Towards a Heutagogy-Based MOOC Design Framework

MOOCs are particular learning environments due to their massiveness and openness. Creating learning environments for masses is extremely complex and raises a lot of design questions because of the large variety of participants in terms of background, skills, and experiences. This paper aims to give an overview of the current trends in MOOCs design and to present a draft of the conceptual categories of an alternative design framework for MOOCs based on a heutagogical approach. A heutagogy-based MOOC can be described as a MOOC where the emphasis is on acquiring knowledge on the own learning through the metacognitive work of critical reflection (doubleand triple-loop learning) for the sake of cognitive and behavioural change; and on developing self-determined learning skills for successful learning in an open, barely structured, and self-organized environment.