On Thursday, July 23rd, Iowa OER hosted our first webinar of Fall 2020 with Ted Neal, Clinical Associate Professor of Education at the University of Iowa. Ted has extensive experience working in Science Education, spanning over a decade of teaching experience. His 2019 publication, Elementary Earth and Space Science Methods is an open educational resource aimed at current and future science teachers.
In this talk, Ted walked through his process for developing an OER for future educators. The full talk can be watched here, and additional notes are provided below:
What’s different about this OER?
Ted’s book integrated text developed by students who had taken his course in the past with interactive media and examples. He hand-picked a selection of students who were familiar with his course’s content and how it was taught. This ensured that his text was driven by the needs and interests of learners, and that the text could be updated along with both evolving scientific findings and the ever-changing interests of his students.
How does it work?
Each chapter in Elementary Earth and Space Science Methods follows a similar outline which mirrors the way Ted teaches his content, starting with an overview before delving into content, examples, and finally lesson plans related to that chapter’s content. This information can be incredibly helpful not only for students who are learning how to teach about science, but also for graduates who are beginning their teaching careers.
In addition to providing the text for the book, some students also created videos and other activities to share within the text. In addition to this student-created content, some resources were integrated from existing OER. An example of an interactive example added into Ted’s text is shared below:
Finding balance
Of course, taking an approach that is led by students can be a balancing act. Ted notes in his presentation that when asked about what they wanted to see more of in his text, students often reply with:
“We want more practice quizzes… What they’re really saying is ‘we want the answers to the test.”
Getting past that inclination to make the course accessible but not “easy” is one that Ted has managed well through his experience teaching this course and in his other work, though he acknowledges that it takes experience to do this kind of collaborative work well.
You can see Ted’s other OER online as well, Iowa 8th grade Science Bundles: Applying Science to Iowa.
What it means to be open
Our webinar this month focused on one course with a fairly specific way of creating and adapting resources, one that won’t necessarily work for every discipline. However, the testimonials shared at the end of Ted’s discussion relate to all college courses. As he relates, having a free textbook is incredibly valuable to students not just because students don’t “have” to spend money, but because it allows students who would otherwise be forced to go without a book to have access to everything they need. Having access without anxiety is particularly helpful this year, when students are uncertain and worried about how they will participate in coursework if COVID-19 forces them to meet online.
Further Reading
Ted’s project is similar to the work that might happen in a course that takes an open pedagogy approach; however, open pedagogy work typically integrates this type of student authoring into coursework directly with current students. More resources about open pedagogy and authoring OER can be found in the resources listed below: