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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10 results found

Teaching Critical Thinking Skills

Project leader(s):  Sue Nieland Ian McGarry Amita Sen-Gupta

In the age of digital information and high levels of technology in academic life, critical thinking skills are not just considered as an element of academic literacy; they have been interpreted in terms of the ability to use Microsoft Office and reference managing software effectively when underg

An Examination of Motivation and Engagement of Students Studying at Different Intensities

Project leader(s):  Cathy Schofield Alison Gisby

With respect to contributions to the larger body of literature, motivation has been an important area of educational research for many years, but with more online courses being offered there has also been a move in focus towards engagement with the course in a way that was not so necessary

Supporting Younger Students with Weekly Communications

Project leader(s):  Sue Nieland

This project explores whether structured weekly email contact, relating to specific aspects of the module that students are studying, helps to support and retain younger students (i.e. those aged under 25 years). 

(Not) On My Own: Using Online Communities of Practice (CoP) to Encourage Development of Academic Identity of Distance Tutor

Project leader(s):  Marianna Latif Malik Refaat

DE200 is in a unique position in 19J presentation as we are lowering the group size from 20 to 15, hence need to recruit a large number of ALs to cover the groups (approximately 35). This will include ALs new to the University as well as existing ALs new to the module. 

Monitoring the monitoring: Exploring the impact of structured monitoring meetings on DE100 monitor satisfaction, dialogue and feedback

Project leader(s):  Charlotte Lattin-Rawstrone

The Open University is unique in its provision of distance learning provision to a vast number of learners. Distance tuition relies on a high standard of correspondence tuition as it is the feedback that students receive that is the basis of their personalised learning journey.

Exploring the Role of Video Pod Usage in Online Sessions

Project leader(s):  Sinead Eccles Karen Twiselton

This two-stage project is aimed at mapping a period of change within the Open University (OU) where Associate Lecturers (ALs) are encouraged to activate their camera (or video-pod) whilst delivering online tutorials.

Does peer interaction in online tutorials impact the student experience?

Project leader(s):  Eimear O'Connor Katie Rix

When studying distance learning, researchers often focus on improving the interaction between attendees (e.g. Bernard et al., 2009). However, this type of research is often based on the assumption that interaction is beneficial for all students.

Face to Face Day schools: Understanding attendance and non-attendance on psychology modules

Project leader(s):  Caroline Kelly Katy Smith Marianna Latif Rachel Penny Paige Cuffe Madeline Knightley

This project aimed to understand attendance for optional face-to-face tuition events on psychology modules. A mixed method approach was used to capture the student voice, and the five methods are presented here.

Impact on formal points of tutor contact on student outcome and experience on new L1 module D120

Project leader(s):  Marianna Latif Alicia Townshend

This study aims to explore the impact of early tutor contact on the D120 module, looking at the student experience, the tutor relationship and retention and progression. D120 is a new level 1 psychology module which started in October 2023.

Students' Experience of Research Methods Teaching Level 2

Project leader(s):  Jennifer Mattschey

The project investigates Psychology students’ perception of both quantitative and qualitative research methods teaching at level 2, with the aim to identify new and more effective approaches to teaching these topics.