Using a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to Disseminate Knowledge and Understanding of Physiology
Authors: Hall Sarah , Stokes Christabel , Gleave Terry , Prescott Denise , Grubb Blair 
Published: June 2021

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are university‐led, distance‐learning courses that are freely available via the internet. The introduction of MOOCs, with free access and unlimited participation, offered the potential to disseminate higher educational activities more widely beyond the physical confines of universities and to generate large virtual learning communities. The Physiological Society, in partnership with the University of Liverpool, recently developed a MOOC hosted by the online platform FutureLearn. The general aims were to raise the profile of physiology and encourage the progression of students into physiology and related disciplines at university.

The resultant MOOC is entitled ‘Physiology: The Science of Life’. It is focussed on three core topics in physiology, the heart and circulatory system, the respiratory system and the nervous system, delivered sequentially over the three weeks of the course. These topics are explored using video content, interactive discussion boards, collection and analysis of physiological data and quizzes.

The MOOC has run twice, in Fall 2017 and Spring 2018, and is due to run again in Spring 2019. A total of 11,328 participants have enrolled to date, from a wide geographical spread of 143 countries, including 5% participation from the USA. This uptake profile demonstrates that the MOOC has been successful in highlighting the discipline of physiology across the globe. The course was open to people of all ages and educational backgrounds, but was designed primarily to address 16–18 year olds considering their next step into higher education. Of those who provided details of their age in the first run of the MOOC (n=835), there was a relatively even distribution across age brackets, with 22% aged 25 or under and 17% aged over 65. Furthermore, 14% were full‐time students and 40% already had a BSc degree or higher qualification in Biology or a related subject. The participant demographics were similar for the second run of the MOOC. Evaluation of learner engagement demonstrated a lively learning community, with almost 5000 comments written on discussion boards during the first run of the MOOC. Feedback indicated that the learners found the course content valuable and enjoyable. Free comments highlighted the value of the course in supporting the transition to university for specific individuals, but focus group feedback from the target audience of 16–18 year olds revealed limitations in the use of MOOCs to reach this demographic and suggested ways to repurpose the learning resources to target school pupils more effectively.

Our data demonstrate that the Physiology MOOC was very successful in attracting a diverse community of active learners, across the spectrum of age, educational status and employment experience, as well as geography. Although the target audience did not appear to engage preferentially with this learning opportunity, potential alternative audiences were revealed (e.g. educators, healthcare professionals).

Support or Funding Information

Funded by the Physiological Society

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.