How Korean Language Arts Teachers Adopt and Adapt Open Educational Resources: A Study of Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives

Abstract

Since 2005, open educational resources (OER) have played a key role in K-12 education in South Korea; so far, however, there has been little discussion about OER efficacy in South Korean K-12 education. In the meantime, South Korean education has been attracting a lot of interest around the world. Former U.S. President Obama's comments about South Korean education might also be caused by South Korean students' academic performance evaluated by international large-scale assessments such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). This article uses an ethnographic perspective to explore the experiences of teachers and students in the Korean context. The analysis of the findings shows how teachers adopt and adapt OER for their 12 th grade (the final year of secondary school) Korean language arts classes. Through classroom observations, interviews, and questionnaires, this exploration revealed that nearly 92% of the students perceived OER as beneficial to their studies and that teachers were spurred on to orchestrate differentiated instructional plans by OER. We argue that there is significant value to using OER in the formal educational curriculum, but that a lack of knowledge of how to adapt OER restricts how their potential is realized in practice. We identify implications for maximizing OER adaptation and successful usage of OER in K-12 education.

Connecting OER With Mandatory Textbooks in an EFL Classroom: A Language Theory–Based Material Adoption

“…In many language classrooms, student learning is primarily reliant on the way in which the teacher delivers textbook i content (Tomlinson, 2003). Such reliance is particularly salient in English-as-aforeign-language (EFL) contexts, where limited language-learning opportunities are found outside the classroom or where there exists traditional cultural worship of the authority of textbooks (Kwak, 2017;Wang & Farmer, 2008;You, 2004). However, in the current, globalized English context, to effectively participate in diverse communicative contexts EFL learners are expected to have knowledge of English that is sophisticated enough to assist them in constructing and/or deconstructing diverse modes of discourses in multiple dimensions: not only grammar and vocabulary, but also how grammar and vocabulary are used to realize the meaningful content of discourses (Macken-Horarik, 2012;Paltridge, 2001;Yasuda, 2015).…”

“…Fortunately, in this Web 2.0 world, the widely-available open-educational resources (OER), such as free research articles, Web-based practices, and reading materials, provide an optimal avenue for teachers to reflect upon pedagogical issues in their classroom and to collect supplementary materials, even in contexts where teacher education is constrained (Blyth, 2014;Hilton, 2016;Mushayikwa & Lubben, 2009). While these materials are rich in Web content and provide diverse perspectives on language teaching and learning, teachers still need to carefully curate and organize them (Kwak, 2017).…”

“…In particular, given the linguistic challenges prominent in most EFL classrooms, in which students have difficulty in making appropriate linguistic choices in achieving meanings, the use of mandatory textbooks and OER has to be supported by an effective language theory that can prepare students for meeting the expectations of international English language communities (Ariza & Hancock, 2003;Zhang, 2017). However, due to cultures that emphasize the use of mandatory textbooks, the use of OER in many EFL contexts (e.g., China) is still in its infancy, and few empirical studies, let alone theory-based action research, have emerged (Kwak, 2017;Wang & Farmer, 2013). Therefore, in EFL contexts, there is an imperative need for focusing on the triadic interaction among the mandatory textbook, OER, and a language theory; at the same time, it is also important to investigate how EFL students can adjust to such a blended learning environment and be effectively supported in managing their academic discourse (Gibbons, 2006;Paltridge, 2001).…”

Inter-Campus Sharable Potential of Hardware Educational Resources in A University Town: Connotation, Determination Method and A Case Study

“…(2) The comprehensive index and grade of ISPHERs The potential index for HER i (K i ) is determinated by Equation (7).…”

“…After three rounds of scoring by 20 experts, the weights calculated by Equation (6) are 0.3135 for classrooms, 0.2039 for laboratories, 0.1994 for libraries, 0.2832 for canteens and 0.198 for indoor sports rooms, respectively. Equations (7) and (8) are used to calculate the sub-index and the comprehensive index, respectively, and the results are shown in the Table 4. The potential indexes of classrooms, laboratories and indoor sports rooms in campuses are all greater than 0 and with surplus.…”