What are the benefits of scholarship?

In addition to any direct benefits to student learning arising from scholarship projects, there are other equally important benefits.

For the Faculty

• Increased focus on an evidence-based approach to curriculum/faculty initiatives
• Formation of cross-disciplinary teams and the development of good working relationships across boundaries
• Involvement of Associate Lecturers in supporting projects
• Upskilling of academics in the use of learning analytics
• Raise awareness of the OU’s brand in open and distance learning, allowing us to remain at the forefront of development

For the School

Within the STEM Faculty each school has a Scholarship Lead who plays a pivotal role in helping to raise the profile of scholarly research and advising eSTEeM on ways to integrate and mainstream its activities with wider faculty plans.

For the individual

There are numerous benefits for the scholarship practitioners themselves. Faculty-led scholarship allows practitioners who are new to educational research to test the water, relying on the support and community eSTEeM provides. 

Many academics involved in practitioner-led scholarship cite professional development as a massive benefit of starting a project. Small scale projects provide an opportunity for staff who are new to pedagogic research to develop their skills and make a demonstrable impact on student learning. For some project participants a scholarship project is the first step to new opportunities to develop their career, allowing them to attend and disseminate at conferences and publish their work.

As a project leader, I learnt a lot about surveying students, including getting ethical approval, designing questionnaire and interview questions, recruiting students and analysing qualitative research results. This was not the only benefit, but the project also helped me to develop my cases for the Applaud Senior Fellowship and promotion. eSTEeM Project Leader