Student and Faculty Perceptions of OpenStax in High Enrollment Courses

Authors

  • C. Edward Watson University of Georgia
  • Denise P. Domizi Director of Faculty Development, University System of Georgia
  • Sherry A. Clouser Assistant Director of Learning Technologies, Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Georgia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i5.2462

Keywords:

open educational resources, OpenStax, biology, faculty development, course design

Abstract

As public funding for higher education decreases and the cost to students to attend college increases, universities are searching for strategies that save students money while also increasing their chances for success. Using free online textbooks is one such strategy, and the OpenStax College initiative at Rice University is one of the most widely recognized producers of such materials. Through a mixed method approach, this article examines the student and faculty experiences of adopting and using an OpenStax textbook. With 1,299 student participants, it was found that students greatly value the quality, attributes, and the cost of the OpenStax Biology textbook, though minor concerns were raised about its online format. Faculty adoption of a free textbook provides unique opportunities for course redesign and improvement, and the approach employed in this course transformation context resulted in clearly articulated learning outcomes, a fully realized structure in the course’s learning management system, and improvements to instructional practice. The student, faculty, and course benefits of this study offer a compelling argument for the adoption of high quality open education resources (OER) in public higher education contexts.

Author Biography

C. Edward Watson, University of Georgia

Dr. C. Edward Watson is the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Georgia where he leads university efforts associated with faculty development, TA development, learning technologies, media and production services, classroom support and learning spaces, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

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Published

2017-08-15

How to Cite

Watson, C. E., Domizi, D. P., & Clouser, S. A. (2017). Student and Faculty Perceptions of OpenStax in High Enrollment Courses. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(5). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i5.2462

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 5 (2017)

Section

Research Articles

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