This document discusses responsible research and innovation (RRI) and science education. It examines using open educational resources (OER) and massive open online courses (MOOCs) to foster teacher communities of practice for discussing RRI. The ENGAGE project aims to build teacher pedagogical knowledge through MOOCs, a community of practice for discussing science and society issues, and OER with dilemmas and scenario-based projects to engage students in developing inquiry and argumentation skills. Initial outcomes include identification of teaching strategies and evidence of student achievement, though low teacher commentary was a challenge.

1. Responsible Research and Innovation
Alexandra Okada, Gemma Young and Jude Sanders
contact: ale.okada@open.ac.uk
RRI Common
language?
RRI
Impact?
RRI
awareness?
Stakeholder
influences?RRI
standards?
RRI informal
learning?
Local actions global
thinking
Time,
investments
Recommendati
ons
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OER on Cutting-edge
Science & Technology
How to foster Teachers’ communities of practice (CoP) via OER and
MOOC ?
Energy consumption dilemma:
a shorter shower or banish blow-dries?
Dilemmas are topical socio-scientific issues which
students discuss to apply their knowledge to the
applications and implications of science
1. Dilemma with Discussions2. Problem-Solution via Conversations 3. Scenarios-based projects
The ENGAGE Community of Practice builds pedagogical knowledge in three stages:
MOOCs on pedagogical tools
for engaging students
CoP of teachers interested
in Science and Society
Findings
Challenges: low number of teachers’ comments on OER strategies and students’
achievements
Strategies focused on facilitation :
1. Fast feedback from expert facilitators in the ENGAGE CoP
2. MOOC for teachers to reflect on their practices with ENGAGE OER
3. Wide dissemination through expert blog news and social media
Current Outcomes after the First Year:
• More than 80 strategies identified from teachers’ practice in MOOC and MOODLE
• Evidence of students achievements in various group ages particularly Year 7, 8 and 9
• 60% of users access various resources and 75% return to the website
ENGAGE in the UK: 2625 users and 11368 OER downloaded within 6 months
ENGAGE helps educators equip students for life-changing science through:
Problem-solution activities which explicitly teach
inquiry processes such as examining consequences
of technology, using ethics and evaluating media
sources, and use whole-class conversations to
developing argumentation.
Scenario-based projects frame a whole science topic
in the form of an inquiry, so students learn
knowledge, skills and values in the process of
exploring an issue.