Teaching and Learning Conference 2019: Facilitating student research in a distance learning setting

Final year Psychology students must complete a substantial empirical project as part of their British Psychological Society accredited degree - a challenging task in the context of online learning. Alongside substantive material The Open University developed a set of bespoke online resources to support students including: self-directed interactive activities that allow students to explore the methodologies available to them; “supervision forums” where ideas are shaped into viable and valuable projects under the guidance of tutors; and virtual poster sessions for disseminating findings. These resources are described and evaluated as tools to facilitate students’ understanding of how to do rigorous psychological research.