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

119 results found

Enrichment workshops to enhance student engagement and employability

Janet Haresnape Ruth Gilbert Heather Fraser Hanne Bown David Ruiz Hannah Gandy

The aim of this project was to evaluate the programme of enrichment workshops which had been offered to biology and health sciences students in the School of Life, Health and Chemical sciences at the Open University during the summer months in 2022 and 2023.  The aims of the enrichment works

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Building a sense of community in a core 2nd level Physics module (S217) and investigating qualitatively its effect on retention

Anne-Katrin Klehe

The OU has a broad intake of students from a very wide breadth of educational backgrounds. Most students study part time, mostly up to 60 credits per year while at the same time working full time, looking after a family and/or caring for someone.

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Improving retention through small interventions: The U101 postcard project

Theodora Philcox Elouise Huxor

This project aims to improve student retention on U101, Design thinking. U101 is a gateway Level 1 design module and part of Q61 in Engineering and Innovation (E&I).

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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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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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Assessment and Feedback on Introduction of Group Work on M140

Ruth Neal Kellee Patterson

The aim of this project is to assess the impact on M140 of introducing group work, gain feedback from students and tutors and learn from this experience before rolling this out to all students.

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Innovation in online student support

Cath Brown Sue Pawley

Due to the increasing popularity of the Data Science degree, MST224, Mathematical methods, student numbers have increased significantly. This has resulted in the employment of significant numbers of Associate Lecturers (ALs), and we would like to use the resultant increase

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A personal tutor scheme to enhance student retention and improve success

Victoria Brown Cath Brown

Student retention and continuation are key drivers for this project.

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Exploring timeliness, positivity and collection rates of TMA feedback

Colette Christiansen

The correspondence tuition that tutors provide, via the Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs), is a key part of our teaching and support to students and represents a major investment of time and effort by tutors.

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Evaluating students’ experience of tuition in S217

Adam Freeman Anne-Katrin Klehe

Great effort and time is spent by Associate Lecturers (ALs) on delivering tutorials. Uptake of tutorials in all modules is low. This investigation will concentrate on the experience of students on S217, a second level physics module.

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