Co-INSPIRE

Positive Digital Practices

Contact: Kate Lister and Leigh Downes
Partner: University of Bradford, University of Warwick, Student Minds, Jisc, University Mental Health Advisory Network (UMHAN)

Co-created educational resources aimed at supporting the mental well-being of part-time, distance and commuter students.

A Black Sport and Fitness Student Network at the OU

Contact: Jim Lusted and Shannon Martin
Partner: Open University Students

Three phases of a staff/student collaboration project investigating ways to enhance the learning experiences of students with Black heritage on sports and fitness modules. Phase 1: An investigation into the experiences of and needs around student peer support. Phase 2: The establishment of the OU Sport Black Students Network. Phase 3: An evaluation of the network to gain insights into its early effectiveness in providing peer support to Black students. 

Service User and Carer Group in England

Contact: Jackie King-Owen
Partner: Service Users and Carers

This is a group of about 12 Service Users and Carers who meet bi-monthly to co-ordinate activities on three Social Work degree courses. Activities centre on teaching, critical reading, module production, research, web page updates, interviewing prospective students. They also support a cross-national perspective on Social Work delivery. 

Change laboratories for module co-creation with students

Contact: Helen Hendry
Partner: OU Masters in Education Students

Change Laboratories: This project tested a new approach to module co-creation with master’s in education students and staff. Using a Developmental Work Research approach and Change Laboratory method of interactive online workshops, we co-created materials that reflected the diversity of experiences of our student population and gathered student ideas for tasks and activities to be used in the module that reflect students’ diverse ways of learning. 

Mending the Gaps with Migrant parents

Contact: Helen Casey
Partner: Investing in People and Culture

Originating in Lund University Sweden, Mend the Gap is a participatory approach which we adapted as a new way of co-learning for social work (and other Higher education) students.  This project was with parents of children under five and aimed to promote mutual understanding of parents' experiences and social work support. The project led to collaborating with the Home Office and improved accommodation for single parents in the region.

Collaborative analysis of a qualitative interview dataset between OU staff and students

Contact: Anne Kagoya
Partners: OU Students and Staff

Three students studying a Master's in Education by distance learning collaborated with three OU staff to design and completed a study of student's views on how studying the Master's affects their views and practice of assessment through understandings of agency and identity.

Currere Cymru

Contact: Alison Glover
Partner: Co-creation with teachers

A project working with other HEIs in Wales and school practitioners to explore how curriculum theorising can help support teachers’ engagement with, and understanding of the curriculum.

Assessment, Identity and Agency in Masters study by Teaching Practitioners

Contact: Alison Fox
Partner: Co-creation with students

This was a student-led project which conducted research between Master's students, central academics and associate lecturers by students, leading to a webinar for the Master's in Education cohort and an online dataset for SAGE illustrating the co-design and collaborative analysis.

New collaborations to support children’s learning and wellbeing

Contact: Alison Buckler and Freda Wolfenden
Partner: The Learning Generation Initiative (formerly The Education Commission)

The Open University’s Centre for the Study of Global Development and the Learning Generation Initiative’s Education Workforce Initiative (EWI) have been collaborating on a series of initiatives focusing on education workforce research and reform. We have been exploring what we call ‘learning teams’: how different actors work with teachers in new ways to support children’s learning, with an emphasis on collaboration and partnerships. 

I-GATE

Contact: Tom Power
Partner: World Vision Zimbabwe, Care International, SNV, World Bicycle Relief, Emthonjeni Women’s Forum, Union for the Development of the Apostolic Church (Zimbabwe), Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Zimbabwe)

In collaboration with the government of Zimbabwe, IGATE-T sought to improve the life chances of over 70,000 marginalised girls by supporting their learning and helping them to transition from primary education to post-primary options.