Browse some examples of open pedagogy on the Open Pedagogy Notebook. In the comments below, write a paragraph about an open pedagogy assignment that you might create. You can adapt one of the examples you read about or come up with something new.
Browse some examples of open pedagogy on the Open Pedagogy Notebook. In the comments below, write a paragraph about an open pedagogy assignment that you might create. You can adapt one of the examples you read about or come up with something new.
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30 thoughts on “How might you use open pedagogy in your course?”
As I was watching the Open Pedagogy Seminar, many ideas came to mind, but the mention of opening a course beyond the confines of the college really intrigued me. I began to think about how many of my students at BMCC are from immigrant families and the first to attend college. I began to wonder what it would be like to invite contributions from family members, such as parents and grandparents, via a blog or discussion. For example, in my summer literature course, there is a week in which we read stories and poetry about the immigration experience. Including older family members would greatly enrich the conversation while at the same time allow the students in the course to feel that they are bringing their family along on their educational journey. I am thinking that activities like this might also enlarge ideas about the acquisition of knowledge in general. Can students help bring knowledge to their parents? Can parents, who are not formally educated share knowledge with our classroom via open pedagogy? Could an assignment like this create primary source content no textbook could quite duplicate while breaking down borders between the learning community and the “outside” world?
I did this assignment, figuring it out along the way, during the spring 2019 semester. It worked really well, but I hadn’t written it up. Now I have. Here it is:
SCAFFOLDED WIKIPEDIA PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
Theory Presentation 10% of the total semester grade
1.) Read the encyclopedia article on blackboard about the theory you were assigned.
Outline the theory as you understand it from this reading. Be sure to note any questions or confusion you have. Try to think of a few “real world” examples of your theory in action. Write this out in your journal and bring it to class on the designated day.
2.) Search Wikipedia for your theory (it may have a different name).
What does it say? Do you have to search for similar or related terms instead?
Click on citations hyperlinked in the references. Skim them and in your journal make note of anything you think is especially important. Keep these notes in your journal or a digital location to print and put in your journal later. Review the talk page and the edits. Do you think we could edit this page to make it stronger? Are there related terms we might consider editing?
3.) Research your theory in the BMCC library and databases.
Search for textbooks that use your theory. Read these sections and compare them. Take notes in your journal. Search for scholarly articles that use the theory. Make note of anything particularly useful. Note all citations in your journal or keep them in a digital location to print and put in your journal later.
4.) Put together your handout. It should print on one page of paper. That means it can be a single side or a double side. You can format it however you like, but try to use some images in addition to text. Your handout should:
Explain the theory you were assigned and its development by referencing the encyclopedia article.
Note at least one scholar associated with the theory and their contributions.
Provide a list of citations one might use to learn more about the theory — you may describe these sources in a sentence or two.
Include at least two “real world” applications of your theory. These can be hypothetical scenarios, examples from media texts, or historical examples.
5.) Prepare a five-minute presentation.
You are welcome to use media in your presentation, though it is not required and can’t take more than two minutes of your presentation. If you do not do a multi-media presentation, bring copies of your handout for the class.
6.) Come to class prepared to deliver your presentation, having shared your handout digitally.
Wikipedia Project 35% of the total semester grade
This semester we are lucky to work with representatives from Wikimedia NYC to edit and/or create articles about gender and communication for Wikipedia. We will have workshops with them throughout the course and a day to share our work with them toward the end of the semester. I will ask you to keep track of your work in the course journal. You will be primarily graded on the work you do toward the final product. Assigned readings on Wikipedia can be found here.
THE PROCESS: Based on the work you do on your theory presentations, several theories that offer potential for Wikipedia edits will be chosen. You will be put into theory groups, which may differ from the theory presentations you did, to identify edits you would like to make and find sources to support those edits. EACH person in the group should identify a MINIMUM of one source and one edit and then make that edit in their Wikipedia account. You are encouraged to make more than one edit. You will need to paraphrase the source you are using to make your edit — you cannot just quote it directly. You will also need to keep the five pillars of Wikipedia in mind in order to make your edits successful. As always, track all of your work in your course journal.
ASSESSMENT: Because Wikipedia is a community and we can’t guarantee what edits will stick, you will be graded on your work during and reflection on the process. This reflection will take the form of a TWO MINUTE video. We will have a week in class for you to learn basic video editing in the free, cloud-based program WeVideo. Your video must include:
First Minute
*A title image that includes the Wikipedia user name you used to make your edits
*A series of screenshots OR a screen capture of the edit(s) you made.
*Audio or video recording explaining your edit(s) and the process you used to identify and make them.
Second Minute
*A video reflection of you speaking about what you learned doing this project. Be sure you address:
How your ideas about Wikipedia have changed.
How you came to understand your assigned theory/theories through the project.
What you learned about gender and communication through the project
This next semester I would like to try to get my students to find something on the internet (maybe via Wikipedia or some sort of website where they might go to read a summary of a novel), and correct it. I would like them to see that they also have knowledge of the novel that these website might not provide.
I find in my area that many of the wikipedia articles about musicians and composers contain information that isn’t accurate. I might assign for my students to choose a musician from their background or culture as a research project/subject throughout the semester. They would then take the information they gathered through their research and check against current published information on the subject or artists on wikipedia. Best case scenario – they will have chosen an artist that is perhaps a bit more obscure and they will create an article for their subject or person. They would of course need to document the sources of their information accurately and I would help them to fulfill this assignment properly.
In spring 2019 one of my classes were focused on the theme of code-switching. I had one of my classes create their own posts on the CUNY Commons site that looked at different “codes” (choosing from profanity, tech/text slang, Spanglish, AAVE, or a code of their choice )and the ways they’re used. They did what I called “field research,” either interviewing people, polling/surveying, etc. from various contexts such as online chat rooms, public spaces, familiar spaces their neighborhoods) or in their “private” spaces with family and friends. They were then to compile a dictionary or encyclopedia, depending on how they directed their own research.
They had a page on the class’ CUNY Commons website, which they posted their work.
My intention was to have the students take the next step and insert a link into a Wikipedia page about the specific code they chose, directly linking to their page on the Commons site.
Unfortunately time ran out and before we knew it, finals came and went, so we didn’t complete the last step.
The results were mixed. There was a percentage of students who clearly copied and pasted off other websites. Others did the work but there was definitely the sense of disposability that was talked about in one of the Open Pedagogy Notebook entries. Some students took great ownership over their work, but at the end of the semester, what was the take-away? I didn’t stress the practicality of the work.
For next semester, I am going to take care of the time management issue by starting them off working on the Commons site from day 1. I will also formally assign the Wikipedia portion, rather than making it a “after this, we’ll do that” type of thing.
I’d also like their posts to be far more creative, interactive and reflect much more ownership over it. As has been mentioned on the Notebook pages and in the video, when students feel invested in their work, it’s beneficial for everyone.
As to specifics about increasing their investment and ownership as well as their creativity and interactivity, I still need to give it more thought but what came to mind as the project was unfolding:
Have students conduct “field research” on campus using more structured methods (ie, questionnaires, polls, surveys, interviews)
Dedicate in – class time to have them work on their Commons posts, working cooperatively and sharing information
Make browsing other sites, including Wikipedia, a formal assignment
Have students use themselves as part of their research, in terms of internet usage as a source of information
One thing I definitely noticed that was different was the tone of the room – while working online, students were less anxious and product-focused than they would be if I’d assigned a traditional research paper. This is something I keep in mind whenever I reconsider whether or not I want to try it again.
One idea I have stems from my having taught Frankenstein in a recent fiction class. One could have students post different readings of the novel by choosing a particular theme or topic that is most interesting/important to them. Students would then research writings on this topic–for example–feminist concepts in the novel, the impacts of Romanticism, questions about science and ethics, mourning, etc. Students could then write summaries of some of the kinds of research and interpretations that they have found and connect these texts/ideas to examples from the novel. The goal would be to have multiple ways to read the novel and to think about the many disciplines that can be linked to the novel. The class then together would produce a kind of reading or interpretative guide to the novel and could also collect a bibliography of readings about the novel’s themes, questions, importance, etc. The guide could include links to some of these readings and possibly to excerpts of film versions of the novel or films about Shelley.
I often struggle with the challenge of creating an environment that offers leaners an opportunity to: understand the principles (theory), place the theory into practical application (exploring real- time applications via case study analysis), and give evidence of this learning (present/perform in-class). The methods I use to achieve these goals are limiting in that my current approach (teaching method) does not allow students to bring their own real-world experiences/orientations into the classroom. I believe an open pedagogy approach will address the draw backs to my methods without compromising my goals.
The question I have is how to bring this to all of the sections (15) of this course (Organization and Mangament) , which I coordinate…… peter
I am going to try the collaborative syllabus design with my ACR 95 class in Fall 2019. Since 35% of the final grade is departmental exams, which is something we cannot change, I’d like to open the other 65% of the course to the students. We will work on course learning outcomes and class rules together; I will ask students to select topics they are interested in and find related articles–I will also tell students to bring in at least one article to class (their choice entirely). ACR 95 is a remedial reading class, so as long as we cover the important reading comprehension skills, we can read anything we want. Consequently, this is an amazing opportunity to engage in a collaborative syllabus design! I also love the part about students coming up with expectations for the instructor, another activity I plan to include in the course. I am excited about this project, and also a bit anxious–I have to let go of some control over the course materials. And I hope the project will work out!
I would like to create a peer assessment for students to use when a classmate delivers a a speech in my Fundamentals of Speech course—vs. me grading each student by rubric. Evaluating peers’ work can enhance the evaluators’ own learning and self-confidence.
I love all the Wiki assignments, only because they satisfied my past curiosities about how to incorporate Wikipedia, besides it being a teaching moment for what not to do, as I was one of those professors finger wagging warnings about the platform. I am excited to work with students next semester creating projects that incorporate Wikipedia. I’ll also update an assignment where I ask them to explore different sites in the city, and create videos of themselves giving a review in the style of an on the spot reporter. Maybe using Youtube or another platform?
Thoughts of further utilizing OER/ZTC into Theatre 100 on-line:
The sub-theme to my course is “Creating Identity, Community & Culture Through Theatre and the Arts.” As so much of what we do in the theatre is creating and reinforcing community from unlikely alliances and sources, using OER/ZTC is a strong fit––particularly in terms of what it offers in terms of empowering Social Justice and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. As the course already utilizes OER/ZTC artistic and academic sources, through this workshop I will seek ways to more concretely find ways for the student learners to invent projects and practices in which the OER/ZTC approach and methodology be applied to theatre practitioners, educators and ultimately, audiences.
I am interested in engaging students with the health of the communities where they live. I already do an assignment every semester in which students read the Community Health Profile that the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene puts out every few years and writes an essay based on a prompt. However, even though I was hoping this assignment would be engaging enough to students because it was about their neighborhoods, I still feel for the most part that they struggle to connect to it. I want to engage them more deeply with the health of them, their families, and their neighborhoods. I hope to make a multi-stage assignment where students will explore the health of their families through interviews and short reflection essays. They will also continue to read their neighborhood health reports. My hope is that at the end of the process, students can put together an open letter to community leaders that lay out health issues and potential solutions, using the terminology of the course and highlighting the social determinants of health that students have experienced.
This semester I experimented with making my class more collaborative by giving students some input on the course curriculum. For example, we began the first day of class with the typical discussion of the syllabus and my expectations of them with respect to the class. I then organized them into groups and had the students (as a group) decide what expectations they had of me, what topics they would like to cover, and what, if anything in the syllabus, they would want to change or add to the syllabus. Their ideas were then shared with the class as a whole. With respect to the syllabus, of course, I got the usual requests of no homework and no quizzes, but several of the groups were also in favor of doing a group assignment and presentation in lieu of a written final exam. So, we did it! I revised the syllabus to require the students complete a business risk assessment exercise in which they choose a business, researched the company’s background, discussed potential risks faced by that business and provided potential solutions to address those risks. For their research, students primarily used the internet: the company website, articles about the company and the websites of government agencies. The fictional audience for the presentation was comprised of the owners and managers of the business. I was pleasantly surprised by the written product the assignment produced and oral presentations were spot on. Hearing student expectations and giving them a voice in how the course was structured set a nice tone for the semester. I will likely build upon this assignment this semester in lieu of a more “traditional” final exam.
In some way, I want to integrate narratives and oral and visual storytelling into my classes. I think it is so important for learners to have a space to be heard in sharing their experiences in a platform similar to Humans of NY on IG, Storycorps, The Moth, and etc. In addition, for existing assignments, I would like to remove the reins, encourage creativity, and determine ways in which these assignments can have a lasting impact.
Assignment 1: Students develop a community-based program tackling a specific issue for people (or those who they are connected to) returning to the community from prison or jail. Initially, learners work individually to design such an initiative and then collaboratively with peers. At the end of the semester, students share their program pitch to the class. Of the number of classes that have completed this assignment, only one group decided to create a video as opposed to a standard presentation. Also, I would like students to work more closely, possibly with community groups, in the design of their program.
Assignment 2: Students complete position papers in which they are tasked with providing compelling arguments that tackle corrections-centered issues. We work over the course of the semester to complete the different components of the paper and students engage in a peer review process, providing feedback on position paper drafts. For this assignment, I’m interested in expanding the scope and ways in which learners become knowledgeable about the selected topic area and relay their persuasive argument.
My thinking around open pedagogy is still in the beginning stages, but I am interested in the idea of student collaboration in developing a course syllabus, specifically with a focus on policy, assignments, and timelines. I am also interested in the ways in which the community (college and family) can have a voice in the learning process. Finally, I am interested in helping to craft work experiences where the student work actually goes somewhere, or at least does something to impact another (I realize this is vague; but, ideally, I want the work that the students complete to have an impact on someone or an influence on something.)
After reviewing some of the open pedagogy assignments in the pedagogy notebook, I like the idea of students including what they expect to learn from me. This way I can make sure that we achieve that as a class. Also, they can hold me accountable to ensure they are getting the knowledge they are seeking.
A more specific assignment I was thinking about was related to teaching certain theories in criminology and using social media to help bring the theory to life. For example, if I am teaching Environmental Criminology and teaching about rational choice or crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), I would love to create an instagram or Fb page where students can take a picture of a public place in their neighborhood that they feel is unsafe and describe how they would apply the theory of defensible space, CPTED and rational choice theory to reduce crime.
I also liked the idea of them creating a youtube presentation explaining a particular criminological theory in a creative way and creating a policy utilizing the theory. Students can review the youtube video and post comments or provide feedback in class.
Not sure if it’s directly related to open pedagogy but the post “A Little Empathy Goes a Long Way” resonated with me. Like colleagues, I often get requests for extensions due to dead relatives. I usually express my condolences and give extensions without asking further questions. Sometimes students offer to provide documentation, and I usually say “I’ll take your word for it.” I know it could make a difference to some. It made a difference to me when my professors gave me numerous extensions while my grandma in dying. She died on June 5th, a few days after my graduation. What has to do with open pedagogy, I like the collaborative syllabus idea. What I really liked what the part on the students’ expectations of the instructor. I think it’s fair enough to include them in the syllabus. I also liked that there was a preliminary syllabus that was given to students. I’ll try this task with my classes.
In my writing courses, I assign students many essays. Perhaps I could create an anthology of the essays that I teach. Robin DeRosa’s anthology is aspirational (and looks great!) in the sense that she has compiled the work that she wants to teach and has engaged direct engagement from her students as content creators.
Additionally, I was thinking about how Baruch College has that wonderful repository of in class writing workshops — if I started compiling the writing workshops that I have created to teach students various research and compositional skills.
I have taught textbook-less courses before and one of the drawbacks of curating a body of PDFs for an art history class is that not all of the articles offer a survey of the pertinent historical background that the student may need to understand the works of a certain period. So I will have each student create a timeline of a specific country during a specific period with relevant information for the entire class. The students are free to consult reliable historical sources online, but their timeline will be specifically tailored towards a specific work of art or set of artworks we will discuss in class.
I teach, and for this seminar will focus on, CRJ 204: Criminal Justice and the Urban Community. Over the course of the semester, students become experts in a NYC neighborhood of their choosing, typically the one in which they live, and engage in a variety of methods to gather data about their chosen place. I would really love for us to learn to edit Wikipedia articles, as students often find that their neighborhood, as they know it, is either not represented in the Wikipedia articles they find, or is mis-represented somehow. In addition, the data in these articles are often too old (relying on 2000 Census, for instance). Further, students often find conflicting information about gentrification in the neighborhoods they are investigating. I could easily imagine adding a component where they test their own perceptions of gentrification against more “expert” conclusions on the subject. But from where I sit right now, this seems a steep learning curve (for me!), so another idea is simply to give them the option to create a more public version of their neighborhood assignments on the web (I have seen examples of these from the Macaulay Honors College), complete with more detailed and current quantitative descriptions, as well as incorporating an option to do some informal interviews with family- and community-member experts on their neighborhoods.
I’d like to apply some of the tips in collaborative syllabus design for my courses, specifically Feature Writing. Students come to the course with a varied and incomplete understanding of journalism. From exploring examples of open pedagogy, the collaborative syllabus assignment seems like a great tool to create a model/template for students to be hands on participants that works best for their learning outcomes and for understanding the profession of journalism. I’d also love to consider some adaptation of the Wiki assignment and apply it to a journalistic problem that could deepen student learning and appreciation of the craft journalistic writing.
Most of the content that will be posted from the instructor include civic activities and advocacy collaborations that she has participated in over the years and “leading by showing examples of active citizenship and engagement” and inviting younger generations to join her in this journey as change agents in the society. The initial OER / ZTC Openstax American Government textbook that was recently completed / edited will be the chapter by chapter focus for this WordPress platform. Moving to the platform will enable contributions from students to showcase some of the course content to be reflected on the WordPress platform in which other students can contribute meaningful and engaging academic content. Besides, this will also allow the instructor to receive feedback and contributions on curriculum and course content by other faculty around the country. The theme for the WordPress blog or website will be on “Democracy and Civic Engagement” inviting young people to contribute in meaningful ways to American Democracy and showing examples through photos, activities, events and chapter sections from the OER / ZTC Openstax American Government Textbook edited and redesigned by the instructor.
I was intrigued by the collaborative syllabus but I would like to see more about how that works.
The assignments that Shenique described are more in line with the assignments I am thinking of.
For my child development/lifespan development, I would like to have students select a current topic in human development and use research and theory (what they’ve gathered and things I provide) to weigh in on that topic. This could be done in a portfolio format (they spend time gathering and reflecting on resources related to the topic all semester, and the final portfolio is their commentary on the topic with supporting resources). Students could be organized into groups around a shared topic of interest.
One of my favorite activities has my students searching for reliable news sources by utilizing the library’s data bases. Once they have found sources that work for their research, we walk through a lesson on how to cite courses and create bibliographies. This is incredibly useful to them, and can be use across disciplines.
I am particularly excited about the idea that open pedagogy will give my students and I the tools and framework to document our learning together. With this in mind I am thinking of modifying some of the learning experiences I use in my teaching. In all of our early childhood classes, we explore how children’s open-ended play is essential in supporting their growth and learning. In one of my classes we begin the semester by each sharing a recollection of childhood play. Once we have heard everyone’s stories, we write a reflection that documents how children’s play supports young children’s growth and learning across the domains of development (e.g. physical, emotional, social, language, creative, cognitive). The stories that we have all shared offer us material to illustrate how powerful play is in supporting children’s development. I find this activity to be much more meaningful and memorable to the students than any lecture I could offer.
Using the framework and tools available through open pedagogy, I am imagining working with my students to co-create an online repository of these recollections of childhood play. We might tag the stories with keywords so that the stories could be sorted by theme, materials used, locations, etc. Perhaps we could make the repository open for others to share their recollections of play. One of my favorite thing about sharing these stories in class is when we discover similarities and differences in children’s play around the world. We have shared a variety of different version of jacks, that use different materials (e.g. marbles, shells, pebbles) depending the on location. I would love for the repository of stories to include a map as well.
I love the community building potential of this project, as well as the documenting learning component!
One thing I am considering working with is “concepts” or terminology. I like teaching students sociological concepts, and it’s one of the reasons I like using parts from different textbooks in addition to primary source readings. I think concepts help create a frame for a way to think about social issues. This past semester we were talking about two concepts: counterculture and subculture, and I realized that it was increasingly difficult for me to be clear on the difference between the two. We ended up Googling counterculture, and then I learned the origin of that term and the sociologist who defined it– which I had not known before. So that made the inadequacy of the textbook definition of this term which i had previously seen in a rather neutral way, clearer to me. So maybe we could do an assignment that re-writes a chapter, based on research of the same concepts that are there.
Contributions from students to showcase some of the course content to be reflected on the WordPress platform in which other students can contribute meaningful and engaging academic content. The theme for the WordPress blog or website will be on “Democracy and Civic Engagement” inviting young people to contribute in meaningful ways to American Democracy and showing examples through photos, activities, events and chapter sections from the OER / ZTC Openstax Textbook I am working on developing content from.
I like the collaborative syllabus model. I the collaborative syllabus, sudents can help to design the course structure and grading. The article on collaborative designs suggests theta the syllabus ought not to be a one-way contract, but rather an invitation to a learning community in which the relationship between learner and instructor is always evolving. Students can take an active role in developing the objectives and deciding which skills are necessary to achieve success in the course.
I really love the collaborative syllabus approach too. Students have been trained to default to always expecting the instructor / professor to be the one to distribute this, however, once they become collaborators and participants a whole other energy opens up.