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eSTEeM Projects

eSTEeM is 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 outputs. 

eSTEeM supports a rolling portfolio of approx. 80 active scholarship projects under a number of themes which include:

  • Access, Participation and Success
  • Innovative assessment
  • Online/onscreen STEM practice
  • Supporting students
  • Technologies for STEM learning

To learn more about our projects, please click on the project titles or use the search feature below by entering keywords. To search by the name of a project leader, please use the 'Filter by Project Leader' tab on the right-hand side of this page.

The search found 246 result(s)

Search results

    Gaining a deeper understanding of the experience and equitability of extensions and their impact on retention for Stage 1 Engineering students

  1. Emma Champion
  2. Previous scholarship has shown that students with extensions have poorer outcomes on modules and that extensions are used by a higher proportion of students within Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) groups.

    February 2024 to December 2024

    Evaluating the outcomes of embedding coding activities in an advanced physics and astronomy module

  3. Judith Croston
  4. Two key barriers to student success in advanced physics and astronomy modules are (i) the abstract nature of key concepts that are far removed from everyday life, and (ii) the use of complex maths formalism that can obscure physical interpretation.

    August 2024 to July 2026

    How do students use tutorial recordings and which formats are most effective?

  5. Cath BrownCatherine OnionsCharlotte Hancox
  6. Post-pandemic, students’ live attendance at online tutorials has declined significantly but it is not uncommon to see hundreds of views of recordings.

    June 2024 to June 2027

    Evaluation of Digital Assets to support LHCS Students’ Sense of Belonging

  7. Zoë ChapmanJanette Wallace
  8. With an increase in HEI’s offering online distance learning programmes because of the pandemic (Lockee.B.B 2021), supporting student retention and attainment has become a key mission within the OU to remain competitive.

    July 2024 to July 2026

    Mathematics support in LHCS

  9. Eleanor CrabbNicola McIntyreCath Brown
  10. Science students need to develop a level of competence in mathematics to succeed in their studies.  However, Open University students in chemistry, biology and health sciences may well be unaware of the need for mathematical skills prior to embarking on their studies, and given the open entry pol

    June 2024 to December 2026

    Evaluating the impact on attainment and retention of implementing TMA-specific assessment checklists in LHCS modules

  11. Kate FoxHeather Fraser
  12. Most students feel some level of anxiety when completing and submitting their tutor marked assignments (TMAs). In addition, there is an awarding gap between students with anxiety-related mental health issues or neurodiversity, compared to their peers across Higher Education.

    June 2024 to September 2026

    Supporting learning with a collaborative notetaking tool to work within a Jupyter Notebook environment

  13. Oli Howson
  14. At the moment M269 students work entirely within the Jupyter infrastructure. Notetaking is not built in to Jupyter, although a rudimentary plugin has been developed for students to do so.

    July 2024 to December 2025

    Improving completion of remote examinations in physics

  15. Sally JordanJonathan NylkBecca Whitehead
  16. The project seeks to extend earlier investigations into the factors that enable students to do themselves justice in remote online exams in physics and related subjects, by encouraging them to attempt the exam in the first place and to complete a reasonable number of questions to an appropriate l

    June 2024 to September 2025

    Gamification to increase participation in maths practice quizzes in Level 1 Engineering modules

  17. Silvia Varagnolo Zahra Golrokhi
  18. The aim of this project is to improve students’ engagement with maths exercise through the gamification of existing practice quizzes. The specific context is T192 (the first module in the Engineering Qualification) which already features weekly maths practice quizzes.

    June 2024 to December 2025

    Evaluating an LGBTQ+ awarding gap and supporting our queer student community: An intersectional perspective (Phase 1)

  19. Willow NealEmmanuel Zuza
  20. Being LGBTQ+ exposes people to various stigmas and inequalities; societal, cultural, and legal, which are exacerbated when intersecting with other marginalised identities, such as race, disability or socio-economic status.

    June 2024 to October 2025