Teaching opportunities

Faculty teaching schemes and the Brilliant Club 

The Open University is a unique institution which has successfully developed its own style of teaching and module design; teaching opportunities at the OU are not conventional but will equip you with a distinct set of skills for the academic job market. Each Faculty offers the opportunity to get teaching experience and the schemes are outlined below. 

There is also the opportunity to join The Brilliant Club for paid opportunities to deliver academically rigorous programmes to small groups of high potential pupils from low HE-participation backgrounds. 

Faculty teaching schemes 

FASS 

The teaching scheme in FASS offers PhD students the opportunity to be involved in teaching at the OU. The scheme links each PhD student with a specific module as an ‘associate member’ of the module team for the length of the academic year, thus allowing them to gain an overview of the module’s design, content, teaching and assessment. The scheme also pairs each PhD student with an experienced Associate Lecturer (AL), the PhD student acting as a teaching assistant and the AL acting as a mentor.  

You will be contacted with information about the FASS teaching scheme by email in July and asked to apply for a place in September (there are currently 12 places on the scheme). 

FBL 

The scheme runs once a year and lasts for the duration of one module presentation or up to a maximum of 12 months. As FBL modules start at different times of the year, individual students may begin at different times, depending on their upgrade date and the start time of their allocated module. Successful applicants to the scheme are invited to an induction event and other relevant training opportunities, and allocated to an undergraduate or postgraduate module (whenever possible, taking into account applicants’ preferences), with which they are linked as an ‘Associate Member’ of the module team. They are matched for the duration of the module with a willing and experienced module mentor, who may be a central academic, a Student Experience Manager or an Associate Lecturer working on that module.

For more information and to apply, see The FBL Teaching Scheme for PhD Students (sharepoint.com). 

STEM 

Teaching opportunities in STEM are tailored to the needs of the individual researcher; to express interest in teaching opportunities please contact your Postgraduate Research Tutor in the first instance. 

WELS 

The Introduction to Teaching scheme in WELS aims to provide a structured approach to training PhD students in general teaching skills and, in particular, in distance learning provision which will give them a distinct set of skills in the job market after finishing their PhD.   

The scheme is disseminated via the WELS PhDs website forum, at induction and welcome back sessions, and via supervisors.  

Teaching scheme information (including application forms and deadlines) is available on our website: PhD students in WELS and MSTeams: WELS Introduction to Teaching Scheme for PhD Students. 

WELS offers its teaching scheme to its PhD students but hopes to shortly offer it to all research students. 

The Brilliant Club 

Outside of the Faculty schemes, paid teaching experience can also be found with the charity The Brilliant Club. 

1. Teaching and pedagogy – Tutors are trained and supported to design a programme of study and assessment for pupils. They will support pupils to bridge the gap between school and university and develop reflective pedagogical skills. 

2. Communication and Public Engagement – Tutors deliver a series of academic tutorials based around their expertise, allowing structured opportunities to disseminate their research to a non-specialist audience. This work has been evaluated by UCAS to show a “strongly significant” impact on pupils’ likelihood of progression to highly selective universities. 

3. Professional and Career Development – Tutors will develop their time management skills, confidence, and ability to form networks with other researchers. Throughout the programme there are a number of opportunities to develop transferable skills to support future careers both in and outside of academia. 

4. Fair Access – Tutors will build links with their local community through the school placement and will understand the barriers to HE. They will create learning environments to support the success of students from all backgrounds.