Anoush Margaryan

Instructional quality of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

We present an analysis of instructional design quality of 76 randomly selected Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The quality of MOOCs was determined from first principles of instruction, using a course survey instrument. Two types of MOOCs (xMOOCs and cMOOCs) were analysed and their instructional design quality was assessed and compared. We found that the majority of MOOCs scored poorly on most instructional design principles. However, most MOOCs scored highly on organisation and presentation of course material. The results indicate that although most MOOCs are well-packaged, their instructional design quality is low. We outline implications for practice and ideas for future research. Instructional design quality of 76 randomly selected MOOCs was assessed.Quality was determined from first principles, using a Course Scan instrument.The majority of MOOCs scored poorly on most instructional design principles.Most MOOCs scored highly on organisation and presentation of course material.Although most MOOCs are well-packaged, their instructional design quality is low.

Applying Activity Theory to Computer- Supported Collaborative Learning and Work-Based Activities in Corporate Settings

Business needs in many corporations call for learning outcomes that involve problem solutions, and creating and sharing new knowledge within worksplace situation that may involve collaboration among members of a team. We argue that work-based activities (WBA) and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) are appropriate components for courses in such learning situations. Via this approach, collaborative work situations become the core of a course. We further describe how activity theory can provide a framework for the design of courses that involve WBA and CSCL as part of a workplace-oriented activity system for learning. The use of this design approach for courses offered by the Learning and Leadership Development organization of Shell International Exploration and Production is described and an example is elaborated. Finally, we identify four main issues and challenges that arose during the use of the design approach.

How Organisations Learn from Safety Incidents: A Multifaceted Problem.

Purpose – This paper seeks to review current approaches to learning from health and safety incidents in the workplace. The aim of the paper is to identify the diversity of approaches and analyse them in terms of learning aspects.Design/methodology/approach – A literature review was conducted searching for terms incident/accident/near misses/disaster/crisis modified with learning/training and safety. Shortlisted articles were analysed by questioning who is learning, what kind of learning process is undertaken, what type of knowledge is employed and the type of problem that these incidents addressed. Current approaches to learning from incidents were critically analysed and gaps identified.Findings – Very few papers addressed all the envisaged aspects when developing their learning from incidents approaches. With support from literature, it was concluded that all the four perspectives, namely participants of learning (participation and inclusion), learning process (single loop, double learning), type of inc...

Charting collective knowledge: supporting self‐regulated learning in the workplace

Purpose – This study aims to outline an approach to improving the effectiveness of work‐based learning through knowledge creation and enhancing self‐regulated learning. The paper presents a case example of a novel approach to learning through knowledge creation in the workplace. This case example is based on empirical data collected through a study of the learning practices of knowledge workers employed within a large, multinational organization.Design/methodology/approach – The case example presented in this article is based on a study of the learning practices of knowledge workers employed within a large, multinational organization. Participants were members of a number of global, online knowledge sharing networks focused around the core technical and commercial disciplines of the company. Membership of each network ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand professionals at various stages of their career. The survey is available online at: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6017514/survey.pdf The case study repo...

Design criteria for work-based learning: Merrill's First Principles of Instruction expanded

In multinational corporations, new models of learning are developing. A particular model with direct applications for challenges facing distributed workforces is one that combines the strengths of formal and informal learning while focusing on participants’ work-based tasks. An operationalisation of this model in the context of the ongoing professional development of the engineers, geologists, and other technical specialists in a multinational oil company (Shell EP) is described. Important for the quality control and continual improvement of the implementation of the model is a set of criteria for the design and evaluation of courses reflecting its work-based learning approach. Merrills First Principles of Instruction (2002) form a starting point for such a model, but need to be expanded to reflect the particular needs of the Shell EP context. This article presents the expansion of Merrills First Principles as the Merrill+design and evaluation criteria for courses with work-based activities for technical professionals and demonstrates how the criteria can be applied through a selection of some results of evaluations of more than 60 of the Shell EP courses using a course-scan methodology based on the Merrill+ criteria. Implications of use of the Merrill+ criteria for design and evaluation are discussed.

Charting Collective Knowledge: Supporting Self-Regulated Learning in the Workplace

The aim of this paper is to propose an approach to enhancing self-regulated learning in the workplace. Drawing upon social-cognitive theories of self-regulated learning, we argue that current, individualised conceptualisations of self-regulated learning should be re-examined. These contradict the interactional and collaborative nature of the workplace where goal actuation is socially mediated, structured by and closely integrated within work tasks. We outline a mechanism that integrates individual and collective components to enhance goal actuation processes for self-regulated learning in the workplace. We term this mechanism ‘charting’ and provide scenarios illustrating how it might work in practice.

Measuring self‐regulated learning in the workplace

In knowledge‐intensive industries, the workplace has become a key locus of learning. To perform effectively, knowledge workers must be able to take responsibility for their own developmental needs, and in particular, to regulate their own learning. This paper describes the construction and validation of an instrument (the Self‐Regulated Learning at Work Questionnaire) designed to provide a measure of self‐regulated learning (SRL) behaviour in the workplace. The instrument has been validated through a pilot study with a cohort of 170 knowledge workers from the finance industry. Results indicate that the five scales of the instrument are reliable and valid, testing a broad range of sub‐processes of SRL. The instrument can be used to identify knowledge workers who demonstrate different levels of SRL in workplace contexts for further exploration through qualitative studies and could also provide the basis of professional development tools designed to explore opportunities for self‐regulation of learning in the workplace.

Validation of Davenport's classification structure of knowledge‐intensive processes

Purpose – This study aims to test the validity of a knowledge work typology proposed by Davenport. Although this typology has been referenced extensively in the literature, it does not appear to have been empirically validated.Design/methodology/approach – The typology was tested through a questionnaire survey among knowledge workers (n=459) in a multinational company. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to determine the knowledge work groupings arising from the survey.Findings – The vast majority of the respondents could not be grouped into any one of Davenports four knowledge work types. Furthermore, PCA revealed four groupings: low‐agency collaboration; low‐ agency routine work; rule‐based work; and high‐agency expert work. The results confirm only one of Davenports typology models, the Expert model. Davenports Collaboration model was found to have elements of the Transaction model. The Transaction and the Integration typology models were not confirmed. Instead, two further models incor...

Putting blended learning to work: A case study from a multinatonal oil company.

Abstract Blended learning can be operationalised in many different ways. At Shell International Exploration and Production, a form of blended learning focusing on learning while in the workplace through work‐based activities within technology‐supported courses has been evolving since 2000, with approximately 100 different learning events reflecting this form in 2004. After a review of the general approach to blended learning (‘putting learning to work’) that steers blended learning at Shell EP and the rationale for work‐based activities that serve as the tools for ‘putting learning to work’ within these courses, a case study of the course ‘Production System Optimisation’, including a variety of types of evaluation data, is described. With this case as a point of reference, some reflections on the implications of work‐based activities as a key tool for blended learning conclude the article.

Self-Regulated Learning Behaviour in the Finance Industry.

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the role of self-regulatory behaviours in predicting workplace learning. As work practices in knowledge-intensive domains become more complex, individual workers must take greater responsibility for their ongoing learning and development. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted with knowledge workers from the finance industry. In all, 170 participants across a range of work roles completed a questionnaire consisting of three scales derived from validated instruments (measuring learning opportunities, self-regulated learning [SRL] and learning undertaken). The relationship between the variables was tested through linear regression analysis. Findings – Data analysis confirms a relationship between the learning opportunities provided by a role, and learning undertaken. Regression analysis identifies three key SRL behaviours that appear to mediate this relationship: task interest/value, task strategies and self-evaluation. Together they provide an insight int...