Education Commons^™

Promoting Student Engagement Within A Practical Class Through The Use Of A Learning Portfolio, Niall Delaney, John A. Nolan

Conference papers

This paper looks at an exploratory case-study undertaken to try and investigate student engagement within a practical wood machining class.

Due to the nature of the course and the cohort of students, the current lecturer pedagogic practice has to be behaviourist, but from this a culture of expectancy has developed among the students. It was felt that something had to be done to revitalise student interest in the work they were doing and also give them the chance to address the perceived shortfall in their learning. There was potential for a lot of failures, but also much worse, there was …

How Are The Educational Institutes Of Ireland Embracing The Paradigm Shift Towards Bim?, Michael Mcdonald, Stephen Donohoe

Conference papers

Abstract ̶ The main objective of this paper is to evaluate how Building Information Modelling (BIM) is being implemented and embraced within Higher Education. The authors intend to examine the current delivery and aspirations of the sector.

As the Irish economy faces several more years of austerity, every opportunity must be seized to make design more efficient in Architecture, Engineering and Construction. Higher Educational Institutes must respond to ensure that graduates have the skill set to support this. This paper will examine how these institutions need to migrate away from the traditional iterative design approach/process to a more collaborative holistic …

Student Experiences Of A Project-Based Learning Module, Gavin Duffy, Ted Burke, Shannon Chance, Brian Bowe, Robert Howard

Conference papers

In this paper we investigate the experiences of first year electrical engineering students of a project-based learning (PBL) module in which students work in groups to design and build a robot to compete in a sumo wrestling competition. The 5 ECTS module is the first PBL module encountered by the students in this programme and is the only module of its kind in first year in which students work in groups and assessment and feedback are based on both process skills and technical knowledge. The module is designed to be student-centred, i.e. the student is encouraged to actively control and …

A Model For Transforming Engineering Education Through Group Learning, Shannon Chance, Gavin Duffy, Brian Bowe, Mike Murphy, Tony Duggan

Conference papers

Electrical engineering educators at Technological University Dublin (DIT) have successfully implemented pedagogical change. They now use group-based, student-centered and inquiry-driven approaches to teach emerging engineers. The objective of this was to foster students’ personal as well as professional skills (i.e., teamwork, communication, self-directed learning, etc.). This paper explores how such change was achieved and provides graphic models that draw from prior phenomenological studies and incorporates aspects of Rogers’ (1962) product adoption curve and Lowe’s (2012) interpretations of it.

Eu-Optimus – A Case Study Of A Holistic Systems-Approach Pedagogy In Technology Education, Ciara Ahern, Mark Mcgrath

Conference papers

Engineers and product designers are concerned with the design, development, implementation and operation of a wide range of systems. If a system is to perform optimally, all of the component parts must communicate and cooperate effectively. Technologists must therefore have an appreciation for both, the functionality of a single component of that system and the interoperability, or impact of that component within the context of the system. Scientific first principles underpin all aspects of technical education. The application of scientific knowledge at component level impacts at system level. Practical or laboratory-based activity has long been used as a complimentary pedagogy …

What Stick Figures Tell Us About Irish Politics, Sharon Feeney, John Hogan, Paul F. Donnelly

Conference papers

This paper forms part of an ongoing research project using the technique of freehand drawing to study how students entering university in Ireland perceive the state of Irish politics and the wider society. By sidestepping the cognitive verbal processing routes through the use of freehand drawing, we find that students tend to present a more holistic, integrated and clearer understanding of the pertinent issues from their perspective.

Peer Teaching: Taking The Recipe Out Of Food Analytical Chemistry, Julie Dunne

Conference papers

This presentation describes the implementation over several years of an alternative to ‘recipe-style’ laboratory practicals for a group of penultimate third year students studying applied chemistry as part of a four year BSc Nutraceuticals degree. The main objectives of the laboratory re-design are to better prepare students for the more independent final year research project which takes place in fourth year, and to integrate key employability skills into the curriculum. The approach retains many of the ‘tried and tested’ food chemistry experiments, but involves using a group peer-teaching methodology which aims to add value to the experience for the students. …

Participants Perspective Of The Fas Redundant Placement Scheme, Maurice Collins, Robert Morris

Conference papers

The aim of this study is to gather and analyze feedback from participants of a scheme which was put in place in the early stages of the Irish economic recession to provide work placements to redundant Apprentices. As part of the research for this paper a series of qualitative interviews were conducted with partipancts of the FAS Redundant Apprentice Placement Scheme (RAPS). FAS is the authoriity which organises and administers the Statutory Apprentice Scheme in Ireland.The scheme detailed in this study was put in place to aid Apprentices who has been made redundant, to complete phases 3,5 and 7 of …

Online Resource Aiding Students To Practice And Perfect Manufacturing Based Skills, Robert Martin Morris, Frank Dunne, Maurice Collins

Conference papers

As part of our teaching in the Departments of Fabrication and Transport Engineering in the Technological University Dublin we use industrial metal folding machines to help students to learn the sequencing of folds on manufactured sheet metal components. Many students have difficulty visualising the folding sequences required to complete practical manufacturing assignments. This paper details the digital media resource which was developed to provide students with the opportunity to offer a proposed solution to questions which relate to the folding sequence required for these components. Feedback is provided through the medium of pre recorded videos which show the component being …

Engaging Student's Learningthrough A Blended Learning Environment, Andrew Stuart

Conference papers

Within the furniture manufacturing industry a high proportion of occupational accidents are as a result of non-compliance to machining regulations and incorrect work practices. Safety training plays an important role in reducing accidents and promoting a safety culture within this sector. This article details an action research study undertaken during the first year of a new Degree in Timber Product Technology, which set out to evaluate the impact a blended learning environment and reusable learning objects (RLOs) could have on promoting safe work practices and a safety culture amongst students. A constructivist approach was taken and the module design was …

Technology In The First Year Experience - A Study On The Resources Provided To And Used By Students, Marisa Llorens, Edmund Nevin, Eileen Mageean

Conference papers

The introduction of new technologies has increased the amount and type of information resources available to students. Today’s student encounters technology in all aspects of life, from social interactions to online purchases. Of particular note are the increased possibilities in the availability of resources to support their studies. This paper presents a study of the types of resources available to first year students, how they interact with each type and their preferences. Two surveys were carried out. The first survey was conducted amongst academics delivering first year modules. Its primary aim was to obtain information about the resources students were …

Continuous Assessment: A Preliminary Study Of Student Engagement In The Assessment Process, Edmund Nevin, Eileen Mageean, Marisa Llorens

Conference papers

This paper provides an objective analysis of student engagement with continuous assessment over a three year period. The results of two groups of students from different stages of a modularised level seven engineering programme were examined. As both groups had taken modules where they studied numerical differentiation, this topic was selected and the corresponding assessment results and attendance of both groups were analysed.

Two assessment methods were used to evaluate student engagement. The first method of assessment required the student to complete a laboratory assignment and submit it within a specified period of time. The second method of assessment involved …

Policies That Enhance Teaching And Learning, Shannon Chance, Pamela L. Eddy, Gavin Duffy, Brian Bowe, Jen Harvey

Conference papers

Educational institutions often implement policies with the intention of influencing how learning and teaching occur. Generally, such policies are not as effective as their makers would like; changing the behavior of third-level teachers proves difficult. Nevertheless, a policy instituted in 2006 at the Dublin Institute of Technology has met with success: each newly hired faculty member must have a post-graduate qualification in “Learning and Teaching” or successfully complete one within the first two years of employment. The intention is to build teachers’ knowledge about student-centered pedagogies and their capacity to implement them. As a result of this policy (and associated …

Use Of On-Line Video For Mathematics Peer Instruction: A Pilot Experience., Marisa Llorens

Conference papers

The learning of mathematics is often associated with established prejudices, such as a belief that it is a difficult and boring subject. The association of mathematics with a passive learning process, involving a teacher/lecturer writing on a board and the students simply following or copying what is written, accentuates that perception. This paper presents a pilot project for mathematics peer instruction using on-line videos created by the students. The context of the project is an engineering mathematics foundation module in an Irish college of engineering, covering basic engineering mathematics prerequisites. The course is open to a wide range of students …

Using Architecture Pedagogy To Enhance Engineering Education, Shannon Chance, Mike Murphy, Gavin Duffy, Brian Bowe

Conference papers

Based on evidence, numerous advisory boards and scholars insist engineering education must change (NSB, 2007; McKenna, Froyd, King, Litzinger, & Seymour, 2011) and that hands-on, inquiry-driven, project-based learning pedagogies can enhance STEM education (Boyer & Mitgang, 1996). These pedagogies have formed the core of architectural education since the Renaissance and have been in continuous use since that time. As such, engineering educators can benefit from observing how architecture students learn and understanding how they are taught. Likewise, architecture can benefit from applying the group-based learning strategies employed by engineering teachers who use studentcentered, project-based pedagogies. Trans-disciplinary approaches hold particular merit.