This National Forum Insight examines the concept of ‘Agile Curriculum’, emerging in tandem with changing modes of engagement with higher education.
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The goal of stimulating and promoting the creative capacity of both students and staff in higher education is at the core of this project. This initiative aims to foster a culture of creativity in higher education, building the capacity of staff so that they have greater awareness about the nature of creativity, how it applies in their particular discipline, and how they can actively cultivate it in their students.
The challenges stemming from our rapidly-changing, and increasingly unscripted world, demand that higher education institutions reflect upon the competencies which students will require in order to thrive in this context. Coupled with traditional discipline-specific knowledge, there is a growing demand for graduates to develop and demonstrate a variety of transversal competencies, among which is creativity; that is, the ability to generate ideas and outputs which are perceived as both novel and valuable within a given context. As such, educators have an important role to play in creating a culture which fosters creativity, including modelling creative practices and behaviours, establishing conditions which promote creativity, and developing students’ belief in their own creative potential. Indeed, this project is based on the principle that everyone has creative potential which can be actively fostered.
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.
The aim of TEACH CoLab is to increase staff competency to engage in collaborative online learning across disciplines and beyond institutional and national boundaries to address societal challenges. The time has never been more opportune to examine the place of health in the lives of humanity and examine it from multiple perspectives, enabled by online technologies. Perhaps for the first time, health and people are at the heart of politics and at the centre of global debate in our COVID19 world and the landscape has changed forever, particularly in relation to the power of online learning. TEACH CoLab builds the capacity of staff in digital pedagogies to examine themes related to health, community, determinants of health, and human rights. It enables sharing within the School of Health Sciences, across the Institute and with community and academic partners in Ireland and the US.
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.
Developed from the initiative ” Enhancing Online Language Learning: Training the trainers and engaging the learners” the LILAC Project aims to help language teachers and learners to transform digital challenges into opportunities and acquire the digital proficiency needed to maximise the benefits afforded by e-learning.
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.
This webpage contains a link to recording of expert session on ‘Climate Change, Human Rights and Public Interest Law’ which UCC hosted at the PILnet 2020 Global Forum (October 2020).…
The aim of this interdisciplinary initiative is to create a sustainable, long-term intervention to embed technology enhanced learning in research led teaching, ensuring that students have a highly developed awareness of the potential for proactive learning through digital methodologies, and to help teaching staff further develop their capacity to integrate our portfolio of digital resources and datasets into their teaching materials.
These resources – A web page “Short Guide 8: Reimagining Practicals” and article “The Use of Virtual Reality in the Teaching of Challenging Concepts in Virology, Cell Culture and Molecular Biology” (link below) – come from the initiative: Enhanced Active Learning in Virology, cell culture and molecular bio Technology (ELEVATE).
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2021.670909/full
The ELEVATE initiative brought together disciplinary experts from the School of Microbiology, the School of Computer Science and IT, and the Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) at University College Cork. This initiative was built on a strong pedagogical foundation and it was guided by a vision to create and explore experiential and immersive learning approaches to teaching and learning, in partnership with students. In addition to co-creating innovative bespoke virtual simulations in Virology and Molecular/Cellular Biology, the team also applied active learning approaches to the study of abstract molecular concepts.
The successful development of bespoke virtual simulations was a significant breakthrough for the ELEVATE initiative and it provides a roadmap for future initiatives to follow. Multilingual realisation of abstract challenging concepts has been made possible and the knowledge gained through this experience will be shared openly with colleagues. It is important to note that while the technology underpinning virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) has advanced at pace, knowledge around the integration of virtual simulations into teaching and learning practice remains scarce, particularly in the areas of virology and molecular/cellular biology. Dissemination through the ELEVATE initiative will therefore provide leading guidance to disciplinary and non-disciplinary experts.
This initiative originated from the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at UCD which is a part of UCD’s College of Arts and Humanities. The initiative was to enhance current…
These resources, a series of webinars, were developed from the SATLE 2019 initiative: Experiential learning for dispute resolution: Developing a curriculum for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) skills, theory, and practice.
In the first session in the UCC School of Law and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Ireland lunchtime bitesize series on dispute resolution, Ms Penelope McRedmond, (UK and US Lawyer, Certified Mediator) discusses confidentiality, mediation and the Mediation Act 2017. This webinar is chaired by Mr Martin Waldron, BL, F.C.I.Arb, Chairperson, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Ireland.
This report is a resource developed from the SATLE 2018 Initiative: Professional Development Capacity Building in Higher Education: Extending provision for national impact through a flexible pathways approach.
This report is a resource developed from the SATLE 2018 Initiative: Professional Development Capacity Building in Higher Education: Extending provision for national impact through a flexible pathways approach.
The Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice recognises that each participant has a preferred mode of professional development (PD), consequently, the programme aims to combine a variety of methods of PD to provide an optimum flexible professional development pathway for all those who teach. This guide provides an overview of the mentoring model adopted as part of the Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice and guidelines based on best practice to help to maximise the mentor-mentee relationship. We realise that every mentoring relationship is unique and so they can be adapted as required to meet the individual needs of both mentor and mentee. It is recommended that mentors and mentees discuss the models below and decide what approach will best suit their context and objectives. Mentoring is a supportive process in which a mentor and a mentee engage in semi-structured dialogue over a period of time with the objective of assisting a mentee achieve a specific set of goals. Rather than providing advice, mentoring is concerned with empowering mentees to
critically consider and identify their own goals in a mutually respectful manner (Cambridge University 2020).
This report is a resource developed from the SATLE 2018 Initiative: Professional Development Capacity Building in Higher Education: Extending provision for national impact through a flexible pathways approach.
This resource was developed from a SATLE 2018 Initiative: Enhancing the digital teaching capabilities of experienced online instructors and the digital learning capabilities of their students .
Using interaction to build vibrant live online classes is an essential aspect of teaching and learning in an era of remote and online learning. Interaction in live classes helps to promote a sense of belonging and enhances learning through feedback and dialogue. Interaction is a shared endeavour which requires co-production between educators and students to flourish.
This project asked educators and students to share their experiences of online learning to identify what interaction looks like in an online class and what behaviours can enhance interaction.
This recommendation approaches AI ethics as a systematic normative reflection, based on a holistic, comprehensive, multicultural and evolving framework of interdependent values, principles and actions that can guide societies in dealing responsibly with the known and unknown impacts of AI technologies on human beings, societies and the environment and ecosystems, and offers them a basis to accept or reject AI technologies. It considers ethics as a dynamic basis for the normative evaluation and guidance of AI technologies, referring to human dignity, well-being and the prevention of harm as a compass and as rooted in the ethics of science and technology.