MOOC-Based Flipped Classroom for On-Campus Teaching in Undergraduate Engineering Courses

Abstract

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Contribution:</i> This work studies how to integrate massive open online courses (MOOCs) into traditional, face-to-face, Undergraduate Engineering Courses. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Background:</i> MOOCs emerged as an innovative trend in online learning with distinctive and attractive features, such as ease of access and cost effectiveness for large audiences. For this reason, they have attracted a lot of attention for their potential in contributing to global challenges in contemporary Engineering education. However, the integration of MOOCs into traditional, on-campus courses and programs in higher education remains an open problem. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Research Question:</i> What is the most effective MOOC-blending strategy for traditional, on-campus engineering programs? <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Methodology:</i> To answer this question, first a literature review was conducted on the utilization of MOOCs within face-to-face Undergraduate Education. Based on this literature review, this work advocates for the MOOC-based flipped (MBF) classroom as the strategy with the highest potential for MOOC-based blending. The main pedagogical and design principles of this methodology are described and a case study is presented on a cohort of students (<i>N</i> <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$~=~$</tex-math> </inline-formula>23) enrolled in a Digital Signal Processing course within an Undergraduate Electronics Engineering Program. This is a position paper based on evidence from the literature, but the case study is used to illustrate how the MBF design principles can be implemented in practice. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Findings:</i> The results suggest that the MBF methodology is a growing trend in Undergraduate Engineering Education with the potential to facilitate student’s active learning in synchronous face-to-face sessions while fostering the adoption and usage of MOOCs.