Theoretically, Open Pedagogy projects sound like wonderful opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning. But how do students feel about the projects they’ve completed?
Here are some responses we’ve received from informal questions:
Economics Class Question:
“What about the public nature of the project? The fact that this will be out there, it will have your names on it, and it could be out there indefinitely.”
Charlie: I found that portion of the project pretty intriguing and exciting. Just like I said, you can go out there, and obviously we’re college students, we’re looking for employment after this. So just showing an employer, “Hey, I’ve written something that’s been published. It’s out there, you can go read it for yourself and see what you think.” It gives something for the students to show.
Victoria: Yeah, it made it exciting because we knew what was at the end of the project. Rather than just a finished paper, we actually had something to like prove ourselves, like we did this.
Maria: I think for me, it was cool to know because at the end of the semester, I’m able to go to my family and say, “Oh, here you go. This is something that I worked on all semester long. Here’s something that you can read and you can better understand what I’ve studied for the past four years.” So I think it was helpful that I was able to show my family I’ve worked hard on this. This is something that is to show for that.
Charlie: I would definitely concur with that. Economics as a topic isn’t really discussed when you’re talking just with family members, so many of them don’t understand what you’re talking about. And you’ll try, but it’s hard sometimes. So to put something together that they’d be able to read and understand, I found that pretty satisfying.
History Class Question:
“How do you feel about your work being published online?“
Student 1: I am very proud to know that my research can be used to help someone else understand the material that is being studied and that I am contributing to academic research. My information will become a part of the history for future research.
Student 2: It is part of this generation. I like to keep things more private, including my work, but I understand that sometimes it is easier for the professor to grade and maybe help other students find resources.
Student 3: I hoped that it would help future students working on similar projects.
Student 4: I don’t mind if it’s useful
Student 5: Honestly it makes me nervous. I’m not someone who likes to show off my work and i hate being judged by others. I’m just hoping no one I know sees it.
Student 6: Honestly I’m scared that I am going to be criticized by so many people and that my work is just out in the open for anyone to read kind of freaks me out.
Student 7: I think that it is an opportunity for someone to learn from what I wrote, which I find to be pretty great! I think people should share their thoughts and ideas, that is how we all learn!
