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

Search results

21 results found

Improving the Retention and Progression of Students on the Arts and Humanities Access Module at the Open University

Project leader(s):  Hannah Lavery Steve Padley Anactoria Clarke

This project aims to improve the retention and progression of students on our Arts and Humanities Access module by trialling additional support and advice initiatives.

Raising Student Awareness of Employability Through Multiple Curriculum Adjustments at the Module Level

Project leader(s):  Jonquil Lowe

DB125 You and Your Money replaced DB123 from October 2018J.

Running an Effective Online Gallery Visit

Project leader(s):  Lindsay Crisp Veronica Davies

We know that there are a number of both tangible and intangible ‘tried and tested’ benefits of face-to-face gallery visits.

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

Identifying Future Directions: Where do Final Year Psychology and Counselling Students Find Information about Postgraduate Study?

Project leader(s):  Rhiannon Edwards Mary Dobson

Research question: Where do final year Psychology and Counselling students gain information about postgraduate study? 

OU Student Views on Work Experience, Work Placements and Virtual Internships

Project leader(s):  Volker Patent Gemma Godfrey

This project aims to further understanding of the views and perceptions of students on work experience and work-placements at the Open University.

Evaluating the Inclusion of Academic Coaching within an Online-Only Postgraduate Module (DD801)

Project leader(s):  Lucy Wilde Kesi Mahendran Jitse van Ameijde

The central aim of the project is to evaluate the academic coaching provided in DD801.

An examination of social and cultural factors that may affect engagement in study activities linked to academic writing skills

Project leader(s):  Sharon Xuereb Cathy Schofield

It is vital for students to understand and uphold the principles of academic integrity throughout their studies. Although this is often a value that is promoted by higher education institutions from the outset, academic misconduct does appear to be a growing problem.

Transition to Postgraduate Study: the MA in Music

Project leader(s):  Rosemary Golding Byron Dueck

This project considers some of the barriers students might face when moving onto the MA in Music, either from within the OU or with prior experience of higher education from external institutions.

Exploring Welsh medium tuition in Psychology and Counselling OU modules at Level 1 – Phase 1

Project leader(s):  Emma Roberts Sue Stradling Nia Coles-Jones

The Welsh Government’s strategic framework aims to increase the number of Welsh speakers to one million by 2050.