Meg Grotti
Assistant Head of Instructional Services, Library, Museums and Press
Teaching in Higher Ed is a weekly podcast with experts in the field of teaching and personal productivity.
This January, C. Edward Watson, Ph.D., was interviewed on the topic of open textbooks. Dr. Watson is associate vice president for Quality, Advocacy and LEAP Initiatives with the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and formerly director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Georgia.
In this podcast, he discusses his work to assess the impact of the adoption of OpenStax open textbooks within several large-enrollment courses at University of Georgia by comparing DFW and end of course grade data for these courses before and after the open textbooks were adopted.
Why I love it:
The podcast answers many of the frequently asked questions that I hear from faculty and instructors when talking about open education resources and open textbooks. How are they updated? Are print options available? Is the cost of textbooks truly a concern for students?
But the discussion goes beyond the basics to tackle bigger questions of impact and the implications that textbook costs have on equal access to education.
(Spoiler alert: The study of over 22,000 students showed course grade gains for all students in the open textbook condition, and DFW rates for non-white and pell-eligible students dropped by one-third. )
My Favorite Quote: “Maybe this is more than just about students saving money. Maybe this is a new kind of equity issue.”
