Implementing OER at LaGuardia Community College: Three Case Studies

Authors

Ian McDermott, CUNY La Guardia Community CollegeFollow
Joshua P. Tan, CUNY La Guardia Community CollegeFollow
Alioune Khoule, CUNY La Guardia Community CollegeFollow
Marta Kowalczyk, CUNY La Guardia Community CollegeFollow
Emma Handte, CUNY La Guardia Community CollegeFollow
Rena D. Grossman, CUNY La Guardia Community CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2022

Abstract

LaGuardia Community College, City University of New York (CUNY) began receiving funds from a New York State Open Educational Resources (OER) grant in 2017. Since then, several departments have made significant strides in the implementation of OER. We offer three case studies of putting OER into practice, in math, astronomy, and chemistry. Each case study presents the context for OER conversion, the steps taken, early results from OER implementation, and the main takeaways. A common feature across courses and departments is a process-oriented implementation of OER, namely, one that is constantly improving and moving towards the goal of openness and accessibility. The conclusion and future directions provide a critical reflection on the NY State grant, which is understandably focused on outcomes and not processes. The grant largely awards money based on converting courses to Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC), with total savings a primary metric. This approach leaves out features of open educational practice (OEP) that are critical to a process-oriented implementation. One feature highlighted in future directions is accessibility via Universal Design for Learning, which can help students with disabilities better utilize learning materials. Faculty and staff at CUNY have achieved a great deal from the New York State OER grant, despite a perpetual state of austerity. The authors recommend increased support for ongoing, less quantifiable, process-oriented improvements for OEP at LaGuardia and across CUNY.

Comments

This article was originally published in Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, no. 21 available at https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/read/implementing-oer-at-laguardia-community-college-three-case-studies/section/364d4fea-be18-42b2-a413-40e8f0f412ba

This work is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).