The Open University

Teachers recognised for important work in encouraging reading for pleasure

29 March 2019

Last week, the winners of the 2019 Egmont Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards, in association with The Open University and the UK Literacy Association (UKLA) were announced at a conference hosted by the OU. Launched in 2017 following extensive research into reading for pleasure by the OU, Egmont and UKLA, the awards aim to demonstrate […]

Demelza Dachtler receiving Commanding Officers Commendation with her mother, Julie

Following in her mother’s footsteps

29 March 2019

As a child Demelza Dachtler grew up watching her mother, Julie, study for a Masters with The Open University. Today, she’s an OU graduate herself, is on the verge of completing her own OU Masters, and is about to become a mother for the first time. We spoke to Demelza last year, and now, in the […]

Schools need to prepare today’s students to tackle global challenges

14 March 2019

Professor Peter Twinning, Professor of Education (Futures) at The Open University discusses why the UK’s school system needs to change. Traditional models of schooling are based on a desire for standardisation and compliance, for a mass of industrial age ‘production line’ workers (with the majority of the small number of leaders and thinkers coming from […]

Keep reading to children into their teenage years, urge experts

5 March 2019

Only 32% of British children under 13 are read to daily by an adult, for pleasure, down 9% since 2012, according to the annual reading habits survey by Nielsen Book Research. The research also reveals that most parents stop reading to their child by the age of eight. Teresa Cremin, Professor of Literacy and a […]

Meet the Expert: Martin Weller

4 March 2019

Last month, Martin Weller, Professor of Educational Technology at The Open University delivered his inaugural lecture to an audience of over 200. As part of the OU’s 50th anniversary celebrations, Martin examined the meaning of the term ‘open’ and considered what an ‘Open University’ would look like if we were to invent it now. Martin has […]

Teens sleep debate is a health issue, says OU academic

11 February 2019

As MPs debate whether the school day should start later, The OU’s Dr Paul Kelley said there are biological reasons why teenagers do stay up late and lie in longer. A petition of more than 179,000 signatures online has sparked the debate on Monday February 11 in Parliament, focused on schools in England, to consider […]

Play, wonder and empathy – the next big educational trends identified

3 January 2019

The future of education isn’t all about pushing technology into classrooms, says the latest report into teaching trends from The Open University. The Innovating Pedagogy Report 2019 identifies strong moves towards more creative, informal teaching methods – such as teaching through wonder, playful learning and even building empathy by bringing a baby in to the […]

OU predicts increase in lifelong learning in Middle East and North Africa

28 November 2018

An OU report has identified a significant increase in online learning in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) over the next 10 years. Agnes Kukulska-Hulme, Professor of Learning Technology and Communication, and Giles Mohan, Professor of International Development, directed a research project to better understand the potential of and hindrances to, online learning in […]

BBC series School: your questions answered

12 November 2018

Why can teachers no longer just be teachers? What are the human impacts of budget cuts on today’s school children? Is pastoral care an important part of a student journey or a symptom of the snowflake era? These are all issues uncovered following the first episode of School last week – questions then put to academic […]

Three things today’s teachers need to consider for tomorrow’s students

19 September 2018

It’s argued in increasing measure that teachers have low job satisfaction; but one antidote to this could be asking educators to re-imagine their role and think about their own vision for education in the future. Today’s teachers face many challenges inside and outside the classroom, but there are also larger global changes approaching which those […]

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Category: Education