Engaging Students as Partners in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) refers to a set of activities which investigate how aspects of teaching and learning can be improved for the benefit of students.

Within The Open University, this is coordinated by Centres for Scholarship and Innovation which are based in each of the four Faculties. These Centres support projects and activities that aim, for example, to

There are four main ways in which these Centres involve students in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning:

(A) As participants in scholarship projects via the completion of surveys, or participating in interviews or focus groups.

(B) As participants in workshops, events and conferences organised by the Centres for Scholarship and Innovation.

(C) Helping to set priorities for scholarship activities and projects (within Faculty Centres and also as part of the university-wide Scholarship Steering Group).

(D) As student partners or co-researchers working on scholarship projects alongside academics.

Student participation in scholarship is vital to ensure the student voice and perspective is represented in all aspects of teaching and learning at The Open University. Scholarship project findings lead to changes in module materials, to assessment, to tuition and more. Students participating in activities such as surveys and focus groups, or being a student partner on a scholarship project, gives academics access to deeper, richer data that translates into more detailed recommendations for a better learning experience for students. It also offers students an opportunity to gain valuable, transferable employability skills.

Student partnership opportunities are advertised on places such as module sites, Study Home or the Student Voice Community website , or you may receive a dedicated email about a survey, event or focus group. Depending on faculty and requirement, some co-researcher roles are remunerated whereas others are voluntary. Projects often offer vouchers to participants to thank them for their involvement in surveys, focus groups and/or interviews. To recognise student commitment, each centre also offers a 'Student Partner in Educational Research' digital badge to students who accumulate 8 hours or more of working on scholarship projects.

Do look out for emails about our scholarship projects and make time to respond, as we can only improve the teaching and support we offer with your help. You can also contact your faculty’s scholarship centre directly for more information:

Both eSTEeM and SCiLAB also have a register of interest where you can sign up to be notified as and when opportunities arise ( click here to register your interest for eSTEeM and click here to register your interest for SCiLAB ). Note: Only current undergraduates in STEM and FBL may register their interest with their respective scholarship centre.