Surveying Motivation and Learning Outcomes of Advanced Learners in Online Engineering Graduate MOOCs

This research Work-In-Progress presents a survey of advanced learners' motivation in highly-technical advanced engineering MOOCs. Advanced engineering courses as MOOCs are increasingly prevalent in graduate and professional learning and are gaining importance for credentialing and accredited degrees. However, these courses are open to the public as well as formal learners, making it difficult to generalize experiences for all. To understand what prevents advanced learners from reaching their goals and to better support them in meeting goals, there is a need for more sensitive tools to measure motivation. We have revised the Expectancy-Value-Cost scale and examined its functioning on pilot data to begin looking at validity evidence for using the revised scale with professional engineers. We analyze motivations, intentions, and course ratings of learners from two online MOOCs who are enrolled in formal degree programs at a four-year institution, learners completing a MOOC master's degree, and independent learners. We also perform bivariate correlation of motivation items to test the performance of the instrument. Preliminary results show high motivation for all learner groups, but greater differences between independent and formal learners, with formal learners reporting a wider range of costs.