ABSTRACT

The current study assesses the effect of using Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) with the specific goal of providing remedial education. The data refer to an Italian flagship university, Politecnico di Milano, where a MOOC platform was launched following the strategy ‘MOOCs to bridge the gaps’. Hence, the study aims at assessing the effect of students completing a MOOC taken as a foundation course in physics on their ability to pass the subsequent on-campus exam in physics (N = 2,830). The research used Propensity Score Matching (PSM), basing the propensity scores on personal and academic information about the students. The results show that completers are 7 to 16 percentage points more likely to pass the related exam than the other students enrolled in the same MOOCs. These findings support the idea that using MOOCs for remedial purposes is effective in terms of student achievement within a formal education context.

摘要

目前的研究评估了使用大规模开放在线课程 (MOOC) 的效果，具体目标是提供补习教育。这些数据指的是意大利的旗舰大学米兰理工大学，该大学按照“MOOC 弥合差距”战略推出了 MOOC 平台。因此，该研究旨在评估学生完成作为物理基础课程的 MOOC 对他们通过随后的物理校内考试能力的影响（N = 2,830）。该研究使用倾向得分匹配 (PSM)，将倾向得分基于学生的个人和学术信息。结果显示，完成者通过相关考试的可能性比参加相同 MOOC 的其他学生高 7 到 16 个百分点。