Feminist Pedagogy and Student Collaboration in Open Educational Practices in the Art History Classroom

Abstract

This article examines undergraduate students' experiences in creating open educational resources (OERs) in a contemporary art history course. The construction of OERs reflects an interest in feminist pedagogy and open educational practices, which aim to create a learner-centred classroom that values accessibility, equity, and cultural responsiveness. The article discusses the scaffolded assignment that guided students in researching and writing open access lesson plans. The students' work was subsequently published on the OERTX Repository website. Student-generated materials give learners the opportunity to focus on topics that interest them the most. Such a move is especially valuable since the student demographics represent a high number of women of colour and first-generation students. Given the historical marginalisation of women's and people of colours' voices in art history, the inclusion of women students of colours' research is valuable to art history pedagogy. The results of an anonymous student survey indicate that students felt that coauthoring an OER offered opportunities to communicate their interests and create more meaningful work, while at the same time, they asked for additional support in navigating group work challenges and research needs.