CIT Teaching & Learning Unit

Date

Title & Descriptor

Monday,

13th May 2019

Universal Design for Learning: Practical Solutions to Make Your Practice More Inclusive:

A Workshop Sponsored by Dr Barry O’Connor, President, CIT

Presented By:

• Ann Heelan, AHEAD (Association for Higher Education and Disability)
• Lorraine Gallagher, AHEAD (Association for Higher Education and Disability)
• Laura Coleman & Ruth Murphy, Disability Support Services

Our classrooms have become more diverse and complex in terms of both student culture and ability, but the question is, do students see themselves reflected in our practice?

This workshop provided participants with an introduction to UDL (Universal Design for Learning) as a model for Inclusive Practice that provides a framework to manage diversity to include all students. It explored the complexity that is implicit in the idea of inclusion especially when supporting students. Some practical tools and strategies were identified that benefit not only students with a disability, but all students in the long run.

The workshop was targeted at all CIT staff, and participants:

• Gained an understanding of what is meant by inclusion and Universal Design for Learning
• Engaged in practical activities where consideration is given to how designing a learning environment that is inclusive of a more diverse student population.
• Used the UDL model to design an inclusive learning environment.
• Considered how to create an Inclusive campus
• Gained an insight of the work of CIT's Disability Support Service and their work on the use of reasonable accommodations in a more strategic and inclusive manner.

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Tuesday,

14th May 2019

Digi-teach: Digital Teaching Tools for Mathematics in Higher Education:

A Seminar Funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Presented By:

• Cork Institute of Technology
• Griffith College Cork

Cork Institute of Technology and Griffith College Cork came together to organise this seminar to examine digital teaching tools for Mathematics in Higher Education. The focus of this seminar was to explore and champion effective digital tools and technologies in the teaching of Mathematics in Higher Education in Ireland and to create an opportunity for networking and initiation of collaborative relationships in this area. It provided hands on experience of educational technology in Mathematics for participants and provided a forum for exploring challenges, exchanging ideas and disseminating practices.

Talks/workshops included:

• Dr Maria Meehan, UCD, who discussed her experience of the use of technology in teaching Mathematics.
• CIT’s Technology Enhanced Learning Department who discussed Teaching Mathematics using virtual and augmented reality.
• Lightning Talks from participants who use education technology in their Higher Education Maths classroom/lecture who shared their experience with others
• Parallel Workshops on Mathematics e-assessment using Numbas catering for beginners and more advanced users.

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Wednesday,

15th May 2019

CIT Learning Communities – Show & Tell

Facilitated By:

• Prof Jim O’Mahony, Biological Sciences & TLU

CIT’s Teaching & Learning Unit (TLU) launched an inaugural call in 2018 to develop and support a number of Learning Communities (LCs) across the institute and is currently working with 13 emerging LCs from across the institute as a direct result of this call.

LCs facilitate the exchange of good teaching and learning ideas amongst its members and provide a platform for professional discussions and sharing of practices.

This workshop enabled these emerging LCs to:

• Showcase their vision and ideas for both their short- and long-term ambitions
• Show how their activities are influencing teaching and learning in their respective disciplines.
• An open invitation was extended to all CIT staff to attend what turned out to be a lively and thought-provoking session where they heard more about our LCs and found out how to:
•  Develop a new LC

or

• Create partnerships with existing ones

View Slide Deck

RPL, policy, practice, company, cohort and individual approaches, portfolios of learning and assessment

Presented By:

• Prof Irene Sheridan, Head Extended Campus, CIT
• Deirdre Goggin, Recognition of Prior Learning and Work Based Learning Company Advisor, Extended Campus, CIT

This workshop aimed to increase awareness and understanding of the process of recognition of prior learning. Workshop participants were given an opportunity to share views and perspectives in a structured format. A broad outline of the benefits of RPL and the current national and European policy framework provided a backdrop for the consideration of the challenges posed in practice and CIT’s policy and practice in particular.

The main objectives of this workshop were that participants would be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the benefits of a recognition of prior learning process for individual learners, cohort groups, employers and higher education providers
• Evaluate the challenges posed by RPL processes for higher education providers including assessment and how they relate to their professional context
• Describe and locate CIT policy on RPL and identify the supports available for learners and HE staff

View Slide Deck

Thursday,

16th May 2019

Developing Peer Mentoring Skills to enhance CPD in Teaching and Learning and better enable Learning Communities:

A Seminar Funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Presented By:

• Ms Shelley Crawford, European Mentoring and Coaching Council
• Mr Ruairí Ó Ceilleachair, Edelia Coaching and TLU , CIT
• Dr Brigid Lucey, Biological Sciences, CIT

Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of social constructivism highlighted the importance of the contribution of others to every individual’s learning. With the increasing use of ICT and the internet, learning communities can expand beyond geographical limitations leading to new and exciting educational dimensions and learning opportunities across schools, colleges, communities and cultures. The term ‘learning community’ has become increasingly common in education usage and can mean many different things, from bringing members of the local community in to the college to collaborative learning among students or lecturers.

Colleges today are complex, interwoven, interactive environments where learning flourishes when there is a spirit of openness and transparency and where lecturers are more likely to adopt a collegial approach incorporating shared leadership and authority thereby facilitating the work of the students. In colleges that are learning communities, everyone is a learner, and everyone is a teacher.

This seminar explored how a coaching skill set can be used to enable learning institutions to develop the skills of enquiry, collaboration, sharing of practice and critically evaluate beliefs about teaching and learning.

The overall aim of the seminar was to enhance the quality of professional communication and dialogue one of the four domains underpinned by the National Professional Development framework’s values. The seminar employed a blended learning approach involving experiential learning techniques complimented by facilitated debriefs, group discussions and short presentations.

The main objectives of this seminar were that participants would have:

• Deepened their understanding of the nature and benefits of peer coaching.
• Gained a heightened awareness of how coaching skills can be used to enhance individual and group learning.
• Gained insight into how a departmental wide peer mentoring model is evolving in CIT.
• Increased their knowledge and expertise in the use of coaching skills in their professional roles.
• Have practiced their coaching skills in challenging situations.
• Constructed an action plan to utilise the workshop content to improve their peer coaching skills so they can better support their peers and engage in purposeful conversations regarding professional development, development of learning communities and communities of practice.

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Friday,

17th May 2019

Realigning Teaching, Learning and Assessment: Integrating Assessment for Learning in Challenging Times:

A Seminar Funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Presented By:

• Dr Zita Lysaght, School of Policy and Practice at the Institute of Education (St. Patrick's Campus), DCU

This aim of this seminar was to promote informed thinking about how assessment is conceived and practiced at third level with a view to greater alignment between teaching, learning and assessment. It allowed lecturers and academic managers to discuss and share good practice while also considering how current assessment procedures in place in their institutions might be enhanced to improve student learning, progression and success.

Assessment for learning is one of the most powerful ways of improving student learning and achievement. Formative assessment, done well, improves student self-regulation and awareness of what needs to be done to enhance their learning, is forward focused and motivational. Participants considered how enhancing learning, teaching and assessment alignment can improve learning for different student cohorts and group sizes in times of limited resources and increasing accountability.

The workshop element of the seminar gave participants the opportunity to share and take away some practical ideas and techniques that they could use in their classes.

Participants in this seminar:

• Reflected upon the relationship between teaching, learning and assessment for learning
• Considered the challenges of effective management of assessment from an institutional, teacher/lecturer and student perspective
• Reflected on how assessment design, integration with the curriculum, marking and feedback could best be supported
• Discussed, shared good practice and considered current assessment procedures and how they might be enhanced with different student cohorts/group sizes
• Considered some practical/ impactful assessment for learning techniques that they may like to use in the future

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