Lorna Sibbett

I am Staff Tutor in the Centre for Access, Open and Cross-curricular Innovation (AOCCI), responsible for our 'Open Box' modules YXM130 and YXM830. I am also an Associate Lecturer in STEM, tutoring across modules from Level 1 to the Level 3 capstone Biology project module (SXB390). I am interested in students-as-partners in scholarship and co-development of curriculum and pedagogy; student learning across transition; development of self-efficacy; and skills for learning and employability. Having significant experience in developing and delivering positive student transition into Higher Education, I am currently leading a scholarship project on the experiences of students who use Credit Transfer to join the Open University.

I am: Chair for the Open Programme Interdisciplinary Conference Blurring Boundaries Conference June 2023 (sharepoint.com); Accessibility Lead for Access and Open; Open Academic Lead for Student Support Services; Academic Conduct Officer for AOCCI; co-chair of a team creating principles for assessment design that promote academic integrity; member of the Tuition Programme Management Group; and member of the Student Consultation Management Group.

My teaching career began within the barbed wire enclosure of a secondary school in Northern Ireland; the barbed wire being to keep out those who might pilfer useful chemicals from the science store cupboard. Since then, I have taught and developed courses/ curricula in Secondary, Further and Higher Education (Undergraduate and Postgraduate) in Northern Ireland, Scotland and now across nations with the OU.

My previous roles include those held while a Senior Teaching Fellow at the University of St Andrews: Co-Director of the Centre for Higher Education Research; Co-Director of External Relations in the School of Biology; and responsibility for skills development across the undergraduate Biology programme.