Preface

In recent years, Open Educational Resources (OER) has gained significant traction in higher education as an alternative to traditional textbooks and educational materials. OER refers to openly licensed educational materials—often through Creative Commons licenses—that allow for free access, reuse, modification, and redistribution without needing permission from the copyright holder (Butcher, 2015; D’Antoni, 2009; DeRosa & Robison, 2017). These resources encompass “learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license,” granting no-cost access and flexibility for adaptation and redistribution (United Nations Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2022, p. 9). OER’s adaptability allows the content to be tailored to diverse needs, increasing access and elevating collaboration (Wiley & Hilton, 2018). Accordingly, the OER movement represents a shift toward democratizing education.

While the degree of openness varies, it consistently minimizes restrictions and expands opportunities for learners to co-create, share, and peer-review resources (Wiley, 2015). As discussed in Chapters 1 to 5, higher learning institutions are well-positioned to support sustaining open pedagogy practices and stimulating a student-centered, collaborative learning culture. This book explores how educators integrate OER into open pedagogy to transform students from passive consumers to co-creators of learning materials. The five chapters in this text highlight how these practices nurture inclusive, peer-to-peer learning by linking OER with pedagogical innovation.

As intertwined concepts, OER and Open Educational Practices (OEP) can reshape how educators and students engage with knowledge. Encompassing the practices associated with using OER and adopting open pedagogy, OEP emphasizes learner-driven education and positions students as active contributors to knowledge creation (DeRosa & Jhangiani, 2018). While OER typically provides the resources, OEP incorporates them into pedagogical practices that boost collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity. The rise of OEP marks a transition from focusing on acquiring resources to embracing pedagogical practices that position students as active participants in knowledge construction (Koseoglu & Bozkurt, 2018). This evolution supports the belief that OER and OEP provide a pedagogical framework that values students as contributors to the learning process.

As detailed in Chapter 5, open pedagogy also depends on institutional strategies prioritizing faculty and student engagement. Universities can provide critical support by embedding OER and OEP practices in professional development programs and recognizing open pedagogy in promotion and tenure evaluations. By doing so, they create a foundation for sustaining innovative teaching methods while addressing common barriers such as time constraints and resource quality concerns. These institutional commitments are essential for fostering a culture that encourages educators to adopt open pedagogy practices that empower students as co-creators of knowledge.

Building on these ideas, this book examines how OEP and open pedagogy, grounded in constructivist principles, enable faculty to create assessments prioritizing students as content creators. For instance, in Chapters 1 and 4, the authors discuss constructivism and its alignment with OEP and open pedagogy. As a learning theory, constructivism emphasizes the learner’s active role in constructing knowledge through meaningful engagement (Fosnot & Perry, 2005). A key principle of constructivism is that learners actively cultivate knowledge (Biggs & Tang, 2011). This principle aligns with OEP and open pedagogy, emphasizing participatory, learner-centered approaches that permit students to co-create and share knowledge in meaningful, community-oriented contexts. By leveraging OER and encouraging transparent, collaborative teaching practices, OEP provides educators with tools to create constructivist learning environments (Cronin & MacLaren, 2018). As Chapters 1 and 4 demonstrate, these practices help educators design active learning experiences that integrate formative feedback, facilitate peer collaboration, and reconstruct students’ realities (Hegarty, 2015). Furthermore, OEP mirrors constructivist principles of knowledge construction. The alignment between constructivist theory and OEP underscores a central theme of this book: open pedagogy transforms traditional teaching and learning by promoting environments where learners are not only recipients of knowledge but active contributors to and co-creators in the educational process.

This open pedagogical framework provides the foundation for the authors’ design of open pedagogical assessments. It outlines the rationale and boundaries for how open pedagogy redefines traditional learning methods. The book emphasizes how open pedagogy, as a key element of OEP, reshapes education by prioritizing collaboration, critical thinking, and diverse perspectives. The following section examines how open pedagogy transforms learning, highlighting its potential to promote peer learning and equity.

Open Pedagogy: A Cornerstone of OEP

Despite open pedagogy’s diverse interpretations (Wiley & Hilton, 2018), there is agreement that open pedagogy emphasizes learning empowerment and positions students as participants in knowledge production (Jhangiani & Green, 2018). Additionally, Hegarty (2015) identified key attributes of open pedagogy that advance a participatory culture and trust among contributors: collaborative technologies, trust, innovation, creativity, and reflective practice. Students become agents of knowledge production while creating and curating content that contributes to the public domain (DeRosa & Robison, 2017). As shown in Chapters 2, 3, and 4, open pedagogy promotes students’ creativity by guiding them through the cognitive levels of Bloom’s revised taxonomy (Anderson et al., 2000). Its value lies in promoting student agency, skill development, and increasing awareness of open access (Baran & AlZoubi, 2020).

Chapter 1 highlights how the student agency aspect of open pedagogy gives learners choice and control. This, in turn, stimulates connectivity, enhances reflective practices, and promotes engagement (DeRosa & Jhangiani, 2018; Wiley & Hilton, 2018). A key outcome of open pedagogy is the development of student awareness about open access. This occurs as students engage with OER creation, curation, and critical evaluation. As students prepare a resource that others will find helpful, the social and economic impact of open access (D’Antoni, 2009), the ethical considerations in curating and reusing OER (Farrow, 2016), and open licenses (Anderson, 2013). This alignment between open pedagogy and the expansion of student agency underscores the book’s focus on transformative learning through enhancing students’ abilities to take control of their learning.

Building on the maturation of student agency, open pedagogy also encourages engagement through renewable assignments, which further promote involvement in information creation and the sharing of resources (Wiley, 2013). Renewable assignments, such as those discussed in Chapters 3 and 4, encourage students to produce materials and resources intended for future learners and public use. Student-created OER strengthens learning by preparing content for future students and global learners (Wiley & Hilton, 2018). These assignments differ from disposable assignments that constitute assessments typically only viewed by the instructor and have no further value beyond the classroom (Al Abri & Dabbagh, 2019). According to Wiley (2013), disposable assignments “add no value to the world” (para. 5). In contrast, renewable assessments, such as those discussed in Chapters 2, 3, and 4, encourage students to act as co-creators of knowledge while collaborating with the instructor (Rosen & Smale, 2015). Throughout the book, the authors advocate for assessments that extend beyond traditional boundaries to create lasting value for students, educators, and global learners.

Moreover, open pedagogy, grounded in the principles of OER and OEP, moves beyond providing free and adaptable resources to encouraging active learning. By engaging students as co-creators of knowledge, instructors position students to create renewable assessments emphasizing inclusivity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. As illustrated in Chapters 2, 3, and 4, this participatory approach deepens subject matter understanding and aligns personalizes students’ learning experiences. Yet, for faculty to effectively implement the innovative assessments discussed in this book, they need institutional support. As discussed in Chapter 5, colleges and universities can empower educators to design and implement student-centered, impactful assessments by addressing common barriers such as time constraints, coaching, and concerns about resource quality. Equally important is sustaining partnerships across campus that help instructors feel supported in taking pedagogical risks and embracing new approaches that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Role of Open Pedagogy in Fostering Collaboration and Equity

One of the most compelling reasons to embrace OER is its potential to advance diversity and social justice in education (Lambert, 2018). By offering free access to educational resources, OER helps reduce the financial burden on students, especially those from low-income or marginalized communities (Colvard et al., 2018). This accessibility ensures that all students, regardless of their financial background, have an equal opportunity to succeed in their studies. The increasing adoption of OER in U.S. higher education—rising from 6% to 22% in introductory courses between 2017 and 2022—illustrates its growing role in addressing educational inequities (Glapa-Grosskla & Daly, 2023). For instance, OER alleviates textbooks’ monetary hurdles while advancing a social justice framework emphasizing access, participation, and empowerment (Lambert, 2018). OER also allows for incorporating diverse perspectives and experiences, which can be crucial for students who may feel alienated by traditional textbooks that often fail to represent their individuality.

OER aligns with the principles of recognitive justice and representational justice (Lambert, 2018); consequently, as educators advance the open education movement, they endorse a belief that all students should have access to an education that reflects their unique identities and experiences. Recognitive justice emphasizes the acknowledgment and respect for cultural and gender differences. In contrast, representational justice ensures that marginalized groups can voice their perspectives and see themselves reflected in educational content. For instance, research indicates that open pedagogy allows marginalized groups to co-construct texts and share their stories (Lambert, 2018). By incorporating open pedagogy, educators offer students the chance to engage with materials that represent diverse cultural, racial, gender, and social experiences. This pedagogical practice, in turn, enhances a more inclusive and respectful learning environment. This book builds on these ideas, exploring how educators use OER and OEP to create inclusive, collaborative, and transformative learning environments where students access and actively contribute knowledge.