Pre-service teacher's understanding of LEAP21 learning design elements in MOOC environments

Some pre-service teachers struggle to understand the elements of learning design. A good grasp of learning design is important in designing effective learning activities. Subsequently authentic tasks, such as massive open online course (MOOCs) were used to expose the pre-service teachers to elements of learning design. A descriptive case study was used. In this case study the purpose was to investigate how pre-service teachers' reflections after participation in self-selected MOOCs informed their understanding of Advanced Educators Pedagogy (LEAP 21) learning design elements. The pre-service teachers completed an online questionnaire about their understanding of LEAP21 learning design elements while being guided by the LEAP21 framework, the same framework which was then used to conceptualise the study. Magnitude coding was done where instances of good understanding and weak understanding of learning design were captured. The results showed the design elements of skilled communication and collaboration were poorly understood contrasting knowledge construction and self-regulation.