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Grant Holder(s)
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Project Title & Abstract
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Grant Status
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Dr Helen Hooper,
Amber Cassells,
Savannah Lawson,
Dr Kirsty Lindsay,
Neil Guthrie
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Enhancing University Learning and Teaching practice through an Activity Theory analysis of the lived experiences of technicians who teach
Higher Education Institutes place emphasis on the induction of academic staff into professional practice, in order to enhance the quality of student learning in Higher Education and previous research has explored the implications of different departmental and disciplinary cultures on the provision of effective workplace learning and reflection opportunities for early career academics.
In contrast, the role and impact of technicians who teach is under-recognised in many HEIs, and the perceptions of technicians about their induction into teaching and their teaching experiences remains an under- researched area. Given there is little research exploring technical staff experiences, this is also underdeveloped as a pedagogical approach for enhancing teaching and the student learning experience.
We will recruit and conduct semi-structured interviews with technicians who teach across disciplinary work groups. Cultural Historical Activity Theory will be used as a framework for our collaborative research, to change thinking and practice through identification and understanding contradictions in the ‘Activity System’ for effective practices surrounding induction of technical staff into teaching.
Our project builds upon previous SEDA supported research that explored the experiences of new academic staff and provides opportunity to compare and evaluate the findings from different HE staff groups who teach in order to identify shared and contradictory experiences.
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Ongoing
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Dr Rehan Shah,
Dr. Matthew Cole,
Noleen Chikowore
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AI in Academia’: An audit of educational developers’ use of, and attitude towards, Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Higher and Further Education
The rise of Generative AI has led some institutions to provide student guidance on appropriate use, while a small number of studies have explored student perceptions of AI in Higher Education. However, there is limited research on AI usage and perceptions among educational developers. While some larger universities have started offering general AI guidance to their staff, a gap remains in understanding how educational developers, especially from small and specialist institutions, currently engage with AI.
This project aims to audit educational developers across 3 UK institutions to shape future AI guidance and contribute to ongoing research, including the 2024 SEDA-funded study on multimodal learning and AI. By leveraging a diverse team across multiple institutions, the project will provide a broad, interdisciplinary perspective.
The research questions are:
•How is AI is currently used in practice by educational developers?
•What are their attitudes towards AI integration in education?
•What are the existing gaps in their knowledge, competence, and confidence of AI use?
The study employs a multi-phase, iterative approach to:
•Review literature – Scope AI applications in educational development
•Survey staff – Audit AI usage across three institutions
•Conduct focus groups – Gather qualitative insights on attitudes and behaviours
Key outputs include:
•open-access infographics
•research paper for the Innovations in Education and Teaching International journal
•institutional seminar presentations
•session at the SEDA Spring Conference 2026.
These resources will benefit educational developers across HE and FE sectors and serve as a valuable platform for the development of guidance for learner developers’ AI use in the future.
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Ongoing
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Dr Elizabeth FitzGerald
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Exploring personalisation of teaching resources with students identified with mental health difficulties
Mental health (MH) difficulties among university students are a significant and growing concern. The transition to university life involves various stressors, such as academic pressures, financial challenges, and social adjustments. These factors can worsen existing MH conditions or lead to the development of new ones. Research shows that many university students face MH issues like anxiety, depression, and stress, which can negatively impact their academic performance, engagement, and overall well-being. The Open University (OU) has the highest number of part-time distance learning and mature students declaring a MH condition across the UK, and that proportion has increased year-on-year over the past decade.
To address this issue, innovative approaches tailored to students’ diverse needs are essential. One promising strategy is the personalisation of teaching resources to enhance learning experiences and support MH, such as adapting instructional materials/methods, and assessments to better meet students’ needs. The best ways to personalise education to effectively address MH concerns are not yet fully understood, highlighting the need for further investigation.
In this investigation, we will focus on psychology students, as our Student Advisers have identified them as having the highest number of mental health issues. This should provide insight into how they would like their learning to be personalised to address their mental health needs.
It is hoped that these findings will be included in BlueSky, Facebook, the next OU Teaching and Learning Plan to model good modes of practice with these students and two online seminars (internal and external) will be delivered also.
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Ongoing
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Maxwell Addo & Steph Fuller
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Evaluating the longer-term impact of educational development across institutions
This project seeks to expand research into the impact of educational development programmes via a cross-institutional approach. Developed out of a diverse group of institutions working in London and the South East, we are developing a model for longitudinal impact evaluation of education development activities that can be useful to others across the sector. Programme alumni will be partners in guiding and developing all phases of the project. Funding will be used to support employment of an alumna/alumnus as co-researcher to develop data collection tools, support data collection and lead data analysis.
The project will contribute to research into the impact of education development programmes across personal, professional and institutional dimensions. Outputs will include conference presentations (including at SEDA), publication of findings (via Innovations in Education and Teaching International) and a toolkit for developing an alumni-as-partners evaluation approach for educational development activities. This toolkit could be disseminated via the SEDA blog and other channels.
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Ongoing
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Hannah Robinson,
Dr Sarah Rose,
Dr Romina Vivaldi,
Dr Jade Elliott
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Humour use in Higher Education Teaching: Development of a humour style use toolkit
Previous literature identifies the importance of humour in an educational environment, with studies identifying differing outcomes on students’ educational experiences based on the styles of humour being used by academics. However, despite recognition of its importance, there is currently no available tools or resources to support academics with incorporating humour into their teaching. This research aims to co-create a humour styles toolkit for use by academics in higher education classes. The toolkit will enable academics to intentionally develop both their understanding and application of context appropriate humour to effectively support their learners. This will be achieved through: (1) co-creation of the humour styles toolkit (HST) with academics, (2) pilot of the HST at institutions across the United Kingdom (UK). In the first phase participants will be asked to attend a World Café at one of two institutions. Using the data collected the HST will be developed and shared with academics during an online event to gain feedback on the tool. The second phase of this research will pilot the use of the toolkit with academics across the UK. At the end of the teaching block participating academics and their students will be asked to complete a short survey with the option to opt-in to one-to-one interviews. Participants will be asked to evaluate how beneficial the toolkit was for using humour and provide suggestions for improvement.
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Ongoing
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