Improving learning in MOOCs with Cognitive Science

MOOCs and other platforms for online education are having a tremendous impact on the learning of tens of thousands of students. They offer a chance to build a set of educational resources from the ground up, at a time when scientists know far more about learning and teaching than at the advent of the current education system. This paper presents practical implications of research from cognitive science, showing empirically supported and actionable strategies any designer or instructor can use to improve students’ learning. These all take the form of augmenting online videos and exercises with questions and prompts for students to consider explanations: before, during, and after learning. This class of instructional strategies provides students with direction while allowing them to take charge of their learning, is technically easy to implement, and is applicable to a wide variety of video and exercise content, that ranges across multiple topics.