Creation
Solving Insolvency Law’s Pedagogical Problems
Deakin University
Dr Paulina Fishman
Using this case study
A key intended benefit of this case study is to share insights into the creation of an OER with a view to improving access and affordability for students, among other potential advantages.
Overview
This case study highlights some of the benefits of creating and using an OER for teaching Australian corporate insolvency law instead of relying on a physical textbook. The benefits include: (1) the cost savings for students because they do not need to purchase an expensive learning resource; (2) the greater chance that students will have a copy of the resource because OERs can be easily downloaded for free; (3) the ability to tailor the content to avoid overloading students with unnecessary information; (4) the promotion of student engagement with other important resources if external links are included; (5) the greater convenience for students of navigating within the resource if internal links are included; and (6) the ability to promptly update the resource as necessary and share the up-to-date version with students.
However, this case study also recognises that challenges may be encountered, and mistakes may made be made, in the process of creating an OER for teaching in higher education. The greatest challenge discussed in this case study is the tremendous time commitment required to create an OER that is sufficiently extensive and detailed to replace a conventional textbook. The biggest mistake that is discussed is the failure to consult students, or form student partnerships, in creating the OER—which may result in an OER that is less accessible and/or comprehensible than it could be. The case study also foreshadows potential next steps, which include subjecting the OER to peer review, developing and publishing an improved version of it, and creating a similar OER for corporate law.
Acknowledgements
The OER that I created is Corporate Insolvency Law in Australia (2023) by Dr Paulina Fishman of Deakin University (‘CILIA’), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Although I am the sole creator of CILIA, I was fortunate to be advised by other Deakin University staff throughout the process. I am particularly grateful to Angie Williamson (Open Education Librarian), Astrid Bovell (Copyright Manager) and Luke Watsford (Senior Officer, Copyright). Except for one image, copyright in CILIA belongs to Deakin University.
Reasons for creating this OER
The problems of expense and excess
In early 2023, soon after I commenced working as a Lecturer (Corporate Law) at Deakin University, I was offered the chance to develop two units focusing on corporate insolvency law. It had been taught previously at the Deakin Law School—last time in Trimester 3 of 2021. Back then, the prescribed textbook was Michael Murray and Jason Harris, Keay’s Insolvency: Personal and Corporate Law and Practice (Thomson Reuters, 10th ed, 2018). The 11th edition of that book was published in