Honors Program
Document Type
Thesis
Date of this Version
5-2024
Citation
Ray, Hannah. Evaluating OER Resources As An Inclusive Teaching Practice. Undergraduate Honors Thesis. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 2024.
Abstract
Open Educational Resources (OER) have become a popular alternative to traditional textbooks for university students throughout the U.S. due to their affordability and positive educational outcomes. To better determine the outcomes of OER usage, this study evaluates the implementation of OER at an individual course level and across courses at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Student success was measured by the DFW rates, which refers to the number of students who received a grade letter of D, failed, or withdrew from the course, before and after the implementation of OER resources in various courses. At the individual course level, students’ responses, and experiences with OER were also collected. The study found that the implementation of OER and other reduced cost materials did not significantly impact the DFW rates at both the individual-course and university-wide level. There were, however, concerns with the reliability and structure of OER materials. Overall, this shows that although student performance is not significantly improved with the use of OER, student performance is not worse, and students are still saving money.
Comments
Copyright Hannah Ray 2024