ECYS News

Tutor Stuart Wroe reveals what it was like to win a 2021 WELS Tutor Award, as well as the places his impressive career has taken him – and the hobby that’s seen him followed by a BBC documentary crew.

Research by WELS academics has resulted in 14 nominations at this year’s Open University Research Excellence Awards, including a project heralded as ‘groundbreaking’ by Dame Elizabeth Fradd DBE.

Research by the WELS School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport (ECYS) has been used to create an innovative new reading app.

Monday 20 June is International Father’s Mental Health Day, and its timing – directly following Father’s Day – is no coincidence. Dr Martin Robb, a Health, Wellbeing and Social Care Senior Lecturer specialising in Fatherhood and Masculinity, explains why this event is equally as important, if perhaps not more so. 

The WELS School of Languages and Applied Linguistics (LAL) has contributed to an OU support package for Ukrainian refugees, which aims to help those affected by the war settle into their new homes in the UK and Ireland.

In 2021, the Faculty of WELS introduced the WELS Tutor Awards for the first time, providing students with the opportunity to recognise the dedication and skill of their tutors. Following the awards, analysis was carried out on the nominations to better understand what students valued from their tutors.

An OU study to professionally develop maths teachers in low- and middle-income countries is one of the projects within Edtech Hub’s first research portfolio, and will investigate the impact of technology on teaching in Bangladesh. 

For many OU students the thought of a TMA, or Tutor Marked Assignment, fills them with dread. To help you overcome those fears, and kick start your assignment writing, we spoke to several WELS Tutors to get their top tips for writing essay-style TMAs.

OU Students Association President, Sarah Jones, is currently studying for her Masters in Education with WELS. Here, she shares with us how studying with the OU has changed her life, built her confidence and allowed her to follow in her father’s footsteps.

The winners of this year’s WELS Student, Tutor and Teaching Excellence Awards were announced at the virtual WELS Teaching Excellence Day on Tuesday 5 October. In total, 21 awards were made across the three categories.