Transformation of a face-to-face workshop into a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC): A design and development case

The purpose of this design and development case is to share our experiences in the transformation of a face-to-face workshop into a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for a prominent MOOC platform. The goal of the workshop and MOOC is to teach learners how to conduct appropriate power and sample size analysis for multilevel and longitudinal studies in social and behavioral health research. Learners include people from across the biomedical research spectrum, from students to full professors. We first describe the design and development frameworks and processes used to create the three-day, face-to-face workshop. Then, we detail the design and development approach to transform this face-to-face workshop into a MOOC. At a macro-design level, we employed backward design (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998) as an instructional design framework. At a micro-design level, we used a combination of the first principles of instruction, the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, the nine events of instruction, and design recommendations for MOOCs found in the literature. We report the results of a formative evaluation of the MOOC. Finally, we provide closing remarks, lessons learned, and the next steps for the instructional program.