Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

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 …

Academic Development Perspectives Of Blended Learning, Roisin Donnelly, Claire Macavinney

Books/Book Chapters

Technological advances in every aspect of today’s higher education environment create a forum for academic developers to re-examine existing delivery methods for professional development. Within the context of this case study, the term ‘academic developer’ is taken to encompass the role of learning technologist. In order to be responsive and accommodate the changes, traditional instruction methods are being extended to encompass the range of Web 2.0 tools available. Debate is ongoing in the area of blended learning as to the ultimate effectiveness of technology integration. Through exploration of the experiences of two academic developers involved in the design and delivery …

The Experience Of Progressing From Community Education To Third Level Education From A Learner’S Perspective, Alan Farrell

Students Learning with Communities

This study explored the experiences of community learners as they progressed from community education to third level education. It also examined the reflections of those who had completed their studies and the impact that education had on their lives. It focused on former students, students currently participating in certificate courses, and also students studying on college access programmes. It was hoped to give a broad view of perspectives on the contrast between community learning and third level education.The study attempts to focus on the positive aspects of the experience rather than the barriers which each student faced. Data collection was …

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 …

E-Learning Summer School: A Case Study, Frances Boylan

Reports

In 2003, the then Learning Technology Team at the Technological University Dublin (DIT) ran, for the first time, a week-long boot camp-type event for its academic staff to facilitate their engagement with technology enhanced learning. That year over fifty academics attended the week which encompassed an innovative combination of workshops and reflective sessions exploring both existing and new technologies and their practical applications with students. The week was such a success that the E-Learning Summer School became a fixed event in the institute’s academic calendar. As an event it has gone from strength to strength, attracting a lot of outside …

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 …

How Do Doctoral Research Academics Perceive Their Research Activities To Be Of Benefit To Undergraduate Students, James Mccauley

Theses

The principal aim of my research is to investigate the perceptions of Doctoral research academics regarding the benefit of their research activities to undergraduate students. Through in-depth interviews, the research aims to establish the level of communication that Doctoral researchers initiate with their undergraduate students about their research activities as well as the extent to which they know if these students perceive these activities as positive or negative. The extent to which students proactively queried such academics about their research activities is also examined. Two main types of activities were identified as having a positive impact: topic specific ‘cutting-edge’ knowledge …

Lost In Translation? How The Culture(S) Of The Technological University Dublin (Dit) Could Be Analysed Via A Lens Of Critical Discourse Analysis (Cda) Of Its Strategic Plan, And Other Documents, During Its Transition To Grangegorman, Ann Conway

Other resources

This paper discusses some of the theoretical foundations to critical discourse analysis (CDA) and will review the principles of CDA. It will attempt to answer how CDA can be understood and what conceptual tools it offers as a lens to view DIT’s changing culture and role in education and society during its transition to Grangegorman. This move from multiple sites to a ‘one size fits all’ campus is believed to be about better servicing the needs of society by ‘supporting the economic, social and cultural life of its people in one main campus’ (DEGW, 2009). CDA focuses on the links …

A Doctoral Thesis Examining Change In A Hei In Ireland: Changing Universities And The Response Of Academics To Change In The Dublin Institute Of Technology, Kevin Kelly

Books/Book chapters

This is doctoral thesis undertaken by an experienced academic in the Engineering Faculty of a Higher Education Institute in Ireland. It examines the demand for universities to change in response to a fast changing external environment. This research explores how stakeholders are responding to the demands for change and how a bureaucratic organisation is attempting to become more responsive and innovative.

Phenomenological Views And Analysis Of Culinary Arts Student Attitudes To National And International Internships: The “Nature Of Being” Before, During, And After International Internship, Frank Cullen

Articles

This article presents the results of research conducted between 2006 and 2007 as part of a 4-year study on culinary internships. The article explores what can be described as the culinary life, developing a picture of working in a kitchen. It then compares and contrasts the work of key writers in the area of internship. Phenomenological views are provided and quantitative data analyzed from the 2006 and 2007 cohorts of students studying for a bachelor of arts in culinary arts to establish their attitudes toward international internships. The research found that gaps existed between the attitudes of the 2006 and …

Interaction Analysis In A ‘Learning By Doing’ Problem-Based Professional Development Context, Roisin Donnelly

Journal Articles

This paper explores the concept and practice of interaction within a blended problem-based learning (PBL) module for academic professional development in higher education. A qualitative study spanning two years of the lived experiences of 17 academic staff in a blended PBL module was considered likely to provide a much needed analysis of current thinking and practice on the potential of interaction. Relevant constructivist theories are applied to face-to-face PBL tutorials, online discussions, focus group interviews and reflective papers. For designers and tutors in blended PBL, it is important to seek best practices for how to combine instructional strategies in classroom …

Resource Pack On Active Learning, Roisin Donnelly, Marian Fitzmaurice

Other resources

Introduction - 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 …

What Should Be The Contribution Of Further And Higher Education In Ireland To The Current Global Economic Crisis?, Ann Conway

Other resources

This paper will be in two parts; the first section will examine the current tertiary education situation in Ireland amid the global economic crisis and will review what should education’s contribution be to help alleviate the crisis. Through doing this both the state and the market, who have interests in the academy and their graduates produced, will become part of the review, as building stronger links with the academy and the economy to help raise skills, efficiency and productivity is becoming more important in ensuring global competitiveness and retaining equality and accessibility in the academy (see Gaffikin and Morrissey, 2003: …

Benefits Of Continuing Professional Development In The Visual Communications Sector In Ireland, Con Kennedy

Other resources

This research is concerned with identifying the benefits of Continuous Professional Development for the Visual Communications sector in Ireland, with the aim of establishing what benefits exist for both the employee and employer. Research is undertaken to identify CPD programmes that currently exist in other industries in Ireland for the purpose of establishing commonalities and how this may apply to the Visual Communications sector. This is achieved through a combination of literature review, desk research, surveys of employees and employers in the Visual Communications sector and a number of semi-formal interviews with representatives from various industry sectors with established CPD …

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 …

Supporting Teacher Education Through A Combined Model Of Philosophical, Collaborative And Experiential Learning, Roisin Donnelly

Journal Articles

This paper provides insights into teaching and learning based on the analysis of an accredited professional development program, entitled the Postgraduate Certificate in Third Level Learning and Teaching, aimed at lecturing staff/faculty in Irish higher education. The program has its theoretical basis in the Kolb Experiential Learning Cycle (Kolb, 1983), combined with principles of collaborative learning and a philosophical understanding of teaching in higher education. An action research study was conducted to investigate the lecturers’ perceptions of the program, with a particular focus on how support could be provided to them through a combined model of learning. As a core …

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

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

A Reflection On Teachers' Experience As E-Learners, Claire M. Mc Donnell, Tony Cunningham, Barry Mcintyre, Theresa Mckenna

Books/Book chapters

This chapter explores the insights gained by a group of teachers from their lived experience as eLearners participating in a blended module on Designing eLearning. An understanding of the student perspective on online learning was obtained but we were also able to reflect on our participation in the module on the basis of our other roles; as teachers and potential eTutors and as course designers. As a result, important considerations were identified for the design and facilitation of online courses. These include; the support provided to online learners, particularly over the first few weeks, appropriate assessment methods, facilitation of online …

Virtual Problem-Based Learning Communities Of Practice For Teachers And Academic Developers: An Irish Higher Education Perspective, Roisin Donnelly

Books/Book Chapters

This chapter presents the results from research and experience in the field of Higher Education (HE) academic development in the Republic of Ireland. The objective of this chapter is to discuss an exploration of how a Problem-based Learning Virtual Community of Practice (vCoP) was developed and supported within the context of academic development. The chapter is based upon the notion of 'community' - a group of academic staff in HE with a shared interest in designing e-learning courses - and the use of problem-based learning (PBL) as a pedagogical approach supported by learning technologies. As the development and availability of …

Encouraging Student Creativity In Higher Education, Roisin Donnelly, Terry Barrett

Journal Articles

This chapter focuses on how teachers encourage the development of creative states of flow in their students and in themselves. The chapter aims to stimulate educators in higher education to think freshly about creativity and to widen their range of strategies for encouraging student creativity.

Perceived Impact Of Peer Observation Of Teaching In Higher Education, Roisin Donnelly

Journal Articles

This paper explores participant perceptions of the impact of a Peer Observation of Teaching scheme offered as part of an accredited Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching for academic staff/faculty in higher education. The Postgraduate Certificate Program has been designed to support the continuing professional development of academic staff/faculty through integration of peer learning. Inherent in the design and delivery of the Peer Observation of Teaching scheme is the belief by all involved that learning about teaching in higher education, and heightening a sense of professionalism, stems from a continuous process of transforming and constructing personal meaning in a variety of related …

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

Papers, presentations and other resources

No abstract provided.

Where Does Ap(E)L Fit In Higher Education?, Anne Murphy

Journal Articles

On an EU policy level the paper acknowledges the impact on thinking about AP(E)L as a result of the agreement of common European principles for validation of non-formal and in-formal learning in 2004 at the Dublin Conference during Ireland’s presidency of the EU (note 1).This conference also addressed the possible areas of agreement across vocational education and training (VET) and higher education (HE) on contiguous issues such as a common European Qualification Framework, common arrangements for credit transfer and common arrangements for quality assurance. Additionally, the paper is written contemporaneously with the introduction of such mechanisms as the Europass, European …

Information Literacy Programmes And Course Curricula: The Case For Integration, Anne Ambrose, Brian Gillespie

Articles

The advent of the Internet and the profusion, complexity and haphazard nature of the information available through electronic and digital resources has highlighted the issue of information literacy in third level institutions worldwide. How do we deal with the information explosion to which we are subjected on a daily basis? In particular how do our students learn to exploit the range of resources available to advance their studies and research? Can these students become fully independent learners as proposed by the new teaching and learning methodologies without the necessary foundation skills? The authors argue, based on international standards and benchmarking …

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

Papers, presentations and other resources

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.