Interrogating and Supplementing OER Through a Decolonized Lens
Contributed by Camille Close, Librarian, Holyoke Community College, Jessica Egan, Coordinator of Instructional Design, Holyoke Community College, & Emily Thompson, Director of Liberal Studies and Communications, The American Women’s College at Bay Path University
The philosophy of Open Educational Resources (OER), at its core, seeks to facilitate student access to equitable education through the open sharing of learning materials. Discourse around OER has historically foregrounded how the circulation of open materials reduces costs for students and increases accountability for textbook publishers to make their copyrighted materials more affordable. Recently, more educators and institutions have recognized OER initiatives as being coeval with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, as increasing the affordability of higher education can reduce barriers for marginalized student populations. However, interrogation of the ways in which OER can potentially reproduce or perpetuate the inequitable educational structure they seek to dismantle remains largely sparse. While the affordability of OER can increase accessibility for marginalized learners, implementing OER in the classroom that are heavily colonized and center a white patriarchal epistemology does nothing to increase or foster equity for marginalized learners. It merely gives marginalized students increased access to an educational environment that continues to systemically devalue them.
This is especially a fundamental struggle in the colonizing fields of Composition/Rhetoric, Literature, History, and the Arts & Humanities. Open educational materials abound in these fields, especially for less specialized topics. Yet they are largely materials that center the white patriarchal perspective and epistemology, and are geared towards “traditional” student populations. Adam et al. note that “[u]nderlying many OER is the assumption of the universality of knowledge systems (often dictated by hegemonic knowledge groups), without giving relevance to the particular ” (2019). When viewed through a decolonizing lens, the equity and accessibility of such OER begins to fall apart. How equitable is it, for example, to ask students in a U.S. history course to engage with an open textbook that perpetuates the white patriarchal narrative of U.S. history? For marginalized students in any course, how equitable is it to ask them to engage with open textbooks that potentially center the perspectives of their oppressors? It is a barrier to student success when students don’t see themselves represented in their educational curriculum. How accessible is it, then, to force marginalized students to engage with open materials that don’t reflect their experiences, their communities, their epistemologies? The discussion around the ways in which OER foster accessibility and equity should not stop at the reduction of financial cost to students. In order to avoid perpetuating the systemic inequity it aims to combat, OER must be continuously critiqued through a decolonized lens to ensure students are engaging with educational materials that are equitable in both cost and content. When we implement OER, we must continuously ask ourselves “whose knowledge is being foregrounded and whose view of reality is being entrenched” in these materials (Adam et al. 2019)? If decolonization is not foundational to OER implementation, the OER initiative betrays its own philosophy. How do we as educators balance the affordability of OER with the imperative to decolonize our curriculum in ways that OER do not always allow?
Addressing the Problem: Ability to Remix
As with any printed textbook, open materials rarely meet every outcome on your syllabus. Just as you’d pull out chapter seven and review chapter three before chapter one, OERs can be puzzle-pieced to align with the flow of your course in a purposeful, decolonized approach. Because not all OERs are one-size fits-all, it’s important to emphasize the ability to remix existing OER to meet the specific needs of your student population. Sociology professor Vera Kennedy (2018) explained that “…by historically using commercial publications we had taught ourselves to follow the text and materials provided with occasionally seeking out and including some external sources in an attempt to make class interesting. We were not teaching to our strengths or teaching based on student needs and their prerequisite knowledge.”
How can you achieve a remixed iteration of OER? Just as you’d cut pictures from a magazine and glue them together to make a collage, you can chop up resources and package them in a way that makes sense for your class. Partnering with an instructional designer and/or librarian can lead to fruitful discoveries of nooks and crannies of OER focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Actionable Partnerships
The library can offer support for faculty who want to decolonize their curriculum using OER. The library’s approach is to work one on one with faculty to first review the course content to identify gaps and/or lack of inclusivity in the syllabi. If this is happening it means that there is a conscious effort on the part of the faculty to engage with the resources in a more meaningful way for the sake of their students. However, finding coursework content should not be conducted any differently than normal. The notion that OER is more work is misleading, it is really just an extra step. It is also a collaborative endeavor where faculty and librarians review current course content and define the content that is needed. The Portland State Library explains that there are perspectives to consider in reviewing content, these “ include, but are not limited to, race, gender, sexual orientation, class, national origin and disability.” Given the challenges outlined above, locating resources that encompass all the gaps identified the next step is not simply to identify content. The next step therefore may require remixing existing OER with other resources. Finding resources that address the gaps within the context of the subject area will be a process of interrogation and evaluation. One example of this collaboration was with a Social Science faculty who wanted to utilize resources and OER as much as possible for a six-credit Learning Community course. The syllabus was evaluated based on the course design, objectives and learning outcomes, as well as the specific curricular approach(es). An assessment of the library’s and OER resources was conducted, and a list was curated and shared with the faculty. A follow up meeting between librarian and faculty was scheduled to discuss the list of resources and other possibilities like resource type or format.
The library is also a major partner in curating Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) reading lists and supporting campus-wide programming. In early summer, the Holyoke Community College library, in response to unrest across the country, created a list of e-books, e-videos, books, and other resources to help the community understand and respond to events. The list was shared among the college community and received additional contributions from faculty and staff. The list became a community resource and was instrumental in breaking silos and creating a series of programming and activities that is still ongoing. In light of this list’s success two others have emerged. The library is currently working on two new reading lists by Trans and Latinx authors. Instead of recreating the wheel, existing e-lists such as the NYPL’s Trans, NonBinary and GNC Voice to Help you Celebrate Pride list and BPL’s Latinx Fiction Title List: 2020 were reviewed for recommendations. The goal is to provide access to perspectives written by members of the respective communities. Both of these are on-going that will hopefully generate the same level of engagement as the Anti-racism reading list.
Photo: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-people-near-wooden-table-3184418/
How to Assess Your Course Offering
Reviewing institutional research data is a great first step in understanding your student population. Seek information on the percentage of first generation students, minority populations, and part-time students. Research the average age and the percentage of pell-eligibility. Shifting your pedagogy to include the culture of your students and their diverse abilities and backgrounds can make the course experience more meaningful, relevant,and purposeful.
Using an Equity Scorecard, such as the Peralta Online Equity Rubric or NYU’s Culturally Responsive Curriculum Scorecard, also allows for a deeper reveal of elements you may have overlooked during the course design process. You can then implement your findings into your curriculum with a close eye on the student demographic that you’re serving. Tweaking a reading, incorporating a new author, or changing an assignment prompt can become an iterative process with the ongoing opportunity to shift your thinking.
EAB’s recent analysis (2020) revealed that while many institutions released statements after George Floyd’s death, established task forces, and hired diversity officers, “few institutions offered substantive and systematic approaches to tackling racism on their own campuses.” We encourage you to take a step forward beyond cost-saving solutions to create a decolonized, culturally responsive student experience.
Resources and References:
Holyoke Community College Collection of Anti-racist Resources: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uA-ULDP_nSLf-Al0TyiIZj8i2pFOo6BLvcQX_mD8wKg/edit?usp=sharing
NYU Culturally Responsive Curriculum Scorecard: https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/ejroc/culturally-responsive-curriculum-scorecard
Peralta Online Equity Rubric: https://web.peralta.edu/de/equity-initiative/equity/
Adam, T., Bali, M., Hodgkinson-Williams, C., & Morgan, T. (2019, February 26). Can we decolonize OER/Open? OER19. https://oer19.oerconf.org/news/blog-can-we-decolonize-oer-open-decolonizeopen/#gref
Belay, K. (2020, November 16). What has higher education promised on anti-racism in 2020 and is it enough? https://eab.com/research/expert-insight/strategy/higher-education-promise-anti-racism/?x_id=003C000002C0a3RIAR&utm_source=eabdb&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eabdb&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWm1NeE1EUmhOMkpsTkdVMyIsInQiOiJoOWVLK1RFS01hTWdvSWNzZHZjSXF5b1NkZm8zUUd6TEcwUzhpRFNQZUtvaGFaSElvR3hobGxyXC8rOWI2TjQzdUY0Tkh4bmZTQkV5aHppZ3RpdUNOTzVMRmY4NVE1WEhHajd0dTRuXC9OVWc0ZlQ2VllFaUt2aFMwa0tHYU02SVZEIn0%3D
Tripp, L. O., & Collier, R. M. (Eds.). (2019). Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. IGI Global.
What is Culturally Responsive Pedagogy?
Camille Close (She/her)
Camille is a passionate advocate of community colleges who has worked consistently to develop collaborative and meaningful relationships among faculty and staff for the sole purpose of creating an environment that supports successful student outcomes. She holds an M.Sc. in Library and Information Science from LIU, CW Post Campus and M.Sc. in Counseling, Student Development in Higher Education from CCSU. She is currently a librarian at Holyoke Community College. Her research interests include practices related to deficit frameworks and how they impact student success and achievement.
Jessica Egan (She/her)
@EdTechEgan
Jessica has worked at the intersection of teaching and technology for over ten years. With two degrees heavily focused on curriculum and instruction from Florida State University, she began her career as an ESL instructor and was quickly drawn to data-driven course design and ways instructional technology can enhance teaching and learning. She currently serves as the Coordinator of Instructional Design with Holyoke Community College and teaches online English composition courses (with OER textbooks she wrote herself!) and within the Women as Empowered Learners and Leaders (WELL) program at The American Women’s College at Bay Path University. She serves on the MA statewide OER Advisory Council and coordinates OER initiatives within HCC’s Center for Excellence. Jessica is a first-gen community college graduate and strongly believes in equity-driven curriculum design and culturally responsive pedagogy. She enjoys working with faculty to bring their vision to life within hybrid, online, and adaptive learning environments. She is a mother of two girls and enjoys yoga, hiking, painting, reading, and writing OER materials.
Emily Thompson (She/her)
Emily Thompson began her teaching career in 2012 with the English Department at Northern Virginia Community College. This formative experience instilled a passion for equity-minded pedagogical practices that make higher education as accessible as possible to all learner populations. Emily carried this passion for equity and accessibility with her when she joined The American Women’s College of Bay Path University in 2016, where she currently serves as the Director of Liberal Studies and Communications and strives to apply a student-centered mindset to every aspect of her academic programs. Emily specializes in early modern English drama and theatre history. Her other areas of interest include performance studies, body studies, affect theory, posthumanism, object-oriented ontology, and decolonized pedagogy.
This post is by Camille Close, Jessica Egan, and Emily Thompson and is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, except where otherwise indicated. Please reference OER and Beyond and use this URL when attributing this work; for more information on licensing, see our Open Access Policy.
