Education Commons^™

Grassroot Power Of Communities Of Practice – The Case Of Sdg Literacy, Olivia Freeman, Lucia Walsh, Cormac Mcmahon, Alacoque Mcalpine

Other

With emerging consensus on an urgent need to address the potentially catastrophic issues of climate change, threats to the natural world and social injustice, Generation Z is spearheading a quiet revolution, elevating sustainability from desirable to essential. Achievement of the UN SDGs has emerged as a megatrend (Mittelsaedt et al., 2014) and universities are playing a key role in developing graduates’ sustainability knowledge, skills and mindsets (Andrews and Soares, 2017). To empower our students to solve ‘wicked sustainability problems’ (Levin et al., 2012) we, as educators, need to move beyond our discipline silos and develop cross-disciplinary collaborations that lead to …

Re-Evaluating Learning Environments To Nurture Studio Culture, Ceri Almrott

Conference papers

Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant remote teaching that lockdown enforced the requirements and suitability of physical learning spaces such as studios can be questioned. This paper seeks to understand the requirements of students in this decade of their physical studio spaces. Using focus groups, surveys and user feedback activities students on the Product Design programme were asked to evaluate the studio spaces within the university as they returned to on-campus learning and provide qualitative feedback on their experiences.

It was found students still require physical studios that allow them to undertake their design work and utilise tools and …

Circlet Guide For Facilitators: Learning Circles For Community Engaged Research And Learning, Réka Matolay, Márta Frigyik, Catherine Bates, Amalia Susana Creus, Judit Gaspar, Nadja Gmelch, Sinead Mccann, Caroline Mcgowan, Emma Mckenna, Linde Moriau, Soledad Morales Pérez, Andrea Toarniczky, Brecht Van Der Schueren

Books/Book chapters

This facilitators’ guide contains rich resources that readers can use to organize Learning Circles to support lecturers to build community engaged research and learning (CERL) into their teaching. In this guide we introduce how consortium partners in the CIRCLET project designed and facilitated their local Learning Circles for Community Engaged Research and Learning (CERL) as well as International Learning Circles across the five partner universities.

Learning Circles aim to support educators to reflect on and reimagine their courses and modules to embed CERL through peer learning and with the contribution of experts, stakeholders. In this guide we provide resources to …

Could The Inclusion Of Certain Building Information And Modelling Aspects Into The Leaving Certificate Engineering Syllabus, Aid The Transition Of Students Into Third Level Education, When Choosing A Course Within The Construction Industry, Joseph Boyle, Deborah M. Brennan

Capstone Reports

The paper investigates the effects of implementing several Building Information and Modelling (BIM) aspects into the Leaving Certificate Engineering Syllabus and examines the impact this has on students choosing third level Architectural Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry courses with the desire of improving the shortage in the sector. The method and content of the study was based on academic research on second level education in other European countries through the lens of a Literature Review. A sixteen-week pilot program was trialed with over one hundred students at Senior Cycle. The outcomes of the study were critically evaluated through stakeholder interviews …

Circlet Themed Resource List On Key Topics Relevant To Community Engaged Research And Learning, Catherine Bates, Sinead Mccann, Caroline Mcgowan

Books/Book chapters

This Themed Resource List was produced as part of the process of developing a postgraduate Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module for lecturers who wish to build, or enhance, Community Engaged Research and Learning (CERL) projects in the modules they teach, as part of the Higher Education curriculum. CERL (or service-learning, as it can be known) is a high-impact activity in Higher Education (Kuh, 2008), increasing student engagement and learning. CERL also supports community goals and makes teaching more interesting for lecturers. The module was designed to build capacity among lecturers for CERL, including developing relevant knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. …

Visual Factors Associated With Physical Activity In Schoolchildren, Síofra Harrington, John Kearney Prof, Veronica O'Dwyer Dr

Articles

Clinical relevance Physical activity is an essential part of childhood physical and mental development. Recent research identified visual problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle in children in Ireland.

Background This study explored the association between visual function in children and their engagement with physical activities outside school.

Methods Participants were 1,626 schoolchildren (728 aged 6–7 years, 898 old 12–13 years) in randomly selected schools in Ireland. Before data collection, parents/legal guardians of participants completed a standardised questionnaire reporting physical activity as no activity (mostly on screens), light activity (occasional walking/cycling), moderate activity (/week engaged in sports), or regular activity ( …

The Ukicer 2022 Conference Poster: Techmate: A Best Practice Toolkit For Driving Sustainable Acceleration Towards Gender Equality In Technology Disciplines In Heis., Alina Berry

Conference papers

TechMate is a research project that is being developed to enhance gender balance in technology disciplines, in particular computing higher education in Ireland and beyond. Gender imbalance in computing education is a well-known issue: in Ireland, less than 15% of the student population in computer science, ICT and related disciplines are women. Despite a significant amount of research and practical work conducted in the recent decades, the problem still persists and this research initiative aims to improve the situation.

Among the main aims of this project, there is a development of a toolkit to drive sustainable acceleration towards gender equality …

Using The Community Of Practice Model To Shape Approaches To Education For Sustainable Development Across Disciplines In A Technological University Context: A Roundtable Podcast, Patrice Behan, Shaun Ferns, Sheona Foley, Olivia Freeman, Odette Gabaudan, Alacoque Mcalpine, Cormac H. Macmahon, Lucia Walsh

Conference Papers

This roundtable discussion podcast comprises eight colleagues engaged in reflective discussion of their shared experiences of being members of SDG Literacy.ie, a Community of Practice (CoP) first established in TU Dublin in 2020. This CoP focuses on and promotes the enhancement of Sustainability Literacy among student cohorts as one measure to be employed in strengthening Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in line with the broader strategic aims of the university. Harvey et al. (2021) in a case-based paper which includes examination of the CoP discussed here conclude that teaching and learning innovation took place as a consequence of the resource-sharing, …

Addressing The "Leaky Pipeline": A Review And Categorisation Of Actions To Recruit And Retain Women In Computing Education, Alina Berry, Susan Mckeever, Brenda Murphy, Sarah Jane Delany

Conference papers

Gender imbalance in computing education is a well-known issue around the world. For example, in the UK and Ireland, less than 20% of the student population in computer science, ICT and related disciplines are women. Similar figures are seen in the labour force in the field across the EU. The term "leaky pipeline"; is often used to describe the lack of retention of women before they progress to senior roles. Numerous initiatives have targeted the problem of the leaky pipeline in recent decades. This paper provides a comprehensive review of initiatives related to techniques used to boost recruitment and improve …

Circlet Guide For Facilitators: Online Continuing Professional Development Module: Embedding Community Engaged Research And Learning In Higher Education Curricula, Catherine Bates, Sinead Mccann, Caroline Mcgowan

Books/Book chapters

This guide contains all the resources needed to implement a postgraduate Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module for lecturers who wish to build, or enhance, community engaged research and learning (CERL) projects in the modules they teach, as part of the Higher Education curriculum. CERL (or service-learning, as it can be known) is a high-impact activity in Higher Education (Kuh, 2008), increasing student engagement and learning. CERL also supports community goals, and makes teaching more interesting for lecturers.

This module is designed to build capacity among participants for CERL, including developing relevant knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. Our approach to this …

Machine Learning With Kay, Lasith Niroshan, James Carswell

Conference Papers

Computational power is very important when training Deep Learning (DL) models with large amounts of data (Wooldridge, 2021). Hence, High-Performance Computing (HPC) can be leveraged to reduce computational cost, and the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) provides significant infrastructure and services for research and development to both academia and industry. A portion of ICHEC's HPC system has been allocated for institutional access, and this paper presents a case study of how to use Kay (Ireland's national supercomputer) in the remote sensing domain. Specifically, this study uses clusters of Kay Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for training DL models to extract …

Exploring Vulnerability And Risk In An Action Research Writing Group: A Cooperative Inquiry, David Coghlan, Vivienne Brady, Denise O'Leary, Geralyn Hynes

Books/Book Chapters

This article describes how, the authors, as members of an action research writing group, responded to a comment about feeling vulnerable in risking bringing their work-in-progress to the group and in giving feedback to colleagues by adopting a cooperative inquiry approach to explore vulnerability and risk in the group. In cooperative inquiry group members act as both co-researcher and co-subject in the inquiry and action. The article describes the evolution of the group and how the topic of exploring risk and vulnerability emerged. The group’s exploration is grounded in the theory and practice of cooperative inquiry that gives voice to …

School Of Culinary Arts And Food Technology, Summer Newsletter, 2022, Tu Dublin., James Murphy

Other resources

The School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology, TU Dublin, Summer Newsletter captured the many events, research, awards, significant contributions and special civic and community activities which the students and staff members of the school (across our three campuses in Grangegorman, Tallaght and Blanchardstown) have successfully completed up to the Summer period of 2022. The successful completion of these activities would not be possible without the active and on-going support of the 'INSPIRED' friends of Culinary Arts (school supporters) and our school's industry association supporters.

Ideas, Power And Agency: Policy Actors And The Formulation Of Language-In-Education Policy For Multilingualism, Susanna Nocchi, Iker Erdocia, Mary Ruane

Articles

The processes of formulation of language policies have not been researched thoroughly. This paper aims to explore the relationship between ideas, power and agency in language policy-making and specifically with reference to the formulation of language-in-education policy for multilingualism in Ireland. Through an argumentative approach to language policy and using a discursive institutionalist framework, the paper examines data from policy documents and interviews with policy actors in the Department of Education and Skills. The paper reports on the ways in which agentive discourses are constrained and enabled by institutional structures. The analysis shows how power resulting from asymmetric internal forces …

An Ethical Discussion About The Responsibility For Protection Of Minors In The Digital Environment: A State-Of-The-Art Review, Charles Alves De Castro, Aiden Carthy, Isobel Oreilly Dr

Articles

Many ethical questions have been raised regarding the use of social media and the internet, mainly related to the protection of young people in the digital environment. In order to critically address the research question "who is responsible for ethically protecting minors in the digital environment?", this paper will review the main literature available to understand the role of parents, the government, and companies in protecting young people within the digital environment. We employed a holistic process that covers a state-of-the-art review and desk research. The article is divided into four sessions; (1) Government Policies from the European Union (EU) …

Create Research Symposium 2022 Book Of Abstracts, Ursa Benedicic, Brian Bowe Prof, Michael Carr Dr, Shannon Chance, Steen Hyldgaard Christensen, Eddie Conlon, Sandra Cruz, Gavin Duffy Dr, Fiona Faulkner Dr, Stella Malkogeorgou, John Mchugh, Mike Murphy Prof, Colm O'Kane Dr, Jye Benjamin O Sullivan, Marianna Pagkratidou Dr, Sheryl Sorby, Marten Westerhof

Other

This is the book of Abstracts for a recent symposium held by the CREATE research Group in TU Dublin.

Diamonds Down Your Sofa, Aisling Coyne, Yvonne Desmond, John Donovan

Other

Every RPO has or should have an institutional repository. As a showcase for what you do especially outputs that are not suitable for publication, they are hard to beat but how many of us extract the full value from them? How many of us treat them as electronic warehouses and never look at them again? In short, how many of us have no idea of how much really know? Repositories store so much more than just full-text articles, they are used to catalogue everything from artworks to zoom logs and everything in between and that breadth represents hidden but real …

Open Research: From Thought To Deed, Aisling Coyne, Yvonne Desmond, John Donovan

Other

Openness as a concept in scholarly communication is gaining increased traction with more and more universities and research institutes adopting the concept. But is it just a concept or even worst an aspiration? Open is difficult both politically and in practical terms and how many institutions actually move into the action and implementation phase? TU Dublin has achieved considerable success with open access to publications using the institutional repository Arrow@TUDublin. However, now we want to move into the implementation phase and become an open research university. Simultaneously we are involved with a project for the European University of Technology to …

The World Is Our Classroom: Developing A Model For International Virtual Internships - The Global Innovations Project, Paul Doyle, Brian Keegan, Damian Gordon, Anna Becevel, Paul J. Gibson, Zhiying Jiang Phd, Dympna O'Sullivan

Articles

In the aftermath of COVID-19, remote working has become the norm, and graduates now need an even wider range of skills, which traditional classrooms and internships do not always provide. Working in multiple time zones, within global multi-cultural teams, and only ever meeting colleagues through online technology are just some of the challenges, which require a new type of global graduate. Transversal skills including leadership, collaboration, innovation, digital, green, organization and communication skills are critical. The disruption from COVID-19 also presents unprecedented opportunities to develop more inclusive approaches to internships and international experiences, to level the playing field for students …

School Of Culinary Arts And Food Technology Newsletter-Spring Edition 2022, James Murphy

Other resources

The School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology, TU Dublin, Spring Newsletter captured the many events, research, awards, significant contributions and special civic and community activities which the students and staff members of the school have successfully completed up to the Spring period of 2022. The successful completion of these activities would not be possible without the active and on-going support of the 'INSPIRED' friends of Culinary Arts (school supporters) and our school's industry association supporters.

Interpreting Multi-Stage Teaching And Learning Initiatives For Mechanical Engineering Students - A Knowledge Management Perspective For Students, Kevin Delaney, Ger Nagle, Mingzhu Chen

Conference papers

Encouraging students to “think differently”, to “think like an engineer”, to “just solve the problem” is challenging and depends upon many factors such as the prior learning and experiences of the particular students involved. Sometimes it is difficult to convince students to really engage with activities outside their own comfort zones if they cannot see the potential benefits that might accrue through such engagement.

This paper describes a paradigm, inspired by knowledge management, which the authors have used to explain the importance of engaging with teaching and learning activities to undergraduate students. More importantly it helps these students to understand …

An Analysis Of The Impact And Efficacy Of Online Emotional Intelligence Coaching As A Support Mechanism For University Students, Aiden Carthy, Wyndham Chalmers, Eoghan Guiry, Philip Owende

Articles

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, many college courses have pivoted to complete online delivery and colleges are also tasked with providing student supports online. It is likely this transition will last beyond any COVID-19 specific restrictions, therefore this small-scale, exploratory study examined the efficacy and impact of the provision of a 5 week online emotional intelligence (EI) coaching programme to a cohort of Irish university students (n = 19) studying at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin). Results revealed that the average overall level of EI increased for participants following the coaching programme. Students reported that they believed …

Childminding Professionalism And Professionalisation In Ireland: A Different Story, Miriam O'Regan, Ann Marie Halpenny, Noirin Hayes

Articles

This research focussed on documenting the praxis and paedagogy of paid, professional childminding (family childcare/day care) in Ireland. It explored professionalism and professionalisation among childminders in the context of the evolving understanding of professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) nationally and internationally. The research was conducted within the framework of Ecocultural Theory (ECT) on the eve of mandatory regulation of childminding against the backdrop of Irish ECEC policy. A mixed method approach was adopted, using the Ecocultural Family Interview for Childminders (EFICh), including participants’ photographs, case study surveys, researcher field notes and holistic ratings. We present findings related …

An Investigation Of The Personality Traits That Could Identify Vulnerable Young People Who Will Be Susceptible To Undue Influence By Social Media Influencers (Smis) - Edi Research And Practice Showcase 2022 Presentation, Charles Alves De Castro, Isobel O'Reilly, Aiden Carthy

Other Resources

The annual EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) Research & Practice showcase is a platform for researchers and practitioners at TU Dublin to present and discuss their work on EDI related issues. Supported by the AIB Research Centre on Inclusive and Equitable Cultures (RINCE), this event aims to provide a forum for exchanging knowledge and experiences of EDI in research and in higher education institutions, to promote interdisciplinarity and to encourage future collaborations.

Disrupting Thinking Conference 2022 - An Ethical Discussion About The Responsibility For Protection Of Minors In The Digital Environment: A State-Of-The-Art Review, Charles Alves De Castro, Isobel O'Reilly, Aiden Carthy

Other Resources

Disrupting Thinking organised by the School of Accounting and Finance at TU Dublin. Disrupting Thinking endeavours to offer a forum that encourages innovative and disruptive studies that help us to gain a better understanding of our economy and its new dynamics. We seek to challenge the status quo and bring new insights into existing economic and financial theories and the way that our global economy interacts with our social, cultural, and political systems. We will host an exciting conference on the theme Covid-19 Global Challenges – The Economic and Financial Dimensions. https://arrow.tudublin.ie/dt/#:~:text=Join%20us%20at%20our%20first,economy%20and%20its%20new%20dynamics.

Exploring Pedagogic And Practical Intersections Of Academic Writing Support For Students In Higher Education, Maria-Jose Gonzalez, Roisin Donnelly

Articles

This case study explores undergraduate and postgraduate student perceptions of the nature and effectiveness of academic writing provision and practice in a university in Ireland. Its focus isthe Academic Writing Centre (AWC), a university-wide initiative to support all students. It discusses students’ perceptions as to the academic writing support provided at the AWC and students’ preferred writing strategies. The research design used a qualitative approach to gather data on students’ perceptions of the academic writing support received at one-to-one consultations. Data was gathered via a student survey (n=21) sent to all students who avail of the AWC’s one-to-one support. Findings …

Challenges Of Data Collection For Equality Between Women And Men: The Eut+ Alliance Case, Yvonne Galligan, Rositsa Velchikova, Deirdre Mcquillan

Papers

This paper provides a comparative analysis of gender equality figures between women and men for the partners of the European University of Technology (EUt+) alliance. A baseline template was developed appropriate for higher education institutions and influenced by categories of data collected for the ‘She’ survey. Results for a baseline year of 2019-20, and for some categories 2020-21 are illustrated in the paper. It is notable that average distribution hides significant variations between the eight institutions and these are explained. Notwithstanding, the trends are similar to the ‘She’ Figures and CESAER observations on technology universities. The proportion of women declines …

Creating Inclusive Universities For Different Abilities, Keith Murphy

Papers

According to research by AHEAD (2021), students with specific learning difficulties are accessing third level education in greater numbers than ever before. Within the body of research conducted few have focused on the overall experiences of students with dyslexia studying in third level education. My study addresses this gap in knowledge as it provides an insight into how students with dyslexia navigate third level education. Ethnography was used as the principle method of research in this project, and 17 participants took part. My research found that when students identify dyslexia as a limitation, it becomes a barrier to successful learning …

All Things Merge Into One, And A River Runs Through It: Exploring The Dimensions Of Blended Learning By Developing A Case Study Template For Blended Activities, Damian Gordon, Paul Doyle, Anna Becevel, Tina Baloh

Articles

The BLITT (Blended Learning International Train the Trainer) Project is focused on developing a training programme to equip teachers to become proficient in championing the use of Blended Learning in the classroom. The training programme will be developed in two phases, in the first phase involves the development of a series of case studies relevant to Blended Learning, followed by a second phase where the BLITT training programme will be designed and developed, using input from these cases. In developing the blended learning case studies, two key documents were identified as being essential, first, a case study tracking template to …

An Exploratory Case Study Into Understanding Teaching Practice And Towards Enhancing Transformative Learning And Graduate Employability At Tu Dublin, Ellen Kampinga

Masters

This research focuses on understanding and enhancing the educational practice towards using pedagogies like transformative learning to enhance graduate employability at a new technological university, TU Dublin, during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It was found that teaching practice depends significantly on the lecturer, the discipline area, the graduate skills that are sought after in each module and discipline, and the context of the delivery. The PAGE (Pedagogy Assisting Graduate Employability) framework developed from this research, aims to visualise the connection between the teaching process, pedagogy, and graduate employability. Application of the framework will offer insight into how each unique lecturer …