Open Oregon Educational Resources received a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation that provides funding for Oregon community college and university instructors who teach courses for preservice teachers to redesign their courses, using open educational resources with an equity lens. The goal of the course redesign is to prepare future K12 teachers to be open educators who can leverage open practices to customize their curriculum and better represent and support the students in the classroom while aligning with Oregon standards.
57 preservice faculty members from 13 institutions have redesigned their courses. Finished projects to date are collected in an OER Commons folder. Read about some of their projects here!
Math Instructional Strategies
Eliana Belle redesigned both ED 114 at Chemeketa Community College, and Ed 325, Elementary Science Methods, at Western Oregon University. She writes:
Curating an OER textbook for my ED 114: Math Instructional Strategies course has been such a game-changer. It allows students to dive a lot deeper when used in addition to the typical articles and websites available for reading material. It’s allowed for a more comprehensive exploration of what teaching math instruction actually looks like. We touch more deeply on multilingual learners in the classroom, instructional strategies, and student choice via various forms of assessment. Based on reading student responses in our discussion post assignments, I can tell they just have a much more developed understanding of how to support their own future or current students in math.
Technology for Educators
Colin Stapp is Learning Technologies Facilitator at Chemeketa Community College’s Center for Academic Innovation as well as a faculty member. His course is available as a Canvas Commons course shell. He writes:
I teach ED235 – Technology for Educators online. Educational technology had shifted rapidly since the course was last taught, especially with the emergence of AI. The course was redesigned to better reflect the realities of today’s classrooms. Rather than framing AI as a disruption to manage, it is positioned as something future educators should examine critically, including its implications for equity, assessment, bias, and access.
The redesign aimed to create a more current, coherent, and adaptable learning experience. An equity-based design approach guided the restructuring. Accessibility, digital safety, and inclusion are embedded throughout the course, and each module has a clearly defined focus with consistent themes woven across the term. AI was also used during the redesign process to draft discussion prompts and rubric language and to explore how AI-assisted course design might function in practice.
All materials are openly licensed to support continued revision and adaptation as technologies evolve.
Collaborative Consultation and Inclusive Practices in Special Education
Annie Draeger is a faculty member at Eastern Oregon University and a Research Associate at the University of Oregon. Her openly licensed syllabus is available via EOU Winter 2026: SPED 318: Collaborative Consultation and Inclusive Practices in Special Education. Annie writes:
SPED 318: Collaborative Consultation and Inclusive Practices in Special Education is about halfway through the term and has been going very well! The students are engaged and having some thoughtful practice-based conversations around our weekly topics. All students are currently working as paraprofessionals or as special education teachers on restricted licenses while they move through licensure. The real world experience has made our discussions especially rich!
One of my main goals in redesigning this course has been to embed culturally responsive and equity-minded coursework, and OER have been key to this goal. We’re using three no-cost openly available texts focused on inclusion, collaboration, family engagement and Universal Design for Learning, which has helped ensure equitable access for students across Oregon in this fully remote program. Between applied assignments, weekly reflections, and guest speakers who bring diverse cultural background and lived experiences into the virtual classroom, the course is shaping up to be an accessible, inclusive space that prepares preservice teachers for equity-centered, collaborative practice.
Preschool Primary Development
Tricia Black is an instructor at Rogue Community College. Her child development course uses the textbook Understanding the Whole Child: Prenatal Development through Adolescence, in addition to slides created and shared by Cal State San Bernadino, and other videos and articles. She writes:
As a new community college instructor, I inherited a class that had not been updated in several years and was requiring a textbook that cost students $84.99. I was astonished by the price, but did not know any better. The following term, I learned the acronym “OER”.
After attending every OER workshop that I could last summer, I embarked on my journey to revise my classes using OER materials. It was challenging to find resources that matched my extremely specific course and its learning outcomes. I had to piece together the instructional materials using PowerPoint presentations, textbooks, videos, and articles that I found in an astronomical number of various places online. Admittedly, I found myself down the theoretical rabbit hole, overwhelmed by the search on more than one occasion.
However, I completed my first course rebuild in fall 2025 and am thrilled with what I have been able to combine to provide intentional, relevant, free resources for my students. Despite the challenges, I believe wholeheartedly in using free educational resources for my classes and plan to revise all of them; one at a time.
My advice to anyone interested in using OER resources is to have an idea what you are looking for. The more details about what you need, the easier it is to narrow your search. Also, do not be afraid to ask for help from your local librarian, or someone at Open Oregon Educational Resources. Finally, know that the time invested is worth it! Not only will your students appreciate free resources, but I found that this experience made me more intentional with my selections and with assignments too.
