{"id":12805,"date":"2013-01-21t08:00:14","date_gmt":"2013-01-21t13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/?p=12805"},"modified":"2013-01-07t19:19:19","modified_gmt":"2013-01-08t00:19:19","slug":"getting-to-know-coursera-statements-of-accomplishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/2013\/01\/getting-to-know-coursera-statements-of-accomplishment\/","title":{"rendered":"getting to know coursera: statements of accomplishment"},"content":{"rendered":"

by katie mcewen, graduate assistant<\/em><\/p>\n

after getting started with our discussion of assessments in coursera in our last two<\/a> posts<\/a>, today we\u2019ll turn or attention to the end point of grading and evaluation: statements of accomplishment.\u00a0 sometimes also called \u201ccertificates,\u201d these statements present something of a question for all involved.\u00a0 what, exactly, is coursera certifying anyway?\u00a0 participation?\u00a0 completion?\u00a0 or some measure of achievement and excellence?<\/p>\n

and what do they even<\/a> look<\/a> like<\/a>?<\/p>\n

although coursera is moving to accredit<\/a> and monetize<\/a> its online offerings, universities rightfully remain wary not only about ensuring rigor and accountability<\/a> in coursera, but also about evaluating the impact of these courses on the prestige<\/a>, and experience, of an on-campus education<\/a>.<\/p>\n

as we\u2019re beginning to see, assessing work in coursera is no easy proposition.<\/p>\n

grading policies in coursera are, according to coursera<\/a>, two-fold: aimed at both creating an objective measure of assessment and determining which students earn statements of accomplishment.\u00a0 but how are criteria determined?<\/p>\n

as in traditional higher-education courses, grading criteria in coursera vary depending upon the instructor, the course, and the home institution.\u00a0 in fact, the decision to allow statements of accomplishment, and the \u201clevels\u201d of accomplishment certified, is determined by each institution, and the, in turn, by each instructor.\u00a0 and as a result, many courses don\u2019t offer statements of accomplishment.<\/p>\n

in fact, many different levels of authority\u2014personal, disciplinary, pedagogical, administrative, institutional\u2014is already in play with certification.\u00a0 it\u2019s no simple question who or what receives certification, or from what institution.\u00a0 princeton university, for example, does not offer any certificates for its coursera offerings.<\/p>\n

but before we can discuss the wider implications of certification in coursera, or of coursera itself, we should first take a look at what exactly certification entails in this online setting.\u00a0 in most cases, this means different classes and different tracks of certification.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

classes of certification.<\/strong><\/p>\n

many courses in coursera offer a single kind of certification: a \u201cnormal\u201d statement of accomplish usually granted to those students who meet a minimum grade threshold.<\/p>\n

\u201cnormal\u201d certification is currently the most common mode of certification across coursera.\u00a0 despite the variations in criteria, it appears that most courses require between 70% to 80% of the total points, with some few courses requiring as little as 60% of total points, to qualify for a statement of accomplishment.<\/p>\n

so, for example, in \u201cgamification<\/a>\u201d any student with a total score of at least 70% across the required quizzes, peer-graded assignments, and final exam would receive certification.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

among the courses that offer certification, a few also offer a further category of accomplishment by granting certificates with \u201cdistinction\u201d to a small number of top students, most usually relying on final score in the course.<\/p>\n

the most recent iteration (2012) of \u201cnetworked life<\/a>,” for example, recognized students with an average score of 100% with \u201cdistinction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

in \u201cintroduction to mathematical thinking<\/a>,\u201d certification with \u201cdistinction\u201d was defined as both a percentage of total students, granting \u201ccompletion with distinction\u201d to the top 20% of those who qualify for certification, as well as a function of assessments completed, to include scores not calculated in \u201cnormal\u201d certificates, including the final exam and participation in the peer-review process.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

tracks to certification.<\/strong><\/p>\n

tracks to certification are not wholly dissimilar from the levels of certification<\/strong>, as both seem designed to differentiate relative level of mastery demonstrated by student work.\u00a0 usually defined by the types of assessments required for the statement of accomplishment\u2014for instance, quizzes, programming assignments, or peer-assessed work\u2014tracks have to do with how students are asked to apply<\/strong> and demonstrate<\/strong> knowledge.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

advanced versus basic tracks. <\/strong>the most common method of differentiating tracks depends upon the command of the material as defined by \u201cadvanced\u201d versus \u201cbasic\u201d proficiency. \u00a0the track is then certified on the statement of accomplishment.<\/p>\n

in \u201corganizational analysis<\/a>\u201d students can also choose to pursue \u201cbasic\u201d or \u201cadvanced\u201d tracks to certification, with the \u201cadvanced\u201d track requiring additional coursework such as essays and peer evaluation.\u00a0 again, this model reflects an approach similar to that in \u201cintroduction to mathematical thinking\u201d by defining \u201cdistinction\u201d both through total points earned as well as the kind (in terms of complexity and sophistication) of work submitted for evaluation.<\/p>\n

as a result, students in the \u201cbasic\u201d track are asked to develop \u201cbasic literacy\u201d:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

while those in the advanced track work to analyze and apply this \u201cbasic\u201d competency:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

multiple tracks to mastery.<\/strong> a few courses further differentiate stages of mastery, enabling students more flexibility in customizing the course to address their interests and abilities. \u00a0again, the track is certified<\/a> by the statement of accomplishment issued.<\/p>\n

\u201chuman-computer interaction<\/a>,\u201d for instance, offers three tracks to certification, each of which requires increasingly complex types of assignments to demonstrate increasing mastery of the material.\u00a0 this approach also encourages students to enroll in multiple iterations<\/strong> of the course, each time working through the \u201cnext\u201d track.<\/p>\n

in the \u201capprentice track\u201d students submit weekly quizzes;<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

those pursuing the \u201cstudio track\u201d supplement quizzes with weekly assignments, culminating in a design project;<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

and those in the \u201cstudio practicum\u201d must have first completed the \u201cstudio\u201d track.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cintroduction to sustainability<\/a>\u201d offers one of the most differentiated systems of certification on the coursera platform.\u00a0 students work to earn \u201cbadges,\u201d\u00a0which represent specific kinds of participation in the course and are designed to allow maximum customization of the course material.\u00a0 only one \u201cbadge\u201d is required to earn certification, but students are encouraged to pursue as many \u201cbadges\u201d as possible within this non-hierarchical track system.<\/p>\n

this course thus combines two levels of certification \u2014 \u201cbasic\u201d and \u201cmastery\u201d \u2014 with three possible tracks to certification: \u201cquiz,\u201d \u201cforum,\u201d or \u201cproject.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

as we can see, in the “tracked” model, each student is allowed a greater degree of flexibility to choose how s\/he participates in course and engages with the material through different levels of mastery.\u00a0 such tracks also allow a single coursera course to approximate the kind of sequencing built into to traditional university curriculum.<\/p>\n

yet despite the multiple levels and tracks of certification, it is still unclear just what these statements of accomplishment might mean.\u00a0 or what they might look like, as a recent design challenge<\/a> in \u201cdesign: creation of artifacts in society<\/a>\u201d demonstrated.\u00a0 will they get you a job<\/a>?\u00a0 or college credit<\/a>?\u00a0 cultural capital<\/a>?\u00a0 or just the satisfaction of a job well done?<\/p>\n

and, perhaps most importantly for coursera, will certification help them make money?\u00a0 at this point, we still have more questions than answers.<\/p>\n

next time we’ll take up another question: that of access and exclusion in coursera.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by katie mcewen, graduate assistant after getting started with our discussion of assessments in coursera in our last two posts, today we\u2019ll turn or attention to the end point of grading and evaluation: statements of accomplishment.\u00a0 sometimes also called \u201ccertificates,\u201d these statements present something of a question for all involved.\u00a0 what, exactly, is coursera certifying…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":11821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[167],"tags":[191],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/vu-wp0\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2018\/07\/09154327\/coursera-logo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12805"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}