Examining the Use of Renewable Assignments in a Teacher Education Course to Build Understanding of Open Educational Resources

Abstract

Despite a culture of sharing in education, awareness of Open Educational Resources (OER) in teacher education and K-12 education is limited. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore graduate-level teacher candidates’ (n = 9) understanding of OER, the value they placed on it, and their self-efficacy in sharing work openly after participating in a renewable assignment. Data collected included a survey, course artifacts, and interviews. Of the nine participants, three openly licensed their work and one shared their resource publicly on OER Commons. Further findings indicate that the participants’ understanding of OER improved and they valued OER as part of their practice in both using and sharing resources. Participants indicated that they lacked teacher self-efficacy about their work for varied reasons. However, after receiving positive student outcomes and feedback from peers, participants were more open to sharing their work publicly. Implications for teacher education are discussed.