Sharing Back
Maya Angelou once said, “when you learn, teach. When you get, give.” I appreciate this quote because it highlights the importance of reciprocity and challenges educators to turn their educational strategies into a common project that can help others. Humans learn from one another and have a responsibility to share back with each other. Think back to the last time you read and/or heard about another educator’s practices and were inspired – would you have learned about their practices if they hadn’t shared that?“When you learn, teach. When you get, give.”
The previous chapter emphasized that OER creation must be social justice in action, and in order to do that you need to make connections between education and community. A key feature of equitable education and a value that Rebus and many others in the open education field holds is humanizing learning. One way to humanize learning is through storytelling. Storytelling is a fundamental part of being human – stories let us share information in ways that create connection. In the context of OER, storytelling allows you to:
- Situate your role in the work and describe the story of your pedagogy and practices;
- Practice reciprocating your learning through sharing.
There are many possible foci for stories to narrate and share with the wider education community, such as resources and practices, pedagogical approaches and what they’re rooted in, etc.
Pause & Reflect on Reciprocating Learning
Consider making sharing the story of your own learning a practice. Maybe that’s sharing back in conferences or just chatting with other folx in industry.
- What recent equity and OER learning of yours are worth sharing? How and with whom do you want to share?
- How have you previously shared your learning?
Action Plan: Prepare a Conversation with an Equity Practitioner you Admire
Browse Ursula Pike’s OERigin Stories: Exploring the on-ramps into the Open Education Movement to learn more about the work of Women of Color in Open Education.
Step 1: Think about a person in the Open Education sphere whom you would like to interview and consider the following questions:
- Who would like to interview and why?
- What do you like to learn about and from that person?
- How would you like to conduct the interview?
- In what ways would you share back the information?
Step 2 (Optional): If feasible, conduct the interview. With permission from the interviewee, publish your learning in your preferred format.
Resources:
PBS, AmericanMasters. (2017, January 31). Maya Angelou shares why she is inspired to teach. YouTube. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8WO8Sb_lbc&ab_channel=AmericanMastersPBS
