Education Commons^™

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 …

Lttc Resource Pack On Academic Writing & Referencing, Roisin Donnelly, Marian Fitzmaurice

Other resources

The purpose of this guide is to support you in undertaking your written assignments for the postgraduate programmes in order to help you organise your work in alignment with academic writing requirements.

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 …

Forum Insight For Hr Managers, Roisin Donnelly, T. Maguire

Other resources

No abstract provided.

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.

Resource Pack On Supervising Postgraduate Students, Roisin Donnelly, Marian Fitzmaurice

Other resources

There are a range of emergent issues and practices in the supervisory role over the past number of years. This academic resource pack is research-informed and focuses on development needs for supervisors of postgraduate students. Research supervision has previously been regarded by academics as a private space (Stehlik, 2001). It has been seen as an intense, individual relationship between a research supervisor (master) and a research student (apprentice/protégé). More teachers now acknowledge the teaching aspect of their role as a supervisor and attempt to act as a mentor, facilitator and coach (Pearson & Brew, 2002).

Take The Lead (Lead Engage, Achieve, And Develop) Module – Working With Students To Formally Recognise Their Learning From Co-Curricular And Extra-Curricular Activities, Jen Harvey, Rachel O'Connor

Other resources

No abstract provided.

Workshop On Methodology In Learning Analytics (Mla), Yoav Bergner, Charles Lang, Geraldine Gray

Other resources

Learning analytics is an interdisciplinary and inclusive field, a fact which makes the establishment of methodological norms both challenging and important. This community-building workshop intends to convene methodology-focused researchers to discuss new and established approaches, comment on the state of current practice, author pedagogical manuscripts, and co-develop guidelines to help move the field forward with quality and rigor.

Linking Geospatial Engineering Into Collaborative Multidisciplinary Bim Projects - An Educational Perspective, Avril Behan, Helen Murray, Jonathan Argue, Ronan Hogan, Audrey Martin, Pat O'Sullivan, Robert Moore, Malachy Mathews

Conference papers

This paper describes the background to and execution of a postgraduate project undertaken by students on DIT's MSc in Geospatial Engineering (GeoEng) in support of a project on level 2 BIM being undertaken by students on the MSc in applied Building Information Modelling & Management (aBIMM) around the retrofit of and new build extension to the Grangegorman Clock Tower Building. In support of this requirement, an external and internal survey of the existing structure and its surrounding topography was required. The aBIMM students and staff acted as the Design Team who subcontracted the Geo Eng group who were organised into …

Universal Design Across The Curriculum: Training For Students And Teachers, Trish Mackeogh, James Hubbard, Kieran O'Callaghan

Articles

Providing an inclusive educational setting for children with disabilities is essential if they are to truly benefit from mainstream education. Universal design (UD) provides a framework to develop our classrooms, materials and methods to accommodate diverse learners and students with special educational needs without the need to retrofit or remove the student from the classroom. This paper outlines the theory and the approach of two training courses on Universal Design developed for teachers and students.

Report On Heritage, Cultural And Tourism:Tftr1004:Theme Living Culture With Phibsboro Tidy Towns, Catherine Gorman

Students Learning with Communities

No abstract provided.

A Longitudinal Study Of Middle Eastern Women’S Experiences Studying Engineering Abroad: Emerging Results, Shannon Chance, Bill Williams, Allison Wagner

Conference papers

What is it like to study engineering in Ireland when you are female and you come from somewhere far away, in the Middle East, which has different social customs and norms? What is the lived experience? What aspects of the experience are common to all Middle Eastern women enrolled in your course? As education researchers, we aim to understand the essence of the experience such women have had studying engineering Ireland; we focus on what life has been like for them and what unique challenges they have faced that may be invisible to us as instructors. In this work-in-progress, a …

What Does Global Higher Education Mean For University Leaders, Ellen Hazelkorn

Reports

No abstract provided.

Process Evaluation Of Abc Grangegorman 2015-2017., Sarah Murphy

Programme Reports

ABC Grangegorman: Vision Against Poverty was aimed at improving outcomes for 0-6 children and their families in the Grangegorman area that are experiencing poverty. The programme was delivered by a consortium of 27 organisations from the area and led by the DIT Access and Civic Engagement Office. Consortium organisations included local schools, pre-schools, crèches, community organisations, as well as statutory agencies including HSE, Tusla and the City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB). ABC Grangegorman consisted of nine programmes, which included:  Six interventions: Four Incredible Years (IY) programmes: IY Baby, IY Basic Parenting, IY Teacher Classroom Management, and …

Investigating The Views Of Staff And Students To On-Campus Catering In A Third Level Educational Institution, Gereva Hackett, Detta Melia

Other resources

On-campus provision and catering has become a very important part of campus life for both staff and students. The aim of this study was to investigate the views of staff and students to on-campus catering in a large third level educational institution. There was a response rate of 68% from all categories of staff and a response rate of 4.86% from students.

A comprehensive investigation of existing trends in the food and beverage sector in general and on-campus is provided in this study analyses in a literature review.

The results of the surveys concur with the secondary research of on-campus …

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.

The Student Voice - Undergraduate Student Insights Of Pre-Placement Experience, Jennifer Lawlor, Geraldine A. Gorham, Colin O'Connor

Other resources

Placement is an important component of an undergraduate degree programme and has been recognised as being beneficial to the student population, the academic community and to the organisations that enable the internship process. For example, it allows students to apply their theoretical knowledge and develop their skills within a ‘real-life’ organisational environment (e.g. Gavin and Coleman, 2016). Furthermore, it facilitates increased co-operation and relationship-building between higher education institutions and companies (Burdett and Barker, 2017).

However, whilst there is general awareness of the benefits and opportunities of experiential learning, there has been a call for further research to be undertaken regarding …

An Examination Of Concepts Of School Readiness Among Parents And Educators In Ireland, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Emer Ring, Noirin Hayes, Patsy Stafford, Siobhan Keegan, Cathy Kelleher, Martina Ozonyia, Mary Moloney, Deirdre Breathnach, Des Carswell, Des Mccafferty, Anne O'Keefe, Aisling Leavy, Ruth Madden

Reports

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs commissioned research through the Irish Research Council (IRC) to examine concepts of school readiness as they are understood by early years educators and managers, primary school principals, junior infant teachers and parents of children participating in the first Free Preschool Year in Ireland. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, involving interviews, an online survey and “draw and tell” sessions with children. Representative samples of FPSY settings and primary schools were selected and an online survey based on the findings of the qualitative phase was sent to 500 pre-primary settings and 500 primary schools. In …

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 …

What Does Global Higher Education Mean For University Leaders?, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

The world is changing, and fast. The “widening, deepening and speeding up of connections across national borders” is transforming the way we live and work (OECD, 2016). The growing demand to participate in higher education and to leverage its benefits for individuals and society is changing what, where, when and how we learn. The impacts of societal challenges, previously easily ignored, now flow easily and quickly between and across boundaries with positive and negative effects. Whether we recognise it or not, we are all global citizens, moving across countries and borders, and connected to each other through trade and technology.

Proposing A Professional Development Model Of Academic Writing And Publishing Support, Roisin Donnelly

Other resources

The module ‘Academic Writing and Publishing’ which resulted in this model being developed was designed to nurture both innovation and critical thinking about writing practice for all academic staff who participated. This exploratory model for critical thinking, reading and academic writing practice is proposed encompassing a series of scaffolded in-class and online activities - Figure 1 shows the different dimensions of the blended module. Ultimately, this model aims to offer inspiration, creativity, confidence, continual feedback, support, and connections about academic writing and publishing. However, such bottom-up practices need direction, so it is important for the future how we think about …

Global Science, National Research, And The Question Of University Rankings, Ellen Hazelkorn, Andrew Gibson

Articles

Science has always operated in a competitive environment, but the globalisation of knowledge and the rising popularity and use of global rankings have elevated this competition to a new level. The quality, performance and productivity of higher education and university-based research have become a national differentiator in the global knowledge economy. Global rankings essentially measure levels of wealth and investment in higher education, and they reflect the realisation that national pre-eminence is no longer sufficient. These developments also correspond with increased public scrutiny and calls for greater transparency, underpinned by growing necessity to demonstrate value, impact and benefit. Despite on-going …