Education Commons^™

Csi4 : A Curriculum For Ensuring More Employable Ict Graduates, Deirdre Lillis

Conference papers

ICT skills shortages worldwide can be met by global software innovators that can work in any sector. HubLinked, a partnership of 11 industry and HE partners in the EU and Korea, is developing an integrated CSI4 curriculum for industry-oriented, internationalised, innovation-focused and interdisciplinary Computer Science degrees. CSI4 features Global Labs, where teams of students work across timezones to prototype software, an IaH experience which mimics working in a global ICT company.

An Evaluation Case Study Investigating The Use Of Haptic Ultrasound Training Devices To Help Clinical Measurement Science Students Conceptualise Diagnostic Ultrasound, Jacinta Browne

Theses

The aim of this project was to investigate the use of a haptic ultrasound training device as a training aid to improve students’ learning, competency and confidence, in the conceptually and technically challenging area of diagnostic ultrasound imaging. The research question was investigated through the use of an evaluative case study using a mixed methods approach, with each method converging to ensure triangulation. The quantitative evaluations of the Multiple Choice Questions, psychometric manipulation test and direct observation of ultrasound scanning manipulation, demonstrated improvements of 12%, 29% and 94%, respectively between pre- and post-training performance. The qualitative evaluation of students’ confidence …

Global Software Innovators Strengthening The Software Innovation Capacity Of Europe And Korea, Deirdre Lillis, Paul Doyle, Michael Collins, Brian Keegan, Luca Longo, William O'Mahony, Peter Manifold

Conference papers

Global entrepreneurial talent management is a key challenge for the software sector internationally where competition for high-end skills is intense. SMEs are at a significant disadvantage when competing with major multinationals to access these skills. The Information and Communications Technology sector accounts for 5% of all employment in the EU and there are 900,000 vacancies in this sector in 2017 [1], however over 50% of senior ICT managers believe graduates lack the necessary combination of technical, business and interpersonal skills [2]. In addition, only 4 in 1000 women work in the ICT sector [3].

To address these challenges, HubLinked, an …

Consistency Of Academic Performance In Higher Education: A Study Of An Irish Business Degree Programme, Julie Byrne, Conor Heagney

The ITB Journal

This study examines the level of consistency of the academic performance of business students, both as a whole and within two fields of study- accounting and human resource management (HRM). The examination results of 177 students are ranked at different stages and compared with the rank of final year exam results. By utilising Spearman's (1 904) coefficient of rank order correlations rather than absolute marks, this paper hopes to facilitate the process of comparison. The research found that the level of consistency increases substantially once students enter the degree irrespective of their field of study.

Editorial, Brian Nolan

The ITB Journal

Issue 9, May 2004.

A Model For Improving Student Completion Rates In The Tud Based On Competency Based Learning Modules That Improve Acres And Taasolc, Gerard Stockil

The ITB Journal

Acronyms can be useful sometimes. Let’s mint a new one, TAASOLC, see Fig 1. Next describe what TAASOLC means and tell a thread of a story. Continue by describe a solution with a list of quantifiable action items, based on community engagement models, for solving an education problem and a community development problem. The problem is increasing the number of students successfully completing a third level institute and (this conjunction is essential) at the same time gradually improving standards. The best way of getting the community engaged with a college, and a new 21st century Irish university, is to increase …

Civic Engagement: Strategic And Implementation Perspectives Within A Higher Education Institution, Des Moore

The ITB Journal

This paper will give a brief overview of what Civic Engagement means in Higher Education in general with a particular focus on Knowledge Exchange, Service Learning, Community Based Research and Volunteering. Following this, emergent thinking on Civic Engagement in Ireland is presented. Given both the theoretical context and the strategic importance of ensuring Civic Engagement opportunities are offered in a Higher Education Institution some possible organisation arrangements regarding the structured development and implementation of Civic Engagement at strategic and implementation levels are proposed.

Equality Of Access To Higher Education: Discussion Of Emerging Issues Regarding The Performance Of Migrants At The Institute Of Technology Blanchardstown, Brid Ni Chonaill, Ruth Harris

The ITB Journal

This paper presents the findings of a small scale study of the impact of English language competency on the performance of migrants in higher education in Ireland. It is based on a case study of a group of first year Social Studies students at the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB). First, relevant terminology will be outlined before focusing on the promotion of equality in higher education by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) – the framework within which the data will subsequently be critiqued. Next, the presence of migrants in the Institutes of Technology (IOTs) will be discussed, before presenting the …

Delivering Design Fundamentals Using Relevant Learning Theories In The Delivery Of An Interior Design Project At Third Level, Tracey Dalton

Articles

This is a reflection on teaching practice, focussing on design process in a BA Honours in Design – Interior and Furniture, in Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). An intrinsic case study approach (Stake 1995) was taken for this research, which focussed on the use of the learning theories in the delivery of an undergraduate interior design project brief. A third year commercial office design project has been used to assess teaching and learning styles. This article will show that, in terms of delivery, in a typical third level interior design project in DIT, the process incorporates all of the learning …

The Lecturer As Learner: Exploring That Digital Divide One More Time, Mary O'Rawe

Conference papers

Although there is widespread acceptance of the importance, and indeed superiority, of student-centred learning in the contemporary success equation (McCabe & O’Connor, 2014), charting the route to such success remains problematic. Many assumptions around the nature of digital learning, and inter-generational attitudes to such learning are still made.

Specific to the context of technology-enhanced teaching, learning and assessment in a higher education environment, a range of generic and particular debates around how to be student-centric arise. Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) has been examined extensively from both the student’s viewpoint, and the lecturer’s perspective (Waycott et al., 2010). But how can these …

Using Hybrid Development Platforms For Easy Design Of Mobile Apps To Improve The Orientation Experience Of First Year Higher Education Students At Dit., Nevan Bermingham, Mary O'Rawe, Trevor Boland

Conference papers

Smartphone usage by students has increased rapidly over the last number of years, and there is evidence to indicate that students are using their smartphones more in higher educational environments.

However, creating mobile applications tailored to the needs of any particular cohort of students can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavour for any organisation. In addition, it normally involves substantial technological expertise.

At the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), we created two bespoke mobile applications tailored to improve the orientation experience for two different groups of students. “DIT GetSmart!” was designed and built to address the information needs of …

Access To Academic English: The Development Of A Meta- Linguistic Curriculum, Dawn Duffin

The ITB Journal

One of the greatest barriers to the deaf student's continuing and further education is the accessing of course texts and research papers. A native ISL user will not necessarily have acquired fluency in accessing written information in English during the course of his or her previous educational experience. At university the deaf student cannot hope that more than a percentage of course materials will be translated into ISL onto video tape and so often loses insight into the chosen course normally gained through the range of reading of text required by third level study if her or she lacks skill …

Mathematical Competencies Of Third Level Students: A Review, Colm Mcguinness

The ITB Journal

Many lecturers of mathematics and related disciplines in Ireland and internationally believe there has been a gradual decline in mathematical competencies of students presenting for first year at third level educational establishments. Some of the evidence to support this view is reviewed, along with the types of solutions being applied in Ireland and the UK. Attention is drawn to the explicit and implicit decline in standards potentially associated with some of the solutions, particularly for short courses involving mathematics.

Factors Relating To The Design Of Effective Third Level Learning Environment, Amanda Clancy

The ITB Journal

The number of students attending University in Ireland is at an all time high. Therefore it is essential to ensure that learning environments are well established and that they help deliver the most important aspects necessary to the students. This paper looks at what the most important factors are when it comes to learning and teaching environments, and what learning environment best delivers these factors. Three learning environments are discussed, Traditional Learning, Blended Learning and Distance Learning. The type of factors that are examined range from aspects to do with the material and resources available to the students to areas …

Working Towards An Inclusive Model Of Practice: E4 Project Training In An Institute Of Technology, Dawn Duffin

The ITB Journal

The paper hypothesises that third level tutors are not required to and do not generally possess teaching or disability awareness qualifications and that the institute of technology involved would benefit from a collective approach towards more inclusive practice. The collected data confirms the hypothesis whilst also highlighting recommendations to be incorporated into future planning. The aim of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of a Continuing Professional Development Module on inclusive teaching and learning in a third level institute of technology; it is then intended to derive appropriate lessons for future development of such training. The E4 Project builds …

Is The Collage Arund The Korner Just De Sam? A Study Of General Literacy And Information Literacy In The Year One Horticulture Cohort At The Institute Of Technology, Blanchardstown, Kevin Martin

The ITB Journal

This paper examines the issues of general and Information Literacy among first year students at the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland in the School of Engineering and Computing. It specifically looks at the first year Diploma in Horticulture intake and briefly compares these to other cohorts in the school. It seeks to tentatively establish the percentages of students who are presenting with literacy difficulties. It suggests interventions that may help to remediate the problems for some students and help them fulfil their potential.

School Of Culinary Arts & Food Technology - Spring Newsletter 2017, James Peter Murphy

Other resources

The School of Culinary Arts & Food Technology - Spring Newsletter captured the many events, research, awards, significant contributions and special activities which the students and staff members of the school have successfully completed leading up to and including the Spring period of 2017.

How Can Higher Education Institutions (Heis) Support The Development Of Entrepreneurial Mindsets In Local Communities?, Emma O'Brien, Thomas M. Cooney

Conference papers

Promoting an entrepreneurial culture through the development of entrepreneurial mindsets has become an important mission on the education and enterprise policy agenda of many governments and supranational organisations. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have responded to this call by developing entrepreneurship / enterprise education pedagogies that now place a greater focus on engendering entrepreneurial competencies within individuals rather than on the creation of new ventures. Such competences are relevant for all aspects of an individual’s life and may assist them in navigating the ever changing, chaotic, global world in which they live. However, some commentators have argued that this development is …

A Path Dependence Approach To Understanding Educational Policy Harmonisation: The Qualifications Framework In The European Higher Education Area, Sharon Feeney, John Hogan

Articles

This paper examines the development of a system of easily readable and comparable qualifications within a single Qualifications Framework in the European Higher Education Area (QF-EHEA) as part of the Bologna process. Employing a path dependence approach, combined with new understandings of critical junctures and incremental policy change, as our conceptual lens, we find that multiple self-reinforcing events between the 1998 Sorbonne Declaration and the 2005 Bergen Communiqué, in the form of Declarations and Communiqués, guided implementation of the Bologna policy process, along with elements of incremental layering. We also see evidence that policy formation and implementation are self-reinforcing in …

Assessment And Feedback Resource Pack, Jen Harvey, Roisin Donnelly

Other resources

The purpose of this resource pack is to provide specialized and localized information on assessment and feedback in higher education for academic staff in DIT. It is designed for staff new to teaching (experienced lecturers may find it useful too) and is intended to complement the largely-generic information delivered in workshops. In relation to feedback, the aim of the pack is to position it as a practice that has a positive and sustained influence on learning, and as a fundamental part of curriculum design, not simply an episodic mechanism delivered by teachers to their students.

Resource Pack On Active Learning, Roisin Donnelly, Marian Fitzmaurice

Other resources

The massification of higher education is now a global phenomenon Huge changes in the teaching and learning milieu within colleges. The forces of massification have brought multiple challenges with regard to pedagogy. What kind of pedagogy to employ? The role of the lecturer is to empower learning and it is challenging and complex. There is a need to employ a pedagogy which requires students to do things, to access information, to solve problems, to reflect on what they are doing and make connections to real world problems.

Educational research has revealed a number of important lessons for educators:

Importance of …

Dit Programme Re-Design Initiatives In Case Studies Of Programme Of/For/As Learning Assessment Approaches., Roisin Donnelly, Jen Harvey, K.C. O'Rourke, Claire Mcavinia, Claire M. Mcdonnell, Orla Hanratty, Frances Boylan, Pauline Rooney

Other resources

The Programme Re-Design Initiative process differs from other team based methods in that it adopts an holistic approach to programme design. Initiatives aim to develop the practice of curriculum design and development in expanded, multi-disciplinary teams. This process is based on the Oxford Brookes University CDI Model and links to the Deakin University Live the Future: Course Intensives.

Orientation Is Key For First-Year Students, Mary O'Rawe

Other resources

The focus on college drop-out rates, particularly in first year, and debates around fees and funding, remind us to consider why students find it so difficult to make the transition from secondary school to higher education.

So how can incoming students prepare themselves to make the best academic transition? This article present a series of useful points for students and parents in preparing for success in a college learning environment.

Community-Based Learning: A Primer, Zeinab Bedri, Ruairí De Fréin, Geraldine Dowling

Practitioner Research Projects

Employers are increasingly demanding graduates with industry-ready communication, decision-making, problem-solving, leadership, emotional intelligence and social ethics skills. Community-based learning (CBL) has been identified as a pedagogical approach which has tremendous potential to produce graduates with these attributes; its prominent role in the future of Ireland's third level landscape is outlined in the Irish National Strategy for Higher Education (Hunt, 2011). However, for many early-career lecturers, distilling the insights from the teaching and learning literature, and then producing a well-designed CBL module, can be an intimidating task. What is missing is a primer which presents the core ideas of CBL in …

Personalised Learning Framework For Enhancing Mathematics Ability, John Butler, Orla Cahill, Basel Magableh, Siobhan O'Regan

Practitioner Research Projects

Mathematics is the cornerstone of many disciplines, including computer science, accounting and the sciences. However, over the past two decades in higher education institutes, it has become increasingly apparent that there is a decline in the basic numeracy skills of first year students entering third level programs (Tariq, 2002). This has been observed in numerous Irish institutes whereby unfortunately it can also be a huge impediment in student progression into second year. Research has shown that students are under-prepared for the challenges posed by third level mathematics (Hourigan & O’Donoghue, 2007). In addition, as lecturers we are not as informed …

Strategies For Enhancing The Mature Student Experience In Higher Education, John O'Carroll, Cathy Ennis, Keith Loscher, Deirdre Ryan, Niall Dixon

Practitioner Research Projects

A principle of the Irish Education system is its endorsement of equity of access to higher education for all Irish citizens. This principle has been enacted through successive government policies including the National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education 2015-2019 (HEA, 2015). The aim of this policy is to “ensure that the student body entering, participating in and completing higher education at all levels reflects the diversity and social mix of Ireland’s population” (p.8). Data from this plan shows that participation in higher education by the adult population has increased and that there is a potential for increasing …

Blended Learning - What Practitioners Can Learn From Moocs, Aine Whelan, Aimee Byrne, Keith Colton, Patrick Crean, Conor Mcgarrigle

Practitioner Research Projects

The rapid increase in the use of information technologies in third level education is changing the way courses are provided. Online multimedia have helped reduce the difficulties teachers face with a diversity of student profiles and a large number of students in a classroom. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) present an extreme with regard to student groups in relation to size and diversity and, therefore, many techniques and methods of overcoming the difficulties that this can present have been developed. Much of these methods can apply to online courses generally and to blended teaching environments. This study identifies four key …

Embedding A Blended Learning Approach From First Year, Suzanne Doyle, Michael Moore, Lesley Murphy, Gavin Sewell

Practitioner Research Projects

As DIT strives to enhance the transition of students into third level education, a number of priority areas were identified as part of the ongoing STEER (Student Transition, Expectations, Engagement, Retention) initiative. Ultimately the onus is on DIT to enable students to become self-directed learners. Blended learning is positioned as a solution to aid in this transition. It has been described as "the combination of traditional face-to-face teaching methods with authentic online learning activities" (Davies & Fill, 2007, p. 817). However, it is not without risk to assume that first year students have a natural affinity with blended approaches, as …

Leveraging Peer Learning For Integration Of International Students In The Classroom, Brian Barry, Waleed Abo-Hamad, Diana Carvalho E Ferreira, Niamh Gilmartin

Practitioner Research Projects

The international education sector in Ireland is currently worth approximately €1.58bn per annum, and it is projected to grow to €2.1bn per annum by 2020 (Department of Education and Skills, 2016). The academic challenges faced by international students are linked to language skills, academic background, and cultural aspects (Sadykova, 2014). Peer learning is mutually beneficial for provider and recipient, with benefits including higher academic achievement and greater productivity; increased communication skills and a greater sense of belonging; and the development of support systems (Colvin & Ashman, 2010). Domestic peers help international students to compensate for the lack of culture-specific knowledge …

Internationalsation In The Classroom, Alberto Caimo, Deirdre Duffy, Patrick Mcevoy, Brian Murphy, Grainne Scanlon

Practitioner Research Projects

Multicultural societies require multicultural universities and internationalisation is a powerful influence within higher education. Conceptual understandings of internationalisation and practical activities have evolved significantly to prepare students for global workplaces, social cohesion and personal development (Higher Education Strategy Group, 2011). Internationalisation benefits the development of interculturally competent graduates who can participate in diverse, global labour markets, yet, international students require support while adjusting to new learning environments. A student-centred approach to learning is superseding traditional pedagogy in order to support the most diverse range of learning preferences that are characteristic of multicultural groups (Vita, 2001). Educators are encouraged to expand …