STEM Faculty

Professional biography

Dr Christopher Hutton

My academic background is in environmental science, with BSc (Hons) Environmental Science and Technology, MSc Biological Research Methods, and a PhD in "Modelling the biogeochemical mobility of arsenic". Following this, I completed a PGCE in Post-Compulsory Education and Training and hold Senior Fellowship of the HEA.

I joined the OU in April 2017 after 11 years in a large FE college. I am a Senior Lecturer (Staff Tutor) in Earth and Environmental Science, and presently the Lead Staff Tutor for the School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, supporting the organisation and operation of a team of 7 of my colleagues. The Staff Tutor part of my role involves the recruitment, academic line management and staff development / support of teams of Associate Lecturers and their students. Meanwhile, my academic work / teaching spans the undergraduate science curriculum, from our multidisciplinary level 1 science provision, to specialist modules in environmental science up to Integrated Masters level. I have scholarship / educational research interests in online distance education, and regularly publish / present at conferences in these areas.

In addition to my main role, I enjoy working as an Associate Lecturer on SXE390 (the capstone research project module for BSc Environmental Science), and I am an OU student working towards an Open Degree in my spare time. I am an External Examiner, and work occasionally with the Royal Society of Biology on FdSc accreditations. 

Research interests

My scholarship / research interests focus on three main areas linked to my teaching activities, these include: online community building, employablility skills development, online peer mentoring, and improving the accessibility of online learning for students with disabilities and in secure environments. I am currently involved in a supporting capacity with an eSTEeM project looking at the experiences of our LGBTQ+ students.

Teaching interests

I am the Module Team Chair of S840 Master of Environmental Science Research Project. I was involved with both production and presentation of S112 (Science: concepts and practice) and SDT306 (Environment: responding to change) where my work involved designing tuition strategies, producing tuition resources, staff development of tutors, assessing and adapting resources for accessibility, moderating forums, designing and running preparatory websites, and advising students / colleagues on aspects of tuition. I was an author for production of S840 (Master of Environmental Science Research Project), and am presently an author of the freshwater block of S226 (Environmental Science). 

Within the School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, I led the development of preparatory sites for our modules, and have also been involved in rolling out our peer mentoring ("student buddy") scheme with a colleague.

I have contributed to degree approvals as an external academic advisor, and was involved in writing the Royal Society of Biology's Foundation Degree Accreditation Criteria; I now act as an accreditation assessor. I have worked as an External Examiner for the last 9 years.