This work-in-progress paper investigates the qualitatively different ways in which Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) students interact with and learn from Fundamentals of Neuroscience (MCB80x), a neuroscience MOOC with extensive electrical engineering content. A distinguishing feature of this MOOC is that a small group of students also received an at home lab-kit on which they could perform neuroscience experiments. As part of an on-going study of MCB80x, we previously performed initial quantitative analysis to describe the general patterns of website interaction of MOOC students. Those findings, grounded in data mining and traditional statistics, are consistent with findings from other MOOCs. However, we were not able to describe the nature of the behaviors the students exhibit and why they interact with the online learning environment the way they do. This follow-up phenomenography studies the variation in user learning experiences in MCB80x. The findings of this study may inform structural and pedagogical decisions for future MOOCs. Increased understanding of the rich experiences students have while interacting with lab-kits may also provide valuable insights to help MOOC designers develop effective at-home and remote lab activities, which could scale to virtual lab environments for engineering and other STEM classrooms in general. This work-in-progress paper begins with a description of our research questions, followed by a detailed description of the chosen methodology-phenomenography. We then discuss our data collection methods, validity concerns, data analysis procedures, and preliminary findings. We close by discussing some implications, limitations, and plans for completing this study.
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