Abstract
This paper presents a case study evaluating the online learning experience of ten refugees on MOOCs. Qualitative data were collected from the learners, generating a set of 43 statements depicting the learners’ experience of learning, which were analysed using an augmented Community of Inquiry (CoI) theoretical framework. The key findings show that learners particularly desired teaching presence in terms of facilitation and feedback on their progress; they viewed online social presence as being important but generally not well managed in MOOCs; and they expressed cognitive presence mainly in terms of the selection and use of information sources. Learning presence (the additional element of the “augmented” CoI framework) was described primarily in terms of the importance of goal-setting and planning. The implications for organisations supporting refugees and other learners in disadvantaged circumstances on MOOCs are discussed.
Highlights
This paper examines the learning experience of refugees and asylum seekers within the context of a German non-governmental organisation, Kiron Open Higher Education gGmbH, which supports refugees to learn from massive, open, online courses (MOOCs)
This section addresses the first two research questions: RQ1: What are the learners’ depictions of how they learn online? RQ2: How do these depictions map onto the indicators for the presences in the augmented Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework?
The statements are presented in the tables below, organised around the revised CoI framework headings and subheadings taken from Garrison (2017, pp. 173-175) and Shea et al (2014)
Summary
This paper examines the learning experience of refugees and asylum seekers (who are included in the term “refugees” in this paper for brevity) within the context of a German non-governmental organisation, Kiron Open Higher Education gGmbH, which supports refugees to learn from massive, open, online courses (MOOCs). Kiron has designed learning pathways for refugees, with MOOC curriculum outcomes mapped onto typical learning outcomes of German higher education institution programmes. The aim is for those refugees who obtain credits from MOOCs to have those credits recognised by higher education institutions as being equivalent to their first semester of study, allowing Kiron learners to go straight into the second year of their degree programmesassuming they meet other entry requirements specified by the respective institutions (Suter & Rampelt, 2017). The aim of this study was to help Kiron, and other organisations that support refugees and other MOOC learners in disadvantaged circumstances, to develop systems and strategies for effective learner support.
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