do arise, however, on how to use and facilitate OER/OCW in a manner that is meaningful and relevant (Remmele, 2006), and how to generate stimulating, active engagement between and amongst teachers and learners. On this front, the use of OER/OCW is not always straightforward. Specifically, applying free and open access to high-quality, higher-education-level course materials (which include course planning materials and evaluation tools) requires not only an understanding of disciplinary-specific teaching and learning but also consistency with the unique cultural values and norms of the place (e.g., country, region) where the OER/OCW are being used. Thus, in addition to the need to account for the different disciplinary ways of teaching and learning when designing and delivering course material, those who access OER/OCW may also need course materials that are designed to accommodate different ways of teaching and learning within different cultures. The diverse ways of teaching and learning unique to each discipline — referred to as “pedagogical content knowledge” — have been widely discussed, researched and generally accepted as being imperative to effective design and development within higher education (e.g., Donald, 2002; Kanuka, 2006; Shulman, 1986, 1987). In addition, international conferences have advanced the scholarship of teaching and learning in disciplinarily relevant ways (e.g., the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning; the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education). However, the intersections with culture and education within the post-secondary sector have not always been given as much attention. Critical discourse revolving around culturally diverse communication interactions and OER/OCW can offer insights resulting in better understandings of effective instructional design that transcends disciplinary and cultural differences. Studies that have investigated learning experiences of international students, for example, have found that cultural differences complicate students’ communication, at times resulting in feelings of isolation, alienation, decreased motivation, and dissonance within the dominant classroom culture (e.g., Anakwe & Christensen, 1999; Goodfellow, Lea, Gonzalez, & Mason, 2001; Moore, 2006; Tapanes, Smith, & White, 2009). Hence, for individuals considering the use of OER/OCW, reflecting and embedding both culture and pedagogical content knowledge in the OER/ OCW will assist in ensuring meaningful and relevant use of the materials accessed. An important underpinning assumption of this chapter is that the ways in which we communicate our ideas and thoughts in our everyday classroom activities are both disciplinarily and culturally situated (Kanuka, 2006, 2010). In this chapter, we begin with an overview of culture and disciplinary ways of knowing, followed by the challenges of applying OER/OCW between and across diverse cultures and disciplines. We then provide an overview of a faculty development programme on course design and delivery that we have adapted from another institution, and discuss how we have addressed transcending cultural and disciplinary boundaries. An overview of our evaluation framework and the programme evaluation are provided to discuss the strengths and limitations of this programme within our cultural context and institutional constraints. We conclude by outlining the need for further research to understand the use of OER/OCW in different cultures, and by commenting on how others may use and adapt the programme described in this chapter within their own institutions.
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