MOOCs in economics: Lessons from a coursera microeconomics principles course
Abstract:
Though only a few mass open online courses (MOOCs) have been offered in economics, the interest among potential faculty and students is high. This paper will discuss the steps taken to translate a popular Microeconomics Principles Course at the University of Pennsylvania, with an enrollment of a thousand students a year, to the online open format. The nine-week Coursera course is based on a one-semester class. The level of instruction is comparable, though not all topics will be covered. The process of transforming my live course to Coursera was time consuming and challenging. Besides learning to address the camera, a major adjustment was the lack of recitations and TAs. Close work with TAs is an integral part of the Penn course. Recitations complement lectures, covering more detailed examples and reviewing concepts in additional formats. TAs allow for grading and enabling open-ended questions in HWs and exams.
The challenges of delivering content on line without the support of small face-to-face recitations will be explored. The methods used instead, screen side chats, forums, TA video clips, will be discussed and our attempt to use difficult open ended assignments using peer grading in lieu of TAs will be showcased. The paper will include an honest assessment of the hours of work needed to implement this as well as a critique of what worked and what did not with suggestions for future improvement in this course, in other courses and in the platform of MOOCs in general.