OER Impact at Community Colleges Dr Rob Farrow

OER Impact at Community Colleges Dr. Rob Farrow The Open University Una Daly CCCOER

Background

OER Research Hub • Research project at The Open University (UK) • Funded by William & Flora Hewlett Foundation for two years • Two professors lead four researchers among a team of ten • Tasked with building the most comprehensive picture of OER impact • Organised by eleven research hypotheses • Collaboration model across different educational sectors • Global reach but with a USA focus oerresearchhub. org

Keyword Performance Openness Access Hypothesis OER improve student performance/satisfaction People use OER differently from other online materials OER widen participation in education Retention OER can help at-risk learners to finish their studies Reflection OER use leads educators to reflect on their practice Finance Indicators Support OER adoption brings financial benefits for students/institutions Informal learners use a variety of indicators when selecting OER Informal learners develop their own forms of study support Transition OER support informal learners in moving to formal study Policy OER use encourages institutions to change their policies Assessment Informal assessments motivate learners using OER

Collaboration Model

CCCOER Mission & Goals Promote adoption of OER to enhance teaching and learning • • • Document impact of OER on teaching and learning Promote integration of OER into curricula Share best practices for OER through professional development opportunities. Funded by the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation

240+ Colleges in 16 states & provinces General stuff about OERRH & CCCOER, collaboration

Research Collaboration Focus on impact of OER adoption on teaching practice, institutional policies and factors of cost and access Feb-May 2013 May-Dec 2013 Ongoing Faculty Survey Development Survey Deployment IRB Process Jan-Apr 2014 Interviews and focus groups with faculty; policymakers; students Analysis & Dissemination Incorporation of institutional evidence into impact map

Survey Research in Community Colleges • Many community colleges require IRB approval for faculty surveys • IRBs may meet infrequently particularly during academic breaks • IRBs limit approvals to prevent duplication and survey fatigue • The process can take longer than expected - good planning is essential!

OER Impact Map

OER Impact Map http: //chaos. open. ac. uk

Survey of College Educators

Methodology

136 usable survey responses were recorded: • • • De Anza College, CA (5) Foothill College, CA (33) Houston Community College, TX (41) Northern Virginia Community College (30) Roane State Community College, TN (13) South Florida Community College, FL (4) This is being supplemented with qualitative data gathered from college visits in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, and California.

Highest Educational Qualification Bachelors Degree 4% Ph. D or Professional Doctorate 35% Masters Degree 61%

Years of Teaching Experience 6% 1% 10% More than 10 11% 7 -10 4 -6 1 -3 Less than 1 72%

Types of Teaching Activity 60 50 34% 36% No. of resposes 40 29% 30 20 23% 15% 17% 19% 10 0 Part-time Full-time blended Part-time Full-time Work-based (face to face-to-face distance/onli face to face training and teaching ne teaching distance/onli ne) teaching Series 1 20 23 26 31 39 46 49

Patterns of OER Use 80 70 52% 60 Of those that create OER (24%) less than half publish them on an open (CC) licence 50 40 30 20 10 0 24% 18% 11% 9% 7% I have adapted I have created I have added a I have created I have added open educational resource to a resources myself comments to a resources to fit my resources for study repository and published repository needs or teaching them on a Creative regarding the suggesting ways of Commons (CC) quality of a using a resource licence resource

• Most respondents were experienced teachers with postgraduate degrees • A majority teach full-time and are involved in online instruction • Around half have adapted/used OER but only around half of these create or upload OER

OER Behaviours

Types of OER Used Multimedia content is around twice as popular as other OER (including textbooks) Videos 69. 8% 64. 7% Images Lectures 38. 8% Quizzes 38. 1% Open textbooks 37. 4% Elements of a course (e. g. a module/unit) 34. 5% Tutorials 32. 4% E-books 29. 5% Lesson plans 25. 9% Learning tools, instruments and plugins 25. 2% Audio podcasts 23% 18 % Infographics Interactive games Whole course Data sets Few reported using a whole course of OER, suggesting they cherry pick resources as needed 12. 2% 10. 8% 7. 9% Very few are using openly available data to teach

u/ Y be Ed Tu ou /Y ub e u. T l oo ch e. S s ta lk 50% ub ou T D TE y s. U un e i. T s/ un e ad em 26% i. T s t 40% Yo Ac m on om C an e C e s er lo M O ew ar M O ou rs C oo k ib ik 20% Kh iv at pe n s 11% 13% 17% re O W 30% C IT 9% M on ne xi n 5% on tio un da rn 4% Fo n. L ea pe 20% C or Sa yl 12 2% O i 1% C K- rik ur 10% C m ru Jo OER Repositories Used 80% 71% 70% 60% 43% 32% 35% 0%

Factors relevant to choosing OER 69% The resource being relevant to my particular interests/needs Created/uploaded by a reputable/trusted institution/person 58% The resource having an open license allowing adaptation 51% The resource being easy to download 49% A detailed description of the resource content 48% The resource having a Creative Commons license 48% A description of learning objectives or outcomes being provided 48% Positive user ratings or comments about the resource 43% Use of interactive or multimedia content 43% Having previously used this resource successfully 42% Personal recommendation 42% The resource being recently created, uploaded or updated 36% The length/complexity of the resource 33% Evidence of interest in that resource (e. g. lots of downloads) 29% The resource having previously been used with students 21% The resource featuring a catchy title or attractive image(s) 9% Being required to use a resource for a project/task 7% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Impact on teachers/students

Impact on teaching practice from OER use I make more use of culturally diverse resources 23% 2% I collaborate more with colleagues 22% 2% I use a broader range of teaching and learning methods 21% 2% I have a more up-to-date knowledge of my subject area 19% 2% I more frequently compare my own teaching with others 18% 2% I have improved ICT skills 16% 4% I now use OER study to develop my teaching 14% 3% I have broadened my coverage of the curriculum 14% I reflect more on the way that I teach 13% I make use of a wider range of multimedia agree– 5% 6% 0% strongly agree– 1% 3% 20% neither agree nor disagree– 40% disagree– 60% 80% strongly disagree– 100%

OER: perceptions of impact on learners. . . Increases experimentation with ways of learning 17, 1% . . . leads to interest in a wider range of subjects 15, 5% . . . develops independence and self-reliance 15, 4% . . . increases engagement with lesson content 15, 2% . . . leads to improved student grades 15, 2% . . . increases satisfaction with the learning experience 14, 3% . . . increases participation in class discussions 12, 3% . . . increases enthusiasm for future study 11, 8% . . . increases collaboration and/or peer-support 11, 5% . . . allows me to better accommodate learners' needs 8, 7% . . . builds confidence 8, 6% . . . increases interest in the subjects taught 8, 5% 0% Strongly agree 10% 20% Agree Neutral 30% 40% Disagree 50% 60% Strongly disagree 70% 80% 90% 100%

Financial Savings

Has your institution saved money through OER? “They don't like losing the revenue stream from the bookstore” “Students return for additional classes” don't know 37% yes 44% “OER resources are old-school, low-tech modules that are not peer-reviewed or nationally normed. There are some interesting tentative attempts at creativity but much of OER is cr*p. ” no 19% “I know that some instructors are only using OER which provides substantial savings for our students. ”

Have your students saved money through OER? “Saving money is a big incentive for students and institutions. ” “My students tell me and enrollment in my classes has continually increased over those of my peers. ” “I still use publishers' textbooks in my classes. I use OER as supplements to the textbook. ” don't know 25% no 13% yes 62% “I know that some instructors are only using OER which provides substantial savings for our students. ” “I developed an online textbook for the personal health class that I teach. This saves each of my students approximately $100. ”

Student Retention

“OER use helps at-risk students to continue their studies” • More than 1/3 believed that OER use promotes student retention strongly disagree 4% disagree 7% strongly agree 12% • Around half feel it has no effect • The remainder (12%) disagreed or strongly disagreed with one noting that “other things are more important”. agree 26% neither agree nor disagree 50% “Driving down the cost coupled with the ability to modify and adapt the material to meet the needs of my learners are two major factors in why I like using OER materials. ”

OER and retention of at-risk students: comments against “Some at-risk students benefit from OER because of the obvious release of financial obligation. Others are challenged by the technology and OER actually makes their success rates drop. ” Attitudes “My concern is that at-risk students don't seem to do well in online environments because it doesn't always provide them the structure they need. ” “Many at risk students don't have the means to access high speed internet or have limited technological availability. To assume they do is simply wrong. Additionally, they have more complicated extrinsic factors impacting their lives, which may require more intensive contact from the instructor to keep them involved in the course. OER is not going to be a make or break issue of retention. It is not a panacea for at-risk students. ” “The biggest factors in physics for student attrition are time-constraints and insufficient previous preparation, neither of which is affected by the class resources. ”

OER as promoter of student retention: factors 120 100 57% 80 47% 60 35% 40 20 60% 11% 18% 36% 21% 0 Materials are. Availability Materials available in can ofdifferent culturally-relevant be used Materials languages for improving canmaterials be adapted non-native Greater. Use range to suit language of resources of student learning skills needs Materials for methods improving Materials can study becan used skills be Reduced flexibly accessed costatofany study timematerials

Importance of Open Licensing

How important is open licensing (e. g. CC)? not at all important 5% neither important nor unimportant 22% crucial 20% More than half feel that open licensing is important, but fewer actually practice it. This could indicate either 1) that educators are not confident about licensing their work or 2) they feel it is an avoidable addition to their workload. somewhat important 19% very important 34%

Summary

Summary of Results • Most of the respondents have used some sort of OER, though only around a quarter create OER • Most report positive effects on their teaching practice as a result of OER use, particularly around peer collaboration and improved subject knowledge • A smaller proportion (but still in excess of 40%) feel that OER use directly leads to improved reflection on pedagogical practice • Positive effects were also identified for learners, especially around increased self -reliance, subject interest and experimentation • There were similar numbers who thought OER wasn’t making much of a difference and a core of what might be termed ‘anti-OER’ responses

Summary of Results • There were mixed views about whether OER was saving institutions money, but approximately 2/3 felt that students had saved money • Around 1/3 believe that OER is improving student attrition while around 1/2 believe it is not having an effect • Only around half of OER creators have used open licensing • There is a core of advocates who understand actively promote OER; they adopt open educational practices and believe it leads to benefits

Next Steps

Next Steps • Further analysis of this cohort, including isolation of the OER advocates and OER detractors to identify behavioural and attitudinal patterns • Mapping the survey data • Cross-referencing with other OERRH surveys, e. g. Saylor ‘informal learners’ survey (n=3014) to build picture of different stakeholders/sectors • Integration of institutional metrics and qualitative data gathered in field work • Open dissemination of raw data; openly licensed research instruments • Adding your data to OER Impact Map?

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