Prescriptive Analysis on Instructional Structure of MOOCs:Toward Attaining Learning Objectives for Diverse Learners

Instructional design significantly impacts participants’ learning experiences and retention in massive open online courses (MOOCs). Although MOOCs have been increasingly adopted on a wide scale, structure of concrete design components for ensuring high learning experience quality have not been elucidated so far. This study conducted detailed examination of five existing MOOCs from multiple countries using revised Bloom’s taxonomy and Merrill’s component display theory. The cognitive levels determined by the learning contents and assessment activities were analyzed and correlated with instructional sequential analysis. The results provided clear distinctions for good practice, thereby indicating prescriptive design choices to realize learning objectives for diverse learners.