Analysis and assessment of graduate students' perception and academic performance using open educational resource (OER) course materials

When a professor instructs students to follow a hard book, many financially disadvantaged students are unable to do so. Moreover, in this era of digitalization, students are accustomed to carrying all of the information they need in electronic devices stowed in their pockets, making learning from a book less appealing. Eventually, some of the students either partially or fully sacrifice their educational goals, resulting in a seemingly systematic educational system becoming an ineffective one. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyze one of the solutions to this problem, which is the development of a web-based open educational resources (OER) course to replace the traditional textbook-based instructional approach. A graduate-level risk management course was selected as a pilot class for this approach. The web-based system was created and implemented through four sequential phases, with each phase containing several sub-phases/steps. The first step towards building this web-based course was to select the appropriate educational accessories. It was concluded that image and video types of OER would be most effective for this unique type of course. Hence, a risk management course database was created, using images and current case studies related to construction management risks. Using this database, the virtual system containing OER materials was created, and throughout the semester, the instructor and the graduate teaching assistant monitored students' involvement in the new system. At the end of the semester, a survey was conducted to collect data regarding students' perception of the developed materials and the effectiveness of the OER. The assignment, exam grades, and course project grades were also compared. The data collected from the survey and the numerical grades of the students were assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively. It was concluded that students majoring in engineering and students with loans had a more positive perception of the OER course materials. It was also observed that the students using OER materials received higher grades than the students from the previous semester who had the same instructor but utilized traditional textbook-based materials. The outcome of this study will help OER funding agencies effectively allocate their financial support among potential courses and assist instructors in appropriately designing their course materials based on the financial situation of their students.