Open Pedagogy
What is open pedagogy?
Open pedagogy has various definitions. DeRosa and Jhangiani think of it as "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." They continue, "we might think about Open Pedagogy as an access-oriented commitment to learner-driven education AND as a process of designing architectures and using tools for learning that enable students to shape the public knowledge commons of which they are a part."
Put more simply: Open pedagogy reimagines student assignments to be more productive, collaborative, and rewarding, allowing learners to create products that live in and make positive changes to the real world. Rather than students working on a "disposable" assignment such as a research paper that's seen only by their instructor, students create "renewable" products that can be used by many people. Examples include having students create or edit Wikipedia pages or collaborating with with each other and their instructor to create an open educational resource.
One of the foremost thinkers in the open education community, David Wiley, wrote this definition of and argument for this concept and practice: What Is Open Pedagogy?
Open Pedagogy Resources
- A Guide to Making Open Textbooks with Students: A handbook for faculty interested in practicing open pedagogy by involving students in the making of open textbooks, ancillary materials, or other Open Educational Resources.
- Example renewable assignments and projects from the Open Pedagogy Notebook: Faculty from institutions across North America have contributed examples of projects you can copy or adapt for your course.