A Conceptual Persuasive Development Framework to Change Students’ Behaviour in Massive Open Online Courses: A Review

Abstract

Some experts attribute the relatively low completion rates of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) partly to user dissatisfaction with the system. Live instructors are absent from MOOCs due to their delivery through virtual learning platforms. A distinctive feature distinguishing MOOCs from other e-learning systems is the significantly higher ratio between users and instructors. Consequently, the main challenges include limited interaction between students and study materials and the heightened need for instructor guidance. Consequently, enhancing the design of the existing MOOCs system is imperative to create a more engaging learning experience. Previous studies have attempted to incorporate persuasive design elements into e-learning systems. However, these studies must integrate persuasive design with motivational factors and effective learning strategies to encourage student behavior change and increase student engagement. The present study utilizes prior literature to establish a conceptual framework for persuasive e-learning development, known as PEDAL, which integrates motivational factors, learning strategies, and persuasive design principles. The initial section of the paper introduces issues related to student motivation, learning strategies, the MOOCs platform, and the potential impact of persuasive technology on enhancing the effectiveness of MOOCs. The subsequent section elucidates the methodology employed for the literature search. The third section explains the mechanisms of the PEDAL framework and discusses relevant previous literature that contributed to its development. Finally, the last section outlines the framework's limitations and potential future improvement. The paper also outlines how the proposed conceptual framework can be applied to design an effective e-learning system.