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Open pedagogy is growing in popularity as an instructional method to decentralize classroom power dynamics, engage students, and provide greater meaning to student work. To investigate the impact of open pedagogy on motivation, interviews were conducted with first-year college students at a four-year liberal arts college after completing a semester-long project based on this pedagogical approach. Student responses were assessed using self-determination theory as a theoretical framework, particularly in relation to the motivation regulatory styles displayed by research participants. Results indicate that students experienced various forms of extrinsic motivation during the project based on open pedagogy, with autonomous forms of regulation being more prevalent than controlled regulation. Interview data also suggest that agency plays a role in mediating the internalization of student motivation. Based on these findings, suggestions are provided to the design of assignments in general and open pedagogy specifically to enhance development of autonomous forms of motivation.

Students acting as co-creators of academic material is growing in popularity as a pedagogical approach in higher education. With student engagement and persistence consistently being emphasized for student and institution well-being, educational praxis must foster engaged, high-retention student cohorts. This exploratory research uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the experience of students participating in a first-year course utilizing OER-enabled Pedagogy. Students considered how projects that were open impacted their perception of course engagement, satisfaction, and overall experience. Participants also evaluated their level of concern in sharing attributed academic work. A plurality of students preferred the project using OER-enabled Pedagogy, indicating it increased engagement and skills acquisition. The majority of students were unconcerned about sharing work publicly, even if their names were included. Themes that emerged from interviews included the motivational value of creating work potentially valuable to others, being given agency, and receiving public credit for their efforts.

COVID-19, in addition to disrupting the global education system in general, is widening the economic and racial gaps institutions have spent years trying to address. The economic reality is that students who work to support themselves, their families, and purchase educational materials needed to succeed have been disproportionately harmed. This article discusses how the global COVID-19 pandemic is compounding structural inequities inherent in higher education. This requires faculty to reevaluate their role as agents of change in a world that is fundamentally different than it was a short time ago. The experience of one liberal arts institution in the U.S. who moved all courses to free materials in under six months will be recounted as an example of what is possible during extraordinary circumstances if students are truly prioritized during strategic planning.

OER-enabled pedagogy, one form of open pedagogy, is gaining popularity as a method for increasing student engagement and motivation. Realising the potential of this approach, however, depends on faculty implementation and reducing resistance to change. This study explores the experience of instructors during their first and second courses when facilitating OER-enabled pedagogy. Specifically, the research sought to determine how their view of the approach and teaching practices changed between classes, and if this prescribed experience increased their likelihood of using OER-enabled pedagogy in other classes. Interviews with faculty suggest that when teaching OER-enabled pedagogy for the first time, there is a lack of understanding of the value of this approach impacting their perceived mentorship of students. By the second iteration, however, instructors recognise an evolution in their view of teaching generally as well as OER-enabled pedagogy more specifically. This growth increases the quality of interaction with students and fosters broader use of open practices.

To aid students during COVID-19, the University of Pikeville transitioned all undergraduate classes to no-cost alternatives for course textbooks. Additionally, the academic calendar was modified for the first time in the institution's 130-year history from a traditional 16- week semester to 8-week block scheduling. This case study explores strategies, approaches to corresponding with constituents, and lessons learned in leading an institution through two major curricular changes in under six months in response to a global pandemic.

Originating from progressive educators who saw the need for student-centered educational designs rather than the traditional, single-age classroom design based on Henry Ford's assembly line, the multiage classroom design is returning as a viable alternative to the single-age classroom. The authors explored the perceptions of parents and teachers impacted during the transition of two elementary schools away from single-age classrooms to a multiage classroom design. This study specifically focused on kindergarten through fifth grade and examined the overall effect of the multiage design on these two groups and on the elements that were important to the administration. Results indicate that parents support the transition to a multiage design. Although they demonstrated support, teachers were significantly more neutral than the parents in several areas, such as family-school relationships, class size stability, teacher assignment stability, and overall ability of students to do well in the multiage classroom. The findings of this research will assist districts transitioning to a multiage design in identifying what elements of the design are likely to be supported by parents and teachers.

Theoretical evolution within the field of Open Pedagogy has progressed rapidly in recent years. Practical application, however, has lagged this conceptual development. This article seeks to explore the gap between theory and practice by examining how the use of terms within the open education space may create barriers for instructors new to the concept. The authors of this article argue that the most effective approach to creating momentum toward practices associated with Open Pedagogy is to begin with an alignment of an instructor's values with the attributes of an open educator. Subject matter experts were consulted in the association of open pedagogical values with specific practices. The result is a visual aid useful for an instructor's self-assessment or in collaboration with curriculum designers to identify a logical start point for an instructor as they begin their movement from a more traditional to an open approach.

OER-enabled pedagogy, one form of open pedagogy, is gaining popularity as a method for increasing student engagement and motivation. Realising the potential of this approach, however, depends on faculty implementation and reducing resistance to change. This study explores the experience of instructors during their first and second courses when facilitating OER-enabled pedagogy. Specifically, the research sought to determine how their view of the approach and teaching practices changed between classes, and if this prescribed experience increased their likelihood of using OER-enabled pedagogy in other classes. Interviews with faculty suggest that when teaching OER-enabled pedagogy for the first time, there is a lack of understanding of the value of this approach impacting their perceived mentorship of students. By the second iteration, however, instructors recognise an evolution in their view of teaching generally as well as OER-enabled pedagogy more specifically. This growth increases the quality of interaction with students and fosters broader use of open practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Originating from progressive educators who saw the need for student-centered educational designs rather than the traditional, single-age classroom design based on Henry Ford's assembly line, the multiage classroom design is returning as a viable alternative to the single-age classroom. The authors explored the perceptions of parents and teachers impacted during the transition of two elementary schools away from single-age classrooms to a multiage classroom design. This study specifically focused on kindergarten through fifth grade and examined the overall effect of the multiage design on these two groups and on the elements that were important to the administration. Results indicate that parents support the transition to a multiage design. Although they demonstrated support, teachers were significantly more neutral than the parents in several areas, such as family-school relationships, class size stability, teacher assignment stability, and overall ability of students to do well in the multiage classroom. The findings of this research will assist districts transitioning to a multiage design in identifying what elements of the design are likely to be supported by parents and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]