Two Faculty Members Receive Z-Degree Grants from the State of Minnesota.
Thanks to this award, Spanish faculty will work on the development of an Open Educational Resource (OER) for Spanish 201and 202, which has the potential to serve up to 35 Community Colleges and five universities listed in Transfer Pathways, as well as up to nine Concurrent Enrollment partners with more than 20 sections teaching Intermediate Spanish I and II.
This is an exciting project that will showcase the diverse cultures of the Upper Midwest while developing Spanish language proficiency. This is also a collaborative effort that includes Spanish faculty from Minnesota State Mankato, Winona State University, and Century College, as well as IT Solution instructional designer Dr. Carrie Miller and graduate and undergraduate students from our university.
The Z-Degree project, with funding from the State of Minnesota, supports the development of a complete associate or bachelor’s degree program that exclusively uses course resources that are no cost to students. These resources include open educational resources, open textbooks, library-curated materials, and other resources provided at no cost to the student.
Special thanks to Dean Chris Corley and Library Services for their ongoing support and the collaborative efforts of the World Languages & Cultures Alliance (WLCA).
Dr. Yalda Hamidi, professor of Gender & Women’s Studies, has been awarded a $10,000 Z-Degree Exploration Grant to support three distinct projects, including creating D2L shells for MinnState’s digital archive for open educational resources called Opendora, designing an open pedagogy certificate for faculty, and redesigning the open pedagogy certificate for students pursuing teaching careers.
Developing Six OER-based D2L Shells for Courses for Opendora:
This initiative aims to concentrate on course development and creating accompanying materials for instructors within the Minnesota State System teaching Women's and Gender Studies courses, including the creation of six 100 and 200-level courses, adaptable to diverse campuses across the MN State system.
Designing an Open Pedagogy Certificate for Faculty:
The creation of a certificate program focused on open pedagogy for faculty members. Complementary to OER Learning Circles, this project offers a more theoretical approach to open educational resources. It encourages colleagues across campuses to explore the integration of open pedagogies, open-access textbooks, ancillary materials, and reusable assignments to address various social justice issues within academia.
Redesigning Open Pedagogy Certificate for Students Pursuing Teaching Careers:
This certificate program aims to equip advanced undergraduate and graduate students aspiring for teaching careers with the tools to build their future courses and teaching portfolios based on open-access materials and practices. Serving as a bridge between OER in higher education and K-12 education in the MinnState, this certificate will play a pivotal role in fostering a seamless transition for students passionate about teaching careers.
By combining these projects, Dr. Hamidi aims to contribute significantly to the broader Z-Degree initiative and advance the adoption of open educational resources within our academic community.
The Z-Degree project, with funding from the State of Minnesota, supports the development of a complete associate or bachelor’s degree program that exclusively uses course resources that are at no cost to students. These resources include open educational resources, open textbooks, library-curated materials, and other resources provided at no cost to the student.
