Recent Findings from the OER Research Fellows

• John Hilton III, @johnhiltoniii, http://openedgroup.org • Marcela Chiorescu• Christina Hendricks • Royce Kimmons• Christopher N. Lawrence• Ozgur Ozdemir• Tsung-han Weng

Who Are the OER Research Fellows?

Andrew Wesolek Clemson University

Arthur Gill Greeen UBC and Okanagan College

Brian Lindshield Kansas State University

Dongho Kim The University of Georgia

Emily Frank Louisiana State University

Farhad Dastur Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Heather M. Ross University of Saskatchewan

Jonathan Arnett Kennesaw State Universtiy

Kathleen Barrett University of West Georgia

Kim Grewe Northern Virginia Community College

Merinda McLure Colorado State UniversityOlga Belikov Brigham Young UniversitySarai Blincoe Longwood UniversitySerena Henderson Athabasca UniversityStephen Monroe University of Mississippi

Tanya M. Spilovoy North Dakota University System

Tarah Kerr Brigham Young University

Tomohiro Nagashima Stanford Graduate School of Education

Virginia Coleman-Prisco Northeastern University

Yao Xiong The Pennsylvania State University

Yu-Ju Lin Georgia State University

Alesha Baker Oklahoma State UniversityAmy Sandy Columbus State UniversityChrissy Spencer Georgia TechChristina Hendricks University of British ColumbiaChristopher N. Lawrence Middle Georgia State UniversityColin Madland Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BCDeanna Cozart The University of GeorgiaEmily Croteau Valdosta State UniversityEulho Jung Indiana UniversityFeng-Ru Sheu Kent StateHuimei Delgado Purdue UniversityJonathan Lashley Clemson UniversityJudy Orton Grissett Georgia Southwestern State UniversityJustin N. Whiting Indiana UniversityMarcela Chiorescu Georgia CollegeOzgur Ozdemir Indiana UniversityRajiv Jhangiani Kwantlen Polytechnic UniversityRobert Bodily Brigham Young UniversityRoyce Kimmons Brigham Young UniversitySarah Stager The Pennsylvania State UniversityShuya Xu Indiana UniversitySusan E. Hrach Columbus State UniversityTsung-han Weng University of Kansas

Andrew Wesolek Clemson UniversityArthur Gill Green UBC and Okanagan CollegeBrian Lindshield Kansas State UniversityDongho Kim The University of GeorgiaEmily Frank Louisiana State UniversityFarhad Dastur Kwantlen Polytechnic UniversityHeather M. Ross University of SaskatchewanJonathan Arnett Kennesaw State UniverstiyKathleen Barrett University of West GeorgiaKim Grewe Northern Virginia Community CollegeMerinda McLure Colorado State UniversityOlga Belikov Brigham Young UniversitySerena Henderson Athabasca UniversityStephen Monroe University of MississippiTanya M. Spilovoy North Dakota University SystemTarah Kerr Brigham Young UniversityTomohiro Nagashima Stanford Graduate School of EducationVirginia Coleman-Prisco Northeastern UniversityYao Xiong The Pennsylvania State UniversityYu-Ju Lin Georgia State University

What is the Purpose of the OER Fellows Program?

•Build capacity in OER researchers.•Encourage high quality research around the COUP framework (“Cost savings, Outcomes, Use, Perceptions”).

•Connect researchers in the United States and Canada with OER research opportunities.

How is the project working since we began in Sept. 2015?

•43 OER Research Fellows•Many articles in process•18 articles submitted•1 article accepted •1 article published

Let’s Hear From Some of the OER Research Fellows…

Marcela Chiorescu

"Exploring Open Educational Resources for College Algebra"

Christina Hendricks & Ozgur Ozdemir

“Instructor and student experiences with open textbooks, from the California Open Online Library for Education (Cool4Ed)”

Royce Kimmons “Student Voice in Textbook Evaluation: Comparing Open and Restricted Textbooks”

Christopher N. Lawrence

"Adopting an Open Content Textbook in Introduction to American Government"

Tsung-han Weng

Adopting OER Textbooks in Higher Education: A Qualitative Inquiry of Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions

Exploring Open Educational Resources for College Algebra

Dr. Marcela ChiorescuGeorgia College

Georgia College (GC)• Georgia's public liberal arts university• Located in Milledgeville, middle Georgia• About 5900 undergraduate students• GC’s students must complete 3 hours in the

area A2 Quantitative Skills• College Algebra is offered as a hybrid course

My main research questions for this study:

• How much money did the students save because of my adoption of open and affordable course materials?

• Did students achieve different levels of academic success as a result of the new curriculum?

Before Spring 2015

• MyMathLab access code: access to e-textbook, homework, quizzes and tests

Total Cost: $114

Spring 2015

• Free open e-textbook;• WebAssign access code:

access to homework, quizzes and tests

Total Cost: $27.95

Savings in Spring 2015: $86.05 savings for every student and a

total of $13,681.95 savings for all students registered.

• “I did not know this when I enrolled but the price difference made me very happy and it relieved a lot of stress to know I was paying so little.” (College Algebra student course via anonymous survey)

• “I was enrolled by my adviser because freshmen do not make their own schedules. However, I am very thankful that the course materials were offered at such a great price! It definitely encourages me to take and continue with the course!” (College Algebra student course via anonymous survey)

• “Needed elective, but the low cost was awesome.” (College Algebra student course via anonymous survey)

College Algebra Spring 2014 Fall 2014 Spring 2015 Fall 2015

Percentage of students who earned C or

better78.2% 80.9% 84.3% 77.2%

Table 1. Percentage of students who earned C or better

A B C D F W

Spring 2014 (151 students) 29.8% 35.8% 12.6% 5.3% 6.6% 9.9%

Fall 2014 (147 students) 27.9% 34% 19.1% 6.8% 3.4% 8.8%

Spring 2015 (159 students) 37.1% 34% 13.2% 5.7% 5% 5%

Fall 2015 (149 students) 29.5% 32.9% 14.8% 4.7% 8.1% 10%

Table 2. Grade Distribution

Instructor and student experiences with open textbooks, from the California Open

Online Library for Education (Cool4Ed)Christina Hendricks – University of British Columbia-

VancouverOzgur Ozdemir – Indiana University

Open Education Conference, Nov. 2016

15

California Community CollegesCalifornia State University

University of California

3

http://coolfored.org/

Research Questions• Faculty motivations for adopting OT or other OER• Cost savings for students• Student perceptions/attitudes (as reported by faculty)• Impact on student learning and retention• Other benefits and drawbacks

17

Methods

Data collection

51 Faculty ePortfolios• About the (1) book, (2) course, (3)

open textbook adoption, and (4) faculty bio

• 30 Postsecondary Institutions• 7 Disciplinary Areas

Data analysis Content Analysis• Open Coding

18

Findings: RQ1

19

Note: N=51

Co st S av in g Co n t en t Rep u r p o sin g A c c essib i l i t y

80%

44%

24%

20%

Motivating Factors

Findings: RQ2• Typical costs for new textbooks

reported by faculty: $50 to over $275 per book, average $140

• 32 faculty members reported how many students teach/year

• Estimated total cost savings: $706,740 per year, for 5733 students ($123/student)

6

#textbookbrokebc image, by UBC undergraduate student society

Findings: RQ3

Note: N=40Cost Saving Content Accessibility

97%

43%

40%

0%

15%

0%

Students Attitude

Positive Attitude Negative Attitude

7

Findings: RQ4

Note: N=51

Yes, Improved Stayed the Same Declined Not Assessed/Unsure

39%

16%

0%

45%

16%

12%

0%

72%

Learning & Retention

Student Learning Improved? Student Retention Improved?

8

Findings: RQ5

Note: N=519

Collaborated more with other faculty?

Used wider range of materials?

Drawbacks of using OER?

61%

86%

14%

39%

14%

86%

OTHER BENEFITS OR FRAWBACKS

Yes No

Some conclusions• Cost savings: most prominent concern for faculty (80%)

& students (93% of those that reported student views)

• Content: only 4% of portfolios showed negative views by faculty, 12% by students

• Adaptability: noted as important on 40% of portfolios

24

Adopting OER Textbooks in Higher Education: A

Qualitative Inquiry of Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions

Tsung-han Weng

Department of Curriculum and Teaching University of Kansas

BACKGROUND• In recent years, Open Educational Resources (OER)

has received a considerable amount of attention in educational field in which free educational materials are accessible to everyone

• However, several challenges still exist: • Pedagogical instructional model• Research gap

METHODOLOGY• In this study, I adopted a qualitative case study with 2

university professors and 35 students from one economics class and one statistics class

• The research instruments used in this study included semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and on-site classroom observations

• After all the data were collected, the researcher adopted an inductive thematic analysis

FINDINGS• Students have ambivalent attitudes towards the OER

textbooks • While most students pinpointed the benefits of using

OER textbooks, such as saving money and easily access online, some of them did not perceive the textbooks to be of high quality, questioning the content knowledge, pictures, and layouts of the textbooks

FINDINGS•Teachers have ambivalent attitudes towards the OER textbooks

•Teachers who adopted the OER textbooks mentioned that the textbooks were beneficial to reduce students’ financial pressure, however, they pointed out that they need to spend much more time preparing the course materials, such as PowerPoint, handouts, and assessment

CONCLUSION•Limitation of this study

•Educational Implications

Royce Kimmons

Research Questions1. How can student voice guide the

evaluation and selection of a course textbook?

2. What can this teach us about potential comparative quality of open textbooks?

Broad Evaluation Rank Type Content Design Pedagogy Cost OverallAmado et al. (2015) 1 Open .79 .35 .95 1.00 .71Kuster et al. (2015) 2 Restricted 1.00 .70 .47 .00 .64Olson (2003) 3 Restricted .89 .43 .74 .26 .63Straw (2015) 4 Restricted .36 .66 .56 .26 .51Watt (2014) 5 Open .38 .54 .31 1.00 .46Crawford (2014) 6 Restricted .89 .44 .09 .00 .40Taylor (2014) 7 Restricted .29 .48 .32 .26 .36Kerzner (2015) 8 Restricted .66 .42 .07 .26 .35 Mean .66 .50 .44 .38 .51

Deep Evaluation TypeChapters Evaluated Pages Words Content Design Pedagogy Overall

Amado et al. (2015) Open 5 180 41K .91 .25 .80 .78

Kuster et al. (2015) Restricted 13 85 20K .76 .38 .68 .73

Results & Implications• There is more to textbook quality than mere accuracy• Open textbooks can be of similar quality to restricted

textbooks• Polyphony (student + instructor voice) is valuable for both

authoring and evaluating texts• Textbook value may be dependent upon factors influenced

by classroom context and expectations (e.g., role of the instructor)

#1

Adopting an Open Content Textbook in Introduction to American Government

Christopher N. LawrenceAssistant Chair and Assistant Professor of Political Science

Middle Georgia State University

@DrLawrenceMGAhttp://www.cnlawrence.com/

Affordable Learning Georgia

Initiative launched by University System of Georgia in 2013, partnering with the California State University system.

Goal: reduce student materials costs by: Using existing open content materials. Creating new open content materials. Taking advantage of materials already licensed by USG through university/college

libraries.

Our Project Replace traditional, proprietary texts in POLS 1101 (American

Government) with an open content textbook. Use student performance measures and student surveys to

determine whether open content text leads to superior outcomes by comparing classes before and after intervention.

Classes are delivered by faculty members with different styles and approaches.

Classes are taught in fully-online, partially-online (hybrid), and face-to-face settings.

Data and Methods Two semesters’ data:

Fall 2014: Traditional texts. Spring 2015: Open content text (Lenz and Holman, University Press of Florida).

Survey of students at end of course with Likert and open-ended items.

Objective performance measures: Cumulative final exam grade. Course failure and withdrawal rates.

Baseline Findings Fall 2014: student survey administered at conclusion of the

semester using traditional textbooks. Cost of textbooks was not a substantial barrier: most

students obtained used or new copies. Few took advantage of library reserve copy or electronic copies.

Students were generally satisfied with the quality and value of the traditional texts in use.

Most students indicated that the traditional texts should continue to be used in future terms.

Comparative Findings Spring 2015: open content textbook survey.

Some cost savings; students used online text instead of buying used print copies. Perceived quality was substantially lower. Decline in overall satisfaction, willingness to recommend use in future terms.

Objective student performance: roughly comparable.

Issues Encountered Student confusion due to:

Poor or incomplete editing of textbook. Haphazard graphic design and layout.

Faculty challenges due to: Lack of ancillary materials. Fixed textbook content (cannot be revised).

Need to concentrate on sustainability: Funding for creating, updating materials. Support for course redesign and ancillaries.

Next Steps Examine effectiveness of other OER texts in political science

OpenStax College text, released Fall 2016 American Government in the Information Age (Github, Another Copy) Others?

POLS 1101 Course Redesign Part of USG Gateways to Completion project Potential to integrate OERs into redesigned POLS 1101

Thanks!

Recent Findings from the OER Research Fellows

• John Hilton III, @johnhiltoniii, http://openedgroup.org • Marcela Chiorescu• Christina Hendricks • Royce Kimmons• Christopher N. Lawrence• Ozgur Ozdemir• Tsung-han Weng