Authors: Oona St-Amant, Jennifer Lapum, Michelle Hughes, Joy Garmaise, Sita Mistry, Sally Wilson, Lena Patterson
Institutions: Ryerson University, Centennial College, George Brown College, eCampus Ontario
Country: Canada
Topic: Applications of Open Education Practices/Open Pedagogy/Open Education Research
Sector: Higher Education
UNESCO Area of Focus: Building capacity
Session Format: Presentation
Abstract
Despite the promise of OER to innovate the knowledge landscape in higher education, there remains dissonance related to their creation and uptake in nursing education. While momentum for OER creation and uptake is growing, they have yet to be ubiquitous in nursing education in Canada. Instead, there are small engaged groups of leaders who champion open education within their respective communities. Compounding the need for more engagement is a reliance on didactic learning strategies with proven track records, concerns for quality and a strong tradition favoring academic process. And yet, nursing education as an applied science, has the potential to redefine self-directed learning through open education, particularly given the multi-modal delivery enhancements that accompany many OER. This initiative combines research methodology with social action by using Participatory Action Research (PAR) to engage community members in a collaborative degree program and build capacity towards open education. PAR simultaneously promotes a collective inquiry process while enabling action, therefore our core group of faculty, students, a librarian and community partner collaboratively work with community to respond to emergent data. This presentation has 3 objectives: 1) to delve deeply into the suitability of PAR as an appropriate methodology for building capacity in open education; 2) to share findings from our inventory analysis of open resources listed as required readings in syllabi within our nursing collaborative program; and 3) to share preliminary findings from a focus group with faculty related to strategies for promoting the creation and uptake of OER in nursing education. We will engage the audience in a 5-minute envisioning exercise about the future direction for mobilization and capacity building within higher education institutions. Audience members will be invited to share their ideas reflect on the need for future research. Our aim is to share our PAR process and early findings in order for other educators to build and grow from our lessons learned and reflect on the potential for open education in nursing.Keywords
Participatory Action Research, Open Educational Resources in Nursing, Academic Engagement
