What is Open Pedagogy?

First, let’s break down each part of this term separately.

Open: in the last chapter, you learned about the open education movement and OER. In the case of open pedagogy, open is based on the same principles of sharing information publicly and globally and that the rights to access this information come without financial, technical, or legal barriers.^[1]

Pedagogy: means the practice and theory of teaching and learning.^[2] There are different types of pedagogies, like constructivist or collaborative. Open pedagogy is another type of pedagogy, but one that is inclusive, engaging, and rooted in social justice principles.^[3]

If you were to Google “What is Open Pedagogy?” you would get a myriad of definitions and explanations. Here are some of them:

Open Pedagogy “is a site of praxis, a place where theories about learning, teaching, technology, and social justice enter into a conversation with each other and inform the development of educational practices and structures.” – Robin DeRosa and Rajiv Jhangiani^[4]

“Open pedagogy, also known as open educational practices (OEP), is the use of open educational resources (OER) to support learning. When you use open pedagogy in your classroom, you are inviting your students to be part of the teaching process, participating in the co-creation of knowledge.” – BCcampus^[5]

“Open pedagogy is the practice of engaging with students as creators of information rather than simply consumers of it. It’s a form of experiential learning in which students demonstrate understanding through the act of creation.” – Iowa State University^[6]

Did you notice anything these definitions have in common?