Open educational resources (OER) are seen as part of
the solution to course material affordability. The National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics (NTCM) has issued a warning that too many open resources are not necessarily a good thing.
In its official position,
the organization recognized that OER can stimulate discussions among teachers,
allowing them to form communities to share ideas and compare results. NTCM also
pointed out that OER can provide teachers with ways to use innovative technology.
At the same time, NTCM warned that OER can be difficult
to organize and the resources students have access to can vary by teacher and
school. Another risk is the potential for schools to drop the vetting process
of the resources.
“A coherent, well-articulated curriculum is an
essential tool for guiding teacher collaboration, goal-setting, analysis of
student thinking, and implementation,” NTCM said in the release. “In a time
when open educational resources are increasingly available, it is imperative
that teachers be provided with curricular materials that clearly lay out
well-reasoned organizations of student learning progressions with regard to
mathematical content and reasoning.”
