2 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in OER
This page includes a collection of resources designed to support creating OER that have content and approaches that include and respect the diversity and complexity of our world. They include:
- Guideline Questions for Creating OER with Intention: This resource is intended to be used during the planning stages of a new OER project to help a project team be intentional about centering equity in their approach to OER development and identifying where they may need support.
- Diverse and Inclusive Representation in OER: This provides examples for different ways diversity and inclusion can show up in an OER, including through examples, images, names, etc.
- OER Equity Rubric: This resource can be used to evaluate an existing OER to identify how equitable the content is and identify areas for improvement.
Guiding Questions for Creating Equitable OER with Intention
By Josie Gray and Clint Lalonde
About the Guiding Questions and How to Use Them
These guiding questions are intended to support OER authors and contributors in thinking through various aspects of equity as it relates to educational resources and making a plan for how they will ensure the OER they create is equitable from the beginning. The questions can be used to:
- Document their vision, intentions, and commitments for the OER from the beginning of the project.
- Identify areas where more learning, research, and/or support may be needed.
- Communicate the work and consideration that went into the creation and design of the resource to future users of the OER.
The guiding questions are grouped into six areas of consideration: openness, pedagogy, accessibility, positionality, Indigenous perspectives, and knowledge equity and social justice. These areas of consideration are not comprehensive, but they are things BCcampus has identified as being important to improve equity, access, and quality of learning for students.
These guiding questions are meant to be used at two points:
- At the beginning of an OER project, everyone involved with the project can use these questions to think through different aspects of the project and make a plan for what they want the resource to be and how they are going to do it. Note that many of these guiding questions are complex and don’t have straight forward answers. It is also unlikely that one person will be able to answer them all. Use the questions as a jumping off point for discussion and reflection and to identify where you need more support/resources.
- At the end of an OER project, the questions can be used again to reflect on the work and considerations that went into the OER and communicate those things explicitly to future users, including instructors who want to adopt or adapt the resource, students, and the general public. For example, this could take the form of a preface or author statement that is included with the resource.
Areas of Consideration
Openness
- Why do you want this resource to be “open”?
- How might you design this resource so it can be easily used and adapted by others?
- How might openness inform how you approach the creation of the resource?
- How might this resource support the use of open pedagogy?
Resources
Pedagogy
- How will this resource support student learning?
- What pedagogical frameworks or models guide the creation of this resource?
- In what learning environments do you expect this resource to be used (i.e., online, blended, face-to-face)?
Resources
- Some examples of pedagogical models or frameworks include experiential learning, reflective practice, didactic instruction, social-constructivist learning, inquiry-based learning, active learning, problem-based learning, place-based learning, learning sciences, authentic learning, and peer instruction.
Accessibility
- How will you ensure people with disabilities will have equal access to learning throughout this resource?
- How will this resource use plain language practices to ensure information is easy to understand?
- How will Universal Design for Learning (UDL) be incorporated in this resource?
- How might this resource allow people to access it in multiple ways? For example, on both computer and mobile devices and print.
Resources
- Accessibility and UDL
- Accessibility Toolkit
- About Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
- A Plain Language Handbook [PDF]
Positionality
Reflect on your own perspectives, societal position, and experiences. This can include your:
- Social identities (i.e., race, ethnicity, gender, citizenship, age, class, disability)
- Relationship to the land you live and work on
- Experiences of privilege and/or marginalization
- Academic and/or professional background
- Political, philosophical and theoretical beliefs and values
With these in mind, consider the following questions:
- How do your identities and lived experiences influence your approach and understanding of the subject of the OER in general and this resource in particular?
- If working with a group, whose perspectives are represented in the group? Whose are missing?
Resources
- Definition: Positionality is “the social and political context that creates your identity in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality, and ability status. Positionality also describes how your identity influences, and potentially biases, your understanding of and outlook on the world.”[1]
- Positionality and Intersectionality
- The price of positionality: assessing the benefits and burdens of self-identification in research methods
Indigenous perspectives
- How will you ensure this resource incorporates the perspectives, ways of knowing, and pedagogies of local Indigenous nations?
- Will this resource involve collaboration and building relationships with local Indigenous communities and people?
- How has colonialism influenced and informed this field of study? How might you address that through this resource?
Resources
- Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers
- Pulling Together: A Guide for Teachers and Instructors
- Community First: Open Practices and Indigenous Knowledge [PDF]
- Webinar: Indigenous Open Educational Resources
Knowledge equity and social justice
- How will you ensure a diversity of perspectives, experiences, and people are present throughout the resource in a way that is inclusive, respectful, and is not othering? This includes things like images, case studies, examples, and names.
- How might this resource decentre the dominant culture and ways of knowing?
- How might your resource address social inequities and issues?
- How will you ensure that you meaningfully engage with the work of authors, researchers, and organizations from a diversity of backgrounds and lived experiences throughout the resource? This includes but is not limited to race, class, gender, ethnicity, geographic location, and disability.
Resources
- Diverse and Inclusive Representation in OER
- Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Reflection Guide
- Researchers and References
- Cite Black Women
Diverse and Inclusive Representation in OER
Here are some guidelines to keep in mind to ensure that the content of your OER is both diverse and inclusive. For more information about what diversity and inclusion mean, you can read BCcampus’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion statement.
A note about diversity: The term “diversity” refers to the variety of experiences and attributes held by people across all walks of life. No one thing or person is “diverse.” There are no “diverse individuals.” Diversity must always be evaluated on a collective level.
Citational Practices
Consider what authors, researchers, and organizations you are citing. Where possible, aim to diversify your references. Seek out specific efforts and programs that drive inclusive citation, such as Cite Black Women. This may be easier in some disciplines than others, but try to identify specific opportunities in your discipline, and partner with your editors and teams to potentially engage with academic organizations focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in your field.
Examples and Exercises
Ensure that diverse contexts are included, all examples are comprehensible by everyone, and stereotypes are avoided.
- Use examples that include a variety of people, organizations, geographies, and situations.
- Use real-world scenarios that address diverse situations and contexts.
- Avoid negative stereotypes or sensitive subjects in problems and applications unless the subject matter demands it.
- Do not make assumptions about prior knowledge, especially around culturally specific examples. For example, not all students may be familiar with Western nursery rhymes or kids’ television from the 1990s.
Illustrations and Photos
Ensure images throughout the resource reflect diversity and consider the intersectionality and context of the depiction (for example, is anything perpetuating a stereotype or does the context/setting indicate anything negative).
- Consider the quantity of images and illustrations, and the individuals and populations represented therein.
- Consider the role, depiction, connotation, and purpose of the people represented and the context that you are using the image in.
Resource: A list of openly licensed image collections that include people of various genders, skin tones, abilities, etc.
Key Figures in a Field
When discussing historical, pioneering, or current researchers or studies in the field, recognize contributions from people of all backgrounds.
- Seek diversity in key figures.
- Avoid isolating marginalized figures to specific sections (for example, multiculturalism).
- Where historical figures are not diverse, include current figures from the underrepresented groups.
Names
Ensure that people’s names used in examples, exercises, and scenarios represent various countries of origin, ethnicities, and genders. Ensure that names with particular ethnic or origin associations are portrayed respectfully and accurately; avoid negative comparisons or stereotypes associated with particular national origins or ethnicities.
- Include diverse names representing various national origins, ethnicities, genders, etc.
- Avoid stereotypes associated with certain names or names that present in a certain way.
Resource: Popular Names from Around the World
Pronouns
Gender is a spectrum and gender diversity is something that should be reflected in OER. This means using gender-neutral language, using examples that reflect gender diversity, and using people’s correct pronouns.
- Use a variety of pronouns, including gender-neutral pronouns, for the people included in examples, exercises, and scenarios.
- When referring to a real person, ensure that you are using their correct pronouns. If unsure, this information can often be found by checking their website or Twitter bio or just by asking.
- When referring to a non-identified individual, use the singular “they” rather than “he/she.” (For example: A student should ask their teacher about the preferred citation style.)
Terminology and Language
Ensure that all references to people, groups, populations, categories, conditions, and disabilities use the appropriate terminology and do not contain any derogatory, colloquial, inappropriate, or otherwise incorrect language.
For historical uses that should remain in place, consider adding context, such as “a widely used term at the time.” Ensure that quotations or paraphrases using outdated terms are attributed, contextualized, and rare.
- Replace any outdated, incorrect, or offensive terminology. If needed for historical references or direct quotations, insert context, attribution, and/or quotations.
- Recognize that appropriate terminology is changing all the time, and do your best to use current terms.
- Avoid idioms or colloquialisms that may lead to confusion or misunderstanding.
Resource: Inclusive & Antiracist Writing Resources [PDF]. This document was created by SFU Library Student Learning Commons. It includes specific inclusive writing strategies and definitions for terms relating to race, gender, sexuality, and disability.
Resource: Trans Journalist Association Style Guide. This style guide was written to support reporters, editors and other media makers in improving trans coverage. Although focusing on news reporting, much of it is relevant to OER.
OER Equity Rubric
The BCcampus OER Equity Rubric is a tool to evaluate the equity of an open educational resource (OER) and identify opportunities to adapt and improve.
This rubric was informed and influenced by OpenStax’s Improving Representation and Diversity in OER Materials framework and BranchED’s Equity Rubric for OER Evaluation. For more information, see the “Attributions” section at the end of the document.
This rubric is organized around five areas of focus:
- Access and usability: People with disabilities have equal access to learning throughout this resource and are able to engage with content in ways that best fits their needs
- Student engagement: Students are welcomed, supported, and given agency throughout this resource.
- Language: The words used throughout this resource are accurate, respectful, inclusive, and reflect the preferred terminology of the person or group being discussed.
- Representation: Human diversity is represented throughout this resource in ways that are respectful and do not reinforce stereotypes. Underrepresented people and groups are present throughout the text and not just in specific sections on diversity.
- Ways of knowing and sources of authority: This resource highlights and draws on the diversity of knowledge and expertise within and beyond this field of study in a way that is accurate, inclusive, and reflective
Download the full rubric here: BCcampus OER Equity Rubric [PDF]
Additional Resources
- 7 Forms of Bias in Instructional Materials
- Enhancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) in Open Educational Resources (OER)
- BranchED Equity Rubric for OER Evaluation
- Screening for Biased Content in Instructional Materials [PDF]
- Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Reflection Guide
- Guidelines on Inclusive Language and Images in Scholarly Communication
- Video: OER as a Tool to Decentre Whiteness: A Queer Psychology Case Study
Attributions
“Diverse and Inclusive Representation in OER” was adapted from Improving Representation and Diversity in OER Materials [PDF] by Rice University (June 2020 update), which is under a CC BY 4.0 licence. It has been adapted by BCcampus for brevity, clarity, and to include considerations around pronouns.
- See the Gender & Sexuality Dictionary’s section on Positionality. ↵