Open Learning Initiative

Feedback fosters learning. It's so important, in fact, Carnegie Mellon researchers consider it the most powerful feature of their innovative Open Learning Initiative (OLI).

The OLI offers anybody the chance to learn a variety of subjects for free — from statistics to French to modern biology — all from the comfort of their home computer.

These online courses are developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon using virtual laboratories and simulations. As users take these courses, the software developed by Carnegie Mellon harnesses intelligent tutoring systems to guide students along, offering feedback along the way.

"Traditionally, with pen and paper, you get stuck and may not get to continue," said Thille. "When using OLI, the students get hints and help, so they can get constructive feedback and keep on learning."

She added, "It's far more productive than traditional teaching methods. Feedback that comes back on an assignment two weeks later is ineffective."

And as the classes are taken, the researchers at Carnegie Mellon are getting data back showing them where students are struggling - and allowing them to hone courses for easier learning at home in the future. "The faculty and students then start the next class extremely well-aligned on how to spend those next 50 minutes," Thille said.

The same data is also used to drive the next iterations of the courses.

Courses are developed by teams of learning scientists, faculty content experts, human-computer interaction experts and software engineers — making the best use of multidisciplinary knowledge for designing effective learning environments.

The program is getting the attention of leaders in the field, says Thille. Case in point: Anoop Gupta (MCS'82,'86), corporate vice president of Microsoft Corp. and a Carnegie Mellon alumnus, will sit in on the class next week to observe.

Some OLI courses also serve as part of the research environment for the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center (PSLC). Learning researchers affiliated with the PSLC can embed experimental manipulations in OLI courses to test specific learning theories.

Paul Steif, a professor of mechanical engineering, is excited about the combination of knowledge from the learning sciences, affordances of information technology and the depth of expertise of Carnegie Mellon's faculty to create these web-based learning environments.

"Some faculty at Carnegie Mellon are at the forefront of their field in terms of the pedagogy in teaching their discipline, and that knowledge is being converted to instruction to apply to the larger world," said Steif. "With the OLI infrastructure, those instructors who bring a particularly valuable approach to their subject, will be available to a broader audience."

Related Links: OLI  |  Free Online Courses

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