Introduction: Transforming Assessment

The need to rethink assessment in higher education has become increasingly urgent due to the shift to remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent introduction of various generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. Globally, instructors are called to redesign their assessment practices to make them more innovative, authentic, and empowering.

This book explores one approach to reimagining assessments by focusing on using open educational resources (OER) as both assessment tools and as assessments themselves. In this context, OER refer to “learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others” (UNESCO, 2019:5). As resources, OER may not ensure effective learning and as such UNESCO (2019:5) makes the following recommendation:

…the judicious application of OER, in combination with appropriate pedagogical methodologies, well-designed learning objects and the diversity of learning activities, can provide a broader range of innovative pedagogical options to engage both educators and learners to become more active participants in educational processes and creators of content as members of diverse and inclusive knowledge societies.

Employing OER in this way offers an innovative method to equip learners with new skills. When applied thoughtfully and pedagogically, openness in higher education emphasizes transparent, student-centred learning outcomes, fosters collaborative learning, and empowers students as active contributors. Additionally, OER can facilitate the development of assessment practices tailored to specific educational needs. This use of OER is also related to the concept of open educational practices (OEP). OEP can be defined as “collaborative practices that include the creation, use, and reuse of OER, as well as pedagogical practices employing participatory technologies” (Cronin 2017:4).

In an age marked by misinformation, disinformation, and information overload, our students are increasingly adept at creating and curating content. Moreover, GenAI models often hallucinate convincing but false content and encode hidden biases, so assessments should include reflexive audits where learners craft precise prompts, evaluate GenAI outputs for accuracy and fairness, and develop the skills and literacies necessary to ethically and productively engage with GenAI (Buyserie & Thurston, 2024). This reality calls for a reimagining of assessment—one that prepares students with skills and competencies beyond rote memorization.

The way we design assessments directly influences student learning and engagement. Well-designed assessments can significantly enhance both. Moreover, a key driver of academic dishonesty is student disengagement, often accompanied by unauthorized collaboration. By incorporating Open Educational Resources (OER) into assessment design, we as educators have an opportunity to foster engagement and transform unauthorized collaboration into meaningful, constructive teamwork.

There are many examples of instructors integrating OER into their assessments (Elkhoury & Quail, 2021). These assessments might involve creating websites, developing case studies, contributing to Wikipedia, designing digital artifacts, authoring open textbooks (Dunleavy et al., 2020), or building open textbook ancillaries (Jhangiani, 2017). They might also include tasks such as expanding an existing open textbook or evaluating the quality of an OER.

This book aims to gather and share more examples of how instructors are innovating in assessment design. Below, we present the great cases that the authors presented to us.

In Chapter 1, Placing Students at the Heart Centre: Using a Compassionate Lens in the Selection and Use of Open Assessment, Lydia Watson explores incorporating compassion into open assessment activities. The chapter considers the importance of placing students at the centre of educational practices, emphasizing a compassionate approach to assessments. It critiques the traditional assessment methods and highlights the challenges both students and faculty face, particularly in the post-pandemic era, marked by low engagement, mental health issues, and the rise of generative AI. The key problem identified is the increasing stress and anxiety caused by conventional assessments and the ethical dilemmas associated with the use of paid assessment resources. The chapter advocates for more compassionate and inclusive approaches, such as open assessments that acknowledge students’ diverse needs and reduce financial burdens. It calls for a shift toward relational and trauma-informed pedagogies, urging educators to use self-compassion as a foundation for supporting students and colleagues. Furthermore, the chapter recommends adopting flexible, open assessments that foster collaboration, co-creation, and trust, ensuring that assessment practices are fair, inclusive, and supportive of student well-being. Additionally, the chapter stresses the need for institutions to create compassionate cultures that support faculty through these transitions, providing time, resources, and spaces for reflection and growth.

In the second chapter, Leveraging Open Pedagogy to Create an Authentic and Renewable Curriculum, the authors Erin A. McKenney, Sam Winemiller, Hillary Fox, David Tully and Will Cross explore the integration of OER with open-enabled practices in an Applied Ecology course. This chapter examines the implementation of open pedagogy to create a more authentic and renewable curriculum, focusing on redesigning an Applied Ecology course at North Carolina State University. The critical problem addressed is the financial barriers posed by costly textbooks, which limit student access to essential learning materials and impact academic performance. To address this issue, the course was redesigned using OER and open pedagogy, allowing students to contribute to the development of an open-access digital textbook. The chapter highlights how this approach empowers students by enabling them to create, share, and revise content, making their work meaningful beyond the classroom. The main recommendation is to incorporate OER as both a learning tool and an assessment method, thus fostering deeper engagement, collaboration, and the development of transferable skills. By positioning students as contributors, the chapter argues that open pedagogy enhances learning outcomes and makes education more equitable and sustainable.

The focus of the third chapter, entitled CheckIt OER Assessment Generator, written by Steven Clontz, Sharona Krinsky, and Drew Lewis, is the open-source software CheckIt that can be used in an assessment context. This chapter introduces CheckIt, an open-source assessment generator designed to support alternative grading practices, with a focus on its application in mathematics and related computational disciplines. This chapter addresses the challenge instructors face in providing students with multiple opportunities to reassess their work without being overwhelmed by the need to create new, aligned assessments. Existing tools are either proprietary or overly focused on automated answer checking, which can detract from the learning objectives. CheckIt offers a solution by allowing instructors to algorithmically generate randomized assessments aligned with specific learning outcomes in various formats, including PDFs and integration with learning management systems. The chapter discusses the flexibility of CheckIt for different academic contexts and highlights its role in promoting more equitable and transparent assessment practices. In conclusion, it is recommended that instructors adopt CheckIt to enhance their alternative grading workflows, enabling more frequent and aligned reassessments, while also leveraging the open-source nature of the tool to foster collaboration and innovation in the development of assessment resources.

In OER as Assessment: Open Pedagogy in a Theatre History Course, Chapter 4, Teresa Focarile considers how to combine assessment and OEP. This chapter explores the integration of OER and open pedagogy into a theatre history course to improve teaching and learning experiences. Such an approach is especially relevant regarding the financial barriers that traditional textbooks create for students and the limitations of conventional assessment methods. In response, the author replaced costly course materials with OER and designed a new assessment, the ‘Play Introduction’ assignment, which encourages students to create introductions to plays studied in the course. This assignment enables students to demonstrate their understanding of historical and theatrical contexts and contribute to the course’s open resources, making their work valuable for future cohorts. The chapter highlights the shift from traditional tests to more authentic, student-centred assessments that engage students in meaningful learning tasks. The chapter recommends using OER and open pedagogy to create relevant and empowering assessments, allowing students to take ownership of their learning while contributing to the educational resources available to others.

Chapter 5, Students As Creator + Curator Transformative OER Pedagogy through Student Research in Excel, by Morgan E. Barker explores how basic student research can serve as a transformative approach to OER pedagogy. Specifically, this chapter examines how student-led research can act as a transformative OER pedagogy in Excel courses at California Community Colleges. The key problem addressed is making Excel, a vital academic and professional skill, more engaging for students who often find the software difficult or disconnected from the course content. The chapter presents a solution through an open pedagogy design model, which encourages students to act as creators and curators of “micro-lessons” based on their own research. This approach shifts students from passive learners to active participants, allowing them to engage meaningfully with course material and contribute to the learning ecosystem. The chapter emphasizes the importance of creating a sustainable and humanized learning environment where flexibility, diversity, and student well-being are prioritized. The chapter proposes designing assessments that are relevant to students’ academic and professional needs and empowering them to take ownership of their learning. By fostering an environment that supports student agency and sustainability, the chapter argues that such approaches can significantly enhance both student engagement and success.

In Chapter 6, Michael T. Dabrowski and Angela George present transformative OER integration in language courses in the chapter entitled OER as Assessment; Assessment as OER: Collaborative OER Creation and Assessment in language and culture courses. Here, OER is used as both an assessment tool and a learning tool in language and culture courses at two Canadian universities. The key issue addressed is students’ traditional, often passive, role in language learning, where textbooks dictate the cultural content to be memorized for exams. The authors propose a shift towards collaborative OER creation, enabling students to take an active role in their learning by curating and contributing to a knowledge repository. The chapter highlights the use of renewable assignments, peer-editing, and collaborative maps, which enhance student engagement and turn student-created content into resources for future learners. The integration of OER as an assessment tool fosters a more dynamic, student-centered learning environment. The chapter recommends employing OER-enabled pedagogy to make assessments more meaningful and sustainable, allowing students to contribute to and benefit from the collective knowledge, thereby reshaping the traditional model of academic assessments into a more collaborative and enriching educational experience.

In the final chapter, Integrating Research into Coursework: Fostering Inclusive Pathways to Student Success, Nalanda Roy and Lauren Mcmillan present research done on student access to no-cost OER. This chapter covers the integration of OER into coursework to create more inclusive and equitable pathways to student success. The key problem addressed is the financial burden of expensive course materials, which disproportionately affects students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. The authors present a solution by incorporating OER and no-cost resources into the curriculum, specifically within the Human Rights in Asia course. This approach eliminates the financial strain of purchasing textbooks and ensures that students have access to up-to-date, relevant, and diverse materials. The chapter highlights how the use of OER enhances student engagement, supports diverse learners, and fosters global citizenship. The main recommendations are to adopt OER in courses to provide more equitable learning opportunities and to continuously update course content to reflect current events and cultural relevance. By leveraging OER, the authors argue, institutions can promote student success, retention, and graduation rates while reducing the financial barriers to education. The chapter underscores the importance of aligning curriculum with inclusive values, ensuring that all students have access to high-quality learning resources regardless of their financial background.

These chapters show the transformative potential of OER in fostering more equitable, student-centered, and sustainable assessment practices. Across various disciplines, OER is positioned as a solution to the financial burdens posed by traditional textbooks while also enabling more inclusive and collaborative learning environments. The chapters advocate for adopting OER and open pedagogy to create assessments and curricula that empower students as active participants, enhance engagement, and provide more accessible, relevant learning opportunities that align with students’ diverse needs and backgrounds.

References

Buyserie, B., & Thurston, T. N. (Eds.). (2024). Teaching and generative AI: Pedagogical possibilities and productive tensions. Utah State University. https://doi.org/10.26079/e204-acc5

Cronin, C. (2017). Openness and praxis: Exploring the use of open educational practices in higher education. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(5), 15-34.

Dunleavy, M., Ahmed, Z., Azar, M., Camarda, S., Duggan, L., Dupont, D., Emmanouil, S., Ferrara, A., Grigg, T., Hallam, V., Hoblos, A., Kayser, M., Khan, K., Kosovic, M., Lintag, R., Lotay, M., McGee, J., McMullan, J., Tavara, N., Termini, A., Van Heuverswyn, S., & White, C. (2020). Victorian ghosts, 1852–1907 [Digital anthology]. York University. https://scalar.library.yorku.ca/victorian-ghosts/index

Elkhoury, E., & Quail, S. (2021). Alternative assessment series: OER and using open pedagogy in courses [Handout]. York University Teaching Commons. https://www.yorku.ca/teachingcommons/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2021/06/Alternative-Assessment-Series_OER-and-Using-Open-Pedagogy-in-Courses-Handout.pdf

Jhangiani, R. (2017, January 12). Why have students answer questions when they can write them? [Blog post]. ThatPsychProf. https://thatpsychprof.com/why-have-students-answer-questions-when-they-can-write-them/

UNESCO. (2019). Recommendation on Open Educational Resources. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373755