International Journal of Open Educational Resources Volume 2, Issue 1, Fall 2019/Winter 2020 | Page 197

Prepare
Teaching Critical Thinking and Metaliteracy Through OER
Prepare yourself by reading the following:
1. The Metaliterate Learner handout you were assigned earlier, to review the 4
learning domains
2. Two quests in the badging system, to reiterate what quests are!
Giving Credit Quest
Grow vs. Fail Quest
https://sites.google.com/view/metaliteracy/master-evaluator/perspectives-responses/authors-voice/giving-credit?authuser=0
https://sites.google.com/view/metaliteracy/empowered-learner/metacognitive-reflection/failing-better/grow-vs-fail?authuser=0
3. The Universal Design for Learning Guidelines (UDL)
http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.V-K1dzVFHMx
(look at the 3 boxes about the WHY, HOW, and WHAT of learning, and perhaps
click through to the UDL Guidelines)
Create
1. Recognize that you would like to engage readers in the topic of generations (in
connection with political science), help them to learn something (cognitive)
and reflect upon it (metacognitive). You might also have them do something
(behavioral) or they might come to feel something about this content you are
creating (affective). You may also present information in different ways or provide
different options for the final activity (UDL).
2. The toughest part about writing a quest is coming up with an angle. What aspect
of generations would you like to present that fits the theme of Expanding
Horizons for those who are reading it? How can you make it interesting?
3. Once you’ve decided on your topic and angle, find something engaging to let
learners know about it. It might be a video, a short reading, or something else
entirely. Make sure you cite your sources!
4. Find a way to tell a story. In other words, provide background, fill in gaps,
make this quest cohesive. What would you like learners to come away with?
5. Next, develop an activity (or choice of activities, keeping UDL in mind) to
let learners take the topic further, or to explore and reflect on what they’ve
learned.
6. Pull it all together, and get ready to present this to the class.
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