CCCOER Meeting , June 22, 2010

Clare Mortensen, Institute for the Study of

Knowledge Management in Education ISKME:

Research Examining the Impact of Open Textbook Adoption on Teaching and Learning: Early Findings

Introduction and Methodology

• Identification of factors influencing open textbook adoption and what obstacles exist to their use

• Insight into ways that open textbook use enhances teaching and learning

• Identification of benefits and challenges of open textbook adoption in terms of teaching, learning, and institutional policy

Research Questions Data Collection Methods

1) What institutional policies are needed to support adoption and use of open textbooks?

2) How and to what extent are open textbooks being created, shared, and used?

3) How does the use of open textbooks support teaching and learning?

CCOTP/CCCOER Participant Obs.

of Meetings

CCOTC Research and Evaluation Methodology

Administrator Interviews

Bookstore Mgr. Interviews

CCOTP/CCCOER Interviews

Student interviews

Faculty Interviews

• Online Learningin Dev Ed

2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

Ongoing Projects

Overview of ISKME’s OER Research Trajectory

• Incentives and interest to participate in online resources• Existing behaviors to support use of online resources and OER• What makes resources usable and reusable for teachers and learners

• Creation, use and reuse behaviors • Challenges and supports for OER

• Ways that OER supports teaching and learning• Emergent practices/perceptions aligned to OER

0

• FHSST• Teachers’ Domain• Training Commons• Travel Well EUN• SEP• CurriculumNet• Curriki

• OER Arts & SJ

Siyavula

Cyberlearning in Community Colleges

• CNXOER

Commons

• Types of and ways knowledge is shared through OER

• OER communities of practice

Maj

or

Res

earc

hIs

sues

Stu

die

dT

imel

ine

and

Pro

ject

s

Community College Open Textbook ProjectOER PD

• MITE

Sample Target Response

Interviews Complete

Faculty 41* 25 17

Administrators 2 5 1

Bookstore Managers

2 5 1

Students 3 5 0

CCOTP Members

3 5 2

*Includes 20 faculty users of Collaborative Statistics at De Anza College

Summary of Interviews Complete and Outstanding

Faculty Interviews:Preliminary Findings

Disciplines and Type of Courses Taught

Academic Discipline (N=17)

65% teach online or hybrid courses

Computer Science

Math

Fine Arts

Business and Economics

Political Science

Education

Familiarity and Engagement with Open Textbooks

94% first-time adopters of open textbooks

29% authors of open textbooks

Textbook Repositories Used

N = 17

47%

12% 12%6%

24%

Textbook Licenses Used

N = 17

59%

29%

6%

29%

Factors Influencing Open Textbook Adoption

• Financial savings for students

• Word of mouth

• Authorship

• Peer review

• Department-wide adoption

I adopted the textbook because an old colleague of mine wrote the book and I

agreed with his [pedagogical and philosophical] approach.

Benefits of Open Textbook Use (Overall)

• Ability to modify

• Interactivity

• Consistency

I didn’t know or think about this before I adopted the book.. I’ve changed around

the book so it’s in the order I like. I’ve added material to it. I like making it fit to

the way I want to teach the course.

Benefits Across Academic Disciplines

Discipline Open Textbook Use Example

Information Systems Textbook “models everything we’re talking about in class”

Political Science Textbook enhances interactivity between traditional course materials and public domain websites (such as whitehouse.com)

Mathematics Textbook provides consistency in notation – “I can’t see how a math book could be a mashup”

Sciences Textbook well-aligned with “the linear nature of teaching certain subjects”

Enhances

faculty’s ability

to support

interactive

learning

processes

I’m now offering students the ability to interact with information and their

interaction is what leads the classroom. It’s not just the method of information that’s

being changed, it provides the opportunity for students to access more original

material in a way that promotes interactive learning.

Impact of Open Textbook Use on Teaching Practice

Enhances faculty’s

ability to support

students’

metacognitive

processes

Now I send emails to my students with a URL link to the chapter they’re supposed to

read. It helps keep them on track with where we are in the course.

Impact of Open Textbook Use on Teaching Practice

• Facilitates

faculty

collaboration

• Leads faculty

towards

advocacy

My colleagues and I collaborated to integrate the book with our existing syllabi

and course curriculum…now we meet regularly to talk about lesson plans.

Impact of Open Textbook Use on Teaching ractice

Research and EvaluationNext Steps

Moving Forward with Analysis and Dissemination

• Continuing interviews with faculty bookstore managers, administrators, and students

• Conducting analysis of data

• Dissemination of findings in Fall 2010/Winter 2011

• Peer-reviewed journal article

Clare MortensenInstitute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Educationclare@iskme.org