Professors at The University of Texas Permian Basin are going the extra mile for their students. They are creating free resources based on their coursework to help students study, save money, and succeed academically.
These professors participated in the first cohort of OER Provost Fellows. They created open educational resources, or OER, which are free textbooks designed specifically for their course work.
Alissa Adams, Assistant Professor of Art History, created a skill-based OER that helps students complete projects such as a formal analysis.
“There isn’t really anything either in OER form or in traditional textbook form for actually how to do the basics of art history,” Adams said. “My goal was to help figure out how to make sure they learn these skills and know how to have that foundation.”
Some professors, including Adams and Theppawut Ayudhya, were motivated to create personalized content. For Adams, it was something not available elsewhere. For Ayudhya, it was about making content easier to understand using the resources UTPB provides.
“The selling point for my proposal was to take pictures of the equipment or the setup at the UTPB lab so the student will see the exact same equipment or glassware that they’re going to be using,” Ayudhya said.
Participating professors are also improving their teaching styles from this project.
“This chance gave me the perspective to learn or say to look at the materials from the angle of the students,” Qingwen Hu, Assistant Professor in the College of Engineering and Sciences, said.
“It’s already making me a better instructor, making me stop and think about, how did I present this,” Carol L. Piper, Lecturer of Psychology, said. “Did I present it in an engaging way that my students can grab it and make it their own?”
These resources are not only improving education, they are also reducing costs for students.
“Textbook cost increased more than 100% in the last five years, and it’s becoming a burden on students. It’s our obligation to adapt our affordable, accessible, quality textbooks,” Dr. Rajalingam Dakshinamurthy, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, said.
Dr. Dakshinamurthy is proud to share that UTPB students saved nearly one million dollars on textbook costs last year.
“Just the opportunity to create a book that I could get into my students’ hands for no money, and it’s just there they can access it,” Piper said. “That was probably the most appealing because it’s something I’ve watched my students struggle with.”
This was the first year UTPB professors participated in the OER Provost Fellows program, and it was a huge success.
“Thank you for the first year OER Provost Fellows. They did a phenomenal job,” Dr. Dakshinamurthy said. “We are looking forward to having more Fellows next year so we can make textbooks affordable for our Falcons.”
