UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science

This page contains an open syllabus, assignments--including interactive multiple choice self-check questions--and rubrics for a semester-long course teaching open science through the lens of the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. The syllabus and materials were created as part of the Open Education for a Better World (OE4BW) program. The course is designed for early career researchers, defined as advanced undergraduates through tenure track faculty.

The syllabus and course materials are also available on Zenodo.

Miller, Jennifer. (2022). Open Syllabus: UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science (1.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5823531

Miller, Jennifer. (2022). Question Bank for Open Syllabus UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science (1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5832063

All readings from the syllabus are included in this Zotero bibliography for the Open Syllabus: UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science.

• Explain and identify examples of the human right to science as adopted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Describe how the development of scientific institutions is essential to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Explain the concept of open science from multiple perspectives, including the UNESCO Recommendation of Open Science.
• Apply open science principles in personally relevant institutional, geographic, and disciplinary contexts.

Participants will get the most out of this course if they are already familiar with some of the practicalities of scientific work:

• The publication of scientific research in peer-reviewed journals
• The structure of academic research careers, including terms such as graduate research assistants, postdocs, (non)tenure-track, and tenure.
• The role of grant funding in academic science
• Hypothesis testing

With the exception of hypothesis testing, much of this relevant preparatory knowledge is tacit. That is, it is mostly gained through experience rather than explicitly taught in a curriculum.

For example, advanced undergraduates who have already begun to read some original reports of research from peer-reviewed journals will probably benefit more than first-year students who have been exposed to science mostly through introductory survey textbooks. Graduate students or more advanced undergraduates with some experience working in a lab are even more likely to benefit from and enjoy the course. The material will have the greatest impact on participants who have already begun to feel the tensions between open and traditional models of science. Although the course can be used in any modality, it is designed to support the formation of communities for students to engage with these issues in their local contexts.

Weekly course materials including learning outcomes, readings, discussion questions, and interactive self-check questions.

In addition to weekly graded discussions, the course includes four assignments and a final project:

• Essay: Goals for the Course
• Essay: Perspective on Open Science
• Essay: Comparing Open Science Contexts
• Annotated Resource List
• Final Project

There is an option to design your own individual or group  final project. Students wishing to explore this option should open discussion with the instructor early in the course.

Except as otherwise noted, assignment rubrics are adapted from CC Certificate: Final Project with Grading Rubrics, Creative Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

Suggested use: Grade each student on each criterion. A student’s average across the 3 criteria results in a grade of 1-3, with a grade of 0 for students who were not present for the discussion. If you will have a lot of graded synchronous discussions, consider allowing students to earn full points with a moderate number of absences. Contributions to the discussion may include asking students to submit potential discussion questions to you in advance.

Open Science Synchronous Discussion Rubric, Authored by: Jennifer Miller. License: CC BY: Attribution is an adaptation of Discussion Rubric.^[1] Authored by: Elizabeth Johnston. License: CC BY: Attribution

Suggested use: Establish deadlines for original posts and replies. Grade each student on each criterion. A student’s average across the 3 criteria results in a grade of 1-3, with a grade of 0 for students who did not participate in the discussion. Depending on students’ levels of experience and goals for the course, you may choose to use only the quality criteria, or to use the more procedural criteria (organization, quantity, and timeliness) as scaffolding only for the first few discussions.

Open Science Asynchronous Discussion Rubric, Authored by: Jennifer Miller. License: CC BY: Attribution is an adaptation of Discussion Rubric^[2]. Authored by: Mike Cook. Provided by: Pima Community College. License: CC BY: Attribution

Recommended use: Assign a small team of student facilitators for the week. Each person in the class completes the rubric. Average the scores from all rubrics. All students present for the discussion earn the same grade for the discussion. If you will have a lot of graded synchronous discussions, consider allowing students to earn full points with a moderate number of absences.

Student-Led Discussion Rubric, Authored by: Jennifer Miller. License: CC BY: Attribution is an adaptation of  Discussion Rubric^[2]. Authored by: Mike Cook. Provided by: Pima Community College. License: CC BY: Attribution. Discussion Peer Evaluation Rubric^[3] by Lisa Rodrigues was also used as a source to develop this rubric.

Communicate length, citation, and other expectations consistent with your course setting. Consider 250 words for the Goals for the Course Essay  and 500 words for the Perspective on Open Science and Comparing Open Science Contexts Essays.

For your final project, you will create a renewable assignment that could be used in a classroom or workshop context to teach early career researchers about open science. Alternatively, you can propose an alternative final project using the instructions provided.

Renewable assignments provide students with opportunities to engage in meaningful work, add value to the world, and provide a foundation for future students to learn from and build upon. Renewable assignments are possible because of the permission to engage in the 5R activities (Retain, Reuse, Revise, Remix and Redistribute) granted by open educational resources (OER). Renewable assignments are an alternative to traditional, disposable assignments, which students throw away after they are graded. A typical renewable assignment involves adding to or improving an existing open resource.

An example of a renewable assignment is: Creation of figures or diagrams to supplement “Biochemistry Free For All” Emily Ragan, November 2020, licensed under CC BY 4.0 .

Propose your own project or co-produced project to your facilitator (by or before the end of Week 10). The project needs to demonstrate 1) your ability to explain open science as it is represented in the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science and 2) that you are able to recognize open science practices, or opportunities to advance them, in a familiar context. That context can be a geographic location, an institution, a scientific discipline, or something else.

Directions: Write a proposal (no longer than 150 words) for your independently-designed project. If you are proposing to submit a group project (a project you will complete with another person in the course), make sure to include this in the proposal. Create a proposed grading rubric for assessment of your project. Submit your proposal and grading rubric no later than Week 10.  Your instructor will reply to you no later than one week from the Week 10 deadline. Note that your instructor may suggest revisions to ensure parity in rigor across all submitted proposals.

“Open Syllabus: UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science” is an adaptation of the Creative Commons Certificate Template Syllabus and Final Project with Grading Rubrics New Options published as of January, 2021 (the “Original Work”), licensed by Creative Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This adaptation is made and published by Jennifer M. Miller as a participant in the Open Education for a Better World (OE4BW) program (the “Adapter”) under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The Adapter modified the Original Works in the following respects: adapted them to reflect new subject matter and adapted them for use in a semester-long for-credit course. Using the Original Work or the Adapted Work does not mean the individual doing so has earned a CC Certificate, nor may any organization or individual offer a “CC Certificate.” Note that the trademarks of Creative Commons and the Adapter are the property of their owners and require permission to reuse. Anyone who wants to take the CC Certificate is welcome to register here: https://certificates.creativecommons.org.”

Recommended Citation:

“Open Syllabus: UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science” by Jennifer M. Miller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  

1. ↑ "Discussion Rubric | College Composition". courses.lumenlearning.com. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Sample: Discussion Rubric | State and Federal Constitution". courses.lumenlearning.com. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
3. ↑ Discussion Peer Evaluation Rubric by Lisa Rodrigues https://www1.villanova.edu/content/dam/villanova/vital/pdfs/discussionpeerevalrubricrodrigues1114.pdf