I found this week’s articles quite interesting and thought-provoking. One of the readings from Mays about Open Pedagogy felt like a great discussion with questions challenging the reader to really think about what makes pedagogy open and how we all can contribute to that. While the definition of Open Pedagogy states that it “is a site of praxis, a place where theories about learning, teaching, technology, and social justice enter into a conversation with each other and inform the development of educational practices and structures” (Mays, 2017), in practice is really it? He talks about Open Education Resources (OER) as educational materials that are openly licenced and as a free option to expensive textbooks. I have never considered this before or thought about it as an option any university would offer. Besides the high tuition fees to start with, to the mandatory face-to-face classes, pursuing my teaching certificate in Canada as well felt like an out-of-reach dream for me years ago. However; after a lot of sacrifice (time, family, work, money), I achieved that dream. I felt fortunate that some of my instructors didn’t use textbooks even though I do prefer a paper format for resources to help with comprehension. As Mays says “we are directly impacting that student’s ability to attend, succeed in, and graduate from college. When we talk about OERs, we bring two things into focus: that access is critically important to conversations about academic success, and that faculty and other instructional staff can play a critical role in the process of making learning accessible.”
As I am reflecting on my teaching practice, I fought with the thought of not using a textbook with my students in my first year, and what helped me to shape my own practice was the experience and the curiosity for different methodologies. I also think that being able to form one’s practice according to your students’ needs is probably the most important and continuous practice you need to do.
The article by Gilliard and Culic, Digital Redlining, Access, and Privacy was another excellent reading raising many questions about how content filtering in higher education could create inequity and privacy problems. While I have never thought of this either when I attended a local community college, it reminds me of some of the limited resources I had for my research that time. But when you don’t know, you just work with what you are provided with. It’s sad to think that one’s research could be limited because of the financial and technological decisions of the institution. On the other hand, as a teacher myself, I do agree that the privacy of students should be the most important while also finding ways to expose them to OER. This is not an easy task as I see it, but with a growth mindset it’s attainable.
Mays, E. (Ed.). (2017). A guide to making open textbooks with students. Rebus Community. – Chapter 1: Open Pedagogy
Gilliard, C., & Culik, H. (2016, May 24). Digital Redlining, Access, and Privacy. Common Sense Education.
August 18, 2021 at 8:46 pm
Hello,
Thank you for posting such a great response to tis week’s readings. I love that you thought the May article was thought provoking and like a conversation… I didn’t really think of it at the time, but now it really does seem that. Especially with the fact that the reader could see the comment and even possibly respond.
I loved that you highlighted the quote, “we are directly impacting that student’s ability to attend, succeed in, and graduate from college. When we talk about OERs, we bring two things into focus: that access is critically important to conversations about academic success, and that faculty and other instructional staff can play a critical role in the process of making learning accessible.” I can see how impactful this was for you. Your writing so clearly expresses this… It is similar for me in that I do not like the expensive cost of textbooks, but i do enjoy the ability to have the physical textbook, to make it your own.
I will be honest, I am very inspired by your comment that you take fully into account the needs of your student. I think that is so important. Especially because as i student i felt like i needed different things than my other classmates. I was a kinaesthetic leaner that needed more of the experimental aspect. I will be sure to do this in my future classroom.
Finally, regarding the Dgital Redlining, Access, and Privacy you mention, “I do agree that the privacy of students should be the most important while also finding ways to expose them to OER. This is not an easy task as I see it, but with a growth mindset it’s attainable.” I found this important to mention in my own reply as I think this is so vital, especially with some of the things online today that students should not access…. For me, I would love to know some approaches or ideas that you have regarding keeping the students safe while sill exposing them to the world of OER.
Thank you again for this great response to the articles! I really ejoyed reading your thoughts and considerations!
August 19, 2021 at 10:29 pm
Hi Linnea,
I am glad to hear that you enjoyed reading my post and that you were able to relate. I prioritize my students’ needs in my classroom as much as possible; however, there are other things to consider as well such as your time, mental health, external responsibilities, etc. So it needs to be a healthy balance otherwise you’ll burn out quick.
When I talked about the importance of student privacy and how to find ways around it so it’s not compromised, I meant that I would sometimes invite guest speakers to the classroom (as mentioned in the article) or would take my students to a field trip where they can be exposed to authentic (OER) cultural experiences. Students live for that and they will never forget that experience.
August 19, 2021 at 6:20 am
Hi, thank you for sharing your ideas with us! I am totally understanding your sacrifice to make your dream come true, and I think it is a hard thing to do, because you need to spend a lot of money and time. For me, my dream is to finish my program and come home, and hopefully I can finish my program in this fall. Then I also find those readings interesting, especially the part of teachers should find ways to increase their students’s ability to success. this is a huge part, because the textbook and all the websites we use in class are mostly expensive. For us, as international students, it cost us $2000 per class, which is heavy, and with those expensive textbooks and websites, it just make some students do double think whether they want to come here to study or not.
August 19, 2021 at 11:58 am
Livaktiv, thanks for this post and for sharing your perspective on open pedagogy and digital redlining. I liked what you wrote, “As I am reflecting on my teaching practice, I fought with the thought of not using a textbook with my students in my first year, and what helped me to shape my own practice was the experience and the curiosity for different methodologies. I also think that being able to form one’s practice according to your students’ needs is probably the most important and continuous practice you need to do.” This made me think of the ways in which I have changed as an educator to rely on my own way of teaching rather than follow the lessons and plans provided through textbooks or other resources. I find that many teachers still follow plans they made years ago, flipping through their binders to find the right lesson to teach their students rather than adapt the curriculum to meet their student’s needs. I think the idea of open pedagogy that really resonates with me is the idea of teachers being co-learners alongside their students. We learned a lot about this as part of my Early Childhood Education courses, including taking a deep look into Reggio Emilia inspired classrooms that emphasize constructivist approaches to education. In Reggio-inspired classrooms, teachers are part guide and part researcher as they allow children to explore, ask questions, and construct their learning. I always thought about what this might look like in classrooms with older students, and I am now beginning to see the connection between open learning and the Reggio-inspired way of constructing learning without relying on having to buy expensive textbooks that will only be useful for a month. When I was taking pre-ed courses, I spent so much money on text resources but when during my first 2 years of being in an education program, my teachers were making efforts to find open educational resources for us to read in order to save us money, which I thought was really great of them and demonstrated their positions on open pedagogy and the value of constructing learning as part of a group. I really feel that I am much more aware of the benefits of open pedagogy and I am interested to discover opportunities to take this awareness and apply it to my practice.