What is Open Pedagogy
There are different definitions of open pedagogy.
One possible definition:
Open pedagogy is the application of the concept of open to the practices of teaching and learning. It can involve a blend of strategies, technologies, and networked communities to empower students to have control and agency over their own learning. (Source: Open Pedagogy | Program for Open Scholarship and Education (ubc.ca))
Another possible definition:
Open pedagogy describes teaching practices that
- Commit to learner-driven education that is access-oriented, and
- Enable students to engage in public knowledge and content creation through assignments and learning tools.
Yet another definition:
Open pedagogy can include creating, adapting, or updating OER with students, building course policies, outcomes, assignments, rubrics, and schedules of work collaboratively with students, or facilitating student-created and student-controlled learning environments. It is "the practice of engaging with students as creators of information rather than simply consumers of it. It’s a form of experiential learning in which students demonstrate understanding through the act of creation. The products of open pedagogy are student created and openly licensed so that they may live outside of the classroom in a way that has an impact on the greater community." (University of Texas Arlington Libraries)
What are Open Educational Practices (OEP)
Nascimbeni and Burgos (2016) defined the Open Educator:
An Open Educator choses to use open approaches, when possible and appropriate, with the aim to remove all unnecessary barriers to learning. He/she works through an open online identity and relies on online social networking to enrich and implement his/her work, understanding that collaboration bears a responsibility towards the work of others.
Nascimbeni and Burgos (2016) on OEP:
An Open Educator implements openness along four main activities. The open educator:
- Implements open learning design by openly sharing ideas and plans about his/her teaching activities with experts and with past and potential students, incorporating inputs, and transparently leaving a trace of the development process.
- Uses open educational content by releasing his/her teaching resources through open licenses, by facilitating sharing of his/her resources through OER repositories and other means, and by adapting, assembling, and using OERs produced by others in his/her teaching.
- Adopts open pedagogies fostering co-creation of knowledge by students through online and offline collaboration and allowing learners to contribute to public knowledge resources such as Wikipedia.
- Implements open assessment practices such as peer and collaborative evaluation, open badges, and e-portfolios, engaging students as well as external stakeholders in learning assessment.
Seminal Works on Open Pedagogy
One is the "seed" that started the widespread appreciation for Open pedagogy prospects, making assessments Open -- the blog post from David Wiley. Wiley's post was important because it underscored how many assessments are "disposable" and could instead be artifacts that have a place out in the world.
Have a brief look at a prominent proponent who really got the ball rolling, Robin De Rosa, who described her work in this 2016 blog post where she describes how her students integrated (or modified) materials into her Open textbooks, which were resources that continued to evolve every semester as students worked on the textbook as editors or contributors of digital artifacts such as videos, graphics, charts, etc.
There are countless examples out there to be found. Check this list on the Open Pedagogy Notebook website.
GBC Highlights
Discover how the TLX collaborates with educators to enhance teaching methodologies, integrate innovative technologies, and foster engaging learning environments.
How TLX Collaborate with Bernie transforming in-class to fully online and marking the decision to drop a real textbook for his unique teaching experience? We are also working on the 3rd course on International filming starting in January 2025.
Discover how GBC faculty collaborate to create an Open Educational Resource to enhance STEM teaching and learning, and share it openly with the world via eCampus Ontario Open Library.
Community and resources
Risk, Privacy, and Ownership
Challenge for learners
Learning involves risk:
Risk is ever-present with open pedagogy, from the platforms that we utilize that mine and monetize our intellectual labour and the digital footprints that we require our students to leave in the course of their education to the open sharing of unpolished ideas and practices that leave us exposed and open to criticism and judgment. Open pedagogy involves vulnerabilities and risks that are not distributed evenly and that should not be ignored or glossed over. These risks are substantially higher for women, students and scholars of colour, precarious faculty, and many other groups and voices that are marginalized by the academy.
5Rs for Open Pedagogy, Rajiv Jhangiani, Ph.D.
Consideration
Make sure students understand:
- How may their work be evaluated by others?
- What are their obligations regarding copyright and appropriate citation of others’ work?
- How can they license their own work (with an open license) to allow others to re-use and build on their work – while attributing them as the original author?
Challenge for faculty
Also, traditional grading may not align perfectly with open pedagogy.
Suggestion
Adjust assessment methods. Focus on process, reflection, and growth rather than just final products.
Challenge
Some students may lack digital literacy skills or be unaware of online safety practices.
Considerations
- Provide guidance on responsible online behavior, copyright, and avoiding plagiarism
- Teach them to navigate digital spaces effectively.
- Offer training on using open tools (e.g., wikis, blogs, GitHub). Provide resources and support.
- Be sure students know about the various options they have for privacy and for choosing a license.
Challenge
Many open pedagogy projects ask students to create open educational resources by adding a Creative Commons license to their work. However, students may not be familiar with open licenses and proper attribution.
Considerations
- Teach about Creative Commons licenses and how to attribute sources.
- Emphasize ethical use of others’ work.
- Talk to students about the value of OER and why you are asking them to publish their work openly.
Templates
Here are some Open Pedagogy Assignment Templates and Student Agreement to Publish their Work under a CC license.
References
Nascimbeni, F., & Burgos, D. (2016). In search for the Open Educator: proposal of a definition and a framework to increase openness adoption among university educators. IRRODL, 17(6). https://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/2736/3974