Chapter 3 – Adapting

In this chapter, the goal is to demonstrate your ability to critically evaluate and adapt an existing Open Educational Resource (OER) to meet the diverse needs of students better. By focusing on assessment, accessibility, and inclusivity, you will develop a plan to modify an OER in a way that ensures it is both accessible to all learners and reflective of a variety of cultural perspectives.

You are not expected to fully implement these changes in the OER itself but rather to provide a detailed plan for how you would approach the adaptation process. Additionally, you will reflect on how these changes would enhance the learning experience for a diverse group of students.

Key Concepts:

  • Assessment: Adapt the OER to include varied assessment methods that align with your learning objectives and accommodate different learning preferences and abilities.
  • Accessibility: Ensure your adapted OER is accessible to all learners, including those with disabilities, by integrating accessible design features (e.g., alt text, captions, screen-reader compatibility).
  • Inclusivity: Make adjustments to ensure the content is culturally sensitive and represents diverse perspectives, providing an inclusive learning environment for students of all backgrounds.

Instructions for Completing Chapter 3:

1.  Select an Existing OER:

    • If you need help locating OER materials, refer to the resources from the OER Advocate Pressbook. There, you’ll find guidelines and strategies for identifying high-quality OER materials across various platforms. This may serve as inspiration as you select an OER that fits your teaching goals.
    • Some recommended platforms include:
    • Choose an OER that is relevant to your teaching practice. This could be a textbook chapter, a video lecture, an interactive learning tool, or any educational resource that you use or plan to use in your course.
    • Provide a link to the original source material in the form below. This will allow us to review the resource as part of your adaptation plan. If the OER comes from a platform that offers multiple formats (e.g., PDF, HTML, etc.), please clarify which format you’re working with in your adaptation plan.

2. Create an Adaptation Plan:

Your adaptation plan should be a clear and concise outline of how you would modify the selected OER in the areas of assessment, accessibility, and inclusivity. Below are the specific parameters and expectations for your submission.

Instructions for Each Section of the Plan:

    • Assessment:
      • Review the current assessments in the OER and consider how they align with your course’s learning objectives.
      • In your plan, describe how you would modify or add to the assessment methods to support a variety of learning styles and abilities.
        • For example, would you add quizzes, projects, group work, or reflective assignments? How would these new or modified assessments better align with the learning objectives and cater to different student needs?
      • Accessibility in assessments: Describe how you would ensure that the assessment methods are accessible to students with various abilities, offering multiple ways for students to demonstrate mastery. Consider adding alternative forms of assessment, such as oral presentations or visual projects.
    • Accessibility:
      • Evaluate the OER’s current accessibility features. In your plan, outline the changes you would make to ensure the material is accessible to all learners, including those with disabilities.
        • Examples of changes might include:
          • Adding alt text to images to ensure compatibility with screen readers.
          • Providing closed captions or transcripts for video and audio content.
          • Adjusting layout or design elements for better readability (e.g., larger fonts, appropriate contrast, and clear navigation).
      • Include practical solutions that could help students with specific disabilities, such as vision or hearing impairments, or those who use assistive technologies.
    • Inclusivity:
      • Analyze the current content to identify where inclusivity can be improved. Your goal is to ensure that the OER is culturally sensitive and represents diverse perspectives.
      • In your plan, specify how you would modify the OER to make it more inclusive. Consider:
        • Revising any language that may unintentionally exclude or marginalize certain groups.
        • Adding examples, case studies, or viewpoints from a variety of cultural, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds.
        • Ensuring that all students can see themselves reflected in the material, and that the content promotes equity and inclusion.

Parameters for the Adaptation Plan:

  • Length: The plan should be 2-3 pages or approximately 750-1,000 words.
  • Format: You may submit your plan in either:
    • Word document (.docx)
    • PDF (.pdf)
  • Formatting Requirements:
      • Use APA style for formatting.
      • Double-spaced text.
      • 12-point Times New Roman font.
      • 1-inch margins on all sides.
      • In-text citations and a reference page should be included if any external sources are referenced in your plan.
  • Please ensure that the document is well-organized, with clear sections addressing assessment, accessibility, and inclusivity.

3. Write a Reflection on the Adaptation Process:

    • After developing your adaptation plan, write a reflection discussing why you chose these specific changes and how you believe they would enhance the OER.
    • Your reflection should answer the following questions:
      • How will the assessment modifications improve learning for a broader range of students?
      • What impact will the accessibility changes have on learners with different needs?
      • How will the inclusivity updates create a more welcoming and supportive learning environment for all students?
    • Reflect on the process of thinking through these adaptations and consider any challenges or insights you gained along the way.
Parameters for the Reflection:
  • Length: The reflection should be 1-2 pages or approximately 500-800 words.
  • Format: You may choose one of the following formats for submission:
    • Word document (.docx)
    • PDF (.pdf)
    • Open text box in the submission form (if you prefer typing your reflection directly into the form interface). If you choose this option, please copy and paste your work into a separate document first to avoid losing your progress in case the form times out.

4. Submission: Your submission on the form below should include:

  1. A link to the original OER material.
  2. A 2-3 page adaptation plan in Word or PDF format that addresses the changes you would make in assessment, accessibility, and inclusivity.
  3. A reflection document (submitted separately) discussing the rationale for your adaptations and how they would enhance student learning.

Evaluation Criteria:

The following rubric will be used to assess both your Adaptation Plan and the accompanying Reflection. Your submission will be evaluated on four key areas: Effectiveness of Accessibility Improvements, Inclusivity, Assessment Adaptation, and the Quality of Reflection. Each criterion is measured across three performance levels: Developing, Competent, and Accomplished.

For the Adaptation Plan, ensure your proposed changes address how you will enhance the OER to better accommodate diverse learning needs, focusing on accessibility, inclusivity, and effective assessment methods. For the Reflection, you should provide a clear rationale for the changes you’ve proposed and demonstrate a deep understanding of how these adaptations will improve the learning experience for all students.

A table titled "Evaluation Criteria Rubric" with four rows and four columns. The table evaluates submissions across four criteria: Effectiveness of Accessibility Improvements, Inclusivity, Assessment Adaptation, and Quality of Reflection, with three levels of performance: Developing, Competent, and Accomplished. Row 1 (Effectiveness of Accessibility Improvements): Developing: Basic accessibility features are mentioned, but the plan lacks depth in addressing diverse needs. Competent: The plan clearly outlines accessibility improvements that accommodate various disabilities, ensuring accessible material. Accomplished: The plan demonstrates innovative and comprehensive approaches to accessibility, ensuring all students, including those with complex needs, can fully engage. Row 2 (Inclusivity): Developing: The plan includes minor efforts to make the material more inclusive but lacks comprehensive representation of diverse perspectives. Competent: The plan demonstrates a strong effort to incorporate diverse perspectives, ensuring the material is culturally sensitive. Accomplished: The plan shows an exemplary commitment to inclusivity. It offers various perspectives and addresses potential biases, making the content reflective of diverse backgrounds. Row 3 (Assessment Adaptation): Developing: The plan includes an attempt at varied assessment methods, but they may not be well aligned with the learning objectives or needs. Competent: The plan offers varied assessment methods that are mostly aligned with learning objectives and account for different learning styles. Accomplished: The plan creatively adapts assessments that are well-aligned with learning objectives, providing flexible options for students to demonstrate learning in diverse ways. Row 4 (Quality of Reflection): Developing: The reflection is basic, with limited analysis of how the adaptations would impact learning. Competent: The reflection provides a clear rationale for the adaptations, showing a good understanding of how changes enhance learning. Accomplished: The reflection is insightful and deeply analyzes the impact of the adaptations, demonstrating a thorough understanding of accessibility, inclusivity, and assessment. This alt text describes each row and the content of the columns for Developing, Competent, and Accomplished performance levels.

 

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OER Learning Architect Copyright © by Christine Crefton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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