ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
The Adoption of an Open Textbook in a Large Physics Course: An Analysis of Cost, Outcomes, Use, and Perceptions
Author: Hendricks, Christina
Date: 2017-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Textbooks,Electronic Publishing,Shared Resources and Services,Foreign Countries,Physics,Science Instruction,College Science,Costs,Student Surveys,College Students,Student Behavior,Grades (Scholastic),Printed Materials,Course Selection (Students)

Assigning open textbooks in college and university courses can help students save money on increasingly expensive commercial textbooks, and recent research shows that this savings can often be achieved with little to no sacrifice in textbook quality or student learning outcomes. We add to this body of research by examining the use of an open textbook in an introductory physics course at a large research university in Canada that enrols approximately 800-900 students per year. In this course, the instructors revised an open textbook and combined it with other learning resources onto a single website, whereas more than one source of learning materials was used previously. We used the COUP framework to structure our analysis, focusing on cost, outcomes, use, and perceptions in relation to the open textbook assigned in the course. Through the use of a survey of students and data about student learning outcomes in the form of final exam and course grades, and shifts on the pre-/post- Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey, we show that student savings by moving to an open textbook were accompanied by little change in learning outcomes. We also show that the vast majority of survey respondents perceived the open textbook to be of the same or better quality than commercial textbooks used in their other courses. Further, many of them appreciated the fact that the textbook was customized to this particular course-- which is made possible by the use of a textbook with an open license.
Evaluating NTU's OpenCourseWare Project with Google Analytics: User Characteristics, Course Preferences, and Usage Patterns
Author: Sheu, Feng-Ru
Date: 2017-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Shared Resources and Services,Courseware,Use Studies,Foreign Countries,Higher Education,Educational Resources,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Online Courses,Large Group Instruction,Teacher Participation,Student Participation,Course Selection (Students),Individual Characteristics,Geographic Location,Program Effectiveness,College Students

As freely adoptable digital resources, OpenCourseWare (OCW) have become a prominent form of Open Educational Resources (OER). More than 275 institutions in the worldwide OCW consortium have committed to creating free access open course materials. Despite the resources and efforts to create OCW worldwide, little understanding of its use exists. This paper reports OCW project development at National Taiwan University (NTU) and investigates its use with Google Analytics. Reports include strategic plans to overcome challenges to OCW creation and implementation, the project's growth and maturation, overall use of OCW, and possible future directions. As a result of its 5-year development and of lessons learned, the NTU-OCW experience features: (1) integrating resources on campus and established operating procedures; (2) setting course selection criteria featuring the strength of NTU and Taiwan; (3) providing coherent program support to enhance faculty participation; and (4) adhering strictly to the Creative Commons license. Data from Google Analytics was reviewed for better understanding of the use, characteristics, course preferences, and behaviors of NTU-OCW users. Results show visitors were primarily lifelong learners (65%) in informal learning settings. Statistics indicate an overall successful use of NTU-OCW for Chinese speaking users, especially in urban areas where information and communication technology is more developed. Potential impacts and future improvements are discussed, including how to promote usage of OCW courses for on and off campus users, adding rating features and indexing for customizing search, and integrating OCW into the learning management system (LMS) as part of OER.
Rating the Quality of Open Textbooks: How Reviewer and Text Characteristics Predict Ratings
Author: Fischer, Lane
Date: 2017-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Textbooks,Shared Resources and Services,Electronic Publishing,Rating Scales,Higher Education,Costs,Likert Scales,Textbook Evaluation,Tenure,Nontenured Faculty,College Faculty,Foreign Countries

Using data collected from peer reviews for Open Textbook Library titles, this paper explores questions about rating the quality of open textbooks. The five research questions addressed the relationship between textbook and reviewer characteristics and ratings. Although reviewers gave textbooks high ratings generally, reviewers identified differences in quality according to criteria and discipline. Physics and chemistry textbooks earned significantly lower ratings than other textbook types. Ratings were not significantly associated with reviewers' status and experience, but were associated with reviewers' place of residence. We discuss the implications for OER efficacy studies and other research.
What Impacts Do OER Have on Students? Students Share Their Experiences with a Health Psychology OER at New York City College of Technology
Author: Cooney, Cailean
Date: 2017-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Textbooks,Shared Resources and Services,Student Attitudes,Interviews,Student Surveys,Feedback (Response),Printed Materials,Educational Technology,Electronic Publishing,Psychology,Health,Majors (Students),College Students

This article reports findings from a study conducted with students in three sections of a Health Psychology course that replaced a traditional textbook with open educational resources (OER) as the primary course material. The purpose of the study was to learn how OER impacted students. Data were collected in Fall 2015 with students from New York City College of Technology (City Tech), of the City University of New York (CUNY), a comprehensive college located in Brooklyn. Students were assigned the OER by their course instructor, who developed it as part of a library funded OER pilot initiative. Two research instruments were employed: one-on-one interviews and short surveys. Both interview and survey items asked students about how they engaged with the OER as their primary assigned course material. They shared feedback about the overall organization of the OER, ease of use, methods used to access the OER and complete coursework, benefits and challenges, and differences and similarities to using a traditional print textbook. Findings indicate that most students were able to access the OER more easily than traditional textbooks and responded positively to the variety of learning materials and assignments the OER assembled. Most students reported that course readings were equal to or better than traditional textbooks and would be willing to register for a course offering a similar resource in the future. A small amount of students reported minor usability issues. Also, few students had difficulties obtaining technology necessary to access the OER.
Student Perceptions of College Faculty Who Use OER
Author: Vojtech, Gabrielle
Date: 2017-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Student Attitudes,College Faculty,Textbooks,Electronic Publishing,Shared Resources and Services,Open Source Technology,Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance,Cost Effectiveness,Teacher Student Relationship,Conventional Instruction,Comparative Analysis,Preferences,Hypothesis Testing,Teacher Characteristics,Educational Experiments,Likert Scales,Questionnaires,Scores,Statistical Analysis,Coding,Use Studies

Research indicates that students find open educational resources (OER) favorable, but there is no research regarding students' perceptions of faculty who use open textbooks. In the present study we examined this topic experimentally with two undergraduate psychology courses at a small public university. Participants read two passages--one about an instructor using an open textbook and another using a traditional copyrighted textbook--and rated each instructor on a range of characteristics through closed- and open-ended questions. Participants rated faculty using an open textbook higher on kindness, encouragement, and creativity than faculty using a traditional copyrighted textbook, and were more likely to want to take a class with faculty using an open textbook. Participants frequently mentioned textbook cost in their justifications.
Investigating the Perceptions, Use, and Impact of Open Textbooks: A Survey of Post-Secondary Students in British Columbia
Author: Jhangiani, Rajiv
Date: 2017-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Textbooks,Shared Resources and Services,Student Surveys,Purchasing,Student Attitudes,Course Selection (Students),Academic Persistence,Performance,Study Habits,Textbook Content,Costs,Undergraduate Students,Electronic Publishing,Printed Materials,Use Studies

Unrelenting increases in the price of college textbooks have prompted the development and adoption of open textbooks, educational resources that are openly licensed and available to students free of cost. Although several studies have investigated U.S. students' perceptions and use of open textbooks, there are no published studies of this kind in Canada. Similarly, although the negative impact of commercial textbook costs on student outcomes is well documented within the United States, it is unknown whether these trends generalize to the Canadian post-secondary context. The present study involves a survey of 320 post-secondary students in British Columbia enrolled in courses using an open textbook during the Spring 2015, Summer 2015, and Fall 2015 semesters. The survey investigates students' textbook purchasing behaviours, including whether, where, and in what format(s) they purchase and access their required textbooks; the negative impact of textbook costs on their course enrolment, persistence, and performance; how they access and use their open textbook, including their format preferences and study habits; and their perceptions of their open textbook, including its quality and what features they like and dislike. The study's strengths and limitations are discussed, along with recommendations for future research.
How Korean Language Arts Teachers Adopt and Adapt Open Educational Resources: A Study of Teachers' and Students' Perspectives
Author: Kwak, SuBeom
Date: 2017-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Korean,Language Arts,Language Teachers,Shared Resources and Services,Instructional Materials,Teacher Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Ethnography,High School Students,Grade 12,Observation,Interviews,Questionnaires,Outcomes of Education,Lesson Plans,Individualized Instruction,Multimedia Instruction,Resource Units,Educational Resources

Since 2005, open educational resources (OER) have played a key role in K-12 education in South Korea; so far, however, there has been little discussion about OER efficacy in South Korean K-12 education. In the meantime, South Korean education has been attracting a lot of interest around the world. Former U.S. President Obama's comments about South Korean education might also be caused by South Korean students' academic performance evaluated by international large-scale assessments such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). This article uses an ethnographic perspective to explore the experiences of teachers and students in the Korean context. The analysis of the findings shows how teachers adopt and adapt OER for their 12th grade (the final year of secondary school) Korean language arts classes. Through classroom observations, interviews, and questionnaires, this exploration revealed that nearly 92% of the students perceived OER as beneficial to their studies and that teachers were spurred on to orchestrate differentiated instructional plans by OER. We argue that there is significant value to using OER in the formal educational curriculum, but that a lack of knowledge of how to adapt OER restricts how their potential is realized in practice. We identify implications for maximizing OER adaptation and successful usage of OER in K-12 education.
Using Learning Communities to Support Cantonese/Mandarin Family Child Care Providers in a Professional Development Intervention Program
Author: Lo, Yafen
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Child Care,Family (Sociological Unit),Communities of Practice,Professional Development,Mandarin Chinese,Sino Tibetan Languages,Access to Education,Community Colleges,Adult Learning,Focus Groups,Program Effectiveness,Statistical Analysis,Qualitative Research,Language Usage,Barriers,Empowerment,Academic Aspiration

High-impact educational practices can promote student involvement and learning outcomes, but are rarely tested in the community college setting--where involvement is a typical challenge to student success. For Family Child Care (FCC) providers, who tend to be older and overworked, higher-education training can be especially difficult. The present study examined the use of learning communities as a high-impact practice in Project Vista Higher Education Academy (PVHEA), a two-year professional development intervention program for Cantonese/Mandarin FCC providers at the East Los Angeles College in California. Quantitative and qualitative data during the inaugural term (January 2012-December 2013) indicated that PVHEA successfully helped FCC providers access and complete college coursework towards Child Development degrees and credentials. Course completion rate reached 100%, and the providers gradually increased course load while maintaining above-average grades. Positive changes were also observed in self-efficacy, aspirations, and professional image. The associated program challenges were discussed.
Cultivating Textbook Alternatives from the Ground Up: One Public University's Sustainable Model for Open and Alternative Educational Resource Proliferation
Author: Lashley, Jonathan
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Textbooks,Shared Resources and Services,Public Colleges,College Faculty,Resource Units,Educational Finance,Costs,Fees,Models,Program Effectiveness,Financial Support,Grants,Cost Effectiveness

This note from the field reviews the sustainability of an institution-wide program for adopting and adapting open and alternative educational resources (OAER) at Kansas State University (K-State). Developed in consult of open textbook initiatives at other institutions and modified around the needs and expectations of K-State students and faculty, this initiative proposes a sustainable means of incentivizing faculty participation via institutional support, encouraging the creation and maintenance of OAER through recurring funding, promoting innovative realizations of &quot;educational resources&quot; beyond traditional textbooks, and rallying faculty participation in adopting increasingly open textbook alternatives. The history and resulting structure of the initiative raise certain recommendations for how public universities may sustainably offset student textbook costs while also empowering the pedagogies of educators via a more methodical approach to adopting open materials.
The Y-Shaped Designer--Connective Competences as Key to Collaboration across Disciplines
Author: Eckert, Jan
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Curriculum Development,Masters Programs,Competence,Models,Interdisciplinary Approach,Design,Alumni,Surveys,Literature Reviews,Foreign Countries,Labor Market,Creativity,Graduates

This paper reports on the re-development of our MA curriculum in design. Main objective of this development is a more practice- and project-based MA Curriculum that delivers connective competences for the collaboration across disciplines, rather than specializing in a specific design domain. For design education, we therefore propose a re-visited model of T-shaped skills by proposing the Y-shaped Designer, who acts in collaborations across disciplines thanks to a disciplinary root, a clearly perceived role and the ability to generate multimodal design outputs. The paper's discussion is based on a study of the current shift in the Swiss Creative Economy, an alumni survey, a literature review focusing undisciplinarity and a series of expert-workshops, that led to the identification of the required skills our graduates need to successfully connect with a globalizing creative economy. First results are a re-definition of the competences and learning goals targeted in the new curriculum, as well as a set of didactical approaches extending the curriculum to what is meant to become a real-world lab for MA students in design.
The Impact of Enrollment in an OER Course on Student Learning Outcomes
Author: Grewe, Kim E.
Date: 2017-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Outcomes of Education,Program Effectiveness,Open Source Technology,Educational Resources,Academic Achievement,Course Evaluation,History Instruction,Online Courses,Introductory Courses,Community Colleges,Correlation,Regression (Statistics),Quasiexperimental Design,Predictor Variables,Student Records,Grade Point Average

Open Educational Resources (OER) are gaining acceptance as legitimate and effective teaching materials in higher education, particularly in 2-year institutions. Despite the steady growth in the availability and use of OER, there have been relatively few studies on the efficacy of OER and student achievement. This study analyzed the effect enrollment in an OER course had on student academic achievement when controlling for prior academic achievement in an introductory online history course at a large community college. Correlation analysis and simple linear regression were conducted. The results of this research indicate a significant positive moderate correlation between OER and student achievement. The study provided a process by which future, more rigorous efficacy studies can be conducted.
Early Days of Recorder Teaching in South Australian Schools: A Personal History
Author: Southcott, Jane
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Music Education,Musical Instruments,Music Teachers,Elementary Education,Music Activities,Educational History,Interviews,Documentation

As a primary school student in the 1960s I learnt the recorder. This paper explores how the recorder became a staple of Australian primary school music programs. At that time recorders were comparatively recently revived Renaissance musical instruments that were adopted by music educators as a way for children and their teachers to engage in instrumental music making in classes. The inclusion of recorders in school music lessons was not always as successful as hoped but a lucky few had recorder teachers who were expert musicians like my teacher. This personal history explores the arrival and presence of the recorder in school music in South Australia. Data were gathered from primary and secondary documentary sources, personal recall and an interview with my recorder teacher, Cecily Wood. This research considers a commonplace occurrence in the lives of many Australian children and by focusing on a taken-for-granted practice in school music, adds to the historical record and to our understanding of what we do and why we do it.
Student Choice and Higher-Order Thinking: Using a Novel Flexible Assessment Regime Combined with Critical Thinking Activities to Encourage the Development of Higher Order Thinking
Author: Pretorius, Lynette
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Thinking Skills,Critical Thinking,Skill Development,Summative Evaluation,Evaluation Methods,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis,Value Judgment,Student Attitudes,Interviews,Undergraduate Students,Student Surveys,Adjustment (to Environment),Grades (Scholastic),Accounting,Foreign Countries

Flexibility in assessment is usually achieved by giving students choice over the assessment weighting, type or format, the timing, the criteria, or the overall assessment result. This study, however, demonstrates the development of a flexible assessment regime where students were given the choice to invest in within-semester tasks designed to encourage the development of higher order thinking skills. This was accomplished by incorporating two compulsory summative assessments and two optional tasks focused on the process of learning. Students could choose whether to invest extra time to complete all four tasks, or to concentrate their effort only on the compulsory assessments. Evaluation of the flexible assessment regime was conducted using a survey incorporating quantitative and qualitative questions. The data showed that students came to value the flexible assessment regime by the end of the semester. Qualitative responses indicated students thought they had developed their higher order thinking skills, but were unaware of how these skills were of benefit in their disciplinary context. A follow-up interview study was conducted to further understand students' responses. These discussions indicated that students thought the assessment options allowed them to scaffold their learning throughout the semester, reduced overall student stress, and encouraged the development of higher order thinking skills. This study therefore demonstrates that flexibility in assessment allows students to take a proactive role in their learning. When combined with activities designed to develop critical thinking, this assessment strategy can be effective in developing higher order thinking skills.
Basic Writing and Disciplinary Maturation: How Chance Conversations Continue to Shape the Field
Author: White, Edward M.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Basic Writing,Educational Change,Educational Trends,Educational Development,Case Studies,Mainstreaming,Personal Narratives,Scholarship

Thirty years ago, Maxine Hairston observed that disciplinary shifts in writing studies occur not gradually but rather due to revolutionary &quot;paradigm shifts.&quot; Perhaps. But even as the discipline has grown, chance encounters, collaborations rooted in friendship, conversations and coffees, and the discovery of mutual acquaintances have continued to play roles. The subfield we call &quot;basic writing&quot; has maintained an ethos informed by these &quot;small moments,&quot; and even as the subfield has matured in the last fifteen years, we have collectively stayed small and ought to continue fostering an atmosphere that is paradoxically mature but also serendipitous, friendly, and even informal. This article is about BW's burgeoning (sub-) disciplinary maturity. In equal part, though, we tell our own stories, and reflect on how serendipitous that engagement has been, ultimately arguing that the BW community continue to foster and expand serendipitous engagement.