Sarah Heiser

Profile

I have been a Staff Tutor at the London Regional Centre since 2004.  This involves the appointment, staff development and management of a team of Languages Associate Lecturers in London, and working with collegues from elsewhere in the Open University on a variety of projects. I originally joined the Open University in 1999 in the West of England as an Associate Lecturer on the first Spanish course L140 En Rumbo.  I previously worked in an FE college in Devon, lecturing in Spanish and French for A-level, CGSE and a variety of vocational qualifications, with responsibility for the language provision in the college and, as an 'Advanced Practitioner'  worked in quality management.  I was also responsible for a portfolio-based course accredited by the OCNSW 'First Steps in Teaching'.

Teaching Interests

I have taught Spanish and French across a variety of age-groups and levels in different settings. I established an ab initio A-level Spanish programme at North Devon College. My experience of distance learning started in 1999 when I was appointed to as an AL in the South West for the first Open University Spanish course, L140.

Research Interests

Ab initio A-level, language learning strategies, see Spanish at KS5; teaching A-level ab initio in Vida Hispánica Spring 2007, number 35, pp 20-25

Current Research

My current research projects are Factors for Success for YASS (Young Applicants in Schools Scheme) and an e-TMA feedback project in which I am working with Associate Lecturers to capture their changing experiences of teaching through assessment in the move from paper to electronic handling of written assignments. I am involved in the UOC-OU (Catalonia and UK Open Universities) collaborative research project, initially looking at comparisons in the areas of recruitment and CPD.

Publications