Exploring the Use of SPOCs in Higher Education during the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Case Study

Abstract

The sudden outbreak of coronavirus has caused schools to be shut and normal academic activities are put on hold. Many universities use small private online courses (SPOC) to facilitate the combination of MOOC and traditional campus classroom teaching, which effectively make up for the shortcomings of MOOC. This study is based on the teaching design of three platforms and four stages of “SPOC Classroom”. This aims to analyze the effectiveness of SPOC and its implementation problems during the coronavirus pandemic in higher education. A descriptive qualitative approach was used and the sample was obtained by purposive sampling technique at a normal university in Western China. The sample was 27 students who take the “Modern Mathematics Education with Technology” course. Furthermore, the data were on students' activeness in accessing SPOC on the Zhihuishu platform and the results of their final project to make mathematics learning media using dynamic mathematics software. The results showed the effectiveness of SPOC on student learning activeness using the Zhihuishu platform reached 81.5%. All students completed the courses on the platform and they actively discuss and ask questions. However, the problems that were found while implementing SPOC with the blended learning approach were poor internet connection, monotonous learning methods, and less objective final assignments