Peer grading has diverse applications in many fields, including the peer grading of open assignments in online courses. The major challenge in peer grading is improving the seriousness (reviewing carefully) of reviewers. Previous studies have proposed several incentive reward mechanisms intended to reward or punish reviewers. Although these…

Because of COVID-19 precautions, instructors worldwide were required to introduce a variety of virtual instruction modes to complete the Spring 2020 semester. Herein we describe parallel efforts in contextualized chemistry courses at two institutions--Carthage College and Central Michigan University. These courses are primarily designed for…

As a supplement to face-to-face teaching, small private online courses (SPOCs) have become increasingly popular in higher education. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on behavioral patterns in the university SPOC. This empirical study investigates the behavioral patterns of 306 undergraduate students taking a degree course partially taught…

Contribution: This article explored blended learning by implementing a student-centered teaching method based on the flipped classroom and small private online course (SPOC). The impact of general online learning behavior on student performance was analyzed. This work is practical and provides enlightenment for learning analysis and individualized…

The purpose of this study is to apply the Technology Acceptance Model to identify the determinants affecting students' behavioural intentions when it comes to using micro-lectures. The conceptual framework included three antecedents of behavioural intentions -- perceived usefulness of micro-lectures; perceived ease of use of micro-lectures; and…

Massive Open Online Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been transitioning slowly from being completely open and without clear recognition in universities or industry, to private settings through the emergence of Small and Massive Private Online Courses (SPOCs and MPOCs). Courses in these new formats are often for credit and have clear market…

This paper proposes a blended teaching design model on WeChat Platform-based SPOC and carries out an empirical study of its applicability and effectiveness in lower-secondary school science teaching. Participants were from two eighth grade classes with different academic performance, and after conducting the same blended teaching, it was found…

While process simulation tools offer immense potential in chemical engineering, effectively integrating them into the educational curriculum poses challenges. This work explored and practiced online-offline blended teaching in process simulation courses. The design of this blended course was based on a comparison of students' performances in fully…

Published studies on SPOC provided inconsistent findings regarding its effectiveness. Adopting a meta-analysis method, this study combined the results of 32 experimental and quasi-experimental studies published in the past 8 years in China for analyzing the overall effect size of SPOC for improving student learning in vocational schools. Data…

Hyde Park Neighborhood Club (HPNC) is a small, hyper-local community-based organization that, before the pandemic, provided after-school care and enrichment to children living on the South Side of Chicago. During the pandemic, HPNC created a learning pod for children in grades K-8 to provide parents in the community with childcare and students…

This study explored (1) pedagogical strategies in Educational Coding and Robotics (ECR) learning which can develop computational thinking of students and (2) the degree of teacher centrality in the ECR classroom. In addition, we investigated (3) the added value of the Small Private Online Course (SPOC) to teacher professional development (TPD). We…

Peer review has been commonly applied to university-level online courses, but less at the high-school level. Little is known about high school students' tendencies when they give reviews to their peers, specifically which posts are more likely to receive reviews. This study adopted social network analysis, regression analysis and content analysis…

Class size is a first-order consideration in the study of education production and education costs. How larger or smaller classes affect student outcomes is especially relevant to the growth and design of online classes. We study a field experiment in which college students were quasi-randomly assigned to either a large or a small class. All…

When you think of global, online education, the first thing that may jump to mind these days are MOOCs, the "massive open online classes" that are widely publicized (and criticized). The author states that his classes were not these, but rather, closer to what are now being called SPOCs--small private online classes. Enrollment is…

Higher Vocational Education is one of the most important educational forms. But in the course of implementation of Higher Vocational Education, we find three inevitable questions: Higher Vocational Educational system's length of schooling which is only three years is too short; the differences in personality of teachers affect the teaching…