Yes, and Student Motivation

Listen, when you are on a long hiking and camping trip with a crowd, things can occasionally get a bit dull. The exciting part of open pedagogy is that it allows students to learn from and build upon each other’s work. We like to think of it as a type of improvisational comedy or improv^[1]. Admittedly, we know almost nothing about improv, but we appreciate improv’s cardinal rule: “yes, and …” (and its lesser-known counterpart “no, but …”).^[2] With “yes, and …,” improvisors must accept what their fellow players toss at them but can build upon it to create something new. So, if I tell you the black and white dog pictured here is a panda, then we would collaborate on telling a funny story about a panda with floppy ears. “Yes, and …” helps create a brave space where students can collaboratively learn and create together.^[3]

In open pedagogy, the “yes, and …” is a bit more complicated. But the parameters of open pedagogy are intended to foster a similar improvisational community where students and instructors can feel comfortable turning imperfect ideas into authentic learning experiences that add value to the world.

All the Feels about Open Pedagogy

A number of students indicate that open pedagogy empowers students to “yes, and” or “no, but” their course materials. If their OER is lacking, including in terms of social justice and DEIA, students often work through their feelings to contribute to the common good. Students have reported finding a greater sense of agency and pride in developing their critical thinking skills through open pedagogy projects, Virginia Clinton-Lisell (2021) found in her systematic review of open pedagogy research.^[4] Fortified by such intrinsic motivators, “students perceived more opportunities to express their identities and share their voice with renewable assignments,” according to Clinton-Lisell and Lindsey Gwozdz’s 2023 survey of students.^[5] When students believed their course materials were not inclusive and diverse, or lacking in recognitive justice, then they felt empowered to publicly share their work to improve the course materials. Students published their work to increase representational justice as defined by Lambert’s (2018) social justice-centered definition of OER, the authors found. 

But open pedagogy is an art and reflexive practice that can take time and effort to meet student needs. For instance, open pedagogy may induce some anxiety in students (Maultsaid and Harrison, 2023; Clinton-Lisell and Gwozdz, 2023). Stress over “public sharing, shyness, and disagreements with group members” may prevent some from sharing their work publicly.^[6] Even though many students who share their work report higher levels of competence in their work,^[7] the road to achieving this confidence may be easier for some than others. Students who “freak out” and are “stressed” over publishing accurate and quality work also need greater transparency about the rationale and benefits of open pedagogy as well as encouragement through the creation process.^[8]

OERFSJ Faculty Team Highlight

Film and television production textbooks tend to be a bit dry, with a focus on the mechanical operations of lights, camera, action. Despite its technical bend, Jessica and Mischa Livingstone’s No-Nonsense Filmmaking is an oasis of creativity for their students at Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television. The pair invited students into their OER creation process to model the creative process they want their students to engage in with their own production projects.“We let students scrutinize our work and provide invaluable feedback to keep us on the right track,” the Livingstones shared about their drafting process. “We really needed to know if the voice and tone of the book was working, and we couldn’t have done this without opening up our process to the very students we want to reach.” When students made a suggestion, the Livingstones would make note of it or immediately make the correction in the Pressbook. Their doing so communicated their respect for students’ perspectives and encouraged their participation in the OER. In addition to this anonymous participation, students play a prominent role in the OER, proudly sharing their own films. At the end of chapters, student filmmakers explain their application of technical concepts to their own projects. Each short essay is accompanied by a photo of the filmmaker, increasing the visibility of their work, and is followed by their discussed film. The inclusion of students’ films provides practical examples and encouragement to enrolled students aspiring to achieve their creative goals. Likewise, featured students appreciate the professional benefit of having a spotlight on their work.As for the Livingstones, they “are excited to have others see that their own messy processes (like ours) are just part of what it means to be a creative human being.”

How can your “mess” tap into students’ passions and professional goals?

To learn more about the creative community sustaining No-Nonsense Filmmaking, see “Packing for the Long Haul: Sustainability.”

Care Framework

If reading student motivations and the associated feelings they may experience cause you similar emotions, remember the care framework we discussed in “Cultivating a Caring Community.”

You may not be able to fully predict how your students will react to an open pedagogy assignment, but you are an experienced, caring professor who has plenty of positive teaching experiences to build upon. We will continue to discuss strategies for partnering with students to protect their rights and promote greater transparency in your practice.

Image Descriptions

Image 1. A page titled “Student Perspectives – Light” features a photograph of Matthew Cheung operating a professional cinema camera on the left and a long quotation on the right and below. The quotation explains his approach to outdoor lighting in filmmaking. He emphasizes planning around the sun’s position, maintaining natural-looking backlight, avoiding harsh front lighting, and choosing bounce materials that suit the location. He describes using the Sun Tracker app for the music video Butterflies x Who Am I? and using unbleached muslin while filming To Sea to create a softer, warmer reflected light.

Transcript:

Student Perspectives – Light

Matthew Cheung on lighting for the outdoors: “Regardless of whether you’re filming exterior or interior scenes, I believe it’s essential to keep lighting motivated by the story and setting. Lighting in outdoor environments requires careful planning to feel both natural and intentional. Light should come from the direction of the sun. During preproduction on one of my projects, I tracked the sun’s position throughout the day so we could schedule shots with the sun consistently behind our subjects. This not only separated them from the background and avoided unwanted crew shadows, but also reduced our reliance on diffusion, which can sometimes make sunlight look artificial when overused. When planning for my music video Butterflies x Who Am I?, I used an app called Sun Tracker to know exactly where the sun would be at every hour of the day. This allowed me to maintain a consistent backlit look throughout the shoot, avoiding harsh front lighting, which can be unflattering on people’s faces. During production, it’s also important to choose bounces and lights that feel natural within the environment. While filming To Sea, I opted for unbleached muslin bounces to better match the sandy beach location. Unlike ultrabounces, which reflect a harsher, colder white light, unbleached muslin creates a softer, warmer glow that feels more organic and location-appropriate. (It’s essentially a soft, off-white fabric that acts like a natural reflector.)” [Return to Image 1]