Continuum of Self-Reflection

The twin pillar of the series’ strategic design includes its ability to meet faculty where they are based on a model of readiness. Informed by the work of Pete Hall and the Continuum of Self Reflection (2008), this series targets audience backgrounds and experiences with OER/OEP to provide them an entry point in engaging them in this work. In doing so, we empowered faculty to align their experiences and goals with this series, resulting in purposeful and intentional learning experiences.

The Continuum of Readiness consists of four fluid stages that faculty may move throughout depending on the particular context. The four stages as they align with the Open Education Development Series (OEDS) include:

• Unaware Stage: Little knowledge of research-based practices or identified concept of focus.
  • Part I of OEDS was designed to target participants that were primarily at the Unaware stage, though some participants may consider themselves at the Conscious stage as well.
• Conscious Stage: Faculty in this stage may have a disconnect between their knowledge of research or evidence-based practices and their implementation of them in their instruction. They are aware of what they could or should be doing, but lack the motivation and/or consistency to act on this knowledge.
  • Part II of the OEDS was designed to target participants that were primarily at the Conscious stage, though some participants may consider themselves at the Unaware stage as well.
• Action Stage: At this stage, faculty are motivated to make a change and are integrating new knowledge with instructional practice, sometimes with the desire to become an expert in its implementation.
  • Part III of the OEDS was designed to target participants that were primarily at the Action stage, though some participants may consider themselves at the Conscious or even Refinement stages as well.
• Refinement Stage: This stage is marked by competent and reflective implementation. Faculty working within this stage work toward continuous learning, growth, and improvement.
  • Parts IV and V of the OEDS were designed to target participants at both the Action and Refinement stages of readiness.

Participants, Readiness, and Placement

A key feature of the OEDS is that despite its synergistic design, participants were provided the flexibility in determining how they wanted to engage with the series. We did not include any prerequisites or limitations surrounding participation. Rather, participants were empowered to tailor their involvement to build on their background knowledge and experiences as they worked to meet their OER goals. To help participants identify how the Series aligned with their needs, we developed a set of reflective prompts with suggested entry points:

• Participants ready for Part I: “I would like to know what OER are and how these resources apply to my course, instruction”
• Participants ready for Part II: “I know what OER and OEP are, but I would like to learn more about how I can incorporate them and engage my students in the process”
• Participants ready for Part III: “I would like to learn how to determine the quality of OER I would like to integrate”
• Participants ready for Part IV: “I would like to learn how to effectively adapt OER for use in my course”
• Participants ready for Part V: “I am ready to create and publish my own open textbook and actively contribute to the Open community”