Education Commons^™

The Ukicer 2022 Conference Poster: Techmate: A Best Practice Toolkit For Driving Sustainable Acceleration Towards Gender Equality In Technology Disciplines In Heis., Alina Berry

Conference papers

TechMate is a research project that is being developed to enhance gender balance in technology disciplines, in particular computing higher education in Ireland and beyond. Gender imbalance in computing education is a well-known issue: in Ireland, less than 15% of the student population in computer science, ICT and related disciplines are women. Despite a significant amount of research and practical work conducted in the recent decades, the problem still persists and this research initiative aims to improve the situation.

Among the main aims of this project, there is a development of a toolkit to drive sustainable acceleration towards gender equality …

The 4c’S Of Pal – An Evidence-Based Model For Implementing Peer Assisted Learning For Mature Students, Nevan Bermingham, Frances Boylan, Barry J. Ryan

Articles

Peer Assisted Leaning (PAL) programmes have been shown to enhance learner confidence and have an overall positive effect on learner comprehension, particularly in subjects traditionally perceived as difficult. This research describes the findings of a three-cycle Action Research study into the perceived benefits of implementing such a programme for mature students enrolled on a computer science programming module on an Access Foundation Programme in an Irish University. The findings from this study suggest that peer learning programmes offer students a valued support structure that aids transition and acculturation into tertiary education whilst simultaneously improving their subject-matter comprehension and confidence. An …

The 12th Annual Graduate Research Symposium 2021 Poster Tu Dublin: How To Recruit And Retain Women In Computer Science, Alina Berry, Susan Mckeever, Brenda Murphy, Sarah Jane Delany

Other resources

While in recent decades a number of efforts have been coordinated to address the issue of gender imbalance in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines, the problem still persists. Many authors speak of the ‘leaky’ pipeline metaphor that describes the loss of women in STEM areas before reaching senior roles. Research shows that women who leave are unlikely to return. The issue is particularly severe in the area of computer science, where women represent less than 20% of the labour force across the EU.

This poster introduces a summary of findings from the literature on how to effectively recruit …

Incorporating Digital Ethics Throughout The Software Development Process, Michael Collins, Damian Gordon, Anna Becevel, William O'Mahony

Conference papers

The media is reporting scandals associated with computer companies with increasing regularity; whether it is the misuse of user data, breach of privacy concerns, the use of biased artificial intelligence, or the problems of automated vehicles. Because of these complex issues, there is a growing need to equip computer science students with a deep appreciation of ethics, and to ensure that in the future they will develop computer systems that are ethically-based. One particularly useful strand of their education to incorporate ethics into is when teaching them about the formal approaches to developing computer systems.

There are a number of …