Learning profiles of participants in an adult education MOOC program

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are distance education courses that stand out for their large number and heterogeneity of participants and high drop -out rates. This makes it difficult to monitor the progress of participants. In the present study, we inves - tigated the learning profiles of participants (N = 7760) in a massive open online course in an adult learning environment. Learner profiles were determined based on the learning activity of the participants using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA). Participants' activity and engagement in the course decreased significantly in the first half of the course and only slightly in the second half. Success in the final exam was most strongly determined by progress in the course material. Based on the activity of the participants, nine learning profiles were identified, which can be grouped into two broad categories. The identifica - tion of student profiles can provide a basis for personalised learning.