Abstract
Although MOOCs and flipped classrooms have triggered the digital tsunami in higher education, how to make the most use of existing MOOCs resources to promote deeper conceptual understanding and therefore add values to traditional postsecondary institutes remains unclear. Based on the disciplinary difficulties in life science such as over-lecturing and lack of collaborative learning, this thesis reviews, identifies, and integrates features of MOOCs/SPOCs and student-centric pedagogies to conduct a Discipline-Based Education Research for one and a half year. Using Design-Based Research, this thesis systematically collects qualitative and quantitative data from interviews, questionnaires, pre-/post-tests, classroom observation, and video record to develop residential-university-based S-IDEAL flipped model through three iterations. The proposed and certified S-IDEAL steps are: (1) Self-paced video-based learning; (2) Identifying uncertainty in learning community; (3) Defining group-constructed question; (4) Elaborating hypothesis through inquiry-based learning; (5) Assembling ideas from multiple sources; and (6) Leveraging reflection. The results show as follows. First, the S-IDEAL model not merely significantly improves learning effectiveness and gradually develops problem finding/solving ability, but also enhances the higher-order learning performance. Second, the deeper learning competences of learners’ including academic content, critical thinking and complex problem solving, collaborative working, and academic mindset have significantly improved after nine weeks. Third, in the context of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), students can make good use of the Internet resources (such as journals, videos, websites, MOOCs and so on) in the process of inquiry-based problem solving, deepening the quality and levels of discussion. Fourth, the students, teacher, and teaching assistants play diverse but untraditional roles in S-IDEAL model. Students become more active roles, such as conference participants, scholars, and knowledge transmitters while the teacher acts as coaches, learning facilitators, assessment and curriculum designers. The evidence-based, iterative-driven, and grounded innovative S-IDEAL model especially for life science could be a deeper-learning reference model for higher education institutes that aim to deploy MOOCs for SPOCs. This thesis concludes the technology affordances for promoting deeper learning as well as analyzes the underpinning learning behaviors to provide with MOOCs/SPOCS pedagogical insights. This thesis serves as a systematical and constructive reference for higher education institutes, instructors, platform designers, and educational policy makers.