Digital Commons Network^™

Empathy Building In He: Pedagogical Practices To Foster Communication, Listening Skills And Perspective Taking, Marta Giralt, Florence Le Baron-Earle, Anita Barmettler, Niamh Lenahan

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

This article presents an academic practice involving university students who were taking a module in which story exchanges were used as a methodology to build empathy and foster communication, listening skills and perspective taking. Following a brief literature review, the article describes the activities and the pedagogy that were followed in the undergraduate module to start building empathy and connectedness among students, as well as the research methodology employed. Data collection consisted of a questionnaire distributed among all students and the reflective essays of the volunteered story exchange participants. Mixed methods were used for the analysis, following grounded theory approach …

Foundations And Scaffolding: Exploring Literature And Practice To Build A New Curriculum Framework For Tu Dublin, Claire Mcavinia, Odette Gabaudan, Olivia Freeman, Barry J. Ryan, Colm O'Kane, Robert Tully

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

The IMPACT project at TU Dublin has been informed in part by the outcomes of the Co-CREATE project in 2019-20. Co-CREATE was a Team Teaching Fellowship project to support and underpin the building of a quality curriculum framework for the new technological university. A number of IMPACT projects (for example, NorthStar) have continued the work started within the Co-CREATE project to make it sustainable and embedded within the university. We present findings from one element of the Co-CREATE project which has informed a range of initiatives in IMPACT. This is the review of literature and practice undertaken to underpin the …

Book Review: Shahriar, A. And Bruen, T. (2019). Struggles For Empowerment, Higher Education Stories From East And West. London: Ucl Institute Of Education Press.

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

No abstract provided.

The Tu Way: An Bhfuil Tú Ag Teacht?, Larry Mcnutt

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

I am currently moving office, which is a dangerous endeavour at any stage particularly when you are a hoarder like me – and contributing to this dilemma is that I am currently saturated in data all beautifully bound in glossy reports describing everything from student engagement, access data, graduate outcomes, completion rates, gender equality to staff profiles. As I fill another box with these hefty tomes, I am reminded of Jonathon Swift’s assertion that “We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.” In the context of Higher Education, we have enough …

Care-Experienced Young People Accessing Higher Education In Ireland, Eavan Brady, Robbie Gilligan, Siobhan Nic Fhlannchadha

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

While there has been considerable policy attention given to educational disadvantage in the Irish context in recent years, evidence on the educational experiences, attainment, and progression of young people with experience of living in alternative care settings (e.g. foster care, residential care) remains limited. International literature suggests that young people with such ‘care-experience’ typically have lower attainment and progress to higher education at lower rates than their majority population peers. This brief paper focuses on one of these issues, the question of how care-experienced young people in Ireland fare in accessing opportunities in higher education. It presents some very preliminary …

Drawings Of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Picture Draws A Thousand Words, Sharon Feeney, John Hogan

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

This paper provides a case study that focuses upon the interpretation of freehand drawings produced by a sample of final year degree students of business studies in response to the question: “What is Corporate Social Responsibility?” Student generated freehand drawings are used to bypass cognitive verbal processing routes, thereby facilitating students to produce clearer images of their level of understanding. In using freehand drawing, we are trying to create a creative learning environment where students can develop their understanding of complex ideas and narratives at their own individual pace. The drawings themselves provide insights into how soon-to-be-graduates of business perceive …

Using Blended Learning To Enhance The Experience Of Students In Built Environment Related Degree Programs, Ruari Hayden, Philip Russell

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

Blended learning was introduced into the Construction Management programme in the School of Surveying and Construction Management at the Dublin Institute of Technology in 2016. The module has traditionally been delivered by face-to-face teaching but online delivery has been facilitated using the Virtual Learning Environment (Blackboard) which has enabled a more blended approach to academic instruction. This innovative change to module provision has also provided an opportunity to enhance the student learning experience within the School through a more flexible teaching and learning environment.

In this paper, the design, development and implementation of blended learning into a Construction Technology module …

Consistency Of Academic Performance In Higher Education: A Study Of An Irish Business Degree Programme, Julie Byrne, Conor Heagney

The ITB Journal

This study examines the level of consistency of the academic performance of business students, both as a whole and within two fields of study- accounting and human resource management (HRM). The examination results of 177 students are ranked at different stages and compared with the rank of final year exam results. By utilising Spearman's (1 904) coefficient of rank order correlations rather than absolute marks, this paper hopes to facilitate the process of comparison. The research found that the level of consistency increases substantially once students enter the degree irrespective of their field of study.

Civic Engagement: Strategic And Implementation Perspectives Within A Higher Education Institution, Des Moore

The ITB Journal

This paper will give a brief overview of what Civic Engagement means in Higher Education in general with a particular focus on Knowledge Exchange, Service Learning, Community Based Research and Volunteering. Following this, emergent thinking on Civic Engagement in Ireland is presented. Given both the theoretical context and the strategic importance of ensuring Civic Engagement opportunities are offered in a Higher Education Institution some possible organisation arrangements regarding the structured development and implementation of Civic Engagement at strategic and implementation levels are proposed.

Equality Of Access To Higher Education: Discussion Of Emerging Issues Regarding The Performance Of Migrants At The Institute Of Technology Blanchardstown, Brid Ni Chonaill, Ruth Harris

The ITB Journal

This paper presents the findings of a small scale study of the impact of English language competency on the performance of migrants in higher education in Ireland. It is based on a case study of a group of first year Social Studies students at the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB). First, relevant terminology will be outlined before focusing on the promotion of equality in higher education by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) – the framework within which the data will subsequently be critiqued. Next, the presence of migrants in the Institutes of Technology (IOTs) will be discussed, before presenting the …

Required Features Of A Virtual Classroom Tool For Use In Higher Education, Arnold Hensman

The ITB Journal

The integration of virtual-classroom systems into the arsenal of e-learning tools represents a major evolution in the landscape of modern distance education. For many courses, standard virtual learning environments (VLEs) provide only a foundation upon which to base a distance learning programme. However, synchronous live online-teaching software such as Microsoft Office Communicator and Adobe Connect allow educators to simulate a real-time classroom environment over the internet like never before. Since these tools are being used more and more within higher education, questions must be asked about how effective they ultimately can be in meeting student learning requirements. More importantly, what …

Effective Teaching And Learning In Higher Education: A United Kingdom Perspective, Pat O'Connor

The ITB Journal

This paper explores the current teaching and learning environment in higher education in the UK, concentrating on England. We ask: Is there a positive and supportive environment for learning and teaching in the UK? The conceptual and theoretical foundations underpinning practice in higher education teaching and learning are examined as is the support and impetus provided by government and policy. The nature of academic identities and the structure and engagement in academic development is also assessed. We pose a series of important questions within this paper, of significance to the Irish Higher Education sector.

Exploring The Use Of Computer Based Exams For Undergraduate Accounting, Anne Hurley

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

This paper explores the use of computer-based exams (CBEs) for undergraduate accounting. The primary objective of writing this paper was to establish whether CBEs should be integrated with paper-based exams as a summative assessment in undergraduate accounting modules. Professional accounting organisations and universities and colleges in Ireland were contacted to establish whether CBEs had been adopted and, if so, to take relevant lessons from their experience. The literature reviewed the experiences of students, academics, institutions and professional accounting organisations using CBEs worldwide. Findings from this desk-based research indicated an overall positive experience with CBEs. The professional accounting organisations are continuing …

Two Decades Of Rpl/Apel In Ireland: Practitioner Views, Anne Murphy

Level 3

My first involvement with APEL was in 1990 when I was invited to design a system by which cohorts of experiences practitioners in the disability training sector could achieve a sectoral qualification primarily through recognition of prior certificated and experiential learning. A taught route to the particular qualification was already in operation in partnership between the Adult Education Centre in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth (now National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and the National Rehabilitation Board. The trainers’ qualification was an essential element of quality assurance for the sector with funding support provided by the EU Social Fund. However, it was …

The Emergence Of Quality Assurance In Irish Higher Education: A Review Of European And National Policy And Description Of The Dublin Institute Of Technology Practice, Aidan Kenny

Level 3

This is the second in a series of three papers which explore and describe ‘quality’ as a tool in the Irish Higher Education sector. This paper reviews macro, mesco and micro issues relating to quality assurance within the context of European Union Education Ministers’ communiqués and in Irish national policy. A micro perspective is then undertaken pertaining to the Dublin Institute of Technology describing how quality assurance systems and procedures emerged in the Institute. It also includes the Institute’s response to provisions made in the 1999 Qualifications (Education and Training) Act with reference to the necessity of carrying out quality …

A Critical Exploration Of The Rhetoric Of Equity Belied By Practice In Postgraduate Teacher Education, Roisin Ca Donnelly

Level 3

This paper presents the initial results of an investigation into the current awareness and perceptions of equity issues amongst academic staff working on a postgraduate learning and teaching course for teachers in tertiary education in the Republic of Ireland. The study is set in the contemporary landscape of discourses around equality, egalitarianism and equity in education generally

Is There A Need To Debate The Role Of Higher Education And The Public Good?, Sandra Fisher

Level 3

Calls for sustaining and increasing investment in higher education are often made on the basis that higher education is a `public good'. The idea of higher education as a public good is frequently conceptualized in terms of its contribution to economic development. If more people participate in higher education then society as a whole will benefit.

Outside of the economic benefits of higher education there is less debate as to what is meant by `public good' in the context of higher education. This paper explores higher education as a public good and its role in realizing the public good ( …

Information-Literacy Programmes And Course Curricula: The Case For Integration, Anne Ambrose, Brian Gillespie

Level 3

"Our ability to think, and to select and use the information at our disposal will be the critical determinant of the future success of the Information Society in Ireland."

(Information Society Commission 2000: 118)

The quotation above acknowledges the critical importance of information skills, and suggests that the very success of the concept of an 'information society' relies upon an information-literate population. Surveys of employers show an increasing demand for 'graduates with an ability to analyse, evaluate and process information effectively' (Big Blue, 2002: 4). Such skills are directly related to the aims and processes of …