About
I am a Lecturer in Digital Education and a member of curriculum team at the Institute of Educational Technology (IET), where my research explores digital literacies and learning in open and large-scale online educational and professional contexts. My primary focus is on digital literacies required to facilitate online learning in different contexts such as professional learning, wellness and fitness or energy consumption.
Research Interests
My recent research has centred on digital education in low-resourced settings and the Global South, with a strong emphasis on developing educators' literacies in inclusive digital education. This work helps to understand how educators make decisions to offer accessible, inclusive, and context-specific digital learning experiences.
Other areas of research include:
- Digital health, fitness and wellness (wellness data and information literacy)
- Digital technology in higher education
- Open online education and Open Educational Resources (OER)
- Online communication
- Professional learning
Research & Projects
Since joining IET in 2020, I have contributed to several research and international development projects, including:
- 2024-25 | Co-Investigator, Comprehensive Study of AI Tools for Foreign Language Learning (Funder: International Education And Resource Network USA Inc)
- 2023-24 | Co-Investigator | Enable eVeryone's Engagement in the eneRgY transition,Every1 (Funder: European Commission's Horizon Europe Programme)
- 2020-23 | Capacity Development Lead | Skills for Prosperity Kenya (Funder: FCDO)
- 2021 | Co-Investigator | Digital Decisions: Understanding and supporting key choices in online and blended teaching in Sub-Saharan Africa (Funder: British Council)
- 2020-21 | Co-Investigator | Impact of COVID-19 on Equitable Access to Quality Education in Higher Education in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (Funder: OU RES)
- 2020-21 | Academic Lead | Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (Funder: Fleming Fund)
- 2020-21 | Co-Investigator | Mobile Arts for Peace (MAP) in Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, Indonesia, and Nepal (Funder: AHRC & GCFR)
Teaching & Leadership
I contribute to the IET curriculum portfolio, serving as:
- Co-lead| IET’s curriculum quality and monitoring enhancement (QME)
- Doctoral supervisor| EdD
- Committee member| Faculty (WELS)' Ethical oversight of taught curricula
- Chair | MA in Online Teaching Module: Research and Scholarship in Digital Education and IET microcredential: Online Teaching – Creating Courses for Adult Learners
- Contributor to various IET modules, CPD courses and microcredentials, supporting course development, evaluation, and revision.
In addition to teaching, I hold several leadership roles:
- Co-Lead | Computers and Learning Research Group (CALRG), organising seminars, events, and an annual conference
- Steering Committee Member | FutureLearn Academic Network (FLAN), coordinating research-informed events and talks
- Associate Editor | Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME)
Biography
Academic Biography
PhD in Education (2019).University of Leeds (UK)
Trinity CertTESOL (2010). University of Manchester (UK)
MA in TEFL(2009). Manchester Metropolitan University (UK)
BA Translation Studies (2003). Azad University (Iran)
Publications
2025
Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Whitelock, Denise; Cross, Simon and Shakesheff, Kevin (). The Open University’s Reach, Methods and Mission: An Open Response to Supporting International Colleagues in the time of COVID-19. In: Xianrui, Fan eds. Towards Digital Education: Cutting-Edge Perspectives on Digital Transformation Beijing, China: Open University of China Press (In Press), pp. 36-52.
2024
Rets, Irina; Whitelock, Denise; Edwards, Chris; Perryman, Leigh-Anne and Goshtasbpour, Fereshte. (). Energising the energy literacy debate for environmental education: Exploring citizens’ interest levels, knowledge gaps and individual differences. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 40 (4) pp. 740-757.
Dawadi, Saraswati; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes. (). Equitable Access to Higher Education Learning and Assessment: Perspectives from Low-Resource Contexts. Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME).
Whitelock, Denise; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Pitt, Rebecca; Ferguson, Rebecca and Cross, Simon. (). [Editorial] Capacity building for digital education. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-learning, 39 (2) pp. 105-111.
Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Cornock, Matt; Swinnerton, Bronwen; Harris, Lisa; Ferguson, Rebecca and Scanlon, Eileen. (). Open Learning and Learning at Scale: The Legacy of MOOCs. Journal of Interactive Media in Education.
2023
Farrow, Robert; Coughlan, Tim; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte and Pitt, Rebecca. (). Supported Open Learning and Decoloniality: Critical Reflections on Three Case Studies. Education Sciences.
Charitonos, Koula; Littlejohn, Allison; Dawadi, Saraswati; Vaidya, Abhinav; Giri, Santosi; Owusu-Ofori, Alex and Goshtasbpour, Fereshte. (). Developing Relational Work as a Design Tool in activities with health professionals. In: EARLI2023 Conference, 22-26 Aug 2023, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Pitt, Beck; Cross, Simon; Ferguson, Rebecca and Whitelock, Denise. (). Challenges for Innovation and Educational Change in Digital Education in Low Resourced Settings: A Kenyan Example. In: European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN) 2023 Annual Conference, 18-20 Jun 2023, Dublin, Ireland.
Coughlan, Tim; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Mwoma, Teresa; Makoe, Mpine; Aubrey-Smith, Fiona and Tanglang, Nebath. (). Decision Making in Shifts to Online Teaching: Analysing Reflective Narratives from Staff Working in African Higher Educational Institutions. Trends in Higher Education, 2 (1) pp. 123-139.
Littlejohn, Allison; Charitonos, Koula; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Dawadi, Saraswati and McMullan, Rachel. (). Addressing the persistent disconnect between learning and work: Using a Logic Model to support negotiations of diverse actors during the design of digital learning systems. Learning Letters.
2022
Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Ferguson, Rebecca; Pitt, Rebecca; Cross, Simon and Whitelock, Denise. (). Adapting OER: Addressing the Challenges of Reuse When Designing for HE Capacity Development. In: 21st European Conference on e-Learning (ECEL), 27-28 Oct 2022, Brighton.
Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Swinnerton, Bronwen J. and Pickering, James D.. (). Twelve tips for engaging learners in online discussions. Medical Teacher, 44 (3) pp. 244-248.
Ngatia, David; Kamonjo, Florence and Goshtasbpour, Fereshte. (). Impact of online teaching capacity building programmes on online teaching: a case of University of Kabianga Kenya. In: Tenth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, 14-16 Sep 2022, Calgary.
Jordan, Katy and Goshtasbpour, Fereshte. (). JIME Virtual Special Collection – 2012 to 2022: The Decade of the MOOC. Journal of Interactive Media in Education pp. 1-14.
2021
Charitonos, Koula; Littlejohn, Allison; Dawadi, Saraswati; Mcmullan, Rachel; MacQueen, Hilary; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Ullmann, Thomas and De Munari, Paola (). Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance through Professional Learning: The Development and Evaluation of the Global AMR Curriculum. The Open University.
Coughlan, Tim; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Mwoma, Teresa; Makoe, Mpine; Tanglang, Nebath; Bonney, Solomon; Aubrey-Smith, Fiona and Biard, Olivier (). Digital Decision: Understanding and supporting key choices in online and blended teaching in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Coughlan, Tim; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Mwoma, Teresa; Makoe, Mpine; Tanglang, Nebath; Bonney, Solomon and Biard, Olivier (). Making digital decisions: A Guide for harnessing the potential of online learning and digital technologies. The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Charitonos, Koula; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Dawadi, Saraswati; Littlejohn, Allison; Badger, S.; Vaidya, Abhinav; Giri, Santosi and Owusu-Ofori, Alex (). Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance: The AMR Surveillance Toolkit. The Open University.
2020
Goshtasbpour, Fereshte; Swinerton, Bronwen and Morris, Neil Peter. (). Look who’s talking: Exploring instructors’ contributions to Massive Open Online Courses. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51 (1) pp. 228-244.
de Jong, Peter; Pickering, James; Swinerton, Bronwen; Hendriks, Renée; Goshtasbpour, Fereshte and Reinders, Marlies. (). Twelve tips for integrating massive open online course content into classroom teaching. Medical Teacher, 42 (4) pp. 393-397.
2019
Goshtasbpour, Fereshte (). Exploring instructors’ contributions to Massive Open Online Courses. British Educational Research Association (BERA), London, UK.
Goshtasbpour, Fereshte (). Exploring Instructor Contributions to Discussions in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). PhD thesis University of Leeds.
Awards
Best Presentation Award
The 8th International Conference on Distance Learning and Education, Barcelona, Spain.
Best Presentation Prize for Education, Childhood and Youth Pathway
The 7th White Rose DTP Annual Conference, York, UK.
Finalist- The 8th e-Learning Excellence Awards
21st European Conference on e-Learning, Brighton, UK.
Staff Award (Highly Commended) for Exceptional Contribution to Student Experience
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.