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

273 results found

Perceptions and Experiences of STEM Academic Promotion (Professorial): Case study from the Open University, UK

Diane Butler Soraya Kouadri Mostéfaoui Jimena Gorfinkiel Mark McJury

The study adopts a qualitative approach to determine academics’ experiences and perceptions of the Professorial Promotions process (PB1 only) within the Faculty of STEM, Open University.

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Understanding the impact of ongoing support for students returning to study after reaching Restricted status

Elizabeth Shakespeare Anthony Short

Student retention and continuation are key drivers for this project. They are also key focus areas for the University.

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Identifying and supporting skills development needs for undergraduate science students transitioning between stages 1, 2 and 3 in Environmental Science

Fiona Aiken Iris Verhagen Chris Hutton

With ever increasing focus on the need to support progression in our diverse student body, we are seeking to identify the most important skills gaps that present challenges to students on environmental and Earth science modules in EEES as they move from stage 1 to stage 2 and from stage 2 to stag

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Facilitating and evaluating the use of virtual reality tutorials within the school of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences

Lucy Anderson Janette Wallace Sarah Daniell Trevor Collins

This proposal seeks to improve student engagement and skills development (specifically, collaboration and communication skills) through the introduction and evaluation of web-based virtual reality (VR) tutorials within the School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences (LHCS).

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Do students benefit from having continuity in their module tutors between level 1 and level 2 on Q71, Health Sciences?

Sarah Daniell Fiona Moorman Katie Acutt

Students currently have little continuity of contact with their allocated tutors on the different modules throughout their qualification. Currently student retention on Q71 Health Sciences is concerning.

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Exploring life competences and green skills for 21st century designers

Emma Dewberry Vera Hale

This project aligns with current developments in the Open University to explore the relationship between Sustainability goals, curriculum design and opportunities for progressing employability outcomes.

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Investigating the value of online ‘quiet’ tutorials for Level 1 Interdisciplinary Environment students

Alice Fraser-McDonald Maria Townsend

Autistic and neurodivergent students, as well as others with declared mental health issues, may find attending live online tutorials challenging (Hunter, no date).

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) - does student knowledge and perceptions of its use as a learning support tool align with academic staff approaches to embedding AI activities and tools in the curriculum?

Servel Miller Jenny Duckworth

As highlighted by the recent Global Student AI Survey, over 84% of university students are using Large Language Model (LLM) Artificial Intelligence (AI) for their study on a regular basis (Digital Education Council, 2024).

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S111 Students’ Perceptions of University Communications

Maria Velasco Victoria Pearson Linda Moore

An outcome of our previous work investigating the reasons behind passive withdrawals on a Stage 1 introductory science module identified that some students receive large numbers of diverse email communications from across the University. This project investigates whether these communications

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Exploring student perception of laboratory workbooks: authentic learning or missed opportunity?

Karen New Lorraine Waters Sarah Daniell

Accurate record keeping is an important employability skill that students need to develop in any scientific discipline.

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