Cluster analysis of MOOC learners＇ characteristics： A literature review

MOOC learners are generally divided into two categories according to whether they finish the courseor drop out. This binary classification is an oversimplified portrait of MOOC learners. For example, peoplemay be only interested in certain parts of a MOOC, hence ignoring ＇irrelevant＇ activities, or they may beactively engaged in a MOOC but with no desire to obtain a course certificate, hence skipping assess-ment assignments. These learners are often classified into the ＇drop-out＇ category, which, nevertheless,fails to explain why they ＇drop out＇ and to effectively capture the heterogeneity of MOOCacteristics.