My creative nonfiction course, Narratives We Think We Know: American Women's Stories through Letters, is now offered with only Open Educational Resources (OERs). I actively sought out two professional development opportunities (IMTL and a Lumen Fellowship) to continue OER development work and design an open forum to allow for students and the public to write their own creative nonfiction responses to the letters we explore in the course. For this presentation, I will share course materials, samples of student work, as well as lessons learned from the OER design process and other research on women’s letter writing.

1. Learning and Letters: A Course
and OER Development
Journey
Lisa D’Adamo-Weinstein
SUNY EMPIRE STATE COLLEGE
FALL ACADEMIC CONFERENCE
OCTOBER 27, 2022

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“[W]omen's letters rarely just exchange
information. Instead, they tell stories; they tell
secrets; they shout and scold, bitch and
soothe, whisper and worry, console and advise,
gossip and argue, compete and compare. And
along the way, they - usually without meaning
to - write history"
(Grunwald and Adler, p.1).

3. The beginning…
In the Spring of 2020, I proposed and designed the narratives course
based on an in-person group study I offered several years ago. The
inspiration for the original and this new course was a book I picked up
at Old Sturbridge Village in 2014 – Grunwald and Adler (2005)
Women’s Letters: America from the Revolutionary War to the Present.
Since Spring 2021, the course is now 100% OER.
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4. Challenges
Revisioning the Original Course​
• Modality and pedagogical approach
• Prose to creative non-fiction
• Textbook cost increase and going out of print
• Research
• Module goals and assessment
• The letters themselves
• Wanting a larger platform
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5. Course Description & Outcomes
Introductory Level Catalog Description - What do we really know about the
narratives of American women? What stories do they tell about themselves at
different periods of time? What does it mean to be female in America? This
course will engage students in the exploration of women’s letter writing from the
Colonial Period to the present day. Students will not only read primary source
letters written by women, but they also will engage in epistolary (letter writing)
activities and creative non-fiction writing assignments to imagine the time, space,
and place in which these women lived. Students will use the tools of storytelling
and character development in their dialectic interaction with the texts as they
analyze and react to these women’s letters in writing and other forms of creative
engagement. During this study, we will cover the themes of letter writing;
communication; creative non-fiction; first person narrative; and the concept of
public versus private discourse.
Learning Outcomes
1. Discuss and analyze the ethical implications of writing from life
and demonstrate clear strategies for handling factual information ethically in
their own writing for public vs. private audiences.
2. Demonstrate in their own writing, the various techniques available to
creative nonfiction writers, and draft and revise several different forms of
creative nonfiction writing.
3. Compose constructive feedback to essay drafts in progress.
Advanced Level Catalog Description - This study will build upon
and enhance students’ understanding of the craft of creative nonfiction
and how to make use of literary techniques inspired by real life events
and the reading of women’s letters written from the Colonial Period to
the present day. From reading primary source letters, students will
refine their writing craft through epistolary (letter writing) activities
and other creative non-fiction assignments to capture the time, space,
and place in which these women lived. Students will move beyond the
tools of storytelling and character development to scene development
and dramatization, dialogue, and description. During this study, we
will cover the themes of letter writing; communication; creative non-
fiction; first person narrative; and the concept of public versus private
discourse.
Learning Outcomes
1. Discuss and analyze the ethical implications of writing from life,
and demonstrate clear strategies for handling factual information
ethically in their own writing for public vs. private audiences.
2. Experiment with the elements/nature of creative non-fiction and
subgenres (e.g., memoir, portrait, essay of place, narrative
journalism, personal essay, short short).
3. Evaluate techniques available to creative nonfiction writers in
multiple drafts of their own writing through a process of self-
reflection, critical evaluation of feedback, and extensive
revision.

6. Course Modules
Module 1: Introduction to Letter Writing & Creative Nonfiction
In this module, we will discuss two key elements of the course:
1. the art of letter writing and explore how women communicate through letters.
2. the genre of creative nonfiction, sub-genres, key elements, techniques and research methods.
We will delve deeply into each of these areas throughout the entire course, but for this first module, we will
cover these foundational concepts which will be explored in more detail in the other modules of the course.
Module 2: Colonial Times through Reconstruction
In this module, we will explore ethics and research in writing creative non-fiction as well as the differences
between public and private discourse in letter writing. You will read women's letters from Colonial times
through the Reconstruction era. Drawing upon these letters, you will analyze the themes outlined or identify
other themes that reveal themselves to you. Utilizing what you learn and your own research, you will create
your own works of creative non-fiction in response to the letters and respond to the letters written by other
classmates.
Module 3 – Industrial Revolution through World War II
In this module, we will discuss the changing roles of women in American society during the first half of the
1900s and you will experiment with one or more elements of creative nonfiction.
Module 4 – 1950s to present
In this module, we will explore letters from the end of WWII through the Civil Rights Movement, the
Kennedy assassination, the 1970s and 1980s, as well as discuss the impact of changes in technology on
communication .
Module 5 – Future of Letter Writing & Women’s Narratives
In the final module of this course, we will discuss the future of letter writing. You will reflect on what you
have learned throughout this course and make predictions on what letter writing will be in the future.

7. Open Educational Resources, also known as OER, "are any type of
educational materials that are in the public domain or introduced with an
open license. The nature of these open materials means that anyone can
legally and freely copy, use, adapt and re-share them. OERs range from
textbooks to curricula, syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, tests, projects,
audio, video and animation."
UNESCO
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Image credit: "Six Steps to OER" by Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) Librarians, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License /
Text modified from the original by Lesley University Library.

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Year long project – June 2021 start
Fall 21 focus
• OER – further develop inside of course
Spring 22 focus
• Develop open platform outside of course
Scholarship
&
Professional
Development
CMLAI - IMTL
Grant Writing Course
Teaching with OER & OER-enabled Pedagogy
9 week intensive fellowship – September 2021 start
5-week course – October 2021 start
SUNY for ESC cohort

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Platform
Exploration
Google Sites
YouTube
Playlist
Padlet

11. Key takeaways​
Takes time – intentional and dedicated time
Build OER scholarship around course
development
Seek out professional development
opportunities and grants
Engage students in the process and engage
with EBIP and OER Pedagogy
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12. Questions?
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