Jared Cooney Horvath is a globally recognized Science of Learning expert committed to helping teachers, students and parents achieve better outcomes through applied brain and behavioral science.


That Class Was Incomplete ...

By now, as we continue to meet the challenges of the COVID pandemic, just about every teacher across the globe has had at least some experience with delivering their classes online ...

 

And, at this point it, has become a platitude to suggest that online education pales in comparison to a live classroom environment.

 

Well, as you probably know, this fact has long been know in the world of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses).

 

Once touted as a model that would transform education on a worldwide scale, MOOCs have largely failed to deliver on the hype (abysmal completion rates; low re-enrollment rates; unequal access across socioeconomic tiers; etc.).

 

Much like with Crystal Pepsi and Google Glass, the promise of MOOCs and online learning has vastly outpaced the reality.

 

But is there anything we can do to predictably close the gap between live and digital learning environments?

 

In my latest 'From Theory to Practice' video, I examine a new piece of research that digs deeper into this topic ...

 

And I use it to draw a bigger conclusion about applying educational research in the classroom:

 

Scaling Up Behavioral Science Interventions in Online Education (Kizilcec, Reich, et al | Dec 2003)
 

Here are some of the questions I answer in this installment:

  • What are MOOC’s, and why have they failed to disrupt the traditional model of education as expected?

  • Can simple behavioral interventions like goal setting and accountability mechanisms impact the effectiveness of online learning?

  • What is the replication crisis, and what does it suggest about the limitations of applying educational research in the classroom?

  • Why will human teachers always endure as an indispensable component of the learning process … even in our digitally-obsessed world?

Give it a watch, and let me know what you think in the YT comments section.

 

And, as always, if you find this video valuable, interesting and/or entertaining, you can support us by liking, sharing and subscribing to our YouTube channel ;)

 

Regards,

Video Transcript

Hello everybody, and welcome to this week's From Theory to Practice, where I take a look at the research so you don't have to.

 

Now as you may know, I have a new book out called 10 Things Schools Get Wrong (And How We Can Get Them Right).

 

So, for the next 10 videos, I've selected research papers that align with the different chapters of that book.

 

For this video I want to start with chapter two which is called Evidence: The Problem with Translation,

 

Now, in this chapter we take a deep look at the idea of evidence and scientific research, and what impact they can that truly have on teaching and learning practices within schools …

 

And we find that this issue of translation -- of moving knowledge between the laboratory in the classroom -- is incredibly difficult, and fails far more often than it succeeds.

 

So the article I've selected this week that aligns with this chapter is called Scaling Up Behavioral Science Interventions in Online Education (Kizilcec, Reich, et al | Dec 2003)

 

Now this paper concerns MOOCs -- Massive Online Open Courses and community learning systems …

Click to view remainder of the transcript ...

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