A multidisciplinary MOOC on creativity, innovation, and change: Encouraging experimentation and experiential learning on a grand scale

This paper reports on the design, development, and delivery of a multidisciplinary MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on creativity, innovation, and change. Our aim was to provide students with concepts and tools to help them realize their creative potential, support innovative behavior, and promote positive change in the world. Details of the course structure and its operations are discussed in relation to essentials of problem-based learning, patterns of student engagement, extent of experiential learning, and the use of social media. We also review the demographics of our 124,000+ MOOC students, who represented nearly 200 countries and over 35 academic disciplines, as well as statistics related to their enrollment, retention, and course completion. Finally, we discuss the implications of MOOCs for engineering education in both face-to-face and online formats, our recommendations for the development of MOOCs, the challenges and limitations of our work here, and our plans for future research in this domain.