Dr Cora Beth Fraser
Nominee Profile
Location: South Shields
Cora Beth Fraser has worked as an Associate Lecturer at The Open University for nearly 20 years, helping distance learners of all ages, backgrounds and neurotypes to achieve their study goals.
Cora Beth pioneers creative approaches to engaging with students. An award-winning early adopter of online teaching, she has been using technology for many years to connect with non-traditional learners and to develop inclusive communities which respect some students’ need for distance. During the COVID lockdowns, those communities extended to include students and academics from around the world, and gained Cora Beth national recognition.
As an autistic academic, Cora Beth uses her insights into neurodivergent learning to trial new approaches to teaching online. At The Open University she has developed the Relaxed Tutorial Project, which offers a new form of accessibility adjustment designed for students with social anxiety. Outside the OU, she is the founder and co-director of Asterion, an international hub for neurodivergent staff and students in the discipline of Classical Studies. Her goal is to put neurodiversity firmly on the EDI agenda in Classics departments around the UK and beyond. She also works directly with autistic students as a supervisor and mentor.
Coming from a working-class background, as the first person in her family to go to university Cora Beth is very conscious of the barriers people encounter in academia. Through creativity, openness and online outreach, she works to open new doors for non-traditional learners like herself.
Cora Beth pioneers creative approaches to engaging with students. An award-winning early adopter of online teaching, she has been using technology for many years to connect with non-traditional learners and to develop inclusive communities which respect some students’ need for distance. During the COVID lockdowns, those communities extended to include students and academics from around the world, and gained Cora Beth national recognition.
As an autistic academic, Cora Beth uses her insights into neurodivergent learning to trial new approaches to teaching online. At The Open University she has developed the Relaxed Tutorial Project, which offers a new form of accessibility adjustment designed for students with social anxiety. Outside the OU, she is the founder and co-director of Asterion, an international hub for neurodivergent staff and students in the discipline of Classical Studies. Her goal is to put neurodiversity firmly on the EDI agenda in Classics departments around the UK and beyond. She also works directly with autistic students as a supervisor and mentor.
Coming from a working-class background, as the first person in her family to go to university Cora Beth is very conscious of the barriers people encounter in academia. Through creativity, openness and online outreach, she works to open new doors for non-traditional learners like herself.