Psychometric assessment of a tool to evaluate motivation and knowledge of an energy-related topic MOOC

Online education has increased over the last two decades in response to an increasing learning demand. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) seem to be an adequate tool to facilitate current educational dynamics. However, evaluating students’ motivation and learning to predict their engagement when attending a MOOC represents a challenge. This study combines characteristics of data from MOOC environments (e.g., large sample size) with well-established psychometric methodology (validity and reliability estimations) to attain a reliable resource to evaluate MOOC participants. Four independent datasets from MOOCs on energy-related topics were used to psychometrically examine the new “Initial survey of interests, motivations, and knowledge regarding MOOCs” (EIIMC-MOOC). The results indicate that the EIIMCMOOC is a valid, reliable and stable tool to evaluate initial motivation and prior knowledge of participants attending energy-related topics.