Open Pedagogy Toolkit: Module 4
Why This Matters
When working with students to create content that is going to be put out into the world, there are a few things to take into consideration to ensure the success and safety of your students and their work. You will want your class to reflect your OP values, both through course materials and in your students’ work. You will want to set your students up for success and ensure they contribute meaningful, valuable work.
You will want to acknowledge the importance of openness and share your OP values with your students. You can do this by modeling openness for them. This will help them realize that it’s not something you’re telling them to do, it’s something you value. Since it’s something you value and view as important, that’s why you want them to have an opportunity to share their voices with others through student creation of knowledge. Recognizing students’ autonomy in the classroom and encouraging them to share their knowledge with others will help motivate them to succeed.
You want to set your students up for success, and that requires proper scaffolding of the material to introduce new concepts. You will also want your students to work on many drafts and go through a review process to ensure high-quality materials are shared, and remind them that these are scholarly works and that iteration is an important part of that work. Reflection on the process and the final work will help the students understand the importance of OP and sharing knowledge freely with others.
Another way to ensure high-quality, meaningful work is to educate your students about different types of copyright and open licensing, which will help them decide how their work is shared and viewed by others. Finding the right audience will ensure the work is truly useful and a helpful contribution to the knowledge commons.