Open Pedagogy

In this module, learners will navigate readings and materials in order to better understand Open Pedagogy (OP), an instructional approach that utilizes Open Educational Resources (OERs). The module begins with an introduction to OP and how it works-- a great place to start for anyone new to the world of OP. Moving forward, learners will explore how OP applies to learning, including course designs, activities, and reading materials. Beyond that, a discussion of benefits and challenges, plus a look into the future of OP with regard to educational technology. Finally, this module provides a space for learners to reflect on the idea of OP with their peers.

Introduction

Open licensing and Open Educational Resources (OERs) are foundational processes in democratizing knowledge and making learning accessible for everyone. Open Pedagogy (OP) extends these ideas by allowing students to participate in and generate open resources.

What is Open Pedagogy?

Open pedagogy (OP), is an instructional approach that engages students in the 5Rs— reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute—in order to use, adapt, or develop open content (Clifton & Davies Hoffman, 2020). Open content refers to open educational resources (OERs), that are free and available for users to access and also utilize the 5Rs depending on the licensing used. Therefore, OERs serve as the catalyst that makes OP possible.

This experiential approach to learning allows for creative and reusable assignments that can be shared beyond the classroom to a wider public. Content is primarily student-driven with the instructor acting as the facilitator during the process. Brief examples of OP outcomes include, but are not limited to:

Open-access textbooks
Wikipedia pages
Student-generated media (podcast, video, blog, slide deck, etc.)
Learning modules

Video: Open Dialogues: How to engage and support students in open pedagogies

Attribution: “Open Dialogues: How to engage and support students in open pedagogies” by Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, University of British Columbia is licensed CC BY 3.0.

Here is an infographic that highlights key elements of Open Pedagogy:

DRAFT intro to OP graphic.pdf

How Does Open Pedagogy Work?

OP begins with the instructor embracing a mindset for Open Education as well as a commitment to using OER. Mutual trust and empathy between the instructor and the students are necessary for creating an engaging learning climate. The instructor must provide clarity by aligning instructional content with students’ needs, learning objectives, course outcomes, and performance assessments.

OP practices include using regular and constructive monitoring and feedback, providing worked examples, organizing assignments in smaller tasks, providing learners with reciprocal teaching experience, using cooperative learning. Cooperative learning is a key collaborative practice that fosters promotive interaction among learners, positive interdependence skills, individual and shared responsibility, group processing, and reflective practices (Johnson & Johnson, 1989). Another key component of OP is the use of participatory technologies as those listed in the Educational Technologies section below.

In summary, OP is about :

Building trust
Providing clarity
Teaching OER skills
Using effective instructional practices

How does OP work.pdf

How Does Open Pedagogy Apply to Learning?

As opposed to traditional instructional approaches, OP in the classroom encourages students to apply their knowledge and skills in the form of creation and interaction with OERs. The following infographic provides some essential aspects as to how open-licensed materials can support learner engagement, promote peer and teacher collaboration, and aid in the overall understanding of OERs in instruction. These features are meant to highlight the benefits of OP and its application to a learning environment, as well as encourage you to embrace this approach to open teaching and learning.

Open Pedagogy in Learning Infographic (1).pdf

Examples

Here are some examples of instructors implementing OP in their classrooms as well as some supplemental reading materials about OP in instruction. Some of these examples are from the Open Pedagogy Notebook, an open-access resource that invites educators to learn more about OP through case studies and blog posts. We have provided a brief summary of each example, but feel free to click on the links to learn more.

Course Design/Activities

Collaborative Syllabus Design: Students at the Center

A collaborative syllabus is developed with students to determine the materials needed to achieve the learning objectives (also developed with students).

Licensing: CC-BY

Non-majors Science Students as Content Creators

A renewable website about science topics, made by non-science majors, with “a new cohort of students adding and editing to the current websites each semester.”

Licensing: CC-BY

Open Learning Experience Bingo 2.0

“Learning experience bingo is a game invented to offer a way for people to consider how learning experiences — like activities, assignments, modules, or courses — might be “opened” in various ways.”

Licensing: CC-BY

Reading Material

Project Management for Instructional Designers

An open textbook about project management tailored specifically for instructional designers, intended for use in graduate programs in educational technology.

Licensing: CC-BY-NC-SA

Inclusive Spectrums: Preliminary Research Exhibition

Research projects that explore a spectrum of themes, design practices, and processes themselves.

Licensing: CC-BY

What Are the Benefits and Challenges?

While OP offers many benefits as an instructional practice, instructors should consider the possible challenges, as well. Use the drop-down boxes below to explore both benefits and challenges of adopting OP.

OP Benefits and Challenges.png

Benefits

Student Agency: OP allows students to become, “creators of information rather than simply consumers of it” (McClean, 2021). This practice encourages the co-creation of knowledge as students interact with and create OERs to be shared with a wider audience. Students can make choices based on their own interests and personal experiences such as producing materials they actually enjoy or can take pride in.

Authentic Learning: Most OP-related assessments lead to frequent interaction among students to create functional OERs. Thus, this teaching approach lends well to authentic learning as students must network in order to produce materials that can be used in the real world. Also, students can potentially connect to users who come across their OERs online, encouraging deeper learning. Instructors can take on a more active role in terms of providing feedback to students on their progress and deliverables throughout the semester.

High-quality OERs: Typically, OP-produced OERs are peer and instructor reviewed prior to being published. These various levels of revisions and feedback responses can result in higher quality OERs. Additionally, students may invest greater effort in creating these resources as they understand they can be used by future students in courses (Wiley, 2013).

Challenges

Instructor Resistance: Before adopting Open Pedagogy into their coursework, instructors may have to let go of preconceived notions or past experiences regarding the learner’s role in the learning environment. With OP, learners take on creative control, and instructors work as facilitators to the learning. For some, this may feel like a loss of autonomy or control.

Learner Resistance: While OP presents an engaging and innovative way of learning for students, it is far from the educational experience they are likely accustomed to. Learners may be resistant to certain aspects required of Open Pedagogy. Learners may struggle with the independence allowed, unsure of how to budget time or delegate roles and tasks. They may also feel unprepared for the creative requirements of Open Pedagogy, considering traditional learning environments allow for little to no content creation.

Technical Skill: Since Open Pedagogy surrounds the creation of OERs, instructors and learners alike will need a certain amount of technical skill. The learning curve will vary, but this challenge could present the biggest hurdle to adapting OP as practice. While the skills are not necessary from the start, fear of inadequacy regarding tech tools, design, creation, etc. could hinder both learners and instructors. For this reason, careful planning and preparation are required well before any true OP should begin.

Time Spent: A fair amount of research is necessary to understand the true scope of Open Pedagogy. In many cases, adopting OP will require an overhaul of current instructional practices. Planning and preparation for an OP-centered module, unit, or course presents a challenge, for certain, but will pay off greatly in the long run.

Looking Forward

Educational Technologies

Here are some tools and platforms educators can use to support students with their OP projects and OERs. They are categorized based on the different phases students may be in during the process of creating OERs or working on OP assignments.

Educational Technologies for Open Pedagogy (OP)

Planning and Implementation

As with any lesson, planning and preparation are key to OP implementation. The following template provides a space for instructors to map out an OP lesson, accounting for everything from learning objectives to technology needs. Remix it, and make it your own!

OP Lesson Plan Template.docx

Final Reflection

What are you going to take away from this module about Open Pedagogy? What do you think are the next steps to making sure this transformative teaching practice reaches more educators, instructional designers, and students? Post your thoughts on our Google Jamboard and see what others have to say.

Open Pedagogy Google Jamboard

To add a sticky note to our Jamboard, follow the instructions in these sources.

Watch: Jamboard Sticky Notes
Read: Write, draw, and add notes in a Jam

If you run out of room, there are tabs at the top where you can move to additional boards.

Important Note: Please do not delete anyone else’s sticky notes (you may move them). Also, if you ‘clear frame’ all of the notes will disappear. You can download an image or PDF of our Jamboard if you would like to share it with your colleagues.

Snapshot of Open Pedagogy Google Jamboard

Sources

Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. Routledge.

Hoffman, K. and Clifton, A. (2020).Open Pedagogy Approaches: Faculty, Library, and Student Collaborations. Rebus Community.

Johnson D. W., & Johnson, R. (1989). Cooperation and competition: Theory and research. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

McClean, J. (2021, November 10). Subject and Course Guides: Introduction to Open Pedagogy. University of Texas Arlington Libraries. Retrieved from https://libguides.uta.edu/openped/intro

Tugman, B., Miceli, H., White, D., Angell, N., Bakaitis, E., Nelson, A., Flinn, C., Kalir, R., & Goode, A. L. (2020, August 20). What is open pedagogy? Open Pedagogy Notebook. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from http://openpedagogy.org/examples/

Wiley, D. (2013, October 21). What is Open Pedagogy? Improving Learning. Retrieved from https://opencontent.org/blog/archives/2975

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