Education Commons^™

Formative Assessment Practices In Built Environment Higher Education Programmes And The Enhancement Of The Student Learning Experience, Lloyd Scott, Chrisopher Fortune

Conference papers

It is widely accepted across Higher Education (HE) that assessment has a strong link with learning and a key factor in this link is formative assessment. Formative assessment is generally defined as an activity taking place during a programme or unit of learning with the express purpose of improving and enhancing student learning. However, there is still considerable disagreement over the roles of lecturers and students in this process. It is therefore very important to understand how lecturers in built environment (BE) undergraduate education perceive their own roles and the role of their students in using assessment strategy to deliver …

Engaging Students In The Classroom: How Can I Know What I Think Until I See What I Draw?, Paul Donnelly, John Hogan

Conference papers

Recognizing the world into which our students will emerge upon graduation, a world characterized by constant change, and our belief in the need to develop our students as “critical beings” (Barnett, 1997) and as “citizens capable of governing” (Giroux, 1997: 259), we embrace a critical pedagogy that is not just about theory (Dehler, Welsh & Lewis, 2004), but can also be implemented experientially in the classroom through the use of freehand drawing. With this as context, our aim in the classroom is to create a learning space where our students develop their capacity for critical self-reflection. As such, we use …

Teachers And Language Learning In Primary Schools: The Acquisition Of Additional Languages In The Early Years, Anna Dillon

Doctoral

This study set out to explore teachers’ attitudes towards home language maintenance among children acquiring English and Irish as additional languages in the early years of primary school and to explore the experiences of mainstream teachers who are working with these children. The study includes a consideration of the pedagogical issues involved in teaching young English and Irish language learners and an examination of the support that the whole school community provides for the teachers and the children. Data were gathered using a mixed methods approach, bearing in mind the rights of children to use their home languages and learn …

Learner Experiences Of Online Pre-Lecture Resources For An Introductory Chemistry Course At An Irish Higher Education Institution, Claire M. Mcdonnell

Theses

The principal aim of this case study was to investigate students’ experiences of using online pre-lecture resources and their perceptions of their learning environment for the Introductory Chemistry module concerned. A subsidiary aim was to probe the experience of the lecturer involved of designing and piloting these resources and his perception of their impact on students’ learning. The student cohort who participated were a group of 49 first year level 8 undergraduate chemistry students at Technologicl University Dublin. These students took an Introductory Chemistry module over their first semester, the aim of which was to bring the level of understanding …

Old Tribes, New Tribes: The Extent To Which Discipline Cultures Impact On The Development And Delivery Of Cross-Disciplinary Undergraduate Degree Programs? A Study Of The Bsc In Product Design At The Technologicl University Dublin, Robert Tully

Theses

The research presented in this thesis focuses on two objectives, the first and main objective being to investigate the impact of discipline cultures on the development and delivery of cross-disciplinary undergraduate education on the BSc. in Product Design at the Technologicl University Dublin. The second objective of the thesis is to consider the changes that occur as a result of the ‘tribes’ cohabitating on these cross-disciplinary education programs. The underlying interest in answering these questions lies in the implications for the way in which programs, which have a cross-disciplinary intention, structure, develop the syllabus, enable discourse and facilitate collaboration in …

Encouraging Attendence In Tutorials For Quantity Surveying Studies Through Assessment, Dermot Kehily

Conference papers

Construction Economics and Management in Technological University of Dublin (DIT) educates and prepares students to become Quantity Surveyors (Construction Economists) in the Construction Industry. Arguably the most important subject on the course and the cornerstone of the profession is the ability of the students and graduates to carry out a technical function called ‘measurement’ or ‘take off’ from construction plans and drawings. Graduates of Construction Economics and Management may spend up to two years carrying out measurement for their employers before they progress to the more professional practices of Quantity Surveying. The importance of measurement and take off inthe profession …

Review Of Technological University Of Dublin's E-Learning Platform For Effective Teaching Fromative Assessment And Feedback, Dermot Kehily

Conference papers

This paper investigates Technological University of Dublin’s (DIT) ‘webcourses.dit.ie’ created for DIT with Blackboard Learning System software as an effective e-learning tool on a module in the School of Real Estate and Construction Economics in DIT. Webcourses.dit.ie is an e-learning platform providing support and assistance to both lecturers and students as part of their daily teaching and learning experience. Webcourses as it is known in DIT is both a course management system for lecturers and a computer assisted learning and assessment tool for students. Prior to using the system class content was delivered by presenting electronic slides in class and …

Combining A Virtual Learning Tool And Onsite Study Visits Of Four Conservation Sites In Europe, Alain Chenaux, Maurice Murphy, Garrett Keenaghan, James Jenkins, Eugene Mcgovern, Sara Pavia

Conference papers

The design and evaluation of virtual learning environments for construction and surveying students is presented in this paper; by combining virtual learning environment and on-site student surveys to model and replicate practice in the architectural heritage sector. The Virtual Learning Environment is enhanced with real live survey projects whereby students collect the data to build virtual historic buildings from onsite surveys using advanced survey equipment. The survey data is modelled in HBIM; Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) is currently being developed as a virtual learning tool for construction and surveying students in the Technological University of Dublin. HBIM, is a …

E-Learning Summer School: A Case Study, Frances Boylan

Reports

In 2003, the then Learning Technology Team at the Technological University Dublin (DIT) ran, for the first time, a week-long boot camp-type event for its academic staff to facilitate their engagement with technology enhanced learning. That year over fifty academics attended the week which encompassed an innovative combination of workshops and reflective sessions exploring both existing and new technologies and their practical applications with students. The week was such a success that the E-Learning Summer School became a fixed event in the institute’s academic calendar. As an event it has gone from strength to strength, attracting a lot of outside …

How Can We Nurture And Develop Creativity In First Year Design Students, Kerry Meakin

Theses

This research paper investigates the perceptions of first year third level design students regarding their creative thinking and use of creative strategies, while studying a first year design based curriculum in an Institute of Technology in Dublin. The research was conducted in a three-phase, sequential project. The first phase, questioned twenty seven students by issuing anonymous questionnaires to gather data on their methods of incubating design ideas, if they experienced any levels of anxiety when doing so, and their satisfaction levels in their design and creative abilities. Literature was reviewed to discover the attributes of those we perceive as creative …

“An Exploration Of The Barriers To Independent Study And Learning In First Year Undergraduate Engineering Students”, Robert Martin Morris

Theses

Abstract

This mixed method case study was based in the Institute of Technology and was conducted with the co-operation of four experienced lecturers of engineering and three groups of first year undergraduate engineering students. The main aim of the research was to identify factors which constitute barriers to the independent study and learning of first year engineering students.

A large proportion of first year engineering students do not return to college for the second year of their programmes. Many reasons for this are identified in the research, including the failure to pass assessments and examinations as a result of the …