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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30 results found

Does Wi-Fi/Data Connectivity Disadvantage OU Students?

Project leader(s):  Sonja Rewhorn Vicky Johnson

Since March 2020 many of us have had to move to working from home using our home internet whether as Wi-Fi or data.  As well as work shifting to online, The Open University also moved all its tuition seminars online.    

The Role of Peer-to-Peer Mentoring in a Distance Learning University: An Evaluation of a Three-Year Pilot in the Arts and Social Sciences

Project leader(s):  Joanna Robson Tina Forbes Sue Watkins

Following two successful small-scale pilots in 2015 and 2017 the current project evaluates the upscaled peer-to-peer mentoring scheme rolled out in the Open University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in 2020 - 2023.

Proscribed Fictions: The Place of Colonial and/or Racist Literature in Curricular Decolonisation

Project leader(s):  Alex Tickell Michael O'Flynn Angela Eyre

This project responds to a practical problem faced by members of the module production team on the new English MA (A893).

Decolonising Religious Studies and Promoting Student Retention

Project leader(s):  Suzanne Newcombe Paul-François Tremlett John Maiden Hugh Beattie

Phase 1 has been completed, and an application for Phase 2 of this project has been approved in principle and is being refined in light of feedback received from the FASSTEST Coordination Group and EDI team. Details will be available soon. 

Understanding How Social Anxiety Affects Participation in Online Tutorials

Project leader(s):  Janet Hunter

Anyone who has taught via online platforms will be aware that some students find it hard to engage with this medium of learning. Many students sign up to such sessions but do not join on the day, whilst others do not sign up at all.

Personal and Empathetic Dialogue: An Investigation into the role of correspondence tuition in supporting student progression and retention

Project leader(s):  Zoe Doye Judith Wilson-Hughes Lucy Rumney

This study links together research on the role of feedback/correspondence tuition in student engagement and student retention and progression.

An Enquiry into the Impact of TMA Extensions: Stage 1

Project leader(s):  Zoe Doye Ieman Hassan

This project aims to explore whether the granting of extensions to TMA cut off dates has any impact on student retention and whether there is a relationship between TMAs and extensions in relation to different student groups at Level 1. 

Understanding Student Learning of Emotive and Sensitive Content

Project leader(s):  Julia Downes Ruth Wall Anne Alvaer

This ongoing project investigates how diverse distance students learn about sensitive and emotive topics in an undergraduate introductory criminology module.

An Investigation into the Use of Peer Observation as a Tool for Professional Development and an Aid to Developing a Professional Evaluative Culture Among Associate Lecturers

Project leader(s):  Judith Wilson-Hughes Tatiana Blackmore Liz Wright

The idea for this scholarship project stemmed from the search for alternative routes of professional development which can be offered to Associate Lecturers (tutors).  The recent changes in teaching practice following the introduction of the group tuition policy in 2016 brought a shift

Exploring the Use of WhatsApp in a Distance Learning Context

Project leader(s):  Zoe Doye

The focus of the proposed scholarship project is to explore the perceived advantages and disadvantages to using WhatsApp within distance education.