Best Practice Guide for Designing and Delivering EPICUR courses
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Small Private Online Course (SPOC)
Small Private Online Course (SPOC)
Why SPOCs?
SPOCs (Small Private Online Courses) offer a unique blend of the flexibility and broad access associated with MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) but tailored to the needs of a specific, smaller group of learners. They provide a more personalized learning experience by focusing on smaller cohorts, allowing for closer interaction between students and instructors. This structure supports higher engagement and retention rates compared to traditional MOOCs. SPOCs are particularly advantageous in higher education, where they can be used to complement in-person teaching or provide specialized training for niche subjects.
By offering flexibility, personalized content, and the ability to blend online and in-person learning, SPOCs provide a valuable tool for modern education, particularly in accommodating diverse student needs and fostering a more engaging learning environment.
5 key points about SPOCs
- Personalized Learning
SPOCs are designed for smaller groups of students, allowing for a more personalized learning experience, with tailored feedback and closer interaction between instructors and students. - Flexibility
They offer flexible learning options, enabling students to access course materials and complete assignments at their own pace, which is particularly beneficial for those balancing study with work or other commitments. - Higher Engagement and Retention
Due to the smaller group size and focused content, SPOCs generally have higher completion rates and student engagement levels compared to MOOCs. - Blended Learning Potential
SPOCs can be integrated with in-person classes, creating a blended learning environment that combines the strengths of both online and face-to-face education. - Adaptability to Specific Educational Needs
SPOCs can be tailored to meet the specific needs of a course or program, making them versatile tools for higher education institutions looking to provide specialized or supplemental instruction.
SPOCs in practice
In practice, SPOCs are implemented in a variety of educational contexts. For example, at the University of Málaga, a SPOC was developed for the course "The Didactic Programme: Elements and Elaboration Process", aimed at providing specialized training for students, faculty, and staff. This course was structured into three blocks, covering policy in education, basic elements of didactic programming, and evaluation. The course was delivered over six weeks, with students engaging in both self-paced activities and interactive sessions with tutors. The course achieved a high completion rate of 78.7%, with most participants expressing satisfaction with the content and format.
SPOCs have also been used to support students who cannot attend in-person classes due to work or other commitments. For instance, at UC Leuven Limburg, a SPOC was designed to allow students to follow a course online that they otherwise would not have been able to attend. This course included interactive videos, online quizzes, and discussion forums, ensuring that students remained engaged and could track their progress throughout the course.
In EPICUR, the SPOC format was tested in 2021/2022 with a small group of students for the online course ”PerForm - Bioeconomy and Society”, which was offered with the three parts ”The Politics of Bioeconomy”, ”Stakeholder Perceptions” and ”Public Perceptions and Innovations” and had a total study time of about 50 hours. The course followed a modular, gamified and tutored approach, designed to motivate students to follow through.
Links to resources for SPOCs
- PerForm – Bioeconomy and Society – Didactic Guide
- Advantages and disadvantages of SPOCs – Experiences with online learning (pdf)
- The implementation of SPOCs as a new approach to education (pdf)
References
- Gielen, Gerard. Advantages and disadvantages of SPOCs – Experiences with online learning, EDEN 2016 Annual Conference, Budapest.
- Ruiz-Palmero, Julio. The implementation of Small Private Online Courses (SPOC) as a new approach to education, International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (2020) 17:27, https://educationaltechnologyjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41239-020-00206-1
Inclusive Course Design and Modes of Delivery
Author(s)
This resource sheet has been co-written or written by
- Dorthe Hutz-Nierhoff (UFR)
Related Resource Sheets
Next steps
If you need further support with developing your course, please contact your local teaching support unit.
If you need further information on offering your course for EPICUR, please contact your EPICUR institutional coordinator.
Local teaching support units
EPICUR Institutional Coordinators
Adam Mickiewicz University
Karolina Choczaj
karmench@amu.edu.pl
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Nikos Kouloussis
nikoul@agro.auth.gr
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Michael Zacherle
zacherle@kit.edu
University of Amsterdam
Tiffany Boersma
t.a.boersma@uva.nl
Universität Freiburg
Charlotte Langowski
charlotte.langowski@zv.uni-freiburg.de
Université de Haute-Alsace
Léa Ziri
lea.ziri@uha.fr
Universität für Bodenkultur Wien
Nicolas Fries
nicolas.fries@boku.ac.at
University of Southern Denmark
Ida Thøstesen
ilt@sdu.dk
University of Strasbourg
Pascale Nachez
pnachez@unistra.fr
Further use as OER explicitly permitted:
This Resource Sheet within the Best Practice Guide for Designing and Delivering EPICUR Courses was created by Dorthe Hutz-Nierhoff, University of Freiburg.
Please attribute according to TASLL rule as follows: Small Private Online Course (SPOC) (Best Practice Guide for Designing and Delivering EPICUR Courses), by Dorthe Hutz-Nierhoff, University of Freiburg. Any icons included are protected by copyright, © The Noun Project, used with permission.
License: This work and its contents are – unless otherwise stated – licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 .
Last edited: 12. Jan 2026, 17:02, Hutz-Nierhoff, Dorthe [dh1076@rz.uni-freiburg.de]