Pilot Instructors plan, design, and revise courses that integrate with open textbook manuscripts developed for the Open Curriculum Development Project. Please read Unit 0 for an introduction to the entire project.

Revised courses and materials created by Pilot Instructors are shared by Open Oregon Educational Resources with an open license, with attribution to the content creator. Our goal is for the curriculum to uplift local Oregon issues and connect to broader social forces nationally and internationally. Pilot Instructors are encouraged to discuss their own research or activism as part of their contribution.

The Pilot Instructor receives a one-year stipend of $2,000 to accomplish the work described below. The stipend is issued in two payments:

• Payment #1 (50%) will be invoiced after completion of the Equity-Minded Course Review prior to pilot launch
• Payment #2 (50%) will be invoiced after revision of openly licensed pilot materials, which include:
  • Instructor Guide with notes for future educators
  • Course Map that reflects your revisions to the pilot
  • Assessment prompts and rubrics
  • Content from all course units, including overview, course materials pages, assignments and activities, and rubrics.

Contracts and payment schedules are created upon your acceptance of the role, in line with your institution’s practices.

This role is not an hourly or salaried position. The weekly time commitment varies depending on milestones and deadlines. As a rough estimate, Pilot Instructors are likely to spend an average of 5-8 hours a week on this project for at least 4 weeks before you teach your course and an additional 8-13 hours during the term following your pilot. Past participants have reported that the time commitment was greater than they expected, so please consider your availability carefully!

Pilot Instructors work with the Instructional Designer and other support roles to:

• Read and complete the tasks associated with the Course Design Accelerator (Year 2, Units 2-5).
• Assess the current state of the course and ancillary materials, and stakeholder needs, with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Produce a compelling course, course shell in a Learning Management System, and ancillary package that is fully integrated with the open textbook manuscript.
• Collaborate with the Instructional Designer to create course modules aligned with course and module-level objectives that include assessments, feedback instruments (rubrics), activities, and module content. Module content may include slide decks, short videos, worksheets or reading guides, group work guidance/etiquette, and other learning supports.
• Develop clear student success metrics for the course and learning materials.
• Share course materials with an open license that meet the Open Curriculum Development Model’s Course Pack Criteria for Success.

• Maintain shared files and folders for course materials, including course mapping template and ancillary package.
• Collaborate with the Instructional Designer in a course development shell in your Learning Management System (the Instructional Designer can facilitate communication with your institution’s Learning Management System administrator).
• Collaborate with the Instructional Designer to incorporate revisions based on Pilot Instructor and student feedback.
• Optional: Collaborate with the author team to incorporate open pedagogy into your course design in order to generate student contributions to the open textbook manuscript.

Timeline and Deliverables

This table shows the major phases of work by the Pilot Instructor (subject to change).

Additional Information for Pilot Instructors

How do you sign up to be a Pilot Instructor?

Please fill out one form per course that you’re signing up to pilot.

You will need to include a letter of support from your department chair, dean, or similar role that is responsible for assigning courses. The purpose of the letter is to verify that you will be assigned to teach the redesigned course at least one time during the academic year. Letters can be attached via the form or emailed to hofera@linnbenton.edu.

How does a Pilot Instructor get paid?

Pilot Instructors will usually be paid via payroll through their own institution and will need to sign an MOU (memorandum of understanding). Some institutions prefer not to handle this type of contract; in these cases, you will work with us as an independent contractor and we will create a Personal Service Contract with you. Pilot Instructors receive the stipend one time even if they run the redesigned course more than once during the pilot year.

Who can be a Pilot Instructor?

Pilot Instructors who teach at one of Oregon’s 24 public community colleges and universities are prioritized.

Lead Authors and Contributing Authors are encouraged to pilot the course(s) that they worked on. If they are assigned to teach other courses in the cohort, they are encouraged to pilot those in addition or instead.

What does it mean to pilot a textbook manuscript?

A Pilot Instructor adopts the textbook that was developed by the author team. While you are not required to use the entire book, you must assign a significant portion of the book (75 percent is a general guideline) in order to participate in this role.

The textbook manuscript will be in Pressbooks, the same platform that we will use to host the final, launch version of the book. It will be available at the beginning of Year 2 of the project. For early access we will be able to provide an About This Book document with a detailed outline of the textbook.

What does the Instructional Designer do?

The Instructional Designer supports you in meeting the grant goal of developing an equity-minded, openly licensed course pack that integrates with the openly licensed textbook. They facilitate sharing openly licensed course packs across the state so that Oregon instructors can align and enhance the student learning experience.

Licenses and Attributions for Pilot Instructor

“Pilot Instructor” by Open Oregon Educational Resources is licensed under CC BY 4.0.