🆕 📖 New Publication from Milne Open Textbooks: Emphasizing a Student-Centered Process ⭐

[Allison Brown]

New Publication! Emphasizing a Student-Centered Process:  Open Pedagogy Course Assessments Across Disciplines edited by Angela M. McGowan-Kirsch and Kelly Soczka Steidinger License: Attribution-CC-BY ISBN: 978-1-956862-14-0  Available formats: Online (Pressbooks), PDF download, Print on Demand Emphasizing a Student-Centered Process: Open Pedagogy Course Assessments Across Disciplines showcases how Open Educational Practices (OEP) empower students as active contributors to knowledge creation.  Contributors share practical strategies for implementing open pedagogy in diverse disciplines — from engineering and communication to interdisciplinary research and campus-wide initiatives. Highlights include: Collaborative syllabus design that promotes student ownership Creative assessments using art and technology Research-based learning with open tools like EarthCam Ethical engagement with AI-generated content Institutional models for scaling open pedagogy Grounded in constructivist principles, this collection highlights student-centered assessments that foster critical thinking, active learning, and inclusivity. Through practical examples and reflective discussions, the book provides educators with actionable strategies to integrate open pedagogical practices across disciplines while addressing challenges such as institutional support, professional development, and resource accessibility. This publication was made possible through Open Fredonia, with generous financial support from the Daniel A. Reed Library and the Carnahan Jackson Fund for the Humanities, the Office of the Provost at The State University of New York at Fredonia through the SUNY Student Retention Grant, and SUNY OER Services through the 2023 Impact Grant.  Milne Open Textbooks, a catalog of open textbooks authored and peer-reviewed by SUNY faculty and staff, is managed and maintained by Milne Library Publishing at the State University of New York at Geneseo. You can find more information and texts at milneopentextbooks.org About the Authors Angela M. McGowan-Kirsch (PhD, The University of Southern Mississippi) is an associate professor of communication at SUNY Fredonia and a recipient of the 2023 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Specializing in rhetoric, communication theory, and political communication, she has completed the Lumen Circles Fellowship in OER-enabled pedagogy. Dr. McGowan-Kirsch is the editor of Encouraging College Students’ Democratic Engagement in an Era of Political Polarization (Lexington Books, 2025) and has published research in journals such as the Atlantic Journal of Communication, College Teaching, Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and Communication Teacher. Kelly Soczka Steidinger (M.A., Ball State University; M.A., University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point) is a Behavioral Science Instructor at Mid-State Technical College and an Adjunct Communication Lecturer at the State University of New York at Fredonia. She earned an E-Learning and Online Teaching graduate certificate from UW-Stout and completed the Lumen Circles Fellowship in OER-enabled pedagogy. Her research focuses on improving pedagogy, and she has published in Communication Teacher, College Teaching, Utah Journal of Communication, and numerous resource books and edited volumes. Christina Hilburger (MISt, McGill University) is the Research and Information Literacy Services Librarian at the State University of New York at Fredonia. In addition to providing research support and library instruction, she co-leads Open Fredonia, the campus’s open education initiative, where she works closely with faculty to support the discovery, adoption, creation, and evaluation of open educational resources (OER) and advocates for affordable learning solutions for students. Jean R. Hertzberg (PhD, University of California, Berkeley) is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her teaching focuses on measurement techniques, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and design, and her research interests include vortex-dominated flows. Her recent work includes Visual Expertise in Fluid Flows: Uncovering a Link Between Conceptual and Perceptual Expertise (IJEE, 2020). Additional publications are available at jeanbizhertzberg.com. Heather J. Hether (PhD, University of Southern California) is an associate professor of communication at UC Davis. Her research focuses on innovative teaching practices that enhance student learning and prepare students for professional success. She is particularly interested in collaborative and open pedagogy practices that involve students as active co-creators of their educational experiences. Dr. Hether’s work has been published in The Journal of Creative Behavior, Health Promotion Practice, and the Journal of Health Communication, as well as in several edited volumes. Amanda Lohiser (PhD, SUNY Buffalo) is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Management Communication at the Simon Business School, University of Rochester. She has taught undergraduate and graduate students in the U.S., Singapore, and Denmark. With a B.A. and Ph.D. in communication studies, an M.S. in public relations, and expertise in creativity and face coding, Dr. Lohiser combines her research and professional experience to foster communication, connection, collaboration, and creativity. Contact Allison Brown, bro...@geneseo.edu for more information