Abstract

MOOC is becoming increasingly popular but the high attrition rate has become a hurdle in the way of the development of it. This study, based on the course report of 8.02x Electricity and Magnetism MITx on edX, tries to use Incentive theories (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) to explain the high attrition rates. And based on the analysis, some measures to solve the problem are presented including diversifying the course structure by adding more kinds of materials, designing prep courses for those who are not advanced degree holders and keeping contact with registers after their registration.

Key words: MOOC; high attrition rate; theories of motivation

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1.-Introduction-1

2.-Literary Review-2

3.-Theories of Motivation-4

3.1 Incentive theories: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation-4

3.1.1 Intrinsic Motivation-4

3.1.2 Extrinsic motivation-5

4. The Introduction of 8.02x-7

5. The Analysis of Course Report of 8.02x-8

6. Suggestions to increase low levels of retention of MOOC using Theories of Motivation-13

6.1 Diversifying the course structure-14

6.2 Designing Preparation courses-14

6.3 Keeping contact with registers-14

7. Conclusions and Discussions-15

References-16