Discussion Network Formation and Evolution in an Online Professional Development Class: Evidence from a MOOC for K-12 Educators

TL;DR

This study investigates how educator peer networks form and evolve in a MOOC for K-12 teachers, revealing key social mechanisms and temporal participation patterns that influence online professional learning communities.

Contribution

It applies ERGM and TERGM models to analyze network formation and evolution, highlighting the roles of reciprocity, transitivity, and homophily in online educator interactions.

Findings

Strong reciprocity and transitive closure effects in networks

Discussion activity peaks mid-course and then declines

Network structure shifts from distributed to concentrated participation

Abstract

Understanding how educators interact and form peer networks in online professional development contexts has become increasingly important as MOOCs for educators (MOOC-Eds) proliferate. This study examines peer discussion network formation and evolution in 'The Digital Learning Transition in K-12 Schools', a MOOC-Ed offered to U.S. and international educators in Spring 2013. Using cross-sectional and temporal exponential random graph models (ERGMs and TERGMs), the study analyzes two network subsamples: the largest connected component (N = 363) and active participants with three or more interactions (N = 227). Results reveal strong reciprocity and transitive closure effects across both networks, with participants six to nine times more likely to reciprocate interactions and over twice as likely to form ties with peers sharing common discussion partners. Assigned discussion group homophily emerged as the strongest predictor of tie formation, while regional homophily and willingness to connect also significantly influenced network structure. Temporal analysis showed discussion activity peaked mid-course before declining sharply, with network structure evolving from broadly distributed participation to concentrated interaction among a tightly connected core. These findings illuminate the mechanisms driving peer-supported learning in online professional development contexts and suggest design implications for fostering sustained educator engagement in MOOC-based learning environments.