Identity is complex, relational, and dialogic; it is taken up through action related to specific contexts with particular relationships and materials available. With this definition, permeable learning practices allow students to bring their identities, connect to others, and shift their learning. As teacher educators curate learning experiences for preservice teachers, they have the potential to model spaces that are open to multiple identities through the advancement of open pedagogy practices, ultimately influencing the implementation of these practices in K-12 schools.
Open pedagogy is based on the premise that students share their assignments publicly with others through the development of materials, collaborative learning, sharing ideas, creative expression, and participatory activities. These practices provide a permeable space for students to bring identities, leading to more inclusive and equitable practices for all learners. Despite the potential of open pedagogy, its use in the K-12 setting is limited. This limitation is often linked to misconceptions around sharing work publicly versus privately. A lack of background knowledge and limited personal experiences of educators intentionally sharing their own sources has an impact on these misconceptions. In order to advance open pedagogy in K-12 schools, teacher educators must create open pedagogy practices for future educators that explicitly address these misconceptions through experiential learning.
We argue teacher educators’ instructional design decisions around open pedagogy have the potential to impact preservice teachers’ understanding of open pedagogy and connected misconceptions through practices where future teachers are able to bring their own complex identities. Specifically, we consider how the individual and collective aspects of assignments impact preservice teachers’ learning experiences. In this presentation, we share our qualitative study of approximately 30 students enrolled in two different teacher preparation courses. Students in one course participated in an open pedagogy assignment with a small group of their peers and students in the other course completed an open pedagogy assignment individually. Findings clarify how creating a collectivist or individual context impacts preservice teachers’ sense of identity within open pedagogy experiences, impacting their own sense of open pedagogy as an equity-focused practice. Based on our findings, we share instructional moves that both teacher educators and practicing K-12 educators can make to design more equitable and inclusive open pedagogy assignments. Ultimately, we believe more emphasis on designing more permeable spaces around open pedagogy experiences for preservice educators will impact how open pedagogy is brought to the K-12 classroom.
After participating in this session, attendees will be able to:
- Understand open pedagogy
- Understand barriers and opportunities related to advancing open pedagogy in the K-12 setting
- Apply our findings to create make for more inclusive and equitable learning experiences for all students
