AISHE-J - The All Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
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Exploring Pedagogic and Practical Intersections of Academic Writing Support for Students in Higher Education
No full textThis case study explores undergraduate and postgraduate student perceptions of the nature and effectiveness of academic writing provision and practice in a university in Ireland. Its focus isthe Academic Writing Centre (AWC), a university-wide initiative to support all students. It discusses students’ perceptions as to the academic writing support provided at the AWC and students’ preferred writing strategies. The research design used a qualitative approach to gather data on students’ perceptions of the academic writing support received at one-to-one consultations. Data was gathered via a student survey (n=21) sent to all students who avail of the AWC’s one-to-one support. Findings indicate that students value support strategies that address the affective domain and reflection and feedback to support them develop as academic writers. The results help consolidate the AWC’s current role to academic writing support and inform the future development of the Centre
Online Learning Experiences of Irish University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
No full textThe coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and the resulting lockdowns have affected nearly every sector of the global economy, and the higher education sector is no exception. Following the closure of campuses on the 12th of March 2020, all teaching in Irish higher education institutions had to be delivered entirely online through to the end of August 2020. Responding to this unique situation, this study investigated 132 full-time Business postgraduate students’ online learning experience in an Irish University. Findings from both quantitative and qualitative data provide insights into what worked, what did not and why. Most students still prefer in-class learning, despite some very positive online learning experiences. They felt that the social aspect and the learning benefits from face-to-face interaction with instructors and peers are not fully replicable in the online learning environment. The findings suggest that the foundation for an effective online learning experience is engagement
Careers guidance and international students in Irish higher education: practitioner perspectives
No full textThis article set out to examine four key themes identified in the literature as being central to the provision of effective career services for international students. The key themes are as follows: 1) Understanding international students’ capacity for cultural adaptation and integration, 2) Determining English language proficiency amongst international students, 3) The collectivist versus individualist orientation of students, 4) The skill of reflection and personal development planning. To explore these themes interviews were conducted with six staff members in careers services at Irish universities. Our findings supported the literature in that all six participants of this study agreed that the themes were significant when working with international students. The respondents also identified one further issue which did not appear in the literature which related to international students' expectations of the role of a careers service in helping them secure employment.
Keywords: International students, career counselling, third level, cultural adaptatio
Researching Inclusion in HE: A narrative of initial enquiry
No full textAbstract.
This rapid response considers the topic of inclusion in Higher Education and takes the form of a braided essay, which aims to illustrate the dialogic nature of teaching, learning and research. Sandra is pursuing an MA by Research in Education which intends to investigate whether access and attainment for migrant students and studies of migrants can be improved through inclusive pedagogies. This is a reflection on a preliminary research stage of Sandra’s journey, and the larger study has been granted ethical approval. As White women working and learning in Irish Higher Education, we are aware of the need to reflect on, and deconstruct our own positionality in this journey, in order to become ‘race allies’ in a meaningful way. Following a macro-level introduction to inclusivity in HE and the need for empirical enquiry, a narrative of the first meeting between a graduate student researching inclusivity and undergraduate students from a minority[1] group provides a micro level enquiry into lived experiences. In this way, two strands, theoretical and narrative weave together to illustrate how the value of lived experience, conversations, creating a sense of belonging and understanding for all learners can bring a richness and depth to the research journey. We believe that inclusive education begins and ends with personal experience and that the lives of our learners should be paramount in the design of our teaching practice. The interaction between supervisor (Susan), researcher (Sandra), and learners Beatrice and Gabriella is interwoven to illustrate the research journey. We are aware that Sandra’s initial steps as a researcher must be to engage in critical reflexivity to gain a deep understanding of her own positionality, and a comprehensive understanding about the experiences of minority students. Tillman (2002) highlighted that while one does not need to belong to a group in order to research it, it is important that “the researcher has the cultural knowledge to accurately interpret and validate the experiences” of others in a study.
[1] We define minority as a culturally distinct group of people whose practices, race, religion, ethnicity, or other characteristics are fewer in numbers than the main groups of those classifications. In sociological terms, minority group refers to a category of people who experience relative disadvantage as compared to members of a dominant social group
Strategic Engagement: Exploring Student Buy-in across a Formative and Summative Online Assessment.
No full textAssessment greatly influences the approaches students take in their learning. The nature of the assessment task, its educational value, outcomes and perceived importance can influence student engagement. PeerWise, a freely available online tool enables a highly interactive student-led assessment activity that promotes independent learning and peer-feedback. The level and quality of student engagement across a formative and summative PeerWise assignment in two 1st year chemistry modules across three academic years was evaluated. Detailed analysis reports the level of student participation in the task, time-resolved engagement during the assignment window, classification of the student question type (using a revised Bloom’s taxonomy), quality of model answers/student comments and occurrence of errors. The level of participation was extremely high in both formative and summative cohorts. There was enhanced engagement from the formative cohorts in answering questions and engaging in PeerWise beyond the assignment deadline. The quality of student work was comparable irrespective of the summative/formative assignment and the majority of questions created tested beyond simple recall. Strategic engagement across both formative and summative cohorts is evident with a greater number of short cuts detected in the formative cohorts. This research study provides insights into some of the common concerns expressed by academics when planning the assessment portfolio within a programme of study
Conference 2020 and beyond - Space Oddity or Space Odyssey? A summary report on the experience of ‘pivoting’ an established annual student research conference in response to emergency campus closure.
No full textThis summary report outlining the processes and decisions involved in ‘pivoting’ an established annual student research conference in response to sudden campus closure due to COVID-19 pandemic, and a short commentary how this experience may influence conference proceedings in the future
Medical School Staff Perspectives on Sharing Sensitive Student Information
No full textThis study considered the duties and role dimensions of medical school staff in the context of how they deal with sensitive student information. It focused on exploring appropriate communications about learners in training for professional practice. The authors recognized the current legal and ethical dilemmas faced in managing academic, behavioural, and/or personal student issues and aimed to research how ongoing tensions and complexities manifest in relation to learner handover. The study aimed to inform future policy development around information-sharing practice to support student progress. A live audience-response survey was combined with a one-hour focus group session. Real experiences and opinions were focused through the use of scenario-based discussion and facilitator prompts to produce a transcript. Qualitative analysis, with inductive coding by the study team, identified themes; current values, processes, approaches and context to handover. Key quotes were highlighted and survey findings charted. Staff explained how they balance trying to best support the interests of learners whilst respecting their rights to privacy. Participants echoed an ongoing need for clear instruction and explored grey areas in communication strategy. Shared, evolving concerns were discovered about entrustment and traceability, with some consensus of opinion on written record-keeping/activity logs. The study contextualized perceived risks and benefits within learner handover and provided rich insights from a medical school shop floor around how sensitive student information is handled. The findings contribute to a wider, timely conversation within healthcare education and will be instrumental in tailored policy development. Learner perspectives will be sought as a key next step
The Impact on Student Performance and Experience of the Move from F2F to Online Delivery in Response to COVID-19: A case study in an Irish Higher Education Institute
No full textTeaching in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Ireland was suddenly and severely affected by the onset of COVID-19, with Irish HEIs instructed to close from March 13th 2020 and advised to, where possible, teach online. This meant that the last four weeks of a 13 week semester, all associated teaching and assessment had to go online across all Irish HEIs. The research question for this paper is to explore how the sudden move from face-to-face(F2F) to online delivery and assessment affected the achievement of learning outcomes and the student experience in a module International Economic Policy in an Irish Higher Education Institution (HEI). While it draws on comparative contexts such as the impact of other sudden interruptions to the learning environment on student performance and the impact of moving from F2F to online delivery in economics courses in normal circumstances, it argues that there is no real comparable context. The literature on the impact of COVID-19 on student performance and experience is only now emerging. The research strategy is a case study approach to assess if the sudden move from F2F to online delivery and assessment affected the achievement of learning outcomes and the student experience. The research choice is mixed methods. The data collection instruments include exam results and a survey with final year business students. The main findings are that student performance in terms of the achievement of learning outcomes as measured by exam results was only marginally worse in the COVID-19 context. However, students’ perceptions of their achievement of learning outcomes was worse in the online environment. In addition, the sudden disruption in the learning environment impacted on the student experience in terms of equality of access and social interaction. The findings suggest that a widespread move to online delivery post pandemic may not be warranted given the findings here and inconclusive findings elsewhere. The study concludes by pointing to some challenges for HEIs in a post COVID-19 context. In particular, it suggests that online delivery must consciously and explicitly use methods to embed social interaction in online learning and that this takes on more importance in a pandemic environment