Helping to bridge the gap? TRS

Dr Marion Bowman

Department of Religious Studies, Open University

Start date: July 2008

As part of its open access mission, the Open University makes some of its distance education materials available via the OpenLearn website: http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn. This pilot project aims, through creative engagement with 'A' level Religious Education (RE) teachers, to use this material to help bridge the gap between Secondary Education and Higher Education. The project is to enable 8 RS 'A' level teachers from a range of institutions to attend a day session at the Open University, introducing them to OpenLearn technology and materials, and demonstrating how these can be modified for a variety of uses. The teachers will then develop ways of employing the material appropriate to their own school settings, staying in touch and sharing ideas through e-conferencing. At the end of the project, they will report back at a workshop, and this information will be further disseminated to RE teachers and RS academics. In the meantime, school students will have had a 'taster' of university level RS materials, which may assist in university subject choice.