Design And Development Of Chinese LMOOC Based On The First Principles Of Instruction And MOOC Design Model

Massive Open Online Courses(MOOCs)provide opportunities for learning to individuals regardless of their gender,qualifications,professional status,age,or location.Traditionally,MOOCs were offered primarily in sciences and computer technology,while social sciences related MOOCs have also become increasingly available,including those in languages.The use of MOOCs in teaching languages have increased over the last few years.These types of MOOCs are referred to as Language MOOCs(LMOOCs).LMOOCs are perceived as being useful as they allow learners to learn new languages or to continue their learning of languages from expert instructors,coming from leading universities around the world,at any time and from anywhere,and at no cost.The first three LMOOCs were offered in 2012 by UNED(Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia)in Spain.As the LMOOCs continues to grow,most MOOCs providers worldwide,such as ed X,Coursera,Udacity,Xuetang,among others are providing LMOOCs in different languages,including the Chinese language.The first Chinese LMOOC was “Chinese for Beginners”,launched through the Coursera platform in September 2014 by Peking University,and this was followed by a series of Chinese LMOOCs offered by Chinese universities through both international and domestic MOOCs platforms.Between 2014 and2019,the number of Chinese LMOOCs has gradually increased in leading MOOC platforms both in China and abroad(ed X,Coursera,Future Learn,Xuetang X,Chinese MOOC,icourse163).Search results on these platforms have shown that there are 45 Chinese LMOOCs offered by 11 academic institutions in China and abroad.Most Chinese LMOOCs are offered through the Coursera platform(26/45),and the languages of instruction are English(24),Chinese(20),and only one is in Russian.However,no Chinese LMOOC is offered in Arabic.Therefore,the Chinese LMOOC in this study was the first in Arabic designed for the Arab World.Arabic is the official language of 22 Arab countries.Arab countries have been affected by the MOOCs phenomenon,which has,over the years,received increased attention.The Rwaq platform was the first Arab MOOC platform to be developed and launched in September 2013.Similarly,in September 2013,China launched the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI),which is one of the centerpieces of China's foreign policy and economic strategy.Further,in March 2015,China issued an action plan for realizing the BRI and emphasized on five critical areas of cooperation,one of which was the deepening of social and cultural exchanges.Recently,especially after the launch of the BRI,the demand for the Chinese language in the Arab World has increased.However,there are limited opportunities to learn the Chinese language and a limited number of Confucius Institutes in Arab countries.Moreover,there is a negative attitude towards the Chinese language among Arabs.Considering that language attitudes play a critical role in the learning of language,it is important to change attitudes to raise the desired language behaviors.Language attitudes are especially important for countries such as China who are seeking to spread their language and culture to the entire world.There is,therefore,the need to look for new and effective new tools to spread the Chinese language and culture and to change the attitudes of the Arabs and deepen the social and cultural exchanges with China.The idea of LMOOCs looks like a promising solution to this problem,given that the nature of MOOCs is massive,open,and online courses.A range of pedagogical approaches have been used to design MOOCs for various audiences and purposes.Through research,significant deficiencies in the design and development of MOOCs have been defined.Several researchers have argued that these deficiencies in the design and development of MOOCs can be resolved by closely adhering to theories in instructional design(ID).In this study,Merrill's First Principles of Instruction(FPI)and MOOC design model were used to guide the design and development of the Chinese LMOOC for attitudinal learning.Merrill's FPI was selected due to its broad applicability and wellvalidated principles,and the MOOC design model was chosen because it reflects the characteristics of MOOCs.The FPI by Merrill is one of the theoretical frameworks that is synthesized from several ID theories and the most representative include that: it is problemcentered,activates prior knowledge,demonstrates skills to be learned,involves the application of newly acquired skills by learners,and integration of newly acquired skills.Merrill claimed that successful implementation regardless of the program,practices,and learning environments defines the effectiveness of instruction.However,very few studies have been conducted to verify this claim,but to the best of our knowledge,no such research in the context of LMOOCs has been conducted.The instructional principles proposed by Merrill is ID theory,which suggests ideas about how learners should be taught.However,to develop an instructional product,there is a need for an ID model to guide the procedures of the design and development of MOOCs.Although Merrill suggested a Pebble-in-the-Pond model for use along with the FPI,this research argues that this ID model did not consider MOOC characteristics.For this reason,a MOOC design model was developed in 2016.This study argues that the FPI and MOOC design model can support the design and development LMOOC for attitudinal learning in the Arabian context.The purposes of this design and development research study was to investigate the effectiveness of incorporating Merrill's FPI and MOOC design model to design and develop a Chinese LMOOC for attitudinal learning in the Arabian context.The research questions were:(1)How effective is incorporating Merrill's FPI and MOOC design model in designing and developing Chinese LMOOC?(2)What are the Arab learners' perceptions of their attitudinal learning(cognitive learning,affective learning,behavioral,and social learning)in Chinese LMOOC? And(3)What are the learners' experiences in Chinese LMOOC: satisfaction,and suggestions?However,before the design and development of the Chinese LMOOC,a systematic review of the English published literature on LMOOCs was performed to provide an understanding of this emerging field and to draw some ideas guiding the design and development of the Chinese LMOOC.Moreover,Chinese LMOOCs on international and Chinese platforms and Chinese LMOOC studies were also reviewed to review the content presented,and studies suggested.This study utilized a mixed-method case study approach,which combined both quantitative and qualitative research techniques into a single study in this design and development research.The study setting was the Arabian context,and the researcher served as the instructional designer of the Chinese LMOOC.Two instructors were also involved in the design and development process of the LMOOC.Two stages were involved in this study: the first stage developed and applied a framework based on Merrill's FPI and MOOC design model to design and development Chinese LMOOC for attitudinal learning.Merrill's FPI was used to guide the design and content development and instructional activities while the MOOC design model was used to guide the design and development of procedural processes.The design and development process was divided into four phases,based on the MOOC design model: Analysis,Design and scriptwriting Development;and Implementation.The fifth and sixth phases,Evaluation and analysis(2nd iteration),were not used.Instead,the second stage examined the effectiveness of incorporating Merrill's FPI and MOOC design model to design and develop Chinese LMOOC,the Arab learners attitudinal learning,and explored the learners' satisfaction and suggestions after completing the course.Data collection involved the use of various sources,including forms,designer log,surveys,and in-depth interviews.The analysis,design,development,and implementation processes of Chinese LMOOC was documented,described,and reported.The analysis phase involved goal setting and environment analysis.For goal-setting,the Chinese language situation in the Arab world and the online content for teaching the Chinese language to Arabs and MOOCs learner's characteristics were analyzed.This was to determine the purpose of the Chinese LMOOC.In environment analysis,Rwaq platform features and the trend of production of LMOOC videos were analyzed for consideration in the design process.The design phase involved three steps: content selection,content design based on the FPI and style design.(1)In the content selection step,the content was selected and divided into three sections: language content,cultural content,and motivational contents.(2)In the content design based on the FPI step,the content was further divided into modules,and the viable goals within the scope of the content were established for each module.Besides,videos,additional learning resources,activities,and assessment tools were designed.Merrill's FPI was applied at several levels in content design,in the overall Chinese LMOOC,at each module,and in each video.The content design scripts were created for the development phase.(3)In the style design step,the Chinese LMOOC name was chosen,and an LMOOC promotion plan was written.The development phase involved creating videos,additional learning resources,learning activities,and assessment tools.Four types of videos were created,instructional,dialogue,interview,and cultural videos that were edited and put together,based on the script to form instructional sequences for each module.All the instructional materials and activities were created or uploaded to the MOOC platform.The implementation of the Chinese LMOOC took place on the Rwaq platform from December 1,2017,to March 9,2018,with 6307 learners enrolled,and a total of 406 learners completed the final exam.The Chinese LMOOC lasted for fourteen weeks.The modules were published every two weeks,and week one was set aside for orientation and the last week for the final exam.Chapters 5 and 6 present a detailed description of the Chinese LMOOC.The participants in the Chinese LMOOC were from twenty-one of the 22 Arab countries,94.5% had never studied Chinese before,80% were aged between 18-34,and more than 63% had a Bachelor's degree or higher degree.A total of 2,628 learners completed the demographic data form,and 151 responded to the attitudinal learning scale in the mid and at the end of the Chinese LMOOC.A total of 109 learners responded to the effectiveness and satisfaction survey,and ten learners participated in in-depth interviews.The findings of this study indicated that the incorporation of Merrill's FPI and MOOC design model in designing Chinese LMOOC was effective in most aspects,with some deficiencies in others.The quantitative results showed that the learners perceive the Chinese LMOOC to be effective(M = 14.41,SD = 1.35).The content was useful and suitable for beginners(M = 14.08,SD = 1.64).The structure was clear and sequenced(M = 13.81,SD = 1.88),and the Chinese LMOOC team was supportive during the learning process(M = 13.88,SD = 1.71).These were scored out of 15.00;hence,the results were considered high.The qualitative results confirmed the quantitative results regarding effectiveness and provided some suggestions and clarifications.Learners suggested separating language content from motivational and cultural content.Moreover,the learners explained that the video was the most significant component in the Chinese LMOOC,and the instructor's style and performance in the video played a role in the effectiveness.On the other hand,learners indicated the weakness of interaction within the Chinese LMOOC.Concerning Arab learners' perceptions of their attitudinal learning,the quantitative results show that Arab learners' perception of their attitudinal learning positive and high in mid and end of Chinese LMOOC,albeit in the varying score,in the four components.Affective and then cognitive learning were at the fore,followed by social and behavioral learning.A paired-sample t-test was used to compare the Arab learners' perceptions of attitudinal learning in the mid and end of Chinese LMOOC.Results showed that the Arab learners' perceptions of attitudinal learning based on their cognitive learning(t =-2.404,p = 0.017),behavior learning(t =-3.231,p = 0.000),and social learning(t =-5.056,p = 0.000)were significantly increased.The affective learning(t =-0.638,p = 0.524)was slightly increased;however,no statistical significance has been found.The qualitative results also showed that nine out the ten interviewees had prior negative attitudes toward the Chinese language and stated that their attitudes become positive at the end of the Chinese LMOOC.These positive attitudes motivated learners to continue learning the Chinese LMOOC,look out for other sources,seek a partner to learn the language,and share with family members,friends,and colleagues what they learned.With regard to learners' satisfaction with the Chinese LMOOC,the quantitative results indicated that the learners were very satisfied with the Chinese LMOOC and that the Chinese LMOOC mostly met their expectations.Moreover,the qualitative results showed that the learners were satisfied with content,structure,instructor style,video,and course team support.On the other hand,they were dissatisfied with some aspects related to the content,course duration,audio quality,and lack of interaction.For that,the learners made some suggestions for improving the Chinese LMOOC.In conclusion,Merrill's FPI and MOOC design model were suitable for designing and developing the Chinese LMOOC for attitudinal learning.The design and development of Chinese LMOOC included four phases of MOOC design and five principles of instruction,which can be used to model other Chinese LMOOCs geared towards attitudinal learning successfully.The study also highlighted factors that affected learners' learning in terms of Chinese LMOOC design and interaction with the Chinese LMOOC and provided insights to address these concerns.Therefore,the potential of Chinese LMOOCs to shape public attitudes towards learning the Chinses language is due to MOOCs' massive,open,and online nature.In this way,Chinese LMOOCs can promotes learners' attitude changes in Chinese learning and promotes cultural exchanges between China and Arab countries,thus,contributing to the realization of the Belt and Road Initiative.Furthermore,recommendations were given on how to improve the potential of LMOOCs and suggestions for further research.