Self-Paced .v. Social Learning

In this post I explore the two main types of learning experience you could offer to support your learners achieve their learning objectives. The following has been collated from research papers and other sources.

Self-Paced Learning

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) first appeared around 2010 and were heralded as a ground breaking step forward in learning. MOOC’s enabled learners from anywhere in the world to access educational courses, often for free, and learn at their own pace. MOOC’s democratised access to learning experiences by providing access to subjects that were simply not available to those outside of academia. In fact, nowadays there are very few subjects that you’ll not find available as a MOOC. The big sell to instructors was, and still is in some quarters, that to make money, all you need to do is invest time upfront creating the course assets, then just sit back and watch learners pay, enrol and complete your course with little to no contact required. For some, this was probably true. For many others though, the data below proves otherwise.

Main Learning Characteristics

• The instructor creates online content using a mixture of pre-recorded videos, downloadable assets and quizzes. 

• The assets are uploaded into a Learning Management System or other MOOC-based software tool. 

• Learners pay and enrol through the technology platform

• The instructor, the learner, and other participants are not engaged in the learning process at the same time.

• The learner can learn in their own time and schedule.

Upside

• Only requires the Instructor to ‘invest’ time upfront to create the course assets. Once launched there is minimum teaching/support time required.

• Learners are not restricted by timetables and deadlines, allowing them the choice to decide when to learn.

• There are a number of online technology platforms that support self-paced learning content. A number of these platforms also providing a ‘marketplace’, enabling instructors to promote their courses to potential learners.

Downside

• Research shows that people new to a topic benefit from explicit instruction and ongoing support. This minimises wasted effort, misconceptions, and helps maintain motivation. As people gain expertise, they are far more able to self-direct their learning.

• Unfortunately, the statistics do not make great reading. Enrolment numbers continue to decline and abandonment rates (i.e. learners leaving without completing) have always been high.

Drop Out Rates

The following insight has been sourced from various reports available on the web:

• Udemy reports that the average student enrolled in a Udemy course completes just 30% of the content. And an average of 70% of students never even start the course! There are reports that Udemy and Skillshare suffer from an 80% drop-out rate.
• Only 3 to 12% of people complete any online course they start. That means up to 97% don’t reach the finish line.
• Up to 20% of people never even log in. Not once. 
• Open University courses have an attrition rate of 78%

Reasons for Drop Out

This is a summary of the main reason given for dropping out of a self-paced learning experience:

• Inappropriate course selection
• Unclear course objectives
• Insufficient engagement with instructors
• Insufficient support from instructors and/or the institute.
• Lack of dedicated time for online course
• Lack of motivation
• Poor Communication and Feedback
• Poor Time Management by Students
• Unrealistic Educator Expectations*
• Poor Quality Course Material
• Feeling isolated

Social Learning (or Cohort-Based Learning)

Unlike self-paced learning, social learning is built around interaction and active learning. This kind of learning can occur through direct as well as indirect contact. Direct contact refers to face-to-face interactions, for example, via a zoom call. Indirect contact refers to interactions through forums, chats and other online social tools.

Main Learning Characteristics

• The instructor designs an interactive learning experience that can include a number of different engagement tactics, such as self-paced courses, live group chat, challenges and so on.
• The assets are uploaded into a Social Learning-based software tool. 
• Learners pay and enrol through the technology platform 
• It is instructor-led and the instructor should be accessible throughout
• It often includes elements of self-paced learning but with added support through group or individual interactions
• It provides a planned structure, but allows the learning to become partly personalised and enhanced by peer-to-peer interactions.
• It supports both synchronised learning where all participants follow the same timetable, and asynchronised, where they don’t.
• Depending on your target population and location, learning can combine online and in-person events

Upside

• It allows the instructor to be more agile by making adjustments based on the cohorts progress and feedback.
• It incorporates tools that everyone is used to such as zoom, forums, and chat.
• It enables both the instructor(s) and fellow learners to engage and motivate each other
• It empowers learners and supports a collaborative way of working
• It enables instructors much more flexibility to be creative when it comes to supporting the learner journey
• Depending on the learning experience design, it can reduce the amount of up-front time and effort normally expected when creating a MOOC, shortening the time to signing up paying customers.
• Various studies show the benefits of Social Learning when it comes to actual transformation. For example: Social learning follows the 70:20:10 model which states that 70% of what people learn comes from observing others, 20% from interacting with others, and 10% from consuming content. When you learn something passively, there’s a 72% chance you’ll forget it. But when you use it, answer questions about it, and interact with others there’s a 69% chance you’ll remember it.

If part of your goal is to make money, the challenge with designing a MOOC is how low the courses are priced. This puts pressure on instructors to lower their prices too and, by doing so, reducing the ‘perceived value’ but also increasing the number of paying learners needed to break even.

Social learning is different. Research shows a number of factors that can influence price, with programmes raging from £500 to £10,000 per seat, including:

Direct access: Generally, the more access learners have to experts, alumni, and mentors, the more you can charge. One-on-one coaching sessions are typically offered at a higher price point as well.

Length of learning experience: The length of your program matters because the longer the program and the more classes and resources you offer, the higher the price point. That said, I don’t recommend purposely padding out a learning experience for the sake of it. Your learners levels of motivation might drop and they may abandon the experience.

Your expertise: Learners are willing to pay more for learning experiences taught by instructors who have proven experience.

Exclusivity:  Exclusive or personalised programs are more valuable than pre-recorded courses. The fewer learners invited the more you can charge.

Completion Rates

Various research has shown the benefits of social learning:

• Whereas self-paced courses have completion rates as low as 3%, Cohort based courses often see completion rates of over 90% (Ish Baid) 
• Customised online courses aimed at smaller groups which provide direct interaction and collaboration with professors and peers are seeing completion rates above 85% (Training Journal) 
• Students in Esme Learning’s cohort based learning courses are showing completion rates of 98-100% (Times Higher Education)
• Completion rates at Section 4 are 70+% (TechCrunch 3/21) 
• Nomadic Learning, achieves over 90% completion rate regularly in their cohort-based programs (Josh Bersin) 

Downside

• It will require time spent by you to support, guide and direct your learners. The amount of time will depend on your idea, goals and how you design your experience. 
• It will still likely require some elements of self-paced learning, for example homework tasks.
• It will require some knowledge of using social tools and on-line meeting tools, such as zoom.
• The instructor must feel comfortable talking directly with their learners.
• Designing a social learning experience can feel overwhelming to some as there are a number of new tools, tactics, and considerations at play.

Which is best for you?

The answer might seem obvious, but it really does depend on a number of factors, including:

Your Goal
Why are you doing this? If your goal involves your learners completing the learning experiences and (hopefully) reaching their desired destination, then creating a social learning experience would make sense. If on the other hand, your goal is to simply make money, then perhaps abandonment statistics are less relevant as the learner has already paid regardless.

Your Time
Have you got the time to run a learning experience over a set period of time? Maybe this time can be reduced by not investing all of it in creating a full self-paced course up front? Maybe you can focus on the first few lessons, and then drop the others when the learning experience is up and running?

Flexibility
How confident are you that you know your learning experience will support your learner reach their goal? Are you willing to invest all your time in designing the experience, only to chance getting it wrong when the first batch of learners enrol? With the right design, social learning can provide more flexibility and therefore reduce risks.

Learner Types
There are seven different types of learners. It is worth considering what type of learners your subject might attract. For example the type 6 learner (‘I fear change’) will see things as hard, will question why things need to be done differently, will need to be convinced, and likely needs time to acclimate and safe spaces to practice. You can imagine that any learning experience that focuses on behaviour change or health and wellbeing-related subjects might attract such learners. In this case, it is likely they will need additional support to help them through the learning experience. Whereas, if you attract a type 1, (Just tell me what I need to know) who likes lists to run through quickly and wants you to get to the point may become impatient with the added value and just want to complete the course, get the certificate and move on.

Your Ideal Learner
Finally, and most importantly, what do you think your learner actual needs? Remember, your goals will only be achieved if you first support your learner achieve theirs. Serious learners are not going to pay to do your course simply to congratulate themselves for completing it. They want to transform in some way.  It is highly likely they will want to solve a problem, enrich their lives, or access a reward. The more you understand about your learners goals and desired destination, the easier it becomes to decide what type of learning experience to offer. 

The Importance of design & planning

Yes, there are a number of questions and factors that need to be considered before you begin to create any assets. This is why we highly recommended investing time in the design and planning phase before you start creating assets and preparing to launch. The time you spend here will reap huge benefits later.
The good news is we have created a step-by-step process that takes you from initial idea all the way through to a detailed plan that can be tested. Our customers have access to this process through our customer portal, but if you would like support now the good news is we cover everything you need in our four week 1-2-1 community design programme.