This assignment is designed to help students critically analyze an existing OER to help them with evaluating how trans-inclusive it is. This aligns with the following learning objective(s):
Describe the importance of trans and gender diverse inclusion in OER.
Evaluate existing OER for its trans and gender diverse inclusivity.
Identify steps to take to increase trans and gender diverse inclusion in OER.
Step 1: Select an OER (can be a full textbook or an excerpt from one, an article, a photo collection).
Step 2: Critically analyze the resource by asking the following questions.
- Who is the audience? Is this intended for cisgender readers/consumers?
- Who is included in the content? Is it only cisgender and gender-conforming individuals?
- How are transgender individuals discussed? Are they compared to cisgender individuals using a deficit model (that is, compared to cisgender folks who are presented as “normal”)?
- Who is represented (or not) in the resource? Consider racial/ethnic groups, religion, class, disability, and sexual orientation, among other social categories.
Step 3: Consider what changes could be made to make the resource more trans-inclusive. Choose one change you came up with and create a workflow for how you could implement the change.