A Qualitative Investigation of FacultyOpen Educational Resource Usage in

the Washington Community and Technical College System: Models for

Support and Implementation

Boyoung Chae, Ph.D. & Mark Jenkins, Ph.D.

Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges

Purpose of the Study

• To investigate community and technical college faculty’s OER usage and support needs.

– How do community and technical college faculty members use OER?

– What are the benefits and challenges faculty experienced in implementing OER?

– What types of support do faculty require to make OER more usable and significant in their teaching practice?

Methodology

• Employed a qualitative interview study design.

• Preceded by a state-wide survey with 770 faculty members.

• Conducted the follow-up phone interviews with the survey participants.

• Used a criterion sampling method: Participants are faculty members who teach regular quarter-based classes in the Washington state community or technical college.

Finding 1: Faculty’s Use of Open Educational Resources

• Spectrum of using OER– Supplementary use

• Supplementing the course with OER unintentionally.

• Supplementing the course with OER intentionally.

– Primary use• Using the open textbook as a replacement for

commercial textbooks.• Using the open course materials. Complete

disassociation from the format of the textbook

Finding 1: Faculty’s Use of Open Educational Resources

• Motivation (1).

– Faculty’s belief in more accessible education.

• Many faculty expressed their strong belief in making education more accessible.

• Implementing alternatives to commercial textbooks has been their long-term practice.

Finding 1: Faculty’s Use of Open Educational Resources

• Motivation (2).

– Faculty’s pursuit in pedagogical freedom

• OER appealed to them because of their fluid and flexible nature.

• To the question of what OER meant to them, faculty mentioned the words “freedom” and “liberation.”

Finding 2: Benefits in Using OER

Benefits faculty experienced

Saving Students Money

Enhanced Instructional

Responsiveness

Evolving content

Active student involvement

Increased Collaboration

More Diverse course

content

Increased Reflection on

Teaching Practice

Convenience of Use

Finding 2: Benefits in Using OER

• Saving students money

– Students expressed gratitude and satisfaction to the fact that they do not have to purchase commercial textbooks.

– The faculty’s attitudes concerning students’ financial well-being helped them build a connection with their students.

Finding 2: Benefits in Using OER

• Enhanced instructional responsiveness

– Evolving content

– Active student involvement

Finding 2: Benefits in Using OER

• More diverse course content

– OER helped faculty implement various learning materials from some of the best educational resources .

– Being able to access these resources enhanced students’ learning experience.

Finding 2: Benefits in Using OER

• Increased reflection on teaching practice

– OER helped faculty reflect on their current teaching practices and encouraged them to try different teaching style.

Finding 2: Benefits in Using OER

• Convenience of use

– With the adoption of OER, faculty no longer experienced a range of inconveniences associated with commercial textbooks.

Finding 3: Challenges of Using OER

Challenges faculty experienced

Lack of timeUninviting

climate

Lack of technology and skills

Feeling of uncertainty

Difficulty in wading through

Differences in course

specificaitons

Finding 3: Challenges of Using OER

• Lack of time

– The most frequently mentioned challenge, consistent through faculty at all levels of OER use.

– Faculty used their sabbatical years to restructure the course.

– Adjunct faculty did not receive any relief time or sabbatical leave to work on OER implementation.

Finding 3: Challenges of Using OER

• Uninviting climate

– Faculty concerned that their OER implementation would not be welcomed in their department.

– This was mostly stated by adjunct faculty, who were not participants in their department’s textbook selection process.

Finding 3: Challenges of Using OER

• Lack of technology and skills

– Students struggled with technology issues with OER.

– Returning adults experience discomfort with OER’s technological requirements.

Finding 3: Challenges of Using OER

• Feeling of uncertainty

– OER requires a paradigm shift in the relationships of the knowledge consumer and creator

– Both faculty and students experienced anxiety with the increased flexibility and fluidity of OER based class.

Finding 3: Challenges of Using OER

• Difficulty in wading through the information

– Faculty experience some initial difficulties with in wading through the available OER.

Finding 3: Challenges of Using OER

• Differences in course specifications.

– Faculty expressed difficulty in finding the relevant OER that exactly meets their needs and expectations.

– Faculty prefer to develop their own materials using various OER, instead of adopting an entire course package.

Finding 4: Support Needed

Finding 4: Support Needed

• Climate

– Endorsement from the college and the department.

– Clear policies around the use of OER.

Finding 4: Support Needed

• Professional Development

– Training in OER.

– Easy and organized pathways to access OER.

– Local support system with local experts.

Finding 4: Support Needed

• Partnership

– Department level functions.

– Intracampus partnership.

• Incentives

– Funding opportunities.

Recommendations

• Recommendation for the Policy Makers

– Policies on copyright ownership,

– Policies on individual faculty’s use of OER, and

– Policies on the registration system.

• Recommendation for College Administrators.

• Recommendation for Researchers.

Contact

• Full report is available at http://goo.gl/dERBtX.

• Contact authors with any questions:

Boyoung Chae (bchae@sbctc.edu) &

Mark Jenkins (mjenkins@sbctc.edu)