Education Commons^™

A Tutoring Framework To Support Computer Science Programmes In Higher Education, Emer Thornbury, Frances Sheridan, Pramod Pathak, Cristina Hava Muntean, Paul Stynes

Conference papers

Computing Support is the provision of academic supports such as individual tutoring and support classes to students studying computing at third level. Students can struggle with computing as it requires practice involving trial and error. This work proposes a research informed tutoring framework to support computer science students at third level. The tutoring framework combines three pillars; staff and training, pedagogies and activities. Support is put in place to help students develop technical and programming skills. Essential tutoring is provided for those who might otherwise drop out of college. The framework was applied to first and second-year undergraduate programmes and …

Assessment Strategies To Promote Peer Learning In An Online Course, Pauline Rooney, Caitríona Ní Shé

Conference papers

The value of peer learning in higher education is now well recognised. Just as we continually learn from eachother in our everyday lives, so our students also learn from eachother as part of informal and formal learning experiences. Within educational programmes, peer learning is facilitated through a variety of pedagogical strategies which promote active participation, collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and ideas. With the increasing ubiquity of social networking and online learning platforms, new opportunities for facilitating peer learning, have emerged. Within online courses – where students often study at geographically disparate locations – peer learning strategies assume arguably …

National Professional Development Framework: Establishing And Recognising An Inclusive Community Of Practice For Higher Education Teachers., Roisin Donnelly

Conference papers

What does inclusivity mean in the context of the national professional development framework (PDF)?

How can a community of practice for all who teach be formed and nurtured?

What resources have emerged from the initial implementation of the PDF: PD Portal?

Open-access programmes and national digital badges for PD recognition.

How can professional development for all who teach be recognised nationally?

Ireland’S Higher Education Teachers Have A National Professional Development Framework, Now What?, Roisin Ca Donnelly, Theresa Maguire

Conference papers

Momentum has been building for professional development (PD) for all staff who teach in Irish higher education - they now have the national Professional Development Framework (PDF) to support them in planning and engaging with authentic, inclusive, scholarly, learner-centred and collaborative PD across their career. In mid-2016, the PD Framework was published by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. In 2017, the PDF was piloted with 215 individuals from 22 professional identity groups from across the sector, working with the framework to reflect on their professional practice and set goals for their future professional development. This …

Seeking To Identify Student And Staff Perspectives On The Nature Of Pedagogical Support For Academic Writing., Roisin Donnelly, Maria-Jose Gonzalez

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

A Cpd Programme For Out-Of-Field Mathematics Teachers: Programme Outline And Preliminary Evaluations By Participants, Fiona Faulkner

Conference papers

This paper outlines an innovative Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme established in the Republic of Ireland for out-of-field mathematics teachers in second-level education. Research on out-of-field mathematics teachers in Ireland conducted in 2009 (Ní Ríordáin & Hannigan) motivated the development of a unique two year, part time Professional Diploma in Mathematics for Teaching (PDMT). The PDMT was first offered in 2012 jointly by the University of Limerick (UL) and the National University of Ireland, Galway and currently has 550 graduates. The main research question that this project aimed to address was: Are teachers enrolled in the PDMT satisfied with the …

Arts-Based Education Research:A Critical Reflection From Two Irish Academics., Eric Bates, Karol Sadleir

Conference papers

This paper details the experience of two Irish academics as they engaged in Arts-Based Education Research (ABER). Between them both they have explored the following areas; an autoethnographic exploration of how experience of assessment throughout educational life can shape professional life and identity; an autoethnographic exploration of the notion of inclusion; an autoethnographic exploration of the transition into leadership; an autoethnographic exploration of being an academic in the Irish education system. While ABER is an unorthodox approach to research which they both found challenging, they nevertheless conclude that it has potential to reveal insights into professional practice that conventional research …

A Reflective Report On Values Informing Professional Practice In Educating The Educators, Roisin Donnelly

Conference papers

While a significant body of work on the practice of academic development exists, research on academic developers (those charged with supporting the education of academic staff in higher education) as professionals is limited, and few have explored the profession from the perspective of academic developers themselves [21]. Specifically, this reflective report begins to address the question of how best to prepare and support current and future academic developers for their ambiguous and complex roles and their need to function within the changing environment of higher education institutions. Since embarking on a role in an Irish Higher Education Institution in 1999 …

Promoting Student Engagement Within A Practical Class Through The Use Of A Learning Portfolio, Niall Delaney, John A. Nolan

Conference papers

This paper looks at an exploratory case-study undertaken to try and investigate student engagement within a practical wood machining class.

Due to the nature of the course and the cohort of students, the current lecturer pedagogic practice has to be behaviourist, but from this a culture of expectancy has developed among the students. It was felt that something had to be done to revitalise student interest in the work they were doing and also give them the chance to address the perceived shortfall in their learning. There was potential for a lot of failures, but also much worse, there was …

Participants Perspective Of The Fas Redundant Placement Scheme, Maurice Collins, Robert Morris

Conference papers

The aim of this study is to gather and analyze feedback from participants of a scheme which was put in place in the early stages of the Irish economic recession to provide work placements to redundant Apprentices. As part of the research for this paper a series of qualitative interviews were conducted with partipancts of the FAS Redundant Apprentice Placement Scheme (RAPS). FAS is the authoriity which organises and administers the Statutory Apprentice Scheme in Ireland.The scheme detailed in this study was put in place to aid Apprentices who has been made redundant, to complete phases 3,5 and 7 of …

A Journey Through Assessment: From Memory Recollection To Knowledge Demonstration, Jennifer Byrne

Conference papers

The Technological University Dublin is one of the largest multi-level higher education providers in Ireland. The Institute’s traditional mission has always been focused on teaching and learning in the field of advanced technical vocational education and training (TVET), and one of its agendas is to foster and encourage changes in teaching practice and methodology in order to enhance the student learning experience.

This paper is a result of the ever changing process which shows the evolution of the assessment process to its current format. It was driven by the fact that we as lecturers realised that the assessment results did …

Formative Assessment Practices In Built Environment Higher Education Programmes And The Enhancement Of The Student Learning Experience, Lloyd Scott, Chrisopher Fortune

Conference papers

It is widely accepted across Higher Education (HE) that assessment has a strong link with learning and a key factor in this link is formative assessment. Formative assessment is generally defined as an activity taking place during a programme or unit of learning with the express purpose of improving and enhancing student learning. However, there is still considerable disagreement over the roles of lecturers and students in this process. It is therefore very important to understand how lecturers in built environment (BE) undergraduate education perceive their own roles and the role of their students in using assessment strategy to deliver …

Engaging Students In The Classroom: How Can I Know What I Think Until I See What I Draw?, Paul Donnelly, John Hogan

Conference papers

Recognizing the world into which our students will emerge upon graduation, a world characterized by constant change, and our belief in the need to develop our students as “critical beings” (Barnett, 1997) and as “citizens capable of governing” (Giroux, 1997: 259), we embrace a critical pedagogy that is not just about theory (Dehler, Welsh & Lewis, 2004), but can also be implemented experientially in the classroom through the use of freehand drawing. With this as context, our aim in the classroom is to create a learning space where our students develop their capacity for critical self-reflection. As such, we use …

Encouraging Attendence In Tutorials For Quantity Surveying Studies Through Assessment, Dermot Kehily

Conference papers

Construction Economics and Management in Technological University of Dublin (DIT) educates and prepares students to become Quantity Surveyors (Construction Economists) in the Construction Industry. Arguably the most important subject on the course and the cornerstone of the profession is the ability of the students and graduates to carry out a technical function called ‘measurement’ or ‘take off’ from construction plans and drawings. Graduates of Construction Economics and Management may spend up to two years carrying out measurement for their employers before they progress to the more professional practices of Quantity Surveying. The importance of measurement and take off inthe profession …

Review Of Technological University Of Dublin's E-Learning Platform For Effective Teaching Fromative Assessment And Feedback, Dermot Kehily

Conference papers

This paper investigates Technological University of Dublin’s (DIT) ‘webcourses.dit.ie’ created for DIT with Blackboard Learning System software as an effective e-learning tool on a module in the School of Real Estate and Construction Economics in DIT. Webcourses.dit.ie is an e-learning platform providing support and assistance to both lecturers and students as part of their daily teaching and learning experience. Webcourses as it is known in DIT is both a course management system for lecturers and a computer assisted learning and assessment tool for students. Prior to using the system class content was delivered by presenting electronic slides in class and …

Combining A Virtual Learning Tool And Onsite Study Visits Of Four Conservation Sites In Europe, Alain Chenaux, Maurice Murphy, Garrett Keenaghan, James Jenkins, Eugene Mcgovern, Sara Pavia

Conference papers

The design and evaluation of virtual learning environments for construction and surveying students is presented in this paper; by combining virtual learning environment and on-site student surveys to model and replicate practice in the architectural heritage sector. The Virtual Learning Environment is enhanced with real live survey projects whereby students collect the data to build virtual historic buildings from onsite surveys using advanced survey equipment. The survey data is modelled in HBIM; Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) is currently being developed as a virtual learning tool for construction and surveying students in the Technological University of Dublin. HBIM, is a …

Audit Of Social Care Student Numbers And Programme Providers In Ireland, Kevin Lalor

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

A Flexible Web Based Learning Tool For Construction And Surveying Students Using Building Information Modelling And Laser Scanning, Maurice Murphy, Garrett Keenaghan, Eugene Mcgovern, Sara Pavia

Conference papers

Teaching and training construction and surveying students using computer simulations of buildings although recently developed is not new. In the case of this project a novel aspect is introduced through applying advanced recording and building modelling techniques developed in the Faculty of the Built Environment in the Technological University of Dublin. In summary this learning software uses parametric objects representing intelligent building components which are brought together virtually by the student to create or form an entire building. The library of parametric objects contain the real world geometry, texture and specification of building parts allowing the student to virtually analyse …

Exploring The Relationship Between Espoused Philosophies Of Teaching And Practice, Roisin Donnelly, Marian Fitzmaurice

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

Experiencing Technology: Integrating Learning Technology Within The Experiential Learning Cycle Of A Pg Certificate In Third Level Learning And Teaching., Roisin Donnelly

Conference papers

This paper will discuss how a PG Certificate Course in Third Level Learning and Teaching for lecturers in higher education has adopted a particular approach in teacher education. In light of the findings put forth by Collis (1999), the paper will explain the practical aspects of how Learning Technology (LT) is fully integrated into both core Learning and Teaching modules of a PG Certificate Course for academic staff. As an important aspect of the successful integration and use of learning technology is the way in which it effectively reflects and articulates a given learning model, this PG Certificate Course has …

The Virtual University: Lessons From A Virtual Cross-Cultural Learning Situation In International Management, Mikael Søndergaard, Jeanette Lemmergaard, Paul Donnelly, Marta B. Cálas

Conference papers

This paper addresses some issues regarding virtual learning and the future of traditional universities. Specifically, it considers these issues by reflecting on the following: First, it focuses on the repercussions of information technologies for teaching and learning in "cross-cultural" courses. It critically assesses, via three recent examples, how these approaches influence teaching and learning in the context of international management courses. Second, drawing from the above examples, the paper reflects more broadly on the implications of these technologies: (1) for new forms of knowing and knowledge production; and (2) for the future of institutional conditions of universities.