Educational research is a type of systematic investigation that applies empirical methods to solving challenges in education. It adopts rigorous and well-defined scientific processes in order to gather and analyse data for problem-solving and knowledge advancement.
The overall aim of this project is to assist and support MTU functions, and staff therein, to publish high quality educational research in higher education journals. Publishing MTU-generated educational research will generate evidence-based Teaching Learning Assessment & Student Engagement strategies that can be applied within MTU, nationally and internationally.
Why is educational research important?
MTU was established as a Technological University (TU) in January 2021. According to the TURN Report (2019), which sets out a vision for a strategic framework for TUs and their role in the higher education landscape in Ireland, the distinctiveness of a Technological University is that it should be “deeply learner-centred” with a focus on “pedagogic innovation” and “research-based teaching and learning practices”.
We believe that we should not just be consumers of this research but that we can and should contribute to the international educational research literature. Teaching and learning is discipline specific and context dependent and there is a real opportunity to explore how and to what extent specific strategies work at MTU and how and to what extent they cross disciplines. Tangible benefits will include increased research capacity, student success, research-based teaching practices, wider international representation and greater student retention.
Project Update: June 2024
The TLASE Research Laboratory has collaborated with 11 different staff across 10 different departments to support the publication of their educational research activity in peer-reviewed journals. Over the time-frame November 2023 to June 2024, 11 articles have been submitted to journals. Three have been published, four have been accepted and are awaiting publication, three have been re-submitted following major revisions and one remains under consideration.
The TLASE Research Laboratory has submitted articles to the following journals (in alphabetical order):
- Accounting Education
- All Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
- European Journal of Higher Education
- European Journal of Engineering Education
- International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education
- International Journal of Disability, Development and Education
- International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy
- International Review of Economics Education
- Journal of Further and Higher Education
- Journal of Navigation
- Practitioner Research in Higher Education
Research Outputs
The following are links to articles that have been published to date:
- The impact of a peer-feedback intervention on the attitudes and beliefs of first-year Social Care students in Ireland
- 'There's Kind-of More Equality': A Qualitative Exploration into How a New Active Learning Space Affected Instructors Feelings and Actions
- An exploratory investigation into how students determine the double entry of a financial transaction
How do I avail of the service?
Please contact the TLASE Research Laboratory’s Principal Investigator:
- Dr Tom O’Mahony (tom.omahony@mtu.ie)
