotheses): In our USED NJ MSP project, we hypothesized that treatment teachers’ content knowledge would increase similar to what Ingvarson et al., (2005) and Yoon et al., (2007) found in their reviews. In contrast with Hynes and dos Santos (2007), we integrated the engineering design process into the teaching of science and provided monthly classroom visits to help teachers implement the engineering and technology lessons of the program. In our NSF PISA2 project, we hypothesize that the components of our intensive professional development program consisting of (1) 5 graduate courses or equivalent to deepen teachers conceptual knowledge of physi

This paper discusses the impact of ‘The Dream It. Do It Initiative’ (D.I.D.I.), an informal learning program implemented in Teen Second Life (TSL), on leadership development. We found support for using TSL as a venue for leadership exploration. Specifically, we found that venturers became aware of the community issues in these worlds; they gained leadership skills such as teamwork, determination, and responsibility; and they learned how to use their mistakes to improve their projects. We conclude that virtual worlds, as “places for engagement”, can indeed be used to help youth explore their leadership potential with support from parents and educators.

Innovative, research-based professional development is needed to help teachers implement science and engineering education in elementary schools. This is a challenging task, particularly for teachers who many have little familiarity with either science inquiry or the engineering design process (EDP), and who may not have developed the instructional strategies needed to facilitate student inquiry and engagement in EDP. In the Partnership to Improve Student Achievement (PISA) study, 43 grade 3-5 teachers in New Jersey participated in a two-week summer workshop, three workshops during the school year, and received monthly classroom support visits, which comprised one year of instructional activities in a three-year professional development program. The study also included 737 students taught by teachers in the treatment group, 35 teachers in the comparison group, and 684 students taught by teachers in the comparison group. We analyzed preand posttests of teachers and students in both groups and teacher activity implementation surveys. Results from the preand posttests showed that the treatment teachers significantly increased their content knowledge in science and engineering compared to the comparison group. Similarly, post-test scores of students in the treatment group were significantly higher than the post-test scores of students in the comparison group. Teachers noted that scientific inquiry and the engineering design process promoted 21 century skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication among students. Finally, further data analysis revealed that the number of PISA lessons that teachers implemented in their classrooms was a significant predictor of students’ test scores. In this paper, we report on the professional development model that we used and the results of our study.