The purpose of this presentation will be to share how an academic library used available evidence and “pragmatic perspective” (Koufogiannakis & Brettle, 2016, p. 12) to help shape the open educational resources publishing program at a very high research institution. The presenter will show how the framework for Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (Koufogiannakis & Brettle, 2016) was applied to a reflective comparison of the Libraries’ pilot large-scale OER publishing initiative and a subsequent small-scale course revision initiative. While the large-scale OER publishing initiative followed strategies implemented at similar institutions, available data and personal “working experiences” (Koufogiannakis & Brette, 2016, p. 12) suggested that the “context and circumstances” (p. 14) in which the initiatives were being implemented required a more considered approach.
The team involved in this iterative evaluative process included the OER Librarian, Instructional Design and Online Learning Librarian, the Libraries’ Head of Teaching and Learning, and the Libraries’ Associate Dean of Research and Learning Services. The practitioners brought professional knowledge in librarianship, teaching and learning, research, instructional design, learning science, and comparative research methodologies. Local evidence gathered to inform the assessment included quantitative and qualitative data gathered over the course of both the pilot publishing initiative and the subsequent course revision initiative. The data was analyzed through the lens of diffusion of innovations theory (Rogers, 2004) to answer questions regarding the comparative impact of the initiatives on the tdiffusion of OER and open practices at OSU.
Quantitative data gathered included a rough calculation of return on investment over time for each grant dollar awarded, represented as savings experienced by students whose courses used initiative related resources in place of commercial textbooks. Qualitative data included feedback from both students and instructors involved in initiative related courses, as well as final and ongoing reports shared out by creators and designers whose work was supported by the initiatives. The assessment also considered continued OSU use of the resources as well how frequently associated courses were offered. Finally, the team determined that inclusion of information related to their personal experiences managing the projects and providing design support for authors and creators would provide relevant, authentic perspective helpful in evaluating what worked, what didn’t work, and what lessons were learned over the course of the projects (Koufogianakis & Brettle, 2016).
The climate in which this assessment took place played a crucial role in its effectiveness. The academic library centered their librarians’ understanding, perspective, and experiences when evaluating existing projects and considering new initiatives. The librarians associated with the OER program had flexibility and support conducive to the creative questioning necessary to identify and solve problems (Csikszentmihalyi & Wolfe, 2014). The OER team had “clear goals” and expectations (Koufogiannakis & Brette, 2016) informed by the findings of a human performance technology analysis previously applied to assess program sustainability (Essmiller et al., 2020). These goals and expectations provided markers which helped bring the evidence and findings generated through the team’s reflective application of the EBLIP model into concrete use in designing, implementing and assessing future initiatives (Koufogiannakis & Brettle, 2016).
Info
Presented by:: Kathy Essmiller
Conference Track: Special lighning session
Track Date/Time: 2022-05-25T10:00:00Z (your local time)
Language: English
Pretalx link: Academic Libraries and OER :: Open Education Global 2022 :: pretalx
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