“Ascertaining Impacts of Open Educational Practices in Shifting Mindsets” an invited talk as part of the inaugural Open Education Research Institute (OERI), by the Office of Open Education at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), 07 May 2021.

1. Sh i ron ic a P. Ka r u n an aya ka
P r o f e s s o r i n E d u c a t i o n a l Te c h n o l o g y
T h e O p e n U n i v e r s i t y o f S r i L a n k a
< s p k a r @ o u . a c . l k >
< h t t p s : / / s h i r o n i c a k a r u n a n a y a k a .w o r d p r e s s . c o m / >
Ascertaining Impacts of
Open Educational Practices in Shifting Mindsets

2. Challenge
▪ Adoption of OEP will be effective only if it reflects changes in thinking, practices,
beliefs and value systems of practitioners.
▪ However, it is a challenging task to measure the degree of openness in thinking
and practices of individuals, and any shifts in them.
▪ Our experiences in implementing capacity building interventions to enhance
shifting mindsets of practitioners towards OEP:
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2013/2014: Integration of ICT and OER into Teacher Education Programmes (COL)
2014/2015: OER-based eLearning (CEMCA)
2015/2017: Impacts of Integrating OER in Teacher Education (ROER4D)
2017/2019: CPDMOOCs on the Adoption of OER and OEP (CEMCA)
Shironica P. Karunanayaka; Lightning Talk, OERI Inaugural Workshop, KPU; 07 May 2021

3. A Design-based Research (DBR) Approach
▪ Questionnaires
▪ Concept mapping
▪ Observations
▪ Focus groups
▪ Self-reflections
Analysing current
thinking and
practices of
practitioners
Designing
experiences to
enhance adoption
of OER and OEP
Practitioners’ and
researchers’
reflections to
enhance solution
implementation
Iterative cycles of
capacity
development,
monitoring and
reviewing
Analysis Design Solutions Testing & Refinement Reflection
▪ Reflective stories
▪ Weblogs
▪ Research
publications
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▪ An Intervention
▪ Interactive
workshops
▪ Online
environment
▪ Capacity
development
▪ Data collection
▪ Reviewing &
evaluation
Shironica P. Karunanayaka; Lightning Talk, OERI Inaugural Workshop, KPU; 07 May 2021

4. Project: CPD MOOCs on the Adoption of OER & OEP
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Shironica P. Karunanayaka; Lightning Talk, OERI Inaugural Workshop, KPU; 07 May 2021

5. OEP Impact Evaluation Index (OEP-IE Index)
• The OEP-IE index was developed to capture behavioral shifts in practitioners
in relation to their perceptions, perspectives and practices as they engage
with the adoption of OER and OEP (Naidu, & Karunanayaka, 2017).
• It comprises items on a Likert Scale under three categories:
• CURRENT Pedagogical Beliefs;
• CURRENT Pedagogical Practices; and
• CURRENT use of Instructional Resources
• The items in the index seeks to explore the behavior of practitioners along
these lines at any one point in time (It is an index of behavior at one point of
time which can be compared with behaviors previously observed)​.
• Our interest is in the SHIFTS in their position on these three constructs, so
that we will be able to ascertain impacts over a period of time.
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Shironica P. Karunanayaka; Lightning Talk, OERI Inaugural Workshop, KPU; 07 May 2021

6. OEP-IE Index
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(Naidu & Karunanayaka, 2017)
Shironica P. Karunanayaka; Lightning Talk, OERI Inaugural Workshop, KPU; 07 May 2021

7. 7
How and in which ways are the design strategies adopted in the CPDMOOCs having an
impact on shifting perceptions and perspectives of practitioners in relation to OEP?
Ascertaining Impacts of Capacity Building in Open Educational Practices
(Karunanayaka & Naidu, 2020)
Data Collection & Analysis:
• OEP-Impact Evaluation Index (OEP-IEI)
• Learning Experience Surveys
• Self-Reflections
• Think Aloud Interviews
Impacts were ascertained in terms of ways in which, and the extent to which,
the thinking and practices of practitioners had changed toward openness,
as a result of their engagement in the designed learning experiences.
human right
technology
content
cost-free open access
design
potentials
workload
reuse
revise remix redistribute
time consumption reliability
potentials open licensing
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Scale
Statements
Pedagogical Beliefs Pre - CPDMOOCs Post - CPDMOOCs
Shironica P. Karunanayaka; Lightning Talk, OERI Inaugural Workshop, KPU; 07 May 2021

8. Summary
• The adoption of OEP requires a shift in our perceptions and practices about
learning and teaching towards a more participatory, creative and a sharing culture.
• Such shifts are best achieved and sustained through carefully designed learning
experiences that involve people reflecting on authentic issues and situations.
• The impacts of such capacity building around OEP are difficult to ascertain,
because they are an outcome of a combination of factors.
• Getting a clear estimate of the impacts of this kind of capacity building requires a
variety of evidence.
• It requires sustained analysis of both quantitative and qualitative insights that is
gathered over a sufficiently long period of time.
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Shironica P. Karunanayaka; Lightning Talk, OERI Inaugural Workshop, KPU; 07 May 2021

9. Sharing our experiences…
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• Karunanayaka, S. P., & Naidu, S. (2020). Ascertaining impacts of capacity building in open educational practices. Distance Education. 41(2), 87-109.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2020.1757406
• Karunanayaka, S. P., & Naidu, S. (2018). Designing Capacity Building of Educators in Open Educational Resources Integration Leads to Transformational
Change. Distance Education, 39(1), 87-109. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2017.1413933
• Karunanayaka, S. P., Naidu, S., Rajendra, J.C.N., & Ariadurai, S.A. (2018). Designing Continuing Professional Development MOOCs to promote the
adoption of OER and OEP. Open Praxis, 10(2), 179-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.10.2.826
• Karunanayaka, S. P. & Naidu, S. (2017). A design-based approach to support and nurture open educational practices. AAOU Journal, 12(1), pp. 1-20.
https://doi.org/10.1108/AAOUJ-01-2017-0010
• Karunanayaka, S., Naidu, S., Rajendra, J., & Ratnayake, H. (2015). From OER to OEP: Shifting Practitioner Perspectives and Practices with Innovative
Learning Experience Design. Open Praxis, 7(4), 339-350. https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.7.4.252
Shironica P. Karunanayaka; Lightning Talk, OERI Inaugural Workshop, KPU; 07 May 2021

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Shironica P. Karunanayaka; Lightning Talk, OERI Inaugural Workshop, KPU; 07 May 2021