Higher education instructors’ perceptions of open pedagogy: an exploratory study of open pedagogy definitions in practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT An increase in open educational practices, such as the use of open educational resources (OER), has caused a wide array of definitions to appear concerning open pedagogy (OP). To help clarify how OP is defined in practice, this study describes the perceptions of instructors who implemented various approaches to OP in post-secondary institutions in the eastern United States. Researchers analysed survey data from faculty who adopted open pedagogy and thematically analysed interviews to understand instructors’ perceptions and implementations of OP. Instructors found value in providing students with more control over class procedures and policies, using and creating OER, and making student learning more visible to the outside world, but voiced concerns regarding the constraints and barriers of OP, the perception of instructors not using OP, and how their OP practices were still developing. These perceptions shaped instructors’ practical definition of OP. Further research is necessary to determine best practices for OP and to better refine OP implementation and definition related to the personnel and resources needed to make pedagogy ‘open.’