Lead Department
Physical Sciences, MTU Cork
Coordinated by
Catherine Frehill (Catherine.Frehill@mtu.ie)
Active members
5
Purpose
A Learning Community initiated to develop best practice for delivering and assessing physics practical's.
Summary of Activities
The Best Practice in Physics Learning Community is dedicated to improving the first-year student experience within the Department of Physical Sciences. The Learning Community aims to enhance teaching methodologies, laboratory practices, and assessment strategies, ensuring a more structured and effective approach to student learning. By fostering a collaborative environment among lecturers, the initiative seeks to improve consistency in assessment schedules, student expectations, and academic support.
A key focus is on enhancing communication between lecturers and students to create a clearer, more structured academic journey. Additionally, the Learning Community is exploring external collaboration opportunities, such as inviting expert speakers to contribute to discussions on first-year student engagement and success. This work aligns with MTU’s strategic objectives of promoting student retention, academic success, and an improved first-year experience.
Summary
Over the past academic year, the Learning Community held two meetings focusing on student engagement, assessment structures, and mid-semester performance reviews. These meetings, though informal due to attendance limitations, provided a valuable space for discussing retention challenges, assessment workloads, and student feedback.
For the upcoming academic year, the Learning Community plans to expand its focus and structure by incorporating external expertise to enhance lecturer understanding of best practices in physics education. A more formalised structure will be introduced, with three scheduled meetings per semester:
- Start of Semester Meeting: Coordination of module content, assessment workload distribution, and interdisciplinary linkages across physics-related courses.
- Mid-Semester Review: Evaluating student progress, discussing effective teaching strategies, and identifying necessary adjustments.
- End of Semester Review: Analysing student performance and engagement data, reviewing assessment alignment, and setting goals for further development.
The Learning Community is committed to improving physics education at the first-year level by ensuring structured coordination between lecturers, better alignment of assessments, and improved student engagement strategies. Moving forward, the focus will be on refining the operational plan, incorporating external insights, and expanding lecturer collaboration to further enhance the student experience.
