The Open for Antiracism (OFAR) program – co-led by CCCOER and College of the Canyons – emerged as a response to the growing awareness of structural racism in our educational systems and the realization that adoption of open educational resources(OER) and open pedagogy could be transformative at institutions seeking to improve. Although many institutions have published impressive statements decrying racism, calling for change, and putting equity into their strategic plans, these haven’t always been translated into teaching practices that directly affect students.
The California Community Colleges system represents the largest system of higher education in the U.S. serving 2.1 million students at 116 colleges. OFAR started with the assumption that these faculty wanted to make their classrooms more anti-racist and were looking for guidelines and a structured environment in which to learn how to do it. Although guidelines were emerging from many different organizations, there wasn’t one that looked at the problem through an open education lens or proposed a supportive safe environment where participants could take a deep dive into anti-racist teaching and apply it in their own classroom with peer support and expert advice.
Over 300 faculty responded to the OFAR call for proposal, demonstrating that faculty were ready to learn about making their teaching practices and materials more anti-racist. The program is designed to give participants a workshop experience where they can better understand anti-racist teaching and how the use of OER and open pedagogy can empower them to involve students in the co-creation of an anti-racist classroom.
Map created using simplemaps.com
“I enjoy the content of the class and I can relate it to my own life.
-student course feedback
We learned a bit about other people’s perspectives and it is helpful information for everyday life.”
Facilitated Course and Peer Support
A four-week facilitated OFAR course has been developed to guide participants through the process of exploring antiracism in small and large groups then progressing into how OER and open pedagogy can be tools for opening up their classroom to allow students to be co-curators and co-creators in the process of making content and classroom practices antiracist. The capstone project in the fourth week involves developing an action plan for incorporating OER and open pedagogy into a course being taught in the spring semester.
Peer support and expert coaching is offered throughout the spring semester as faculty are working on their action plans in the classroom. Monthly webinars from external experts in antiracist pedagogy, open education, and research are offered to provide a deeper understanding of structural barriers faced by marginalized populations.
Get Involved
Learning Community
Discover the OFAR training modules and learning outcomes. Hear about the goals of the developers in creating the course and examine the self-paced and facilitated versions in Canvas Commons.
Classroom Action
Meet our faculty participants and hear how they involved their students in making their classrooms antiracist. View their syllabi and antiracist assignments to learn more about the implementation.
Partners and Advisors
Watch our partner webinars to hear about their antiracism advocacy and research. Meet our team of advisory coaches who worked directly with participants and provided overall guidance on program direction.
Impact and research
Hear what students and participating faculty had to say about their OFAR experiences. Read the research report to find out which teaching practices were most effective and those most likely to be sustained.
Open for Antiracism acknowledges the generous support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in helping to make this program possible.