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Full-Text Articles in Education

A Profile Of The Spatial Visualisation Abilities Of First Year Engineering And Science Students, Stephanie Farrell, Avril Behan, Gavin Duffy, Rachel Harding, Robert Howard, Aaron Mac Raighne, Edmund Nevin, Brian Bowe Jul 2015

A Profile Of The Spatial Visualisation Abilities Of First Year Engineering And Science Students, Stephanie Farrell, Avril Behan, Gavin Duffy, Rachel Harding, Robert Howard, Aaron Mac Raighne, Edmund Nevin, Brian Bowe

Conference papers

The link between spatial visualisation skills and academic and professional achievement in STEM fields is well established. It is also widely documented that men outperform women on tests of spatial ability. This disparity puts women at a relative disadvantage for academic success in STEM disciplines. Our research explores the influence of secondary academic experience on spatial visualisation ability among first year students entering an engineering or science programme. Spatial ability was measured using two standard psychometric instruments for measurement of spatial visualization. Out of eight secondary courses considered, a single course in design and computer graphics emerged as a predictor …


An Insurmountable Gap: Can We Balance Incoming And Outgoing Erasmus Exchanges Among Engineering Students?, Susan O'Shaughnessy Apr 2015

An Insurmountable Gap: Can We Balance Incoming And Outgoing Erasmus Exchanges Among Engineering Students?, Susan O'Shaughnessy

Stream 2: Curriculum

Because of the global power of English and being situated in an English-speaking country, Irish higher education institutions do not have to try very hard to attract Erasmus students from across Europe. However, persuading Irish students, particularly students of engineering, to undertake an Erasmus exchange in another European country is a much more difficult process. This paper outlines the recent history of Erasmus exchanges of engineering students to and from the Technological University Dublin and examines the push and pulls factors that affect these exchanges. It presents the results of a small-scale research project into the factors that encourage or …


We Had The Experience But Missed The Meaning: Capacity Building Using Student Diary Pro To Enhance The Mobility Experience, Angela Feeney, David Irwin, Tara Mckiernan Apr 2015

We Had The Experience But Missed The Meaning: Capacity Building Using Student Diary Pro To Enhance The Mobility Experience, Angela Feeney, David Irwin, Tara Mckiernan

Stream 1: Enterprise and Engagement

The mobility experience is not confined to the sphere of upward social and economic mobility but, in equal measure, to geographical, linguistic and cultural mobility as a function of the public role of the university. Effects of mobility can be registered in terms of their impact on the university directly, the impact of such mobility on society generally, and its impact on those who participate in mobility opportunities in particular. The paper begins with a general overview of ideas and intentions underpinning mobility which in turn inform and are informed by policy considerations in a European Union context. Since mobility …