Introduction to DEIA in OER for Social Justice
1.4 Creating Equitable OER
Karna Younger and Theresa Huff
Doing the Work: Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
If you’ve felt uncomfortable at any point during this DEIA module: Congratulations! You’re out of your comfort zone, and as an OER author, that’s exactly where you need to be to engage with topics about inequality. From acting out on our implicit biases to avoiding uncomfortable conversations, we’ve all played a role in upholding inequality.
It’s important to get uncomfortable: that’s where the real work begins. When we do the work to unpack our biases, speak up, and point out the inequalities around us, we open up space for change. Like writer and activist Luvvi Ajayi Jones says: Be the domino!
View and interact with this video about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.
What's This Tool? - H5P Interactive Video
Figure 1.4. Luvvi Ajayi Jones’ TED Talk is titled, “Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable.” (Transcript available)
Unpacking histories of oppression when writing for DEIA can be uncomfortable work. But using Sarah Lambert’s principles of recognitive and representational justice will help you center historically underrepresented communities and diverse lived experiences. In this module, we’ll talk a lot about understanding the “big picture” to frame your OER’s learning objectives, which we will do next.
Positionality: Seeing Yourself in the ‘Big Picture’
It’s no secret that we live in a society where certain identities receive more privilege and access to services than others. Identity is a complex concept with many dimensions that are visible and invisible as well as fixed and transitory, as seen in the above identity wheel adapted by Loyola Marymount University’s Anti-Racism Workshop Series. Centuries of discrimination have contributed to the structural inequalities we see today.
Whether intentional or unintentional, once we recognize these actions, it’s critical that we do the inner work to actively shift our behaviors and mindsets. As previously discussed, you have to be willing to internally challenge your own biases before you can step into the work of writing with an equity lens. This starts with understanding your positionality as an author, and taking time to think deeply about how your own biases may impact your writing. Take a moment to read and reflect on the activity box below to get a sense of your positionality as an author:
Take 5 quiet minutes to read and reflect on these questions:
What's This Tool? - H5P Documentation Tool
Adapted from University of Michigan, LSA’s Spectrum Activity, Questions of Identity [Website]
What personal and professional examples or experiences come up for you? As you ponder these different experiences, take a moment to consider your role as an author and how your identities, privileges, or lived experiences with oppression may impact your textbook contributions.
Equitable OER Strategies
Now that you have a sense of yourself in relation to your OER, let’s pan out to intentionally reflect on and implement strategies for creating an equitable OER. As an author, you’re taking on the responsibility of creating content that will shape classroom conversation and highlight the experiences of communities that are often dismissed in higher education. Writing an OER through an equity lens in consideration for diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism is labor-intensive work. It is a process and requires a commitment to ongoing review and revision. Here are some strategies for you to revisit throughout your creation process.
What's This Tool? - H5P Accordion Tool
Thinking about the the impact of your OER’s word choice begins with your OER learning objectives and continues as a mindful practice throughout content creation, from the objectives to content.
Resources
BCCampus OER Production Team. (n.d.) “Diverse and Inclusive Representation in OER,” in University of Virginia OER Learning Community Guide by Bethany Mickel and Emily Scida.
Jones, L.A. (2018). Get comfortable with being uncomfortable [Video]. TED.
OHSU Center for Diversity and Inclusion. (2021). Inclusive language guide.
Open Oregon Educational Resources. (2023). Mission, Vision, & Equity Statements.
The University of British Columbia, CTLT Indigenous Initiatives. (n.d.). Positionality & intersectionality.
University of Michigan LSA. (n.d.). The spectrum activity, questions of identity. Inclusive Teaching.
Screenshot from World Geography © McGraw-Hill is included under fair use.
Additional Reading (and Listening):
Kendi, I.X. (2019). How to be an anti-racist. One World.
NEASC Virtual Global Forum. (2021). Redesigning curriculum through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens.
National Museum of African American History. (n.d.). Talking about race: Being antiracist.
Licenses and Attributions
“Creating Equitable OER” by Theresa Huff and Karna Younger is adapted from “Writing Textbooks with an Equity Lens” by Heather Blicher and Valencia Scott for Open Oregon Educational Resources and “Diverse and Inclusive Representation in OER” by BCCAmpus OER Production Team for University of Virginia OER Learning Community Guide, used under licensed CC BY 4.0. “Creating Equitable OER” is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Negative associations expressed automatically that people unknowingly hold; also known as unconscious or hidden bias. Many studies have indicated that implicit biases affect individuals’
attitudes and actions, thus creating real-world implications, even though individuals may not even be aware that those biases exist within themselves. Notably, implicit biases have been shown to be favored above individuals’ stated commitments to equality and fairness, thereby producing behavior that diverges from the explicit attitudes that people may profess. (University of Washington, 2019)
This is a H5P Interactive Video. This H5P type allows creators to add engaging interactivity and formative assessments to existing videos.
H5P is a free, open-source interactivity building tool built into Pressbooks. The H5P Interactive Video is one of over 50 different types of H5P interactives.
The unequal treatment of members of various groups based on race, gender, social class, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion, national origin, age, physical/mental abilities and other categories that may result in differences in provision of goods, services or opportunities. (University of Washington, 2019)
Positionality refers to the how differences in social position and power shape identities and access in society. (CTLT)
This is an H5P Documentation Tool. This H5P type allows creators to create guides for structured writing processes (outlining, setting goals, reflection, etc.) which can then be downloaded or copy/pasted by the individual reader.
H5P is a free, open-source interactivity building tool built into Pressbooks. The H5P Documentation Tool is one of over 50 different types of H5P interactives.
This is an H5P Accordion Tool. This H5P type allows creators to reduce the amount of text presented to readers and allow readers the choice of reading more by selecting the titles using an accessible, responsive accordion.
H5P is a free, open-source interactivity building tool built into Pressbooks. The H5P Accordion is one of over 50 different types of H5P interactives.
