The Adoption and Use of Open Textbooks in Community Colleges

Project Start Date: 
2009

ISKME is conducting research for the Community College Open Textbook Collaborative (CCOTC). Open textbooks are defined as textbooks that are free for anyone to use, reuse, and redistribute. The purpose of CCOTC is to identify, organize, and support the production and use of high quality, accessible and culturally relevant open textbooks for community college students, and to develop a sustainable network of individuals and organizations engaged in advocating for the use of open textbooks in community colleges.

 

 

Our Role: 

Our research supports the CCOTC project by informing and assessing the sustainability of the open textbook model, specifically in terms of the factors that contribute to the adoption and use of open textbooks by institutions, faculty members, and their students. Through participant observations of CCOTC project meetings, and interviews with faculty, students, administrators, and bookstore managers who have adopted open textbooks, the research seeks to determine:

  • How individual students and faculty use and reuse open textbooks both inside and outside of the classroom
  • The impact of open textbook adoptions on teaching and learning
  • The institutional factors that impact open textbook adoption and use

As of February 5, 2010 ISKME is recruiting faculty, students, administrators, and bookstore managers who are involved with open textbooks to participate in interviews. These key stakeholder groups will shed light on the processes and supports that help or hinder faculty and student adoption and use of open textbooks.

 

Service Areas: