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Open Pedagogy in the Inclusive Online Classroom

Monica Brown

she/her/hers

Boise State University

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Benjamin Croft

he/him/his

Boise State University

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Slides Available:

https://bit.ly/325Ci9H

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CC BY-NC

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Goals

  • Understand the discursive challenges that block critical conversations;
  • Identify barriers to equity that are often implicit or unacknowledged in both open pedagogy and distance education;
  • Explore principles that can center the needs of historically marginalized student populations in the online learning environment.

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Discursive Challenges

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Discursive Challenges

  • Technology and education are inherently political (Selwyn & Facer, 2013).
  • False assumption that open is always inclusive (Watters, 2014).
  • Ideological advocacy and emotive rhetoric (Gourlay, 2014).
  • Critical examination is often dismissed as naysayers (Bayne, Knox, & Ross, 2015).

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Lambert’s Social Justice Model for Open Education

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Lambert’s Social Justice Model for Open Education

Recognitive

“Socio-cultural diversity in the open curriculum. Inclusion of images, case studies, and knowledges of women, First Nations people and whomever is marginalised in any particular national, regional or learning context. Recognition of diverse views and experiences as legitimate within open assignments and feedback.”

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Representational

“Self-determination of marginalised people and groups to speak for themselves, and not have their stories told by others. Co-construction of OER texts and resources about learners of colour by learners of colour, about women’s experiences by women, about gay experiences by gay identifying people. Facilitation to ensure quiet and minority views have equal air-time in open online discussions.”

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Principles of Inclusive Open Pedagogy in Distance Education

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Cultivating an Appreciation for Difference

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Representational

  • Allocate space for sharing of identities; model safe disclosure; respect and use pronouns.

Recognitive

  • Call on participants to interrogate implicit bias; student identity is multidimensional, situated, and temporal; marginalization is intersectional.

Restorative

  • Acknowledge difference; affirm diverse ways of knowing; co-create communication guidelines.

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Creating Inclusive Space for Collaboration

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Representational

  • Recognize the potential for student work to be misused or appropriated; design learning materials to be questioned.

Recognitive

  • Establish safety through co-created community agreements; plan for intervention when harm occurs in dialogue.

Restorative

  • Affirm student contributions to mitigate the potential for erasure or minimization; center voices of marginalized students.

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Fostering Respect for Student Privacy and Autonomy

Representational

  • Allocate power to participants to give or withhold consent for participation; structure open pedagogy to use an opt-in system rather than an opt-out system.

Recognitive

  • Recognize the ways in which consent and surveillance may impact student populations differently.

Restorative

  • Embrace emergent student contributions that may take plans off track; share transparent and accessible policies on data collection.

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Facilitating Conversations on Academic Integrity

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Representational

  • Make explicit the implicit cultural norms of citation and attribution in academic culture.

Recognitive

  • Acknowledge and explore diverse ways of attributing ideas and how idea ownership is culturally informed.

Restorative

  • Approach incidents of academic dishonesty - both intentional and accidental - with an educational mindset.

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Questions?

Contact Us

Monica Brown

OER Coordinator

monicabrown1@boisestate.edu

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Benjamin Croft

Learning Analyst

bencroft@boisestate.edu

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Slides Available:

https://bit.ly/325Ci9H

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CC BY-NC

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References

Bayne, S., Knox, J., & Ross, J. (2015) Open education: the need for a critical approach, Learning,

Media and Technology, 40:3, 247-250, DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2015.1065272

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Gourlay, L. (2015). Open education as a ‘heterotopia of desire’, Learning, Media and Technology,

40:3, 310-327, DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2015.1029941

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Lambert, S. R. (2018). Changing our (dis)course: A distinctive social justice aligned

definition of open education. Journal of Learning for Development, 5(3),

225-244.

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Selwyn, N., Facer, K., (2013). The Need for a Politics of Education and Technology in Selwyn, N.,

Facer, K. (Eds.) The Politics of Education and Technology. Conflicts, Controversies and Connections. Palgrave Macmillan.

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Watters, A. (2014, Nov 16). From “open” to justice #opencon2014.

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