Module B1: Structural and Systemic Support

Module B1: Structural and Systemic Support Worksheet

Overview

Now that you’ve scoped your project in Section A, it’s important to identify the support you can expect from within the structures and systems that your teaching happens. This may require doing some research and/or having conversations with administrators and colleagues both at your institution. We recommend looking at your institution’s strategic plan and documenting how your project aligns with goals in the plan. In your research and conversations, you will also want to inquire about the possibilities of receiving funding or even time to allow you to plan and execute the project.

You will also want to look to your scholarly and disciplinary spaces to explore whether there are communities of practice, repositories of open work, or support for the scholarship of teaching and learning. One final place to look is to the regional open education groups and consortia for your particular location. These communities are resources for discovering potential alignment with state or regional OER initiatives, potential funding sources, and disciplinary colleagues who are doing similar work.

Activity

Find your institution’s strategic plan. Beginning with the mission and values, look for statements expressing a focus on student success, innovative teaching, engaged learning, high-impact practices, or student-centered classrooms. Note those statements.
Investigate administrative support. Has your president, chancellor, dean, or department head expressed any institutional or departmental goals that your project aligns with? Likewise review any documentation you can find around promotion and tenure. Can you find evidence that this open pedagogy work will be valued and rewarded at your institution? Document that evidence.
Search your institution’s webpage for OER, open education, equity, or teaching grants that you may be able to apply for to fund this work.
Is there disciplinary support for your project? Have your professional societies put out statements or reports that address textual and pedagogical changes? Do they provide funding or grants? Do they maintain open repositories where you can deposit not only research scholarship, but also scholarship related to teaching and learning?
Do a quick Google search for statewide, national, or regional open education consortia (e.g., OE Global, Open Education Network, Affordable Learning PA) that may provide additional support and even funding for your project. Note any websites, dates, or connections you might want to make. You can also use resources like the OER World Map and the Rebus Community to find potential resources, communities, and collaborators.