Committed to improving access to high-quality resources for educators, two Brock scholars in the Faculty of Education (FOE) are making significant strides in advancing open access education.
Ruth McQuirter, Professor of Educational Studies, said researchers and institutions need to think deeply about how education is being made truly accessible for all.
"Instead of teachers and schools spending a fortune on textbooks that date quickly, we need to provide educators with widely accessible knowledge and strategies to help them thrive in current and future classrooms," she said.
McQuirter and her research collaborator and co-author, FOE Instructor Carolyn Venema, recently launched the Learning Foundations Handbook, an open education resource (OER) engaging with language education.
The thoughtfully designed online handbook for current and future educators was created through Pressbooks and is available on eCampus Ontario, allowing anyone with the link to access, reuse and share the content under a Creative Commons license.
"The handbook offers background information and classroom suggestions for the expectations in the Language Curriculum (2023) related to spelling, grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and vocabulary," McQuirter said.
Through extensive research informed by years of classroom experience, McQuirter and Venema have provided background theory and definitions, teaching strategies, lesson examples and downloadable resources.
With open education publishing support through Brock's Centre for Pedagogical Innovation (CPI) and the Brock University Library, McQuirter and Venema were interested in creating more than a prospective textbook; they wanted to create a professional support tool to help teachers use their professional judgement in the classroom.
"It was critical to us that the resources were downloadable and reusable, and we received a lot of assistance and support from CPI on these important elements," McQuirter said.
Venema said the handbook is not about learning language elements in isolation, but instead focuses on why grammar, spelling and word building matter and what that looks like in action.
Each chapter is broken down into sections that include definitions of terms and concepts, helpful prior knowledge and suggestions for how the subject matter could be taught. Each chapter also contains outside links to resources to support lesson plans.
"With the integration of interactive components, we want teacher candidates to get hands-on experience; to not just to read about lessons, but to practice doing it themselves," Venema said.
Especially important, the researchers said, was the inclusion of cultural and cross-disciplinary perspectives, connecting concepts about words to other subject areas like science and social sciences.
McQuirter said they also wanted to bring in cultural perspective and explore how words can reveal bias.
"For example, a compound word like "Newfoundland", may suggest explorers found brand new land, but we know that land was already inhabited. This can prompt more learning opportunities for students beyond the basics of word formation," she said.
Venema added that the handbook includes words that come from Indigenous backgrounds and contexts, providing many lesson ideas and resources teachers can build on.
While the handbook is designed around the Ontario educational context, the research team wants the resource to be used on a global scale. Ultimately, McQuirter and Venema are striving for greater equity in teacher education through cost-free, high-quality educational resources.
McQuirter and Venema will keep adding to the handbook as their research continues, aiming to keep it relevant.
"We are responding to trends in classrooms and beyond to ensure teachers are equipped and empowered with the tools they need to thrive in today's often complex educational landscape," McQuirter said.
Mcquirter and Venema's research is part of a wider movement across the University to champion open education projects, including a new initiative from Brock University Library in recognition of International Open Access Week 2025, a global event taking place from Monday, Oct. 20 to Sunday, Oct. 26 with the goal of advancing open access scholarship and research.
The Brock Library recently launched a report sharing insights into the open access publishing trends at the University over the past year. In addition, a guide has been created to support faculty and students navigating how to increase the dissemination of their research.
