Education Commons^™

Student Understanding Of Kinematics: A Qualitative Assessment, Andrew Cashman, Tom O'Mahony

Publications

In engineering, kinematics is widely regarded as a fundamental topic with the literature agreeing that students possess a wide range in understanding of the topic. This study aims to take a second-order approach by understanding and exploring the qualitatively different ways in which students approach solving kinematics problems. Phenomenography was used to collect data through ten semi-structured interviews with early-stage mechanical engineering students. Following data analysis, four distinct categories of students’ approaches were identified; unstructured, framing the problem, strategic, and conceptual. It was found that these categories could be arranged in a hierarchy and were also supported by secondary epistemic …

Student Perspectives Of Eportfolio Implementation Within An Irish Hei Context, Fiona Walsh

Masters

This research study considers third-level student experiences of ePortfolio use during their education. Digital pedagogical tools provide educators with an authentic mode of assessment that presents a holistic view of student learning both inside and outside the classroom. ePortfolios are a digital pedagogical tool associated with the enhancement of the student learning experience and have received increased attention within the higher education sector; particularly during the Covid 19 restrictions where they offered educators an alternative mode of assessment to the traditional paper-based assessment. The purpose of this study was to identify the main challenges undergraduate students face when engaging with …

Does A Step Back Approach To The Implementation Of Project Spraoi Affect The Health And Fundamental Movement Skill Proficiency Of Irish Children?, Conor Hemmersley

Masters

Title: Does a step back approach to the implementation of Project Spraoi affect the health and fundamental movement skill proficiency of Irish children? Background: Project Spraoi is an intervention which attempts to positively influence the overall health of Irish primary school children. Previous iterations of Project Spraoi have been labour intensive with an Energiser working with a maximum of two schools to deliver the intervention. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on fundamental movement skills (FMS), and markers of health of Irish primary school children using a step back approach. The step back …

The Research Journey: Through The Lens Of The Adult Learner, Angela Wright

Dept. of Organisation & Professional Development Publications

This research provides an opportunity to reflect, evaluate and to implement better procedures for practice, specifically, the research supervision of post graduate students at the taught Masters Level. In this context, empirical data were gathered from recently graduated ‘taught masters’ students in the business arena in an Irish Third Level Institution. The main objective was to understand their specific research and learning needs better. This current research is novel, as an examination of the academic literature in relation to this area is scant. It is envisaged that this research will provide a ‘voice’ for the students in this field. A …

Learning In Action: Implementing A Facilitated Learning Programme For Tourism Micro-Firms, Dr. Felicity Kelliher, Dr. Leana Reinl

Irish Business Journal

This paper presents findings from research associated with a tourism micro-firm facilitated learning programme, carried out over a four-year period. Considering traditional educational interventions have had limited impact on micro-firm activities; the researchers propose an alternative approach to meeting the learning needs of micro-firms which encompass local and self-developed knowledge and the successful completion of learning cycles. Using a behavioural lens, the researchers’ consider the experiential learning impact of facilitated learning programmes on observed micro-firm owner-managers. Adopting an action learning (AL) approach, the researchers explore the design, development, implementation and impact of this programme and contemplate the observed micro-firms’ focus …

Collaborative Learning And Developing The Capacity As A Reflective Practitioner, Deirdre Goggin, Phil O'Leary

Conference Papers

The BA in Community Development has no final written exams and instead depends on a number of other approaches to assess the students learning. In year 1, semester 1 students take a module called ‘Portfolio Methods for RPL’ which explores the process of RPL, and what a learning portfolio is. More importantly, it requires the students to focus on their prior learning and not experience per se. In the following semester the method is used to report on work placement and to capture the authentic and individual learning of each student. This paper explores the collective approach to documenting work …

Enhancing Science Education Through Engaging Visual Content, David Kavanagh

Theses

In recent years a decline in the number of Irish students choosing to study science, at second level and on into third level, has become potentially harmful to the desired creation of a science-based knowledge economy. A primary contributing factor towards this decline is a lack of interest in the subject within the classroom, as was established by The Task Force on the Physical Sciences in 2002.

The primary aim of this Masters research is to investigate the role of visualisation in making the study of science more accessible and engaging to students to counter this decline. To this end …

An Assessment Of Distance Learning Delivery Methodologies And The Proposal Of An Open Distance Learning Delivery Model For A Third Level Course In Sports Development, Deirdre Kiely

Theses

In the development of a distance learning curriculum the appropriate choice of media, in terms of both presentation of course materials, and of the approach to providing tutorial and other support, is a key question that needs to be addressed at the outset. However, very few studies provide guidelines for distance learning facilitators to help them in choosing these delivery methods. This study aimed to propose an Open Distance Learning (ODL) delivery model for a third level course in Sports Development and in doing so identifies a number of criteria which may be used by institutes when deciding on their …