Open educational resources are a well-established model for universities, but high school students often struggle to use these resources effectively. In Taiwan, the updated Curriculum Guidelines require high school students to engage in self-directed learning each semester. This aims to help them explore their academic interests and identities before university. When applying to universities, students’ learning portfolios, which highlight their interests and academic potentials, are crucial for admission. Therefore, universities must provide high-quality open classrooms accessible to high school students. These courses can help students develop academic interests, mindsets, and self-directed learning capabilities.
This approach not only prepares students for future academic success but also promotes a culture of openness, sharing, and collaboration. Leveraging university open classrooms for high school students benefits both the students and the broader educational community. In this presentation, we introduce a case study of establishing an open classroom using a university's general education course, Contemporary Cognitive Neuroscience: Brain and Mind.
By exploring community of inquiry and learning engagement theories, this study establishes a five-step model to transform a large class into a highly interactive online format. By integrating livestreaming technology and platforms like YouTube live streaming, Slido classroom interaction software, and social media such as Facebook and Instagram, the five steps are: immersive live lectures, real-time polling and quick Q&A, filtering crowdsourced questions, extending learning through summaries and reflections, and knowledge sharing on social media. This study employs design-based research with 768 students participating.
Through pre- and post-tests, surveys, platform data, and qualitative research data, the results show:
- students' academic performance significantly improved, with high school students outperforming university students in the post-test;
- the new learning model showed significant improvements in students' agentic, behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement, as well as critical thinking, with no significant difference in social engagement;
- nearly 40% of students completed the final project through team collaboration using online tools like Instagram chat, Google Meet, and Google Slides;
- students initially felt shy and awkward but gradually enjoyed and felt accomplished in knowledge sharing;
- students used digital note-taking, integrating screenshots, typed notes, and handwriting.
Creating an open classroom for high school students is exciting and rewarding, but it requires significant effort, including human and economic resources. Universities aiming to promote open education should formulate regulations, policies, or funding grants to support teaching teams in creating open classrooms. This project's open large-class interactive teaching method can serve as a reference for universities in promoting open classrooms and conducting highly interactive teaching in the future. Establishing a robust support system can ensure sustainability and continuous improvement in delivering open educational resources to a broader audience. This holistic approach will enhance the learning experience for high school students and contribute to the overall advancement of the educational landscape.
Included in
[Session 10C]: Practice in OEAuthor KeywordsOpen educational practices, Digital competence, Sustainability, Open Classroom, Learning Engagement, Live-Streaming Technology
