Student success at college is not just achieving high grades The National Forum for Teaching and Learning defines student success as the process by which students fulfil their potential and flourish at college and in society. This is a broader activity than simply achieving high grades. Psychosocial competencies are core to the definition of student success: these are the ‘soft skills’ or ‘non-cognitive skills’ that enable students to cope well with learning challenges, engage deeply in learning, and develop their identities as learners and as active citizens. Transitions are a key issue within this priority area, with transitions such as the move from school to college presenting both challenges and opportunities for students.
Initiative
Reimagining Experiential Academic Learning (REAL) Project
About this initiative
Clinical legal education is a form of experiential learning that enhances law students’ practical legal skills, graduate attributes and aptitude for life-long learning. Yet, experiential learning in law remains under-developed in the Irish higher education system. There is an absence of shared resources across the sector to facilitate success in terms of student engagement and employability, and to support the professional development of academic staff. The objective of the ‘REAL Project: Using Experience to Teach & Learn in Law—A Framework for Engagement, Assessment and Transferability’ is to create a national alliance for the development of experiential legal education in Ireland. This will be achieved by the collation and creation of best practice resources in an open-access repository. Ultimately, the outputs of the REAL project will be transferable to other disciplines. The REAL Project involves a comprehensive review, research and consultation process with students, academics, institutions, instructional designers and employers both nationally and internationally. This evidence-based approach ensures academic rigour in the selection and preparation of the open-access experiential resources and it allows for the creation of a community of practice in experiential learning where best practice can be identified and shared between institutions.
Lead organisations
Linked open educational resources
Initiative details
Funding programmes Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund 2014-18
Status
CompletedAward year
2018End year
2019Related initiatives
UCD Community Engaged Learning and Teaching (CELT) Community of Practice
Community Engaged Learning and Teaching is considered to be transformative for students and practitioners, underpinned by civic participation in community and society. One of the strategic themes of the UCD Rising to the Future Strategy is “Building a Healthy World” a core objective of which is to “continue to build our engagement locally, nationally and internationally”. Community Engaged Learning (CEL) and Teaching affords the University an opportunity to build and strengthen strong partnerships with social and community organisations in a meaningful and transformative way. It provides faculty, students and community organisations opportunities to engage in a symbiotic manner, learning from each other whilst bridging the gap between academic learning and the lived reality(ies) of society.
Using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy to Reduce Academic Procrastination
Although academic procrastination is a common feature of university life (affecting 50-95% of students), research suggests it is highly problematic (Scent & Boes, 2014). Academic procrastination is associated with diminished well-being, poor quality of life, high stress, poor university performance, and university dropout (Glick & Orsillo, 2015).