Instructor Experiences in Designing and Delivering Interactive MOOCs in Higher Education Meina Zhu, Curtis J. Bonk, and Annisa Sari Indiana University Abstract There is a pressing need to better understand the instructional design and delivery methods of instructors of massive open online courses (MOOCs). In response, this mixed method study focused on how MOOC instructors encourage online interaction. The data sources were an online survey delivered to over 1,400 MOOC instructors, of which 143 valid responses were received. In addition, there were interviews with 12 instructors and course reviews of their MOOCs. To encourage online learner interaction, these instructors utilized asynchronous discussion forums, pair- based assignments or peer reviews, and social media to encourage peer interaction. At the same time, learner- instructor interaction was encouraged through online discussion forum, platform messages, and social media connections. In terms of learner-content interaction, MOOC instructors primarily relied on discussion forums, video lectures and tutorials in the MOOC, readings, and practice quizzes and exams. Implications and future directions for research on MOOC instructors are provided. Introduction Alternative forms of teaching and learning have proliferated over the past decade toward more open and online learning (Bonk, 2009). One such experimental approach is the massive open online course or MOOC (Bonk, Lee, Reeves, & Reynolds, 2015). In fact, MOOCs have grown during the past few years to over 7,000 such courses (Shah, 2016, 2017). It is important to point out that most research on MOOCs has mainly focused on enrollment, perspectives, behaviors, completion rates, and participation patterns in MOOC environments from a learner perspective (Breslow et al., 2013; Liyanagunawardena, Adams, & Williams, 2013). However, few studies have examined the instructional design and delivery of instruction using MOOCs from an instructor perspective (Margaryan, Bianco, & Littlejohn, 2015; Watson et al., 2016). Such studies of the design considerations and pedagogical approaches of MOOC instructors as well as their training needs are increasingly vital. The nature of online learning, such as the separation of instructors and learners, makes instructional design critical for online learning (Johnson & Aragon, 2003). Design and final delivery greatly influence students’ interaction and engagement in online learning (Garrison & Cleveland-Innes, 2005). For example, Garrison and Cleveland-Innes (2005) found that online course design and pedagogical approach influences learning and online interaction. This finding also applies to massive open online courses (MOOCs), which have emerged as an innovative form of online learning. The design and delivery of MOOCs can greatly influence student engagement, deep and meaningful learning, and completion rates (Keyek-Franssen, 2017; Pappano, 2012). MOOCs have faced criticisms, including low quality instructional design (Margaryan, Bianco, & Littlejohn, 2015) and limited online interaction. However, there is a scarcity of studies that focus specifically on MOOC design and delivery (Margaryan, Bianco, & Littlejohn, 2015); especially online interaction and engagement (Wang, Anderson, Chen, & Barbera, 2017). Given that the instructor is one of the five key elements of a MOOC (Kop, 2011), this study hopes to lend insights into how instructors are designing and delivering MOOCs to encourage interaction and monitor learning. Mixed methods (Creswell & Clark, 2007) (i.e., online surveys and interviews via Web conferencing) were used to explore the practices of MOOC instructors from a variety of disciplines. This study hopes to help reveal common and successful instructional design and delivery practices in terms of online interaction within MOOCs. To this end, the following three research questions guided this study. (1) How do MOOC instructors design their courses to encourage interaction among learners? (2) How do MOOC instructors design their courses to encourage interaction between instructor and learners? (3) How do MOOC instructors design their courses to encourage learner-content interaction? Theoretical framework Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Higher Education E-Learn 2017 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, October 17-20, 2017 Preview version of this paper. Content and pagination may change prior to final publication.