Education Commons^™

Supervision Of Students In Social Care Education: Practice Teachers' Views Of Their Role, Fiona Mcsweeney

Articles

This paper presents findings from research about how practice

teachers in social care education in Ireland view their role, in

particular what elements they prioritise and what they see as relatively

unimportant. The aim of the research was exploratory, seeking to

discover commonalities and differences in how practice teachers saw

their role in the supervision of social care students. Q methodology

was used to compare the participants’ viewpoints. Twenty practice

teachers, from varying practice backgrounds and levels of experience,

sorted statements outlining aspects of the practice teacher’s role,

during individual interviews. Analysis indicates participants had two

ways of conceptualising the …

Handy Apps For Learning, Mary O'Rawe

Other resources

There is great benefit in using apps for education purposes. It seems clear that the ‘smart’ experience enjoyed by many second-level students needs to be continued in the third-level learning environment. But many academics have been slow to view apps, and indeed the smartphone in general, as anything other than a distraction, with some banning them entirely from the lecture hall. This newspaper article promotes the need for a shift to regarding apps in higher education as an aid to independent thinking, improved organisational skills and mobile learning.

Quizmastery: Students As Bloggers And Testers In Pursuit Of Grammatical Competence, Sue Norton, Odette Gabaudan

Articles

This article considers the challenges confronted by instructors of composition and writing skills in higher education. Identifying key aspects of grammar, syntax, and punctuation, it argues that a grammatically informed terminology is helpful to learner-writers endeavouring to improve the clarity of their written assignments. To aid assimilation of this terminology, and the concepts it signifies, e-learning tools can be integrated into the curriculum so that students can consolidate knowledge through their own construction of it. As they create blogs and peer to peer quizzes, they become more theoretically and practically informed about the basis of effective writing practices.

Developing Mobile Apps For Improving The Orientation Experience Of First-Year "Third Level" Students, Nevan Bermingham, Mark Prendergast, Trevor Boland, Mary O'Rawe, Barry Ryan

Conference papers

Smartphone usage by students has increased rapidly over the last number of years, and research points to an expectation for increased utilisation of mobile applications in college educational environments. First year students have particular needs when they transition to higher education (or 'third level'), as they can experience a number of personal, social and cultural difficulties. Orientation is a critical stage for these students and the earlier students have access to important orientation information, the less stressful the initial stages of college are. At Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), the authors designed a bespoke mobile application tailored to the particular …

Commuting Versus Resident Students: Differences In Irish Student Engagement, Social And Living Conditions Based On Place Of Residence, Brian Gormley

Other Resources

This is the first study into resident students and commuter students in Ireland and was carried out to facilitate a more informed and targeted approach to supporting specific student groups. The research is based on secondary data analysis of three national Eurostudent surveys undertaken in 2006, 2009 and 2013. Four different student cohorts were studied to examine differences in their living and social conditions and their levels of student engagement. The cohorts were: resident students; those living with their parents; renters; and home-owners. Much of the previous research into student residential arrangements has taken place in the US, and this …

Measuring The Effectiveness Of Software-Based Training To Improve The Spatial Visualization Skills Of Students In Stem Disciplines In Higher Education Institutions, Peter Cole

Dissertations

This research investigates how software can be used to teach spatial skills leading to greater success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematical (STEM) fields. Existing research indicates that spatial skills can be taught and that good spatial skills are common to people who succeed in STEM fields. In this work, a software-only testing system with a direct targeted, training intervention module was implemented to measure and teach spatial skills using mental rotations, which are believed to be one of the most significant indicators of success in STEM fields. Spatial skills were tested using a standardized and validated test that measures …

Change In Higher Education: Reflecting On Culture And Identities In Dit, Ann Conway

System and Institutional Design and Transformation

The case study is based on review of government policies and institutional strategy documents looking towards the future and determining how they are affecting the current situation in the Institution. The primary aim of the research was to identify drivers of change and mergers in higher education. This was conducted via analysis of interviews and observations at meetings and classes, and via use of discourse analysis of some policy and strategy documents. It was then reflected on how changes and mergers impact on cultures and professional academic identities. The interviewees were asked about their views on which factors bring about …

An Introduction To The Higher Education In Transformation Proceedings, Brian Campbell, Bill Hunter

Introduction

This paper is an introduction to the proceedings of the 2016 Higher Education in Transformation Symposium (HEIT) that was held November 2 to 4, in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. The overall theme for HEIT 2016 was Designing Higher Education for the Twenty-First Century. This theme addressed the many ways that colleges and universities are actively reinventing and reinvigorating higher education. The papers in this collection cover a broad spectrum of research and experiences in both Canada and Ireland. In this paper we review the main themes that arose …

Non-Traditional Students, Non-Traditional Teaching: Pathways To Academic Success Include Resourcefulness And Adaptation Skills, Ron Collis, Maureen Reed

Student Success

Today, students entering higher education are diverse and include many students who in previous generations did not attend higher education. Research shows that these non-traditional students (e.g., first generation students, students with disabilities, older students) often feel less prepared for higher education (Reed et al., 2006; Stebleton & Soria, 2012; Zafft, 2008). An option for non-traditional students seeking entry to university or professional programmes is to upgrade their academic skill through college pathway programmes. Regardless of how one might come to higher education, being prepared in higher education involves resourcefulness and resilience. Highly resourceful students use a number of self-management …

Student Voices: What Students Say They Do To Be Successful, Alyson E. King

Student Success

Since a post-secondary education tends to lead to improved life chances and opportunities, understanding the ways in which students at all levels of university are able to succeed is important not only for individuals, but also for the nation. In spite of the success of targeted first- year retention programs, most universities in Ontario have much lower degree completion rates. Few existing studies of university persistence and success focus on what students themselves say about how and why they are successful at persisting to graduation. This pilot study compared the strategies for success at university used by self-identified visible minority …

Learning Analytics To Inform Teaching And Learning Approaches, Geraldine Gray, Colm Mcguinness, Philip Owende

Student Success

Learning analytics is an evolving discipline with capability for educational data analysis to enable better understanding of learning processes. This paper reports on learning analytics research at Institute of Technology Blanchardstown, Ireland, that indicated measureable factors can identify first year students at risk of failing based on data available prior to commencement of first year of study. The study was conducted over three years, 2010 to 2012, on a student population from a range of academic disciplines (n=1,207). Data was gathered from both student enrolment data maintained by college administration, and an online, self-reporting tool administered during induction sessions for …

Correlation Between Physics And Calculus Workshop Attendance And University Grades, Caroline Ferguson Ph.D.

Student Success

The Student Learning Centre at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology offers various support services for students enrolled in first year calculus and physics courses; the most widely used of these services are focused workshops. The purpose of this study was to compare student academic performance between those who did and did not attend physics and calculus workshops. Data provided by the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis at UOIT was analyzed using pivot tables in MS Excel. Students enrolled in Physics I and Calculus I were categorized based on their Grade 12 physics and calculus marks, respectively. Students …

Integrating Assessment From Day One In A Student Development Event: Long Night Against Procrastination (Lnap) At A Mid-Sized University, Tessa Troughton M.A.

Student Success

This paper explains the assessment process that was the focus of the planning of an undergraduate student academic development event, from project inception through completion. The learning outcomes for the Long Night Against Procrastination (LNAP) event in 2015 were planned based on key aspects of the home university’s mission statement. The learning outcomes for the event and the university’s mission statement were next woven together into the learning outcomes and success criteria of the individual workshops. The assessment of the event was planned to investigate whether, and to what extent, the success criteria had been met based on the student …

You've Got A Friend In Me: The Effects Of Peer Mentoring On The First Year Experience For Undergraduate Students, Naoise Webb, Damian Cox, Aiden Carthy

Student Success

The current study aimed to explore the effects of peer mentoring on perceived levels of academic anxiety for a sample of first year Irish undergraduate students. This study employed a structured self-report questionnaire to collect data from participants (n=156) from four subject backgrounds; horticulture, business, engineering and computing. Participants were assigned to student mentors from senior cycles in the college in a peer mentoring programme. Participants completed a questionnaire at the culmination of the programme which was designed to investigate students’ reported levels of anxiety, difficulty settling in and their appreciation of the mentoring programme. Results indicated that difficulty in …

Qualibuild Train The Trainer Lessons Learned From The Development Of A Program For Training Trainers Of Construction, Mark Keys, Shaun Ferns, Robert Hickey, Richie Ryan, Jonathon Cussen, Douglas Hynes

Partnerships

In response to recent directives to promote quality energy efficient buildings throughout Europe, the EU funded Build UP Skills Ireland (BUSI) project launched a national skills gap analysis of the construction sector in 2011. Generally, the gap that was identified was one of knowledge rather than skills. However, this knowledge is fundamental for the successful implementation of low energy buildings. The BUSI analysis also found that the majority of trainers of construction related crafts lacked the experience and knowledge on the implementation of energy efficient buildings. Consequently, the follow on Build UP Skills QualiBuild project focussed on the development and …

A Phenomenological Study Of Irish And Portuguese Women’S Experiences Of Receiving Family Support When Studying Stem Subjects At Technical Institutes, Shannon Chance, B. Williams

Conference papers

This paper reports a research study of women’s experiences of receiving family support when studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects at technical institutes in Ireland and Portugal. Specifically, it reports phenomenological analysis of 19 interviews conducted during the 2014-­2015 academic years with female students studying engineering subjects at technical institutes in Ireland and Portugal. It identifies forms of positive support received from family as well as problematic family dynamics and concerns. Parents, uncles, and aunts provide many positive forces, as do surrogates (i.e., adopted family and close mentors). Cousins and brothers also provide role models and information. For …

An Exploration Of Fairness In The Assessment And Process Of Student Group Work, Rita Gibson, Emma Geoghegan, Oscar Macananey, Andrew Hines, Lorraine D'Arcy

Practitioner Research Projects

This project was driven by a motivation to be as fair as possible in the assessment of students' group work. Achieving fairness in assessment is a recurrent them in group project assessment literature (Nordberg, 2009). All authors of this report teach modules with group projects, and acknowledged that discrepancies often exist between a mark assigned to a group and an individual's contribution. Our aims were to (a) collectively enhance our understanding of the issues that need to be considered when assessing a group work project and (b) collectively build our confidence in approaches chosen to overcome these challenges. The findings …

Methods For Deriving Individual Marks From Group Work, Miriam Delaney, Lucy Bowe, Breiffni Fitzgerald, Peter Maccann, Christina Ryan

Practitioner Research Projects

Group assessment is a valuable teaching and learning method (Springer et al., 1999). This has been comprehensively demonstrated in the teaching and learning literature both in general (Johnson et al., 1991) and in specific contexts. This assessment practice promotes questioning, discussion and debate and encourages students to become active team players (DIT, 2013). However, when using this form of assessment, it is important to recognise that it is "individuals who graduate and gain qualifications" (Gibbs, 2009, p.4). The problem of freeloading has been identified and one of the suggested methods of reducing this is to incorporate individual assessment into the …

Facilitating Group Work: A Guide To Good Practice, Ronan Mccrea, Irene Neville, David Rickard, Ciara Walsh, David Williams

Practitioner Research Projects

Oakley et al. (2004) and Gibbs (2009) observe that owing to the extensive literature on group work, lecturers searching for a succinct guide on how to facilitate this activity effectively would find it challenging to digest such a large corpus. We extensively reviewed the literature in order to produce a quick and accessible guide for lecturers to use. It is our aspiration that this could be referred to when planning and facilitating group work projects with insights and recommendations informed by our research. Moreover, as this work draws on publications from educators in a wide range of disciplines, we expect …

Gamification To Improve First Year Engagement, John Colleran, Aoife Lloyd Mckernan, Julie Ann Naughton, Brian Vaughan

Practitioner Research Projects

The purpose of this project was to examine the role of Gamification in increasing first year student engagement within the third level educational setting. A literature review was carried out in order to explore the teaching philosophy behind gamification in education and review the quantitative and qualitative evidence regarding its use. Gamification can be broadly described as the application of gaming methods and elements in non-gaming contexts in order to improve user engagement and user experience (Deterding et al., 2011). Qualitative analysis suggests these factors result in beneficial emotional and social impacts on students, particularly in the area of increasing …

Virtual Virtue, Michael Bruder

Teaching and Learning in a Digital Context

No abstract provided.

Designing A Fully Online Social Marketing Course For 21st Century Learners, Bridgette Atkins, Milly Ryan-Harshman, E. Vogel, H. Jones Taggart, J. Mclean, C. Myco

Teaching and Learning in a Digital Context

This paper focuses on the development of a Social Marketing for Public Health course created for health sciences students at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). The course was intended to help students develop the skills required for planning and delivering social marketing campaigns. The development of this course brought together members of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Teaching and Learning Centre at UOIT with individuals from ChangeMakers, a Canadian social marketing agency. Designing authentic learning experiences, providing students of a range of technical backgrounds opportunities to demonstrate their achievement of the learning outcomes, building in …

The Multilingual Times: Breaking The Language Barrier Between Journalism And Science, Harry Browne, Gessica De Angelis

Teaching and Learning in a Digital Context

This paper recounts and reflects upon the first two years of a project of transdisciplinary online collaboration involving a group of students studying journalism at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), who are paired one-to-one with a group studying linguistics at Trinity College Dublin. Taking as its starting point the idea that most journalism urgently needs to improve the accuracy and depth of its science coverage, and the equally urgent idea that scientists need to improve their capacity to communicate clearly to a wide public, the project has seen the students working together to produce an accessibly written blog, The Multilingual …

A Teaching Module For Engineers On Robotic Safety: Approaches And Effectiveness, Mark A. Rosen, Dan Zhang

Teaching and Learning in a Digital Context

A teaching module recently developed by the authors for engineers on robotic safety using various approaches (Powerpoint presentation and written document) is described and an assessment of the effectiveness of using the module is presented. The effectiveness of the teaching module and its different approaches is assessed by using it in a class setting, and surveying the opinions of the students. The content delivery approaches and learning approaches are also assessed, based on student opinions. The teaching module is determined to be effective at promoting student learning on robotics safety, and to offer multiple useful delivery modes. The teaching module …

Universal Design In Curriculum Development To Address Issues Of Socio-Cultural Capital In Third-Level Education, Brian Vaughan

Teaching and Learning in a Digital Context

Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) is primarily focused on ensuring that curricula are as accessible to students with a range of disabilities and difficulties. However, UDI can also be leveraged as a means of addressing issues of socio-cultural capital in third-level education. The assumption that all students belong to the dominant habitus can have a detrimental effect on those seen as being external to it. This paper examines the use of UDI as part of a wider approach to curriculum development as a means of addressing these issue. This is especially pertinent in light of the amalgamation of a number …

Educational Development For Online Teaching, Jordanne Christie

Teaching and Learning in a Digital Context

This paper discusses a case study that explores the impact on educators’ teaching practices, particularly their assumptions and beliefs about teaching and self-efficacy, as a result of their participation in an educational development programme designed to prepare college educators to develop and teach online and hybrid courses. The data were collected through an online survey of 34 participants, face-to-face interviews with 18 participants and documentary evidence review of 6 participants, and was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis approach. The findings suggest that the knowledge and experience that college educators acquire when participating in educational development for online …

Developing Critical Reflective Online Communities By Empowering Student Voice, Wendy Barber, Lorayne Robertson

Teaching and Learning in a Digital Context

This qualitative study examines the voices and learning experiences of students in online synchronous graduate courses by examining the role that student voice plays in developing authentic online communities. Transformational digital learning regards student voices as central to the process of learning in community, not extraneous to it. Effective online courses must be designed to allow constructivist opportunities for students to contextualize and integrate knowledge as well. With the wide variety and increasing landscape of new and innovative digital means of expressing concepts, placing students at the centre of the process is a digital affordance that holds the potential to …

Online “Maker” Modules To Support Production Pedagogies In Education, Janette Hughes, Lauren Fridman, Laura Morrison

Teaching and Learning in a Digital Context

Our research study examines the use of online maker modules (developed by our research team) on the learning process for, and professional development of, graduate M.Ed. and M.A. students in a faculty of education in Ontario, Canada. The research draws on the practice of critical making with both digital and real-world artefacts as a vehicle for collaborative knowledge- sharing and generation, deep learning and meaningful engagement with one’s local and global communities. The students engaged in all five online maker modules as part of a graduate-level course and this paper offers insight into the experiences of two of these students …

The Mooc: Rhetoric, Political Economy And The Value Of Technological Citizenship, Tanner Mirrlees, Shahid Alvi

Teaching and Learning in a Digital Context

This paper offers a critical political-economy of the promise and disappointment of the for- profit Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) in higher education. Our goal is to encourage awareness, dialogue, and reflexivity about the gap between the rhetoric and reality of the MOOC in higher education and to highlight and interrogate the persuasive and profit power interests served by “the rhetoric of the MOOC.” To this end, the first section outlines our critical approach and defines some key concepts: “the rhetoric of technology,” “the political- economy of edu-tech” and “the public sphere.” The second section highlights the MOOC’s rhetorical promises …

Developing Learning Communities In Fully Online Spaces: Positioning The Fully Online Learning Community Model, Todd Blayone, Roland Van Oostveen, Wendy Barber, Maurice Digiuseppe, Elizabeth Childs

Teaching and Learning in a Digital Context

The Fully Online Learning Community (FOLC), developed at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), is a social-constructivist model, addressing a paradigm shift in employment skills, and supporting key elements of transformational learning. Adopting a Problem-based Learning (PBL) approach to activity design, FOLC has served as basis for both undergraduate and graduate, fully online degree programs for almost a decade. In this time, it has demonstrated its ability to facilitate richly collaborative, socially cohesive, and constructively critical, learning communities supported by a flexible array of synchronous and asynchronous digital affordances. FOLC represents a “divergent fork” of the Community of …