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What is Open Pedagogy?

Open Pedagogy is an approach to education that emphasizes inclusion and participation. Rather than traditional educational approaches, in which instructors teach learners to be consumers, Open Pedagogy encourages students to become co-creators. This can promote collaboration, sharing resources, and using open resources to facilitate learning. Open pedagogy also uses and contributes to openly licensed materials to ensure accessibility. This is similar to Open education because it tries to remove financial and geographical barriers by making resources widely available. Educators can benefit by having the flexibility to include varying types of materials and having the option to co-create knowledge with their students. This makes learning a lot more appealing to both educators and learners. Open Pedagogy allows students to involve themselves in a more equitable learning environment through working with others and having a sense of autonomy in regards to their education. 

The Role and Impact of OER

Open Educational Resources (OER) are resources that make education more accessible and affordable for both students and instructors. These resources can take on many forms. This can include anything from textbooks and online journals to videos and quizzes. However, unlike traditional resources, these OER are both less expensive and provide more formatted options. This is because they can be changed to aid the learning needs of many different students. From my own experience, OER has been very helpful in my learning. Being able to access free textbooks, watching videos and lectures, and engaging in interactive quizzes and activities makes it more engaging and allows me to learn in the way I would like to. For example, I tend to enjoy visually learning through videos on YouTube or Khan Academy or quizzing myself through Quizlet rather than reading textbooks and completing course assignments. In whatever way an individual would like to learn, OER removes financial barriers and makes sure the cost of materials does not prevent students from obtaining an education, and they allow educators to tailor content to make it more inclusive and engaging for all. Besides affordability, OER can help create a more equitable environment by making these educational resources available, regardless of the learners background or geographical location.

This video provides the viewer with a brief understanding of Open Educational Resources (OER) and why they are important in expanding education.

Global Trends in OER

One global trend in OER is its increased adoption, as many countries recognize the benefits of reduced costs and greater accessibility to quality education. This was especially important during the pandemic, as millions of students could not attend schools and universities due to health restrictions, resulting in the global adoption of OER (Huang et al., 2020). Although the widespread application of these resources provided students with an education, several challenges came about, such as:

  • Limited preparation time: Instructors and schools had difficulty adapting to online learning with little time, as many schools had not adequately prepared or improved their online learning experience.
  • Instructor/learner isolation: Many instructors and learners felt alone due to the lack of face-to-face or blended learning.
  • Need for pedagogical approaches: Effective approaches are needed to ensure learners are engaged and motivated.

Other global trends include policy development, collaboration, and Inclusive initiatives. Policy development is where governments and learning institutions developed policies that advocate for the importance of OER and accessibility in education. For example, a study in Botswana, Cameroon, and Sri Lanka highlighted a collaborative approach where many policymakers created OER guidelines to improve access to learning materials. They ensured that OER policies were personalized to the educational needs of each region (Abeywardena et al., 2018). Collaboration is important for the sharing and the creation of resources where many can exchange knowledge globally. Inclusivity can help mitigate barriers, making learning accessible and addressing the needs of learners.

Understanding Creative Commons Licensing

Creative Commons licensing is important for students and educators who want to use or create OER. Understanding these licenses ensures that resources are used ethically and legally. It is a system that lets creators share their work and makes it easier for others to contribute to and use it while still giving credit to the original creator. For example, I might apply Creative Commons Licenses by using licensed images and videos in projects to ensure legal use or sharing study materials under a license, allowing others to use and modify them with proper credit. Applying Creative Commons Licenses helps make education more collaborative, accessible, and ethical. 

Attributes of Open Pedagogy

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The key attributes of Open Pedagogy are collaboration, transparency, and student-centered learning. These attributes help create a more inclusive educational environment. One way to implement these ideas is through student-driven projects. In these projects, students contribute to creating study materials that can be shared with future students (Petersen & Hobye, 2020). Collaboration can be implemented through assignments such as group discussions, peer reviews, and projects to improve learning materials. Transparency can help students understand the learning process, which can help make them feel more engaged. These attributes make education more participatory and accessible. This allows students to contribute to and understand their learning in a more beneficial way. 

Key Terms

  • Face-To-Face Learning: “Traditional classroom-based learning where students and teachers meet in person.”
  • Blended Learning: “A mix of face-to-face and online learning. For example, students might attend some classes in person and complete other parts of the course online.”
  • Open Education: “refers to educational practices and resources that are freely available to everyone.”

References

Abeywardena, I. S., Karunanayaka, S. P., Nkwenti, M. N., & Tladi, L. (2018). A collaborative approach to OER policy and guidelines development in the Commonwealth: The case of Botswana, Cameroon, and Sri Lanka – International review of research in open and distributed learning. Érudit. https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/irrodl/2018-v19-n2-irrodl03962/1051242ar/

Huang, R., Liu, D., Tlili, A., Knyazeva, S., Chang, T. W., Zhang, X., Burgos, D., Jemni, M., Zhang, M., Zhuang, R., & Holotescu, C. (2020). Guidance on Open Educational Practices during School Closures: Utilizing OER under COVID-19 Pandemic in line with UNESCO OER Recommendation. Beijing: Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University

Pedersen, S., & Hobye, M. (2020). Implications of assessing student-driven projects: A case study of possible challenges and an argument for reflexivity. MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/10/1/19