In September 2021, the TLU secured funding under the recent TUTF (Technological University Transformation Fund) call to establish a Teaching, Learning, Assessment and Student Engagement (TLASE) Research Laboratory.
The Laboratory’s objective is to undertake large-scale, rigorous, research in order to generate evidence based TLASE strategies and enhance learning across MTU and beyond. Large-scale, rigorous research in TLASE is important to identify what works, how it works, when it works and where it works. The immediate focus of the TLASE Research Laboratory will be on Assessment and Feedback in areas such industry work placement settings and large, first year classes. We intend to use both the international literature and smaller scale MTU research projects (e.g., projects completed as part of the MA in Teaching and Learning, Strategic Alignment of Teaching and Learning Enhancement (SATLE) funded projects, projects coming from Learning Communities, etc) to identify strategies of interest and focus on exploring the extent to which they work when implemented on a larger scale.
The argument for focusing on assessment and feedback stems from the Irish Survey of Student Engagement which identifies that 55% of Irish students are dissatisfied with their experience of Assessment and Feedback in Higher Education. In comparison, only 27% of UK students state they are dissatisfied with their Assessment & Feedback experience. This disparity identifies Assessment & Feedback as significant national problem that urgently needs to be researched and addressed. While other jurisdictions (UK and Australia) are performing better than Ireland, student satisfaction with Assessment & Feedback lags other aspects of their higher education experience and it is considered an international problem.
Find out more about our immediate projects and services:
- Enhancing Feedback and Assessment in Work Placement Modules
- Advising on Educational Research Projects
If you are interested in participating in either of the above or are interested in engaging more broadly with the TLASE Research Laboratory please complete our online expression of interest form and we will be in touch.
