Transforming the Spanish Classroom: Open Educational Resources, Access, and Equity at UVA

We seek to ensure equitable access to no-cost, inclusive learning materials for students in five high-enrollment Spanish language courses through the creation and use of Open Education Resources (OER). The implementation of OER in academic courses comes with significant benefits to students: the reduction of barriers to learning, elimination of textbook cost, inclusive pedagogy, accessibility of materials, and improved learning outcomes. In Year One of our project (2021-2022), our team developed expertise in OER design, accessibility, fair use, copyright, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL); participated in the year-long AAC&U 2021-2022 Institute on Open Educational Resources; gathered data from students and instructors on their experiences with traditional course materials; an evaluated and curated existing OER for Spanish in target courses, funded through an LTi Grant. Year Two (2022-2023) of our multi-year project will focus on the design and creation of new free and openly licensed online textbooks and will include piloting, data collection and analysis, and revision. Through our use of Open Pedagogy and Participatory Design, students will be actively involved in various stages of the project, including the creation and evaluation of new materials. The new open textbooks are targeted to be used in all sections of SPAN 1010, 1020, 1060, 2010, and 2020 (Beginning and Intermediate Spanish Language), with approximately 115 sections and a total student enrollment of 2,070 students annually.