Your Brainpower is a free, online, self-paced course, focusing on harnessing the power and potential of adolescent [age 10 – 24 years] brain and behaviour for enhanced learning, wellbeing, and student success in higher education.
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Throughout this workbook students are asked to engage with the PCs Graduate Attribute & Mindsets Framework via a suite of activities or exercises. This engagement will provide students with the language of skills and attributes best suited to job application and success.
This Facilitator Checklist has been compiled from our experience as facilitators delivering the PACT Open Course with the National Forum. From our reflection, we created this resource to aid fellow facilitators save time and outlined key pre-Course, during-Course, and post-Course activities essential to the smooth running of all Open Courses.
Via the lens of graduate attribute development this toolkit highlights best examples of employability activities for higher education curriculum. Designed to enhance employability skills development as class activities and module assessments, namely via the Employability Superfoods, lecturers can enhance students’ employability learning with ease.
The book enables teachers and instructors to help students develop the knowledge and skills they will need in a digital age: not so much the IT skills, but the thinking and attitudes to learning that will bring them success. Book release date (third edition): 18 August, 2022. For subsequent updates, see Updates and Revisions in the front matter of the book.
The aim of this report is to explore how stronger relationships between higher education and business can address barriers to mainstream adoption and development of innovative and sustainable models and policies for Open Educational Practices (OEP). In this report, we explore how educational institutions and business interests can work together to better leverage the potential of Open Educational Resources (OER) in the service of OEPs. The report provides an overview of existing literature and research in the field of OER and presents a series of business models and approaches to supporting the development of OER, as well as their policies and practices. The issue of sustainability and longevity of OER materials, content and communities is discussed and three case studies are presented to illustrate different business models for supporting capability development, knowledge exchange and Communities of Practice. The report concludes with recommendations and provides some points to consider for organisations interested in developing business models, policies and practices to support the development of sustainable OER and in promoting OEP. The term OEP is used in this report as an umbrella concept reflecting the wider goals of creating more open educational and organisational cultures that support more diverse, equitable and inclusive approaches to teaching, learning and assessment (Cronin, 2017, p.1). Seminal and commonly accepted definitions of key concepts are provided as part of the report.
This seminar presented an overview of current policy, research and practice relating to student wellbeing in higher education and how the curriculum can be leveraged to enhance wellbeing. It showcased a range of innovative curricular wellbeing initiatives in UCC and MTU.
This Forum Insight summarises the background and preliminary findings from the research undertaken by Brett Becker of University College Dublin as part of his National Forum Teaching and Learning Research…
This Forum Insight summarises the background and preliminary findings from the research undertaken by Dr Barry Ryan of TU Dublin as part of his National Forum Teaching and Learning Research…
This Forum Insight summarises the background and preliminary findings from the research undertaken by Professor Chris Lynch of University College Cork as part of his National Forum Teaching and Learning…
This Forum Insight summarises the background and preliminary findings from the research undertaken by Geraldine O’Neill of UCD Teaching & Learning as part of her National Forum Teaching and Learning…
The toolkit is a set of 8 modules, delivered and accessible asynchronously, online, incorporating elements of information literacy, critical thinking and academic writing skills to allow students prepare for and complete an assignment in line with best practice in academic integrity.
Video playlist of recordings from UCC Library’s Enhancing Teaching and Learning Using Virtual and Immersive Technologies Seminar.
Drawing on this knowledge, and expertise in occupational science/therapy, psychology and neuroscience, the ‘DOTS – Developmental Opportunities for Transitions in Students’ seminar sought to inform stakeholders of the biobehavioural transitions that influence undergraduate wellbeing and academic achievement in the current socio-cultural climate.
Tutors is an professional and intuitive platform for the creation of compelling educational content. It is open source, well documented and now used by upwards of 160 modules at Waterford Institute of Technology. The platform employs the latest thinking in the production of media-rich web content, with a focus on delivering a simple, easy to navigate, elegant and compelling student experience. A central goal of Tutors is to fostering the sense on an online community of learners. These interactions are promoted by a set of non-intrusive measurements (we call TutorsTime) which help students and educators understand the use of the student’s time on a module.
A book chapter was also published as part of the initiative, which can be found here https://reader.tutors.dev/#/talk/wit-hdip-comp-sci-showcase.netlify.app/unit-3/talk-1-course-philosophy/course-philosophy.pdf
This new interdisciplinary 10 ECTS module for PhD students responds to an identified need for careers and employability support and was developed with industry partners. It supports PhD students with career planning, critical reflection and decision-making, enabling them to establish networks and build readiness for future careers in academia and/or industry. The module is in three streams (Careers, Skills and Work-based Learning) and features many innovative aspects:
– a blended learning design and 5 ECTS module option to give a flexible learning experience
– 5 interactive online sessions which build student employability skills
– 4 face-to-face sessions to enhance collaboration and engagement
– An online Skills Audit which helps students to critically reflect on, develop and articulate the skillset developed during their PhD and an Interview Practice Exercise to apply their interview skills to a role-play scenario
– a work-based learning experience that creates real value for industry partners and offers students valuable learning experiences that are not readily available elsewhere
A range of supporting activities enhance the student experience by encouraging shared and self-directed learning: online journaling and discussion boards; podcasts; videos; skills webinars and industry events. A new Industry Mentoring Programme (IMPART) was designed to complement the module.
Visioning the Future: Artistic Doctorates in Ireland was a twelve-month research project based at University College Cork but with a national focus. Artistic Doctorates are practice-based PhDs that include artistic practice on an equal footing with critical writing. Visioning the Future focussed on Artistic Doctorates in Dance, Film /Screen Media, Music and Theatre. The project focussed on previous practice / research into the pedagogies and potential of the Artistic Doctorate and how this relates to the unique ecology of Ireland. It aimed to contribute to the development of national policy and protocol to support the establishment of best practices in the sector and to develop an Open Educational Resource (OER) for supervisors, students and examiners. We hosted an International Online Seminar Series (fifteen seminars over three months during summer 2020) with international / national experts and a broad spectrum of stakeholders including PhD students. This series is available as a digital resource. We also conducted research into policy / protocol related to the Artistic Doctorate in Irish HE as well as a series of interviews with staff / students in Ireland, this data as well as the archived seminar series contributed to the development of a lively integrated OER.
This resource developed from the initiative “TUDublin IMPACT: Re-imagining a Multi-Disciplinary approach to programme design and development”.
The TU Dublin IMPACT initiative transformed teaching and learning (T&L) through:
1. A repository that collates new and existing quality open access educational resources (OER) was established, supported by a bespoke peer review model that encourages an evidence-based approach to T&L OER creation.
2, A teaching team culture within a University-wide engaged learning community was launched, recognising and encouraging best practice in programme design to enhance the student experience. Staff who teach were supported through continuous professional development (CPD) through an associated CDPD framework.
3. A rigorous ‘As Is’ review captured the breadth of University T&L projects (past, present and pipeline projects), explored areas of alignment to, and identified gaps within, the TU Dublin T&L strategy and the student experience.
4. A model to drive sustainable awareness of, and interest and enthusiasm in, T&L was established and included a communication strategy that showcases learning enhancement project findings across TU Dublin.
5. An operating model that supports the sustainable integration of ongoing T&L project outcomes into T&L policy, process and practice, was developed through consultation and collaboration across the initiative.
Ultimately the initiative galvanised our innovative T&L practice for student success through widening our community, enhancing our capacity and changing culture.
Bookended by puberty and culturally defined adult roles, it is now established that adolescence extends from age 10 to age 24. Funded by the National Forum SATLE2019 scheme, and launched during VIT&L 2021 week, the new Canvas course Brainpower developed by Dr. Eithne Hunt (Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy / Graduate Attributes Programme, UCC); Dr. Samantha Dockray (Applied Psychology, UCC); and Professor Yvonne Nolan (Anatomy & Neuroscience, UCC) with input from students and higher education staff explores the ramifications of this research and gives participants an opportunity to reflect on what this information may mean for them within their work or role in higher education.
The inner workings of the adolescent brain and how these workings develop and are expressed in behaviours and engagement with the external world have been the focus of an explosion of research inquiry. Seated in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, cognitive abilities such as decision-making, planning, self-control, social interaction and self-awareness are only fully developed by the mid-twenties. In addition, the brain regions governing risk-taking and reward are intensely active in adolescence, and so influence behaviour, which is also shaped by context and expectations of others.
To realise student success, higher education (HE) institutions must take into account that the majority of their students are still adolescents, without fully developed cognitive, social, emotional and self-regulatory capacities, living and learning in a socio-cultural environment that offers less external regulation than ever before. The knowledge that many students in higher education are in developmental transition spotlights opportunities to construct academic and campus contexts that supports this transition.
Brainpower is a free, online, self-paced course, focusing on harnessing the power and potential of adolescent brain and behaviour for enhanced learning, wellbeing and student success in higher education. Within each of the six modules (each approximately 60 minutes duration) there is a variety of instructive media, including recorded Panopto lectures, videos and short readings. Supplemental information in the form of suggested reading lists, podcasts, and videos is provided. The Brainpower modules are provided in a predefined sequence with content unlocked step by step. Modules will be unlocked once the previous module is completed.