This study examined the role motivational dispositions had on completing a massive open online course (MOOC) using identifiable data from 10,726 students who enrolled in an iteration of the HarvardX MOOC, Super Earths and Life. As part of the course registration process, learners had the option to complete a pre-course survey and self-report information including their level of education, gender and registration motivations. Using these pre-course survey responses, latent profiles linked to learners’ course performance were created. Results showed education background, gender, and motivation were all significantly related to students’ performance. Furthermore, students with intrinsic motivational dispositions performed better than students with extrinsic dispositions, and females performed better than males.

这项研究使用来自10,726名学生的可识别数据，研究了动机倾向在完成大规模开放式在线课程（MOOC）中的作用，这些学生报名参加了哈佛大学MOOC，《超级地球与生命》的迭代。作为课程注册过程的一部分，学习者可以选择完成课前调查和自我报告信息，包括他们的教育程度，性别和注册动机。使用这些课前调查反馈，可以创建与学习者的课程表现相关的潜在概况。结果显示，教育背景，性别和动机都与学生的表现显着相关。此外，具有内在动机性格的学生的表现要比具有外部动机性格的学生要好，而女性的表现要好于男性。