Open Pedagogy: Home

“Open Pedagogy,” as we engage with it, is a site of praxis, a place where theories about learning, teaching, technology, and social justice enter into a conversation with each other and inform the development of educational practices and structures. This site is dynamic, contested, constantly under revision, and resists static definitional claims. But it is not a site vacant of meaning or political conviction.

Robin DeRosa and Rajiv Jhangiani, The Open Pedagogy Notebook

Open pedagogy, also known as open educational practices, is a developing field actively being shaped by theorists and practitioners. Open pedagogy can be understood through the use of open educational resources (OER), and specifically the application of open licensing that permits "renewable assignments" in their courses, as David Wiley explains. 

Wiley's "renewable assignments" are understood in opposition to "disposable assignments." Disposable assignments are ones students create for their instructors, who read and grade the assignment before student and instructor throw away the assignment at the end of the semester. 

Renewable assignments, on the other hand, are a way for students to share their work and knowledge to benefit others. Examples may include contributing content to an open textbook, writing and editing Wikipedia entries, co-designing the class, and many more examples as shared at the Open Pedagogy Notebook. 

Open pedagogy is malleable to your teaching. Read Maha Bali's compilation of open pedagogy posts to learn more about open pedagogy practices, and reach out to me, Karna at karna@ku.edu, to discuss how to implement open pedagogy. 

Rajiv Jhangiani articulated the "5Rs for Open Pedagogy" as a set of values to working with students to implement open pedagogy. This must read provides a framework for considering issues of privacy, learning, and sharing student work with communities. 

• Respect
• Reciprocate
• Risk
• Reach 
• Resist