Open Pedagogy
Open educational resources are not just about removing the costs associated with learning material purchases. Instead, OER are about increasing access for students by lessening the financial barriers associated with post-secondary education. Reducing the amount needed to purchase traditional textbooks and other resources means that students have more money for other important parts of their lives, such as childcare, transportation, and housing. Students who are able to obtain their resource without waiting for financial aid or choosing between another important cost are able to start learning earlier in their courses. Students have greater agency in the way they obtain and consume educational material, and are able to learn in a way that they prefer (e.g., print, online) or with accessibility software support.
Open educational resources are part of a larger, global strategy called open education. Open education seeks to create an environment of collaboration in the classroom, through the open sharing of knowledge, evaluation practices, and other procedures between students and professors.
Application
Hegarty (2015) describes eight attributes of open pedagogy that can help support more collaborative, participatory, and learner-centred teaching and learning environments.
People, Openness, and Trust
- Working with others should be viewed as imperative.
- Students and instructors may need support to embrace openness and trust others throughout the learning process.
- Open pedagogy encourages collaboration, communication, and shared responsibility for learning.
Innovation and Creativity
- Creativity and innovation are essential components of open pedagogy.
- Learners should be encouraged to experiment, explore ideas, and try new approaches.
- Open learning environments can provide opportunities for flexibility, creativity, and meaningful participation.
Sharing Ideas and Building Community
- Open pedagogy encourages the sharing of ideas, knowledge, and resources.
- Students can contribute to connected communities of learners, scholars, and professionals.
- Learning may extend beyond the classroom through collaboration and public-facing work.
Learner Participation and Reflection
- Students participate as contributors to knowledge, not simply consumers of information.
- Opportunities for reflection and peer review can help learners deepen their understanding.
- Constructive feedback and revision support growth and collaborative learning.
Participatory Technology
- Technology can help learners participate in meaningful and collaborative ways.
- Participatory tools may include social media platforms, collaborative documents, or shared digital workspaces.
- Technologies should support connection, communication, collaboration, and learner engagement.
Examples
Democratize Your Syllabus
Using accessible, friendly, and supportive language in your syllabus or course outline is a way to build trust in students. You may want to engage portions of the Liquid or Human Syllabus to encourage students to engage with you and to build community. This might include:
- Accessible formats
- Mobile-friendly formats
- Supportive language
- Friendly, imperfect welcome video
Not only is this a departure from standard, policy-heavy syllabi, it can make the class seem more welcoming for students from non-majority groups, who are more likely to enter a course from a place of distrust.
You can also start your class with openness in mind by asking students to participate in the creation of definitions in the syllabus. This might include:
- Class code of conduct
- Options and choices for topics/delivery methods for various assignments
- Opportunities for students to lead class sessions
- Give input on marking schemes, etc.
Benefits to allowing for student input in the syllabus include increased engagement, higher order thinking, fewer missed assignments/deadlines, and more fun!
It's important to work within the guidelines at the university for our standard Course Outline.
- Provide human or visual syllabus in addition to standard course outline
- Establish percentages for course grading (e.g., exams = 30%, assignments = 20%) but leave choices and room for flexibility within (e.g., take home exams, choice of assignment topic/format) when class starts
- Link both options in Canvas
Use Non-Disposable Assignments
Disposable assignments are assignments that add little value to the academic world and the community at-large. Students spend a lot of time and effort creating them, instructors spend a lot of time grading them, and the student disposes of the assignment after receiving the grade, often never looking at it again.
Non-disposable assignments are created to engage students in meaningful application of their learning by allowing them to inject meaning, value, purpose, identity and autonomy into the work.
Non-disposable assignments are characterized by Seraphin et al. (2019) as:
- Collaborative. Students work together and participate in exchange that is closely aligned to the collaboration and teamwork found in the workplace.
- Allowing for revision. Opportunities for revision, modification, and creativity are built into the assignment and its deadlines.
- Sharing outside of the student-teacher partnership. Opportunities exist for the assignment to be shared to peers inside and outside of the classroom, and to the community.
- Peer critique. Students have the chance to engage with their peers to improve their work, identify strengths, and make advancements in their learning.
- Innovative. Non-disposable assignments aim to have students create and add to knowledge, not simply reiterate existing information.
Examples of non-disposable assignments can include:
- Editing or creating articles on Wikipedia
- Creating public-facing tutorials, videos, or learning objects
- Creating study questions (and answers) for students
- Creating a collaborative OER
- Editing or annotating existing OER
- Simulated journal peer review
- Digital storytelling
- Conducting research, rather than planning or analyzing research
References