FASSTEST

FASS Centre for Scholarship and Innovation logo

FASSTEST brings together colleagues from across the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, 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 outcomes. FASSTEST supports a rolling portfolio of approximately 40 active scholarship projects under a number of themes which include:

  • Online and blended tuition
  • Assessment
  • Employability/careers
  • Equality, diversity and inclusion
  • Mental health and wellbeing
  • Multisensory/multimodal learning

If you are interested in learning more about a particular project or connecting with a project team, please contact us at FASS-Scholarship@open.ac.uk. 

Projects

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88 results found

The Experience of BAME Students on DE300

Project leader(s):  Sharon Xuereb

It is well documented that Black and Minority Ethnic (B.A.M.E.) students are awarded lower grades at university than their White counterparts. In the UK, a first class and second upper class degree classifications are considered ‘good degrees’.

Embedding Accessibility into the Curriculum: An Accessibility Tool as a Checklist

Project leader(s):  Rhiannon Edwards Shazna Muzammil Vanessa Moore

The Accessibility Tool is currently being piloted on modules presenting in 22B and 22J with the goal of disseminating the final version across OU by 23J.

Closing the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Enquirer and Recruitment Gap in FASS

Project leader(s):  Karen Hagan Lystra Hagley-Dickinson Pepta Joefield-Beeby Anna Clarke

The BAME Insight Factsheet produced by Marketing demonstrated that there is a BAME enquirer gap in the OU.

Evaluating the Impact of ‘You Can Do It!’ Catch-up Sessions

Project leader(s):  Zoe Doye Ieman Hassan Joanna Robson Judith Wilson-Hughes

We have been trialling tutor-led module-wide ‘you can do it’ catch-up sessions on three modules within SSGS (DD102 – 20J and 21B, DD206 – 20J and DD308 – 20J).  DD206 and DD308 ran these sessions initially, with DD102, co

Understanding African Postgraduate Student Experience

Project leader(s):  Cristina Santos Kevin Deane Frangton Chiyemura Maureen Mackintosh

The higher education sector has recognised and aims to address recruitment, retention, and award gaps of BAME students.

Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder): Understanding Students’ Requirements

Project leader(s):  Jo Horne Rhiannon Edwards Angela Eyre

Students with a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD), such as dyslexia and/or dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder; DCD), are more likely to leave Higher Education without completing their course and with poorer grades than their typically developing peers (Sumner et al., 2021).

Developing Academic Integrity in Postgraduate Students

Project leader(s):  Sue Nieland Paige Cuffe

This project will explore the development of postgraduate students’ understanding and practice of academic integrity, that is of good academic conduct, focusing particularly on the module Principles of Social and Psychological Inquiry.

Exploring Students’ Experiences of Full Time and Flexible Study Intensity on English and Creative Writing Qualifications

Project leader(s):  Hannah Lavery Natalie Lewis Clare Spencer Derek Neale Liz Ford

There is data suggesting that a significant success rate gap exists between students studying on our English and Creative Writing undergraduate degrees at full-time and part-time intensity.

Responding to Educational Need: Learnings from Time to Think

Project leader(s):  Philip O’Sullivan Gabi Kent Michael Doorley

Our purpose is to explore institutional learning from teaching in prisons during the conflict in Northern Ireland, in particular, how The Open University responded at that time to an immediate and emerging educational and social need.

The Next Chapter: Understanding the Career Aspirations of Students on the MA in Creative Writing, and Developing Teaching and Assessment to Support Them

Project leader(s):  Heather Richardson Ed Hogan Claire Blanchard Lindsey Smith

Creative Writing MAs in traditional bricks and mortar universities such as University of East Anglia and Lancaster are highly selective in their intake and attract students who intend to pursue literary writing as a career.