Education Commons^™

An Investigation Into Ireland’S Bim Skills Gap, Guadalupe Centanni, Barry Mcauley

Conference Papers

The adoption of digital skills within the Irish AEC Sector has the potential to enhance efficiency and competitiveness among its stakeholders. Despite this opportunity, there is still a high demand for skilled BIM professionals, which cannot be currently met. To meet this skills demand and directly target future skills gaps within Ireland, several challenges must be addressed to facilitate broader BIM adoption. This paper focuses on addressing this gap by identifying steps to be followed to develop skilled professionals within BIM. This has been achieved by investigating the extent to which construction stakeholders in Ireland comprehend BIM and, examiningthe training …

Skills Matter – Up-Skilling Across Construction Stakeholders For Emerging Roles, Avril Behan, Paul Mccormack, Barry Mcauley

Conference Papers

The EU’s Climate Target Plan To 2030 (European Union 2020b) of achieving at least 55% reduction in Green House Gas emissions from 1990 levels, delivering towards a climate-neutral economy by 2050, requires systems-level change in the way we design, construct, and operate our built assets. Funding initiatives, such as co-ordinated by BUILD UP Skills, aim to deliver upskilling to the market but targets set by the European Skills Agenda may not be reached at current achievement levels. This paper presents the results of one completed and the progress of one ongoing Horizon 2020 funded project, BIMcert and ARISE, respectively. Learning …

Pedagogical Approaches To Enhancing Student Self-Efficacy And Addressing Gender Inequality In Undergraduate Stem, Gintarė Lübeck

Theses

Previous research has shown that the success and retention of students in STEM university programmes are highly correlated with their self-efficacy beliefs, and women and gender minority students in STEM have been consistently found to possess lower self-efficacy than men. Since specific teaching and learning practices are known to contribute to increased self-efficacy and help diversify STEM education, this study sought to identify which pedagogical approaches are effective in creating a more equitable learning environment in introductory STEM classes by positively contributing to students’ self-efficacy. This study employed methodological triangulation and synthesised findings from self-efficacy questionnaires, classroom observations, and a …

Empowering Responsible And Sustainability-Aware Business Graduates Through Digital Authentic Assessment, Lucia Walsh, Olivia Freeman, Alacoque Mcalpine, Cormac H. Macmahon

Conference papers

Business schools must engage in fundamental change to retain their legitimacy and position themselves as providers of solutions to urgent economic, social and environmental crises. Achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has emerged as a megatrend and business education must enhance graduate skills to contribute to their achievement. The world requires the next generation of graduates to become responsible business leaders who will address wicked sustainability problems. Hence, we need pedagogy that enables students to become sustainability literate and thus develop appropriate knowledge, skills and mindsets.

Authentic assessment provides transformative learning opportunities that empower students to achieve meaningful …

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 …

Staying The Course: Factors Affecting The Progression Of Access Foundation Students At Technological University Dublin, Annette Forster, Fiona Faulkner, Mark Prendergast

Books/Book Chapters

This study examined the factors affecting the progression of Access Foundation students to undergraduate studies, as there is little research on the progression of such students in the empirical literature. Access education has been developed for marginalized students who are traditionally under-represented in higher education. A pragmatic, mixed-methods approach was used to determine the factors that affect the progression of Access Foundation students at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) over three academic years (2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20). Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data was analysed using a range of descriptive and inferential …

Rubrics - Creating Transparency For Effective Teaching And Learning, Seamus Harrington

Other Resources

No abstract provided.

A Circular Pedagogy For Higher Education, Lucia Morales, Jon-Hans Coetzer, Nadia Barkoczi, Lia Pop, Claudia Marian, Patrick Flynn

Working Papers

Over the last two decades, higher education has been subject to significant scrutiny due to increasing pressures to provide a meaningful and relevant learning experience to the student population, and by their strong connection to the functioning of the economic and political systems. By reflecting on the controversies surrounding pedagogy, this paper contributes to the current debate by exploring pedagogy as a circular process where learners grow and develop by taking different roles and identities as they navigate a research-informed learning continuum defined by growing levels of complexity and uncertainty. This study introduces a new pedagogical paradigm for adult education, …

The Development Of A Template For Structuring Case Studies About Blended Learning, And An Associated Evaluation Check Sheet, Damian Gordon, Paul Doyle, Anna Becevel, Tina Baloh

Conference Papers

The Blended Learning International Train the Train Project is focused on the development of a training programme to equip teachers to become proficient in the training others in Blended Learning, which is an approach to teaching that combines online teaching with face-to-face teaching; and aims to leverage the benefits of both. The programme will be developed in two phases, in the first phase a series of case studies relevant to Blended Learning will be developed, followed by a second phase where the training programme with be designed and developed. In developing the blended learning case studies, two key documents were …

Increasing Gender Balance Across Academic Staffing In Computer Science - Case Study, Susan Mckeever, Deirdre Lillis

Articles

As at 2019, Technological University Dublin* Computer Science is the top university in Ireland in terms of gender balance of female academic staff in computer science schools. In an academic team of approximately 55 full-time equivalents, 36% of our academic staff are female, 50% of our senior academic leadership team (2 of 4) are female and 75% of our School Executive are female (3 of 4), including a female Head of School. This is as a result of our seven year SUCCESS programme which had a four strand approach: Source, Career, Environment and Support. The Source strand explicitly encouraged females …

A Case For Open Educational Resources (Oer) For Liberation: Leveraging Librarians And Library Skills, Aisling Coyne, Amy Fitzpatrick

Other

This paper will establish the case for Open Educational Resources (OER) for Liberation for Ireland, and the leveraging of librarians in pursuit of creating a database of Open resources for public good and public liberation within the context of post-neutrality librarianship. The researchers have conducted a literature review of existing OER initiatives and emerging areas of Open Education. The review is underpinned by the philosophical and pedagogical motivations of Open, with a keen focus on equity, access and accessibility. Through this research, it has been found that there is a strong framework available for establishing a national OER initiative, and …

It All Depends … ’ A Real Life Learning Model Informing Childminding Pedagogy In Ireland, Miriam O'Regan, Ann Marie Halpenny, Noirin Hayes

Articles

This doctoral research addressed the dearth of research focussed on childminding in Ireland, despite its significant role in national childcare provision. One overarching aim was to explore childminders’ pedagogy. The research was conducted within the theoretical framework of Ecocultural Theory (ECT) against the backdrop of Irish Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) policy on the eve of mandatory regulation of childminding. A mixed method approach was adopted, using the Ecocultural Family Interview for Childminders (EFICh) , including participants’ photographs, a case study survey, researcher field notes and holistic ratings. The research documents a previously unidentified cultural model of pedagogy among …

Nurturing A Teaching And Learning Community In Business Education: Disseminating Practical Strategies From A Technological University., Roisin Donnelly

Articles

This paper discusses a professional perspective for nurturing teaching and learning (T&L) practice to support a community of Business Educators in a XXX in Ireland. It is aimed at deans and associate deans by disseminating practical T&L strategies for use as a basis of envisioning their own School approaches, and in so doing is offering an approach to the systemizing of administration of academic organizations. It explores faculty professional development, communication strategies and faculty engagement initiatives – all designed to support the ongoing development of a community of Business educators. Addressing the challenges of T&L at scale requires strategic pedagogical …

Virtual Tutor Personality In Computer Assisted Language Learning, Johanna Dobbriner, Cathy Ennis, Robert J. Ross

Conference papers

The use of intelligent virtual agents in language learning has increased in recent years. Studies into several aspects of personalisation aiming to increase user engagement are an ongoing research topic with avatar personality being one such aspect. As a step towards our development of intelligent virtual avatars, we present two of our initial experiments to explore differences in user interaction with two contrasting avatar personalities -- P1: open-minded, friendly and sociable and P2: closed-off, curt and distant. Each user interacted with a single personality in a video-call setting and gave feedback on the interaction. Our expectations, that P1 would be …

Embedding Anti-Racism In The Community Development And Youth Work Programme (Cdyw) 2020/2021, Mairead Cluskey, Brid Ni Chonaill Dr, Georgina Lawlor, Sheila Coyle, Liam Mcglynn Dr, Garreth Smith

Group Reports

The Community Development and Youth Work (CDYW) programme team received funding from the IMPACT project as part of the Le Chéile award application during the academic year 2020/2021. The overall aim of the CDYW Le Chéile journey was to embed anti-racism in the teaching, learning and assessment of the programme. Changes were introduced to modules in terms of new content, students were exposed to different perspectives and voices, and new workshops were designed for placement preparation around identifying and responding to racism. With regard to assessment, case studies were used to develop responses to the lived experiences of racism in …

Seik: Sustainable Event Industry Knowledge, Creating Oers For Event Management Students, Samantha Morris

Case Studies

Presentation describing the Sustainable Events Industry Knowledge project funded by TU Dublin Impact, National Forum of Teaching and Learning and the Higher Education Authority. Presented at the EdTech 2021 Conference hosted by The Irish Learning Technology Association.

Embedding Anti-Racism In The Community Development And Youth Work Programme (Cdyw) 2020/2021, Brid Ni Chonaill, Mairead Cluskey, Georgina Lawlor, Liam Mcglynn, Sheila Coyle, Garreth Smith, Noirin Macnamara

Case Studies

The overall aim of the Le Chéile journey of the Community Development and Youth Work programme team was to embed anti-racism in the teaching, learning and assessment of the programme. Changes were introduced to modules in terms of new content, students were exposed to different perspectives and voices, and new workshops were designed for placement preparation around identifying and responding to racism. With regard to assessment, case studies were used to develop responses to the lived experiences of racism in community development, youth work and higher education settings. Lecturing staff increased their racial literacy through participation in anti-racism training and …

Quiche With Savoury Pastry, James A. Griffin

Recipes

Quiche is a very versatile dish that is easily made and can have many fillings. Quiche can be vegetarian or contain meat and fish. This recipe will make one large 32cm Quiche and the preparation time is approximately 45 minutes to make the pastry and fillings.

Hot Cross Buns 2020: Recipe, James A. Griffin

Recipes

The hot cross bun is a traditional enriched, soft, spiced bun which is mainly eaten during lent. Good Friday being the big traditional day to buy these buns due to the religious significance of the catholic Easter celebrations. This particular recipe was used in the Coupe du Monde 2019 finals in Paris as part of the international challenge for competing candidates.

Raspberry Scones: Recipe, James A. Griffin

Recipes

Raspberry Scones are a delicious treat, best eaten warm with raspberry Jam, butter or clotted cream. The recipe is over 140 years old and was used by my great grandfather in the 1870's in Galway. Simple to make, this is one of the most popular recipes when I teach globally.

Currant Bread: Recipe, James A. Griffin

Recipes

Traditional Irish Currant bread is a fruited sweet soda bread available in most bakeries and bread shelves in supermarkets. This is a very straightforward and quick product to make and bake. Delicious toasted with butter.

Traditional Irish Potato Cakes: Recipe, James A. Griffin

Recipes

The Potato cake is a delicious griddle bread made using potato, flour, salt and butter as the main ingredients. They can be baked in an oven or for a better result, cooked on a griddle or iron skillet, turning them over after 10minutes to cook them through thoroughly. They are best eaten warm with butter.

Seeded Bagels: Recipe, James A. Griffin

Recipes

Step by step recipe and method for boiled bagels using an overnight cold fermentation process of the dough in the fridge. The bagels are boiled following the overnight fermentation, dipped in seeds and baked to produce a chewy, delicious bagel.

Traditional Brown Soda Bread: Recipe, James A. Griffin

Recipes

The Irish Soda Bread is Ireland's iconic brown bread. The loaf is made with wholemeal flour, buttermilk, salt and baking soda. Brown soda bread is quick and easy to produce; the bread is nutritious and filling and has been the staple diet of the Irish for nearly 200 years.

Local Knowledge Centres As Development Hubs In Rural Regions, Know-Hub Project, Erasmus+ Funded., Aidan Kenny, Klas Tallvid, Begona Arenas, Zofia Pal, Lotta Svensson, Hugrun Harpa, Goergia Pantiora, Noa Oles

Other Resources

The Know-Hubs project offers a unique opportunity for the partners to share experience about the operations and functions of knowledge centres, to identify different ways of working, to explore the diverse services provided, consider the different missions and to develop relevant state-of-the-art resources for use. The Know-Hubs project will allow for the transfer of knowledge between both the partners and the organisations of interest. The project will enable both direct and indirect engagement of participants from different sectors and in a range of country settings. This engagement will assist in mapping out; innovations, best practice and useful resources. Additionally, the …

Measuring The Mathematical Problem Solving And Procedural Skills Of Students In An Irish Higher Education Institution – A Pilot Study, Fiona Faulkner, Mark Prendergast, Cormac Breen, Michael Carr

Articles

In 2010 the Irish second level mathematics curriculum underwent a period of significant change when a new mathematics curriculum was introduced. Some preliminary research has been carried out into the impact, if any, that this mathematics curriculum is having on students mathematics performance which have suggested that students’ procedural skills are declining year on year however their problem solving skills may have improved (Treacy and Faulkner 2015). Additional research in this area also highlighted that students willingness to engage in problem solving activities may have improved (Prendergast et al 2017). However preliminary analysis on the impact of the reformed mathematics …

How Can Higher Education Institutions Utilise Community Engagement To Support The Learning Of Enterprising Behaviour In Disadvantaged Communities?, Emma O'Brien

Doctoral

It is broadly agreed that entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in economic and societal development. Supporting entrepreneurship has become a global phenomenon, and governments and policy makers have paid increasing attention to it. Yet, despite such policy developments, the OCED (2019) has identified that several communities (including women, youth, seniors, unemployed and immigrants) remain disadvantaged and under-represented in entrepreneurial activity. Inclusive entrepreneurship policies recognise the significant economic and social contribution these communities could make if greater encouragement and appropriate support was offered. This study investigates the supportive role that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can play in strengthening social inclusion through …

Presentations & Infographics, Quality Blended Learning Consortium

Open Educational Resources

This tutorial introduces the users to the fundamental concepts on how to create presentations and infographics, as well as provides guidance on the tools to be used, best practices, and mistakes to avoid. The tutorial includes quizzes for self-assessment.

A Guide For Vet Teachers With A Focus On Aquaculture: Using Student Rapid Response Systems (Srrs) For Formative Assessment And For Recognition Of Prior Learning (Rpl), Anne Murphy, Aiden Kenny, Martyn Haines, Christine Dudgeon, Dag Willmann

Other resources

Introduction: This Optimal Guide is organised into 6 Parts as illustrated below. The reader is free to follow the sequence of parts or simply go to the parts of relevance.

Interactive And Accessible Pdfs, Quality Blended Learning Consortium

Open Educational Resources

This tutorial introduces the users to the fundamental concepts on how to create interactive and accessible PDFs, as well as provides guidance on the tools to be used, best practices, and mistakes to avoid. The tutorial includes quizzes for self-assessment.