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Dr Fiona Aiken

Profile summary

Professional biography

 I am a Senior Lecturer & staff tutor in Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences. I am home-based, living in Northern Ireland. I am  the Students Support Team Lead  and the Deputy Scholarship Lead  for the school. I am   also an  Associate Lecturer  teaching U116, Environment:journeys through a changing world.

Research interests

My research interests lie in Educational research. I have undertaken a number of scholarship projects within the Open University and funded by the PILS CETL and  eSTEeM. Currently I'm a Co-I on 2 eSTEeM projects, one ttitled the Evaluation and improvement of print packs use for Environmental Science students and the second one is titled, Typical support seeking behaviour of STEM students, their outcomes and successes. 

Teaching interests

My background is in chemistry, however I have worked as an Associate Lecturer for the OU for over 29 years. The modules have I taught on have  included Access, Level 1 Science and Environment, Level 2 Chemistry and Environmental Science and level 3 Environment. Currently I'm  a staff tutor on S111, S112, S309, S397, SXG390. I'm also still an AL on  U116, Environment:journeys through a changing world. 

Publications

Sharing good practice and encouraging community cohesion online: a programme of tutor-led online events for Open University tutors (2022)
Haresnape, Janet M.; Aiken, Fiona J. and Wynn, Nirvana C.
Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 37(1) (pp. 30-52)


Supporting distance-taught students in the workplace (2019)
MacQueen, Hilary and Aiken, Fiona
Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning, 10(1) (pp. 49-60)


Reflections on the 2017 HEA STEM conference: graduate employability challenges and solutions (2018-10-15)
Chetwynd, Frances; Aiken, Fiona and Jefferis, Helen
Higher Education Pedagogies, 3(1) (pp. 490-494)


Proton transfer from carbon. A study of the acid-base-catalysed relaxation and the bromination of aryl-substituted methanedisulfones (1993)
Aiken, Fiona; Cox, Brian G. and Sørensen, Poul E.
Journal of the Chemical Society: Perkin Transactions 2, 1993(4) (pp. 783-790)


Improving equity of experience in distance education for students with challenges accessing online learning environments (2023-10)
Aiken, Fiona J. and Hutton, Christopher
In : EDEN 2023 Annual Conference “Yes we can!” – Digital Education for Better Futures (18-20 Jun 2023, Dublin, Ireland)


Evaluating the effectiveness of printed materials as an alternative to online resources (2022-07-06)
Hutton, Christopher and Aiken, Fiona
In : Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference 2022: Teaching in the spotlight: Where next for enhancing student success? (5-7 Jul 2022, Northumbria University, Newcastle)


Exploring student perceptions of employability skills development using radar charts in first year science (2022)
Aiken, Fiona J. and Hutton, Christopher
In : Towards Smart and Inclusive Learning Ecosystem. EDEN 2022 Research Workshop (19-20 Sep 2022, Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb, Croatia) (pp. 77-82)


Evaluation of students’ employability skills development and the use of radar diagrams in Personal Development Planning (2021-06-30)
Aiken, Fiona and Hutton, Christopher
In : Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference: Making Connections and Sharing Pedagogy (29-30 Jun 2021, Virtual)


Student perceptions and development of employability skills in a multidisciplinary, Level 4 Science module (2020-01-29)
Hutton, Christopher and Aiken, Fiona
In : Advance HE STEM Conference 2020, STEM Graduates for a world of change (29-30 Jan 2020, Manchester)


Best practice for supporting students in the workplace. (2018-10-24)
Aiken, Fiona and MacQueen, Hilary
In : 10th EDEN Research Workshop (24-26 Oct 2018, Barcelona)


Getting a leg up over the coding barrier: pre-start programming bootcamps for Stage 2 students (2017)
Chetwynd, Frances; Aiken, Fiona and Jefferis, Helen
In : HEA STEM Conference 2017 (1-2 Feb 2017, Manchester Conference Centre)


How high is the coding barrier? A quantitative analysis of student transitions from stage 1 to stage 2 programming (2017)
Chetwynd, Frances; Aiken, Fiona and Jefferis, Helen
In : HEA STEM Conference 2017 (1-2 Feb 2017, Manchester Conference Centre)


Breaking the coding barrier: transition from Level 1 to Level 2 programming (2018)
Chetwynd, Frances; Aiken, Fiona and Jefferis, Helen
OU centre for STEM pedagogy - eSTEeM, Open University, Milton Keynes.