Study of Learners’ Behavior in Massive Open Online Course using Cluster Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to analysis of the learners’ behavior during MOOC and determining the learners’ course completion rates. The explorative research design was followed in the study. The sample of the study was 250 learners, which was selected using of sampling technique called stratified simple random sampling. Non-hierarchical cluster analysis was employed to determine learners’ behavior in MOOCs and a t-test for unequal variances was used to find a significant difference between learners learning behavior among clusters. MOOCs were administered on the MOODLE platform, targeting learners from diverse domains and organizations. Results found two engagement patterns emerged from this study as participated learners visited the course periodically and certified learners completed the course thoroughly. The learning behavior and pattern of these two clusters were likely to prove an improvement in the quality of learning environment. Findings indicated that there was a significant difference in the fourth-week engagement pattern and quiz marks between two cluster learners. The study underlines the importance of internal and external drivers in higher education as distance, vocational and online education to support the quality of technology-enhanced learning in higher education.