Observational studyJMIR medical education2026
Learning Participation and Performance Among Social and Academic Learners in a Nursing Massive Open Online Course: Retrospective Cohort Study.
Observational study in JMIR medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMassive open online courses (MOOCs) are increasingly used in nursing education, attracting learners with diverse participation modes. Social learners (self-directed) enroll voluntarily based on personal interests, while academic learners (institution-directed) are mandated by nursing schools, with performance linked to grades. Existing literature shows that academic learners outperform social learners in MOOCs, but evidence is scarce on whether this performance gap stems from distinct participation patterns shaped by institutional requirements.
objectiveWe sought to compare participation typologies between social and academic learners using latent class analysis (LCA) and assess their association with learning outcomes.
methodsA retrospective analysis was conducted of 8222 students enrolled in a rehabilitation nursing MOOC from 2021 to 2022. Learners were classified by topic test participation frequency via LCA, and their distributions and scores were statistically compared.
resultsThe cohort comprised 7683 (93.4%) academic and 539 (6.6%) social learners. LCA identified 3 participation types: participation-declining (93/8222, 1.1%), high-participation (6959/8222, 84.6%), and lowest-participation (1170/8222, 14.2%). The distributions of participation types differed significantly between groups (χ
conclusionsDistinct participation patterns were associated with the performance advantage of academic learners. Our findings highlight the importance of sustained participation, suggesting that MOOC instructors should provide enhanced support for voluntary learners.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.