A MOOC-Based Experience in Secondary Education for Student Inclusion

Abstract

There are very few studies that report on the use of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Secondary Education. Even so, MOOCs can be a great opportunity to give students “equal footing” when there are important learning gaps between classmates. This is especially notorious in vulnerable schools since students can come from many different backgrounds, with different socio-economic situations that hinder their academic progress. In this context, teachers face the enormous task of being inclusive and assuring that all their students learn, while at the same time ensuring a certain quality in their lectures. This study presents a MOOC-based blended learning experience conducted in a vulnerable secondary education institution in which the MOOC is a means to help the teacher deal with students’ diversity in class. Our results show that this teaching methodology has a positive effect on students learning outcomes, they also adopt it successfully, and finally, this experience allows the teacher to focus on the students that need more help, and therefore, promoting student equity and reducing the learning gap between classmates.