By Vera Kennedy, Sociology Faculty, West Hills College Lemoore
“Free textbook?” Yes, this is why I adopted OER. I wanted to help students save money. However, I soon realized OER might be a barrier to learning.
When my colleagues and I decided to adopt an OER text in our introductory courses, we followed the same process we always had when adopting commercial textbooks. Our adoption decisions focused on the quality of the text. Was the text comparable to the commercial texts we use? Are there supplemental materials? How do we embed the materials into our LMS? How much time is this going to take me if I commit to the change?
Acknowledging Social and Cultural Capital Ceilings
It was not until we were in the classroom that we began to identify the challenges of adopting an OER text, which at that point in time had little to no supplemental materials. Of course, we all jumped in and started re-designing our courses to match the new text. It was during this first year that we realized we really were not making any significant changes to how we use a new textbook or how we teach. This epiphany made us realize that by historically using commercial publications we had taught ourselves to follow the text and materials provided with occasionally seeking out and including some external sources in an attempt to make class interesting. We were not teaching to our strengths or teaching based on student needs and their prerequisite knowledge.
We started talking about the challenges we faced in learning and the ivory tower philosophy of being “talked at” rather than being taught “how to” learn when we were in school, and now we were reproducing the same learning environment. We recognized our teaching approaches were not supporting the development of our students but simply reinforcing a culture where students had to come equipped to achieve or figure it out on their own. We were truly delivering the same teaching style we criticized and that we struggled with because of our backgrounds and challenges around accessibility, language, relevance, and inability to relate or identify. We were reinforcing the cultural capital that had created barriers in our lives. This realization established a paradigm shift in how we were going to reuse and remix the OER text to create an engaging learning environment that focused on course objectives, real world applications, and helping students overcome their content challenges by empowering them to use and develop their own skills. If we were going to invest time in re-designing our courses, we were going to embrace equity, diversity, and inclusion.
A Time for Transformation
I can honestly say deciding to adopt OER changed how I see my role as an instructor and how much more I am now able to give my students by learning about them and including them in the design of my courses. I now seek active participation to ignite active learners. I have a general framework for each course (i.e., reading assignment), but content, discussions, and exercises are fluid and are different from class-to-class and semester-to-semester. I empower students to read OER course material that aligns with the course objectives. I do not lecture from the text or other reading assignments. Instead, I ask students to take notes as they read and write up their challenges or interests about the material. Students bring their summaries to class and this guides discussions, exercises, assignments, and assessments. This approach allows me to identify any disconnect between what students are being asked to learn and the challenges they have in accessing course material, understanding content, and bias (in both presentation and interpretation of the material). By sharing their challenges and interests I am better able to identify and develop activities that we work on together to answer their questions or connect their history and biography to new concepts and theories.
Therefore, my student are no longer passive learners but rather active participants in designing and teaching course content to each other with me. I am no longer a passive instructor where I regurgitate written materials but an active facilitator and resource in helping students identify and utilize their learning styles, abilities, and cultural difference to enhance their skills and knowledge in the subject.
Creating Space for Active Learning and Engagement
Here is an assignment I created for the first day of class from the television show “Join or Die” airing on the History Channel. The lesson plan is applicable in face-to-face, hybrid, and online learning environments. Faculty can substitute the lesson topic to align with specific discipline courses. The activity is applicable for individual or team learning. The lesson plan contains a CC-BY license and is accessible at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B92UqzTjrcvuUTNYbzF4VWlfZlE/view?usp=sharing
Playing a game of “Join or Die” gives me the opportunity to discuss OER and introduces students to analyzing, evaluating, and remixing open sources. I will be demonstrating the activity at the e-Learning Conference hosted by the Instructional Technology Council on February 11-14, 2018 in Tucson, AZ. I hope to see you there!