Education Commons^™

Exploring Supports Provided For Student Eportfolio Development In A Professional Development Context, Muireann Okeeffe

Articles

This small scale study aimed to explore and establish if support strategies implemented to enhance student ePortfolios were helpful to students and to identify useful ways of supporting ePortfolio development with future cohorts of students. This action research study was informed through focus group discussion and individual interviews with students.

The importance of reflection for the development professional practice and of creative abilities is discussed. The substantial benefits of creativity within education are investigated and characteristics of creativity that might be developed with students’ ePortfolios are revealed. Specifically this paper seeks to foster Crafts (2011) four characteristics of creativity, pluralities, …

Assessing A Young Writer’S Story, Julie Patterson

Articles

Now that's a story! Find out what this 1st grader is doing well and what our writer-in-residence would teach next.

Identifying Knowledge, Skill And Competence For Nanoscience And Nanotechnology Research: A Study Of Postgraduate Researchers’ Experiences, Deepa Chari, Paul Irving, Robert Howard, Brian Bowe

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Over the past few decades, scientific disciplines have changed significantly with the introduction of new and complex aspects of research, particularly in the area of nanoscience and nanotechnology (N&N). Efforts to develop science education programmes in N&N area to adopt these complex changes are also evident from recent literature and educational reports. However, these attempts are focused towards identification and inclusion of contextual scientific knowledge in the curricula and very little is understood about the attributes knowledge, skill and competence necessary to successfully undertake N&N research. Identification of these attributes is important so that the contextual scientific knowledge can be …

Systematically Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Quality Assurance Programmes In Leading To Improvements In Institutional Performance, Deirdre Lillis

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Higher education institutions worldwide invest significant resources in their quality assurance systems however little empirical research exists which demonstrates their effectiveness (or otherwise). Methodological approaches for determining effectiveness are also underdeveloped. Self study with peer review is a widely used model for ensuring the quality of the core teaching, research and engagement activities of higher education institutions. This paper illustrates how an established social programme evaluation methodology can be used to determine its effectiveness in leading to improvements in institutional performance. The concept of effectiveness and the particular challenges posed by the higher education organisational culture are considered. An example …

Disciplinary Identity Of Nanoscience And Nanotechnology Research- A Study Of Postgraduate Researchers’ Experiences, Deepa Nathamuni Chari, Robert Howard, Brian Bowe

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Nanoscience and Nanotechnology research although growing at very fast rate, its disciplinary identity remains ‘ill-defined’. It is often viewed as multidisciplinary; and/or interdisciplinary science or even as a unique discipline on its own way. As a consequence, whether this growing research area requires researchers that have studied specialised undergraduate or postgraduate nanoscience and nanotechnology programmes; or traditional science and engineering disciplines is still less understood. The examination of postgraduate researchers’ experiences of nanoscience and nanotechnology research can provide a way of understanding nanoscience and nanotechnology research and the associated forms of disciplinarity, which in turn can address what the type …

A Teaching Practice Review Of The Use Of Multiple-Choice Questions For Formative And Summative Assessment Of Student Work On Advanced Undergraduate And Postgraduate Modules In Engineering, Aidan O'Dwyer

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This paper reflects on, reports on and evaluates the use of multiple-choice questions, in both formative and summative assessment modes, on control engineering modules taken by advanced undergraduate and postgraduate engineering students, over four academic years. The material covered by the modules is analytical in nature. The rationale for examining the assessment strategy was the poor performance by students in a closed book traditional terminal examination on one of the advanced undergraduate modules over some years. The change in assessment strategy has improved student learning, as measured by assessment data; student feedback on the assessment methods is broadly positive. The …

“Are The Study Habits Of First Year Undergraduate Students Influenced By Where They Live While Attending College?”, Robert Morris

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Abstract

This study was carried out in the Technological University Dublin with the co-operation of four experienced lecturers of engineering and fifty first year undergraduate engineering students.

The main aim of the research was to establish if living away from the family home influences the study habits of first year undergraduate students.

Many causes of attrition in first year are identified in the research. For this research project the four experienced lecturers were interviewed to capture their views and experiences of the study and learning habits of first year students. The data gathered in conjunction with my own personal experiences, …

Computer-Supported Peer Review In A Law School Context, Kevin D. Ashley, Ilya Goldin

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Legal instructors have been urged to incorporate peer reviewing into law school courses as a way to provide students much needed feedback. Peer review can benefit legal education, but only if law school instructors adopt peer review on a large scale, and for that, computer-supported peer review systems are crucial. These web-based systems orchestrate the mechanics of students submitting written assignments on-line and distributing them to other students for anonymous review, making it considerably easier for instructors to manage.

Beyond the problem of orchestrating mechanics, however, a deeper obstacle to widespread acceptance of peer review in legal education is the …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Oral Communciations Apprehension, Marann Byrne, Barbara Flood, Dan Shanahan

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Prior research has identified communication apprehension, or fear of communicating, as a major factor which inhibits an individual’s willingness to communicate and his/her capability to develop effective communication skills. While many prior studies have measured oral communication apprehension of students, there has been little qualitative exploration of the phenomenon. This study was conducted by interviewing first-year business and accounting students at a higher education institution in Ireland who were identified as encountering varying levels of oral communication apprehension. The experiences of the students in communicating in different contexts are analysed and the impact of factors such as fear of peer …

Irish Education And The Financial Crisis, Deirdre Lillis, John Morgan

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Regardless of economic fortunes, investment in education remains a constant in terms of its perceived value to Ireland and it is seen as critical to the economic recovery of the country. Ireland has one of the highest educational participation rates in the world, is considered to have the ‘most employable’ graduates in Europe and produces more graduates per 1000 inhabitants than any other European country. The degree to which the financial crisis has impacted Irish education is explored here.