Ocl atl 2013

Open Course Library: The impact on Faculty's Teaching Practice

Boyoung Chae, Ph.D.Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges

Teri L. TuckerSpokane Falls Community College

May 2, 2013

Purpose of the session

1. Overview of OCL project2. Research Report: The Impact of OCL on

Faculty’s Teaching Practice3. Showcase of one of OCL courses:

Anthropology

2

OCL Project Overview

An initiative to develop affordable digital course materials for Washington State’s community & technical colleges

WHY:• The high cost of textbooks has reduced Washington students’

access to higher education.WHO: • SBCTC eLearning and Open Education• Supported by a multi-year $750,000 grant from Bill &

Melinda Gates Foundation • Supported by $750,000 from the Washington State

Legislature

2

OCL project overview

WHAT: • Built as 81 high-enrollment, gatekeeper college courses

designed and reviewed by CTC faculty members and instructional support teams

• Total materials cost to student must be under $30 per course• Free global public use through Creative Commons Licensing

WHEN:• First 42 courses released in October 2011• Second 39 courses released in April 2013

ACCT 201 Principles of Accounting

BIOL 100 Survey of Biology

MATH 141Precalculus

MUSC 105Music

Appreciation

There are 81 of these. Pick and choose!

PHIL 120 Symbolic Logic

Syllabus, Readings, Activities, Assessments,

Assignments, Notes, Course guides, Videos,

PowerPoint slides, Images, etc.

Research Questions

• The purpose of the study is to investigate the adoption of Open Course Library (OCL) courses within the WA college system.

– How and to what extent are open course materials being shared and used?

– What are the barriers or keys to the successful adoption of open course materials?

– What institutional policies are needed to support the adoption and use of open course materials?

Methodology

• Mixed Method Study• Qualitative Study– 1 hour focus group with a group of faculty who

have experience with OCL course materials– 30 minute follow-up phone interviews with focus

group participants• Quantitative Study– Online survey on the use of OCL materials

Preliminary findings 1 from Qualitative Study

• Faculty who decided to adopt the OCL materials liked:– OCL materials being offered as a whole package– OCL courses offer a low cost textbook– Proper institutional support– OCL course quality was impressive

• Those who decided not to adopt the OCL materials encountered the barriers including:– OCL courses resides in ANGEL– OCL courses did not offer low cost textbook– Did not receive proper institutional support – Did not like the OCL course content • Outdated resources• Course objectives were not aligned with course content• Course did not utilize the proper open resources


• What faculty consider keys to successful adoption– A community of OCL users– A system where they can continuously improve

these courses. – More connection with the authors to ask

questions or suggest ideas.


Preliminary findings 1from Quantitative Study

• Among nearly 500 participants who responded to the survey, 53% reported that they had a chance to review Open Course Library phase 1 contents.


• Among the participants who indicated that they had a chance to review the contents, 23% reported that they used or adopted the contents in their courses.

28%

8%

6%6%

46%

6%

Extent of OCL Course Materials Use

I used the entire course.

I used about 75% of the course materials

I used about half(or 50%) of the course materials

I used about 25% of the course materials

I used only a few course materials

I did not use the materials, but I gained new ideas


• Among the participants who indicated that they have not used OCL materials for their own courses after initial review, 45% rated the quality of the overall course contents either very good or excellent. Only 14% rated poor

Excellent8%

Very Good32%

Fair46%

Poor15%

Quality of OCL course materials

Preliminary findings 5 from Quantitative Study

• The participants who indicated that they have not used OCL materials for their own courses after initial review reported that they faced several challenges.

“I heard about OCL course and wanted to give it a shot, but my teaching subjects were not part of the OCL phase 1 course collection.”

“We have specific learning outcomes at my colleges, so it's easier to use what I already have created here.”

“The Physics course I previewed is at a higher level than what my students need.”

“Takes too much time to sort through information.”

“It was not significantly different or better than ones I use.”

“Much of the material is geared toward how that specific instructor would teach the course.”

“It was interesting, but I have not had a chance to teach the course yet. I am waiting until next quarter.”

Implementation Plan for OCL Adoption

1. Build Online State-wide OER HUB2. Organize OER Advisory Group3. Provide OER Hands-On Workshop4. Work with Colleges to set the atmosphere

that is welcoming to use of OER5. Build a larger OER community

OCL Course Showcase

• ANTH 100, Survey of Anthropology– Opencourselibrary.org

• Teri L. Tucker– Anthropology – Department of Social Sciences – Spokane Falls Community College– Spokane, WA 99224– (509) 533-3458

OCL Course Showcase

• Faculty perspective on why I use open resources– Anthropological perspective– Impact on teaching– Impact on student learning

• http://opencourselibrary.org

http://opencourselibrary.org/

OCL Course Showcase

Student perspective– (informal quantitative and qualitative study) n = 18 • quantitative

– 88% did not use optional textbook– 98% found open resources helpful in completing weekly

assignments– 100% found resources helpful for quizzes– 96% would recommend class to others

OCL Course Showcase

Student perspective (n = 18) • Was the class interesting and time well spent? Did your

perspective change regarding anthropology?– “It was enjoyable and I was interested in the information. I want to

take another anthropology class because of it.”– "Yes it did. Greatly"– "It was the most interesting class I have taken thus far and the only

class I did not accumulate a single absence in. I enjoyed every minute of it. My perspective on life and science has been changed through the information I learned in the class."

– "Yeah. For sure."– "Yes, it was very interesting. I didn't know much of what

Anthropology was, after this class I am well aware and understand what Anthropology is."

OCL Course Showcase

Student perspective (n = 18)

• If all courses used open resources, would you be able to take more classes and finish your degree faster?– “If they were given more financial aid to pay for the credits, yes. But the

class still costs a lot of money. Not paying for a textbook helped though.– "I cannot say. I like having a text to use as a foundation, but open

resources make it easier to pay for materials."– "The text book form in most classes is a more organized way and less time

consuming way to learn information. The open resources on the other hand taught me information that I will retain. Although they were far more time consuming."

– "Yeah. Probably."– "No. It was a lot of information. If that was toned down… yeah definitely."

OCL Course Showcase

Student perspective (n = 18) • What is one thing you liked about the course?

» "The information. I gained a lot of insight on culture and evolution. The whole topic I gained a lot of new info and feel better for it."

» "I enjoyed all the different ways we learned info. Through lecture, tedtalks, movies, articles, fun exercises on the resources. That way of teaching helped me retain info that I never would have out of a textbook."

» "I really liked the focus on multiculturalism and thinking critically about historical & current issues like slavery, women's rights, religion, health care, and class conflict. It was really great to learn about anthropology in a less ethnocentric and dogmatic way."

» "I liked learning about primates. I liked that it was online and I didn't have to go into a class."

» "I loved that Teri was so helpful and understanding. She was very good at giving in depth directions so there was no room for misunderstandings. "

OCL Course Showcase

Student perspective (n = 18) • What is one thing you would change about the course?

» "There was no study guide at the beginning but she already fixed that. And that helped a lot. The online resources were overwhelming there was too much."

» "A more organized/condensed form of displaying all of the resources and links. Half the time I procrastinated simply because I was overwhelmed by the layout."

» " I honestly would not change one thing."» "Make it more straightforward. I would have all the open resources specifically

apply to the questions. The amount of information that was provided made it a 300 level course and if you are not majoring in Anthropology it makes it difficult."

» "Give more extra credit assignments to help ease the stress of missing points, and raise the number of total points so that single points don't affect our final grades so much (e.g. 100 pts per assignment instead of 10, totaling 3,000 pts - just one method). This would lower the stress of this class SO much - worrying about grades was my #1 stressor for this class & often distracted from the learning."

OCL Course Showcase

Student perspective (n = 18) • In your opinion, did the open resources improve

or hinder the quality of the class?» “Improved. The multimedia sections were engaging. Because

of them I wanted to read the articles. It was much better then going home and reading out of a textbook.”

» "Improved. It was well done."» "Improved. Definitely. I would just try to organize it a little

better."» "I think it improved it."» "Hinder. Just the amount. Some of it was great like the

Palomar College was a good resource. I loved the way it flowed and everything. Yeah that one was just great."

Questions about OCL project or OCL research?

Boyoung ChaeProgram Admin of Open Education and [email protected]

Teri L. TuckerAnthropology, Department of Social Sciences Spokane Falls Community College(509) 533-3458

mailto:[email protected]