Open Educational Practices and Pedagogies 

Open educational practices and open pedagogy are components of open education that move beyond resources to address pedagogical approaches and the relationships between teachers and learners (Cronin, 2017: 5). Influenced by social constructivist, connectivist, and critical  educational philosophies (Cronin and MacLaren, 2018: 137), OEP advocates seek to discard “the traditional educational paradigm of many unknowledgeable students and a few knowledgeable teachers” in favor of learning settings where students and teachers co-create knowledge “through mutual interaction and reflection” (Ehlers 2011, 4). Therefore, educators model uncertainty and exploration as they give space for students to approach unresolved questions and to contribute knowledge. Students are invited to direct and mold their learning and to consider the impact of their intellectual energies beyond the classroom. Open pedagogical approaches might manifest as:  

• Learners and teachers co-constructing, authoring, and circulating a course textbook. 
• Learners and teachers contributing to broader knowledge commons or repositories. 
• Learners and teachers collaborating on course, syllabus, or assignment design.
• Learner open spaces for reflection and creation. 

Learn more about open pedagogical enactments in the classroom.  

Open pedagogy is an orientation, an ethos, or a value driven approach to education. As Jhangiani and DeRosa, two leaders in open education, describe open pedagogy “is a site of praxis, a place where theories about learning, teaching, technology, and social justice enter into a conversation with each other and inform the development of educational practices and structures” (DeRosa and Jhagiani, 2017). Open pedagogy draws attention to the ideologies that shape our educational institutions, as well as the visible and invisible agendas that shape inherited teaching and learning practices. 

At the core OEP are educational activities and practices that combine OER, open pedagogies, and transparent processes for the fundamental goal of empowering learners and improving learning. 

Caring for learners 

By openly sharing resources and practices, educators may work with students to build educational opportunities and a robust knowledge commons for the public good. Yet, this work must begin with care for students and requires that we interrogate the limits, risks, and struggles of the technologies and structures that mediate open learning. Open education is an arena that is in constant dynamic development and choices for open must be negotiated with situated contexts and learners in mind.  

Further Reading & Resources:

Cronin, C. (2017). Openness and praxis: Exploring the use of open educational practices in higher education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(5). https://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/handle/10379/6394

Cronin, C., & MacLaren, I. (2018). Conceptualising OEP: A review of theoretical and empirical literature in Open Educational Practices. Open Praxis, 10(2), 127–143.

DeRosa, R., & Jhangiani, R. (2017). Open pedagogy. In E.  Mays (Ed.), A guide to making open textbooks with students. Retrieved fromhttps://press.rebus.community/makingopentextbookswithstudents/chapter/op...

Ehlers, U.-D. (2011). Extending the Territory: From Open Educational Resources to Open Educational Practices. Journal of Open Flexible and Distance Learning, 15(2), 1–10.