The document summarizes research findings from the OER Research Hub about open educational resources (OER). It finds that OER can improve student performance and satisfaction, help at-risk learners complete their studies, and bring financial benefits to students and institutions by lowering costs. Educators reported using OER leads them to reflect more on their teaching practices and adapt materials to better meet learner needs. Informal learners often use OER to try out university-level content before enrolling in formal courses or to learn at no cost. The research was based on surveys, interviews, and focus groups with over 7,000 respondents from around the world.

1. OER Research Findings
B. de los Arcos, R. Farrow,
B. Pitt, M. Weller
oerresearchhub.org
@OER_Hub

2. tinyurl.com/OERevidence
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/y59xh

3. Keyword Hypothesis
Performance OER improve student performance/satisfaction
Openness People use OER differently from other online materials
Access OER widen participation in education
Retention OER can help at-risk learners to finish their studies
Reflection OER use leads educators to reflect on their practice
Finance OER adoption brings financial benefits for students/institutions
Indicators Informal learners use a variety of indicators when selecting OER
Support Informal learners develop their own forms of study support
Transition OER support informal learners in moving to formal study
Policy OER use encourages institutions to change their policies
Assessment Informal assessments motivate learners using OER

4. Project Co-PILOT

5. Photo CC BY-NC 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/dSHr87
Data
• 20+ surveys;
• 60+ interviews with educators
OER experts & learners;
• 6 focus groups;
• impact statements

6. Sample
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/y59xh

7. 7,498 responses from 182 countries:
44.4% informal learners,
28.4% formal learners,
24.3% educators,
2.9% librarians;
50.7% female; 48.3% male;
65% speakers of English as first language;
11% declare a disability;
34% hold a postgraduate degree;
35% use OER in Science.

8. Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 marfis75 https://flic.kr/p/o4Hice
PhotoCCBY-NC2.0AlexProimoshttps://flic.kr/p/dgqpwt

9. ‘OER increase student satisfaction with the learning experience’
%
%
%

10. ‘OER lead to improved student grades’
%
%

11. Impact of OER on student performance: non-grade related
aspects

12. “Over the course of an entire semester all the kids turned in on
average 82% of their homework, which is significant for me as an
instructor because that made me feel that what I was asking
them to do at home, (…) whatever it happened to be, that they
saw the meaning in doing that.”
“The greatest impact comes when I share the MERLOT website with
students. They instantly connect with others who share their best practices.
Then they develop their own best practices to share with their students and
colleagues. There is such a great ripple effect when people are willing to
share; especially when the information is easy to locate.”

13. Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/5BZgEa
Photo CC BY 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/6EuSQZ

14. Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/5BZgEa
79.8% of educators adapt OER to suit their needs

15. OER allow
educators to better
accommodate
diverse learner
needs

16. “The problem where I teach now is that
we have no money; my textbooks, my
Science textbooks are 20 years old,
they’re so outdated, they don’t relate to
kids (...) so I pick and pull from a lot of
different places to base my units.”
“I will maybe look and find an
instructional video that’s maybe 2
or 3 minutes long that gets to the
point better than I could, and I
would use it, or I will look for
lessons and if they are for Grade
5 or Grade 3 I don’t use all of it, I
just adapt it, I take out what I
don’t want and rearrange it.”
“What I do is I look at a lot of free resources but I don’t usually
give them directly to my students because I usually don’t like
them as much as something I would create, so what I do is I get
a lot of ideas.”

17. • I’ve created resources for teaching 38%
• I’ve created resources and published them
online under an open license 15%
• I have added a resource to a repository 27%

18. Use of repositories

19. Reflection
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/p3ABbW

20. ‘I use a broader range of teaching & learning methods’ 64%
‘I reflect more on the way that I teach’ 59%
‘I have broadened my coverage of the curriculum’ 59%
‘I more frequently compare my teaching with others’ 44.5%

21. “It used to be that when I thought about preparing for a lesson I would
look at a book and see what they did and I then would
kind of teach a lesson similar to it but now I can go online
watch a video or look at somebody else’s material that they put out there,
see what they’re doing and either modify what they’re doing and bring it
into my classroom or just get a totally different perspective on it and
allow my students to get multiple perspectives on a
topic.”

22. Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/aFDkRt

23. Do students save money using OER?
%

24. Do institutions save money using OER?

25. “Down the road they may. Students talk to other potential
students. When they find out that teachers care about cost
and readability, they are more likely to choose your college”
“Since we are all using online version, the school saves a
lot of paper and money”
“Without any doubt my students are saving money! Only
one has purchased a copy of the textbook - everyone else
uses their laptop, tablet, or prints out what they want.”

26. Photo CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/5eN7TU

27. 57% of informal learners already have a degree
41% of formal learners used OER to try university-
content level before signing up for a paid-for course
89% of all learners choose OER for the opportunity to
study at no cost

28. OERRH Survey Data Explorer ow.ly/LYM9P

29. Thank you
OER_Research_Hub@open.ac.uk
@OER_Hub

30. in service of The Open University