International Journal of Open Educational Resources Volume 2, Issue 1, Fall 2019/Winter 2020 | Page 194

International Journal of Open Educational Resources
Conclusion
In this paper, the authors have expanded
an appreciation for OER by
describing the metaliteracy framework,
which demonstrates that the value
of OER goes well beyond the provision
of online textbooks for students.
In turn, the metaliteracy framework
provides a multi-pronged conceptualization
to help students place the cognitive
skills they usually highlight into
a broader perspective including affective,
behavioral, and metacognitive domains.
The framework teaches students
to become better critical thinkers and
more effective and responsible citizens,
thus embodying the spirit of the 4 Cs
(critical thinking, communication, collaboration,
and creativity) that have
been cited as essential skills for 21st
century learners. It empowers students
to take on more active roles both within
and outside of the academic setting and
provides scaffolding for open pedagogical
practices.
In explaining how this framework
has been successfully adapted to
the needs of one classroom context,
the authors have also demonstrated the
flexibility of the metaliterate approach.
The active metaliterate learner roles
have been clarified over successive iterations
of this particular course to assist
student understanding. The instructor
has developed the “Design Your Own”
quest assignment and adapted the “Expand
Horizons” quest activity for use
in larger political science courses that
are centered on disciplinary rather than
explicitly critical thinking-focused content,
and adaptations to the metaliteracy
OER developed in conjunction with
this particular political science course
have since been used by other professors
at the University at Albany and beyond.
Finally, given that professors
often underutilize the knowledge and
assistance of librarians, the paper provides
a reminder of the benefits of collaborative
work. Faced with the challenge
of creating a new course, the
professor searched for resources that
would assist in teaching critical thinking.
In the collaborative spirit promoted
by metaliteracy and OER, the successful
professor-librarian partnership
described in this paper has made that
course significantly better.
References
Campbell, G. (2012, October 16). Ecologies
of yearning. Keynote address at
Open Ed 2012 Conference. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=kIzA4ItynYw
Cronin, C. (2017). Openness and praxis:
Exploring the use of open educational
practices in higher education.
The International Review of Research in
Open and Distributed Learning, (18)5,
16-34. Retrieved from http://www.
irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/
view/3096/4263
Cronin, C., & MacLaren, I. (2018, April
24). Conceptualising OEP: A review
of theoretical and empirical literature.
Presented at CELT, NUI Galway. Re-
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