69传媒

Opinion
Curriculum Opinion

Open Educational Resources Fill Gap for Underserved 69传媒

By Lisa Petrides & Barbara Dezmon 鈥 June 06, 2017 6 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

During the past decade, the idea of education as a 21st-century civil rights issue has surged. Many of our nation鈥檚 public schools that serve large numbers of low-income communities frequently face funding challenges that result in inadequate facilities and educational resources. While efforts have been made to address these disparities, one of the cornerstones of a quality education has largely gone overlooked: access to curricula, textbooks, and other instructional and self-directed learning materials that drive rigorous academics.

Less affluent districts often struggle to provide their students with quality, up-to-date materials aligned with today鈥檚 more demanding state standards. Research in the past few decades has shown that teachers in schools with predominantly minority or poor populations are more likely to consider their teaching materials inadequate. One 2015 report from nonprofit organization The Education Trust found that the in state and local funding than the lowest-poverty districts.

And in about half of the 100 largest U.S. cities, most according to The Atlantic鈥檚 2016 analysis of federal data. Without access to quality instructional materials, high standards and high expectations represent an empty promise to students of color and traditionally underserved students.

Open Educational Resources Fill Gap for Underserved 69传媒 In the wake of NAACP鈥檚 endorsement of OER, states have a responsibility to address resource inequality, write Lisa Petrides and Barbara Dezmon

But there are solutions. Open educational resources, or OER, could begin to help bridge this gap in learning materials for students of color. Last fall, the NAACP issued a resolution advocating that state education agencies encourage and The resolution asserts that 鈥渢eachers and schools must have high-quality academic resources, which has not been the situation for many African-American students.鈥

The use of OER in K-12 education has been growing for more than a decade. While the resources have often been used as supplemental learning material, they also include a broad range of high-quality, freely available or openly licensed materials that deepen the learning program鈥攆rom complete curricula and textbooks to lesson plans. They are also produced by thousands of organizations and individuals鈥攆rom NASA and museums to school districts, and individual educators themselves. And they often include curricula and course guidelines that states and districts can use to ensure that teachers have the best tools available to improve their instruction at scale.

Emerging research demonstrates that K-12 and higher education students perform just as well鈥攊f not better鈥攚hen teachers use high-quality OER in the classroom. A 2014 study by researchers at Brigham Young University of more than 3,000 students in grades 9-12 found that using And a 2015 study of more than 16,000 college and university students across the country found that instead of traditional materials.

National coalitions should advocate to ensure that OER gains support at the federal level.

Significantly, many of the K-12 resources have been aligned to a variety of state curriculum standards and evaluation rubrics; several states have also created OER hubs that are available to all teachers to adapt, revise, and share as they wish. This gives states and districts more local control of content and curriculum.

The NAACP鈥檚 recent ratification of the resolution to advocate and promote the use of OER suggests a way forward that brings together the resources of state education agencies and the grassroots influence of civil rights advocates. Now, the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (a leading OER nonprofit of which Lisa Petrides is the founder and CEO) and the NAACP (for which Barbara Dezmon serves as a state education chair) are working to identify key policy changes that need to be made. Together, we are coordinating state efforts to expand the availability and use of these resources to address the persistent achievement gaps facing our schools. Our goal is to advance an education agenda that encourages states and districts to:

  • Bring together a broad coalition. This alliance should explore how open educational resources are being used in states and work with civil rights groups, teachers and union leaders, heads of parent organizations, and community leaders to create a shared agenda that ensures that those resources are responsive to community needs. State coalitions should help ensure that state education leaders, policymakers, and legislators understand the value of making OER more broadly accessible. National coalitions should advocate to ensure that OER gains support at the federal level. They can do this by reinforcing the emphasis on technology in learning found in the Every Student Succeeds Act and changing long-standing procurement policies that presume resources are available only from commercial publishers.
  • Learn from existing users of OER鈥攂oth in and out of schools. Classroom teachers, librarians, college faculty, cultural agencies, education technology companies, and other stakeholders can help advance the use of open resources in ways that meet the needs of all students. Vermont, Wisconsin, and Washington are among the states that have assembled teams of educators to evaluate materials to ensure that resources align with state standards. These teams also help evaluate and curate materials that have been shown to be particularly effective in increasing success in teaching state standards in subjects, including STEM.
  • Invest in training for teachers, librarians, and other school professionals. Make recommendations for increasing awareness, investment, and training in the use of OER. In schools across the country, we have seen teams of librarians and teachers work together to curate and learn to use OER content. While ESSA provides new flexibility for technology-focused professional development, providing resources and materials to encourage school-level use of open resources is one of the strongest levers to encourage their adoption at scale.
  • Provide technical support to districts. The biggest issue for some districts is that technology is not available鈥攖here鈥檚 little support to help educators access and use OER, which can often be found online. State education agencies should provide both technical support and training to empower districts and schools to help educators work with the technology to access these materials.
  • Shift resource allocations. While OER should not be treated as merely a replacement for more-expensive textbooks, states and districts can take advantage of cost savings on classroom materials to support professional development, technical support, and OER training.

Thanks to a renewed focus on education as a civil rights issue, high expectations for all students are gradually replacing the soft bigotry of low expectations. But until we level the playing field with a realistic plan to provide learning resources at scale, a quality education will remain another unfulfilled promise for the students who need it the most.

A version of this article appeared in the June 07, 2017 edition of Education Week as Open Educational Resources Bridge the Learning Gap

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Teaching 69传媒 to Use Artificial Intelligence Ethically
Ready to embrace AI in your classroom? Join our master class to learn how to use AI as a tool for learning, not a replacement.
Content provided by 

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Curriculum Inside the Effort to Shed Light on Districts' Curriculum Choices
Few states make the information easily searchable.
4 min read
Image of a U.S. map with conceptual data points.
iStock/Getty
Curriculum Texas 69传媒 May Soon Be 69传媒 Bible Stories in English Classes
The state has advanced a controversial curriculum that includes Christian teachings in K-5 lessons.
5 min read
A Texas flag is displayed in an elementary school in Murphy, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020.
A Texas flag is displayed in an elementary school in Murphy, Texas, in 2020.
LM Otero/AP
Curriculum Holy Excrement! How Poop and Other Kid Fascinations Can Ignite a Passion for STEM
Here's how teachers can incorporate students' existing interests into the curriculum.
6 min read
STEM
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week via Canva
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Whitepaper
Navigating Three Top Challenges of Implementing a STEAM Program
Get helpful tips on funding, implementing, and addressing the inherent complexities of a new STEAM program for your school.
Content provided by ODP Business Solutions