EXPLORING LEARNERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF AN OPEN RENEWABLE ASSIGNMENT

Abstract

This study investigates learners’ perceptions of Open Educational Resource-enabled pedagogy (OER-EP) by leveraging an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology with an Etuaptmumk epistemological framing which integrates Anishinaabe and Western perspectives into the analysis of learners’ perceptions of OER-EP. One research question guided the inquiry: How do students enrolled in a college Truth and Reconciliation course experience the creation of a renewable assignment? Seven postsecondary students who completed a Truth and Reconciliation in Canada course and who participated in the OER-EP final project provided study data in the form of semi-structured interviews. An Etuaptmumk approach to the analysis of study data brought forward maang, the loon, as a pivotal helper whose teachings allow for a deeper appreciation of the potential impact of OER-EP when coupled with social justice aims. Study results highlight the personal meanings that participants associated with the experience of participating in OER-EP, considerations of the needs of an imagined audience, nuanced decision-making associated with licensing and anonymity, and considerations for educators and learners who may engage in OER-EP. These results contribute to the extant open education literature and may inform pedagogical approaches, institutional supports, and ongoing research into learners’ experiences of open pedagogical practices generally and OER-EP specifically.