Defining Open Pedagogy
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
Define open pedagogy
Identify examples of open pedagogy
Understand the difference between a disposable and renewable assignment
What is Open Pedagogy?
Using open educational resources in the classroom can make it easier for students to access and interact with course materials. However, another major aspect of Open Education asks not “what you teach with” but “how you teach.” The set of pedagogical practices that include engaging students in content creation and making learning accessible is known as open pedagogy.
As DeRosa & Jhangiani explain, “one key component of open pedagogy might be that it sees access, broadly writ, as fundamental to learning and to teaching, and agency as an important way of broadening that access.”[1] DeRosa & Robison expand on this topic, explaining that:
“students asked to interact with OER become part of a wider public of developers, much like an open-source community. We can capitalize on this relationship between enrolled students and a broader public by drawing in wider communities of learners and expertise to help our students find relevance in their work, situate their ideas into key contexts, and contribute to the public good.”[2]
Depending on the source you consult, open pedagogy might be a series of practices, a learning style, or a state of mind.
Here are a few other helpful explanations of Open Pedagogy:
Open Pedagogy - as defined by Robin DeRosa (Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Plymouth State University) - is a practice that:
Approaches education from a "commons" orientation, advocating for the sharing of resources, ideas, and power
Bakes access and accessibility into the design of its assignments, courses, programs, and institutions
Empowers learners to contribute to - not just consume - knowledge
Connects learners with their scholarly and professional communities of practice
“Open pedagogy is a practice which uses the 5R activity framework to design lessons and assessments that encourage students to improve or create course content. With open pedagogy projects, students are empowered to engage in information creation through non-disposable or renewable assignments. The student is both creator and contributor of assignments that are openly licensed, allowing the content to be shared, revised, and reused by future students in a course.”
What is a Disposable Assignment?
“These are assignments that students complain about doing and faculty complain about grading. They’re assignments that add no value to the world – after a student spends three hours creating it, a teacher spends 30 minutes grading it, and then the student throws it away. Not only do these assignments add no value to the world, they actually suck value out of the world.” - David Wiley
Example of a Disposable Assignment
Faculty member assigns student to write a two page compare and contrast essay
Student writes the paper and submits it to faculty
Faculty grades the paper and returns it to student
Student checks what grade they received, briefly peruses any written comments, and then throws the paper away
What is a Renewable Assignment?
“Renewable assignments provide students with opportunities to engage in meaningful work, add value to the world, and provide a foundation for future students to learn from and build upon. Renewable assignments are possible because of the permission to engage in the 5R activities granted by open educational resources (OER). Renewable assignments are an alternative to traditional, disposable assignments, which students throw away after they are graded.”
Concept Review
1, Which of the following describes Open Pedagogy?
Engages students in content creation
Makes learning accessible
Free of cost and having an open license
Available in high-resolution formats
Assignments add no value to the world
2. True or False: Renewable assignments are possible because of the permission to engage in the 5R activities granted by open educational resources (OER)?
Attributions
What is Open Pedagogy? wording from The OER Starter Kit Workbook by Abbey K. Elder & Stacy Katz, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
Open Pedagogy as defined by Robin DeRosa is from Getting Started with OER by Jillian Maynard and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Open Pedagogy 5 R's definition is from"Austin Community College (ACC) Library Services Guide on Open Educational Resources" by Carrie Gits licensed under CC BY 4.0
What is a Disposable Assignment? from What is Open Pedagogy? by David Wiley and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
What is a Renewable Assignment? from DOER Fellows Renewable Assignments and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.