Design, Motivation and Performance in a Cooperative MOOC Course

MOOCs are seen as the latest evolution in online learning and, since their launch in 2008, they have become an integral part of university course curricula. Despite the social success of these courses, the learning design and efficacy of their results have been questioned. Most current research has focused more on discussing their potential to offer quality, large-scale education worldwide rather than measuring learning outcomes. This paper shows the results of a research study that focused on the pedagogical design of a cooperative MOOC and its influence on motivation and academic results. A Delphi study was used to validate the design, and the motivation variable was controlled using the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS). Academic performance was assessed through evidence-based learning. The paper argues that design, which is defined by the students' intensive use of social networks and the activities they carry out in their Personal Learning Environments, has an influence on performance, and the variable that mediates in that relationship is the level of satisfaction with the perception of the design. The academic results obtained and the students' motivation support the use of cooperative MOOCs in university education.