One of the best parts of my responsibilities is connecting with individuals deeply committed to supporting teachers and students. Sometimes, it’s grantees who have been engaged in Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives for years, and I love learning from their insights on how their work has evolved. As part of a refresh of our OER strategy this year, I’ve also aimed to intentionally listen to those new to open education or those curious but cautious about OER’s potential to address pressing educational challenges. This approach helps me identify ways to better support groups advancing open education.
Throughout my conversations this year, one consistent message is that effective teaching and learning goals should drive OER adoption.
While improving student access to resources has always motivated our work, we haven’t consistently equipped educators or students to utilize OER in ways that maximize learning. Ultimately, we aim to work with communities and educators to ensure that every learner—regardless of location, background, or income—has the tools, resources, and support needed to thrive in 21st-century society and the economy. OER is one way to ensure access to learning materials isn’t a barrier, and open educational practices can embody the social and academic supports that foster adaptive, inclusive instruction. Only then can students see themselves as capable and resourceful problem-solvers.
In discussions with colleagues, it’s also clear we are still working towards this vision. Though we have supported OER content and platforms, access alone isn’t enough. Equitable and impactful OER use requires investment in people, not just content. It’s not enough to simply shift culture and practices among educators—we need to develop evidence-based strategies that show how and in what circumstances open educational resources and practices actually lead to improved student outcomes. Additionally, transparency is crucial in how we approach this work, such as by ensuring that any OER-related technology supporting “learning analytics” fosters collaborative, data-informed teaching and safeguards student data.
As we reach early conclusions about challenges in the field, our task is to determine how the Hewlett Foundation is uniquely positioned to address these issues.
In a recent conversation with our education team, my colleagues expressed the most enthusiasm around these questions:
The social and academic backings
- How can we focus our grantmaking to more effectively empower educators to use open educational resources and practices to enhance student learning?
- How can we raise awareness of open education among educators who might not know about it or doubt its effectiveness, so they understand its potential to meet their needs and those of their students?
- How can we support school districts and higher education systems in using OER to systematically improve teaching and learning?
I expect these questions to evolve in the coming months, but they have been helpful in guiding our initial thinking on the goals and outcomes for the new strategy. They underscore the need to keep educators and their needs at the heart of our work. For example, in K-12 education, we may aim to see more districts adopt and implement OER with aligned professional development for teachers. In postsecondary education, both in the U.S. and internationally, progress might include increased institutional support for inclusive and innovative classroom practices with OER, such as through teaching and learning centers.