eSTEeM

Centre for Scholarship and Innovation

Conference delegates working in groups

Projects

eSTEeM is providing a mechanism for professional development through practice-based scholarship within a mentored community. Much of our work is organised on a project basis with project management aimed at the delivery of new educational outcomes and scholarship outputs. 

eSTEeM supports a rolling portfolio of approx. 80 active scholarship projects under a number of themes which include:

  • Access, Participation and Success
  • Innovative assessment
  • Online/onscreen STEM practice
  • Supporting students
  • Technologies for STEM learning

To learn more about our projects, please click on the project titles or use the search feature below by entering keywords. To search by the name of a project leader, please use the 'Filter by Project Leader' tab on the right-hand side of this page.

Search results

215 results found

Is the cost of home experiments a potential barrier to learning? Experiences from two level one science modules

Louise MacBrayne Zoë Chapman

Practical work in the form of home experiments has always formed an integral part of the science curriculum for teaching and assessment.

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Improving retention through small interventions: The U101 postcard project

Theodora Philcox Elouise Huxor

Post pandemic, student retention on the Level One design module Design Thinking: Creativity for the 21st Century was notably lower than on other comparable Level 1 modules in the School of Engineering and Innovation (E&I).

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How should formative assessments be assessed? A study of S217 online quizzes

Jonathan Nylk Andy Diament

The aim of this project is to evaluate the level of student engagement with the online quizzes on S217 Physics: from Classical to Quantum, comparing the current model of assessment with a formative thresholded assessment model which has been shown to have a marked positive impact on stud

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Ecoanxiety and environmental education: stories, conversations, actions

Sarah Davies

Ecoanxiety – the distress related to climate and ecological crises – is increasingly recognised in learners by educators (Hickman et al, 2021), in the media (e.g., BBC Ideas 2021, Rannard, 2022) as well as through programmes of advice and education (e.g., Wright, 2022).

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Recruiting tutors to specialist modules in the School of Computing and Communications at the Open University

David McDade

Highly Commended - eSTEeM Scholarship Projects of the Year Awards 2025.

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Team Based Learning tutorials in S248

Kate Nixon Nick Chatterton

This project seeks to improve student engagement in tutorials in S248 Chemistry in life: food, water and medicines.

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Exploring the impact of virtual reality on engagement and accessibility of tutorials for students studying S296

Sarah Daniell Lorraine Waters Katja Rietdorf

One of the key challenges within the Open University (OU) is the lack of student engagement, which impacts students’ continuation and completion of their studies.

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Peer-learning activity for communicating algorithms in a Level 2 computer science module

Ravi Rajani

Peer learning is widely believed to address essential transferable skills such as teamworking, communication, and critical enquiry, that are not easily pursued by other means (Topping, 1998; Boud, Cohen and Sampson, 1999).

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Sharing tutorial slides before online events: an evaluation of current practice and perceived benefits and barriers

Jenny Duckworth Jennie Bellamy Harriet Marshall

Access to slides in advance of online tutorials is thought to benefit many learners.

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An evaluation of the use and impact of Network Mapping to support the transition to university of Engineering and Design & Innovation students from the 20% most deprived areas in the UK

Andrea Patel Chris Corcoran

The overall project aim was to demonstrate the use of Support Network Mapping as a student-centred approach to support transition to university for undergraduate Engineering and undergraduate Design and Innovation students who reside in areas of the UK associated with higher level of socioeconomi

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