Centre for Teaching and Learning Annual Report

Centre for Teaching and Learning

Annual Report 2014 / 2015

CTL Annual Report 2014

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Teaching and Learning: the two threads that WEAVE together to form the FABRIC of The University.

The INTEGRITY of UL is maintained by the excellence in the INTERWEAVING of these FIBRES.

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Contents WELCOME MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN 2 WHO WE ARE

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HIGHLIGHTS 6 CTL STAFF 8 STUDENT ENGAGEMENT & SUCCESS 10 LEARNER SUPPORT CENTRES 16 RECOGNITION OF TEACHING EXCELLENCE 24 TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED-LEARNING 26 CPD ACTIVITIES 28 NATIONAL FORUM FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF TEACHING AND LEARNING 30 RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP 32 CLOSING COMMENTS FROM THE ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC

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Message from the Dean d tre n e C In nt e no v d ation Stu

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This past academic year has been another very dynamic one for the Centre for Teaching and Learning, and has been a hive of activity since the publication of UL’s Teaching, Learning and Assessment Strategy, Engaged Learning, in September 2014. It continued in this way right up to the latest National Forum funding applications for digital capacity-building in September 2015. This annual report shares some of the highlights of our year and the very important on-going work that CTL staff have been engaged in around CPD, technology enhancedlearning, and student engagement, as well as the 2

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excellent supports provided by our learner centres (ICT, Maths, Peer Support, Science, and Writing). At the end of my second year as Dean of Teaching and Learning, I continue to be struck by the excellent work that goes on through the advice, support, research and innovation that is provided from within a relatively small unit of the University. This is down to the commitment and dedication of the CTL team, for which I thank them most sincerely on your behalf and on my own.

This is the first of what we hope will become a series of short annual reports to share the work of the Centre

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Dr Fiona Farr Dean, Teaching and Learning

ntors e M tions Ref h c r a e ective Practice Collaboration Res with the campus community. We endeavour to provide staff with support for teaching and learning, and, in turn, rely on your support for the work that we do. I take this opportunity to thank all the UL teachers who have given their time to work with us over the past year as we supported an unprecedented number of participants on the Specialist Diploma in Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship. The sharing of your insights and expertise with colleagues has impacted individuals and has enhanced the quality of teaching through which they, consequently, engage their students. The commitment to teaching and learning at UL is in a very healthy state.

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‘This report aims to be easily readable and to share snapshots with you in the following pages. In so doing, we continue to invite further discussion and collaboration with you. We are now very easy to locate in the Graduate Attributes’ Hub in the Millstream Courtyard and welcome on-going and new dialogues around the implementation of our strategic commitments to teaching and learning.

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Who We Are Teaching and Learning: the two threads that WEAVE together to form the FABRIC of The University.

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Maura Murphy Manager Teaching and Learning

The Centre for Teaching and Learning exists to encourage and facilitate excellence in teaching and learning within and beyond the University of Limerick.

innovations, the Centre works to provide support, to advise, to recognise and to facilitate all those involved in teaching and learning at UL.

Its role is to encourage scholarship and research in teaching and learning, to help ensure that effective teaching is valued, supported and developed, and to encourage innovation in teaching and learning activities. Enhancing the learning and development experience for both teachers and students is pivotal to the role of the Centre.

The Centre for Teaching and Learning continues to offer an exceptional and extensive range of programmes, workshops and professional development opportunities, which attract considerable engagement and participation by the UL community.

Dedicated to heightening the profile and value of teaching activities, collaboratively engaging in evidence-based research and enabling key teaching

As in previous years, the last academic year has been both extremely busy and productive for CTL and there continues to be significant demands for CTL support and services.

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MATHEMATICS LEARNER CENTRE

Highlights

This year the MLC had the highest number of attendances at semester 2 support tutorials (872) since 2011/2012. Many of the attendances this year were by students who used the service every week.

TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED-LEARNING EdTech2015, the largest annual national event around technology enhancedlearning was hosted by UL, bringing over 120 presentations.

PEER SUPPORT LEARNING CENTRE Analysis of all PSLG programmes offered by the PSLC showed that those who engaged with PSLG performed significantly better (about 25% higher average QPV) than those who did not.

CPD INITIATIVES Student engagement and teaching excellence continue to be key themes across both the Conversations in the Consortium and Teaching in Higher Education series, in addition to the high level of participation in the UL peer observation network.

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ICT LEARNING CENTRE 577 individual students availed of our learning support during the year, with data showing a 26% higher progression rate for those students who engage with our services.

AICUR 2015 What set this conference apart from many other academic conferences was that the primary content was delivered by undergraduate student presenters from across all the disciplines.

REGIONAL WRITING CENTRE Development of Writing Across the Curriculum which aims to engage faculty to integrate writing into their curricula in innovative ways in order to develop articulate graduates.

TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARDS The Shannon Consortium Regional Teaching Excellence award was awarded to Dr Diarmaid Lane. The UL Teaching Excellence Awards were awarded to Dr Elaine Riordan (Small Group) and Dr Elaine Doyle (Large Group).

NEW CERTIFICATE IN TEACHING, LEARNING AND SCHOLARSHIP This new award was developed for, and delivered to, the instructors in the Garda College, Templemore, with the first cohort graduating in August 2015.

SCIENCE LEARNER CENTRE A study showed that first year chemistry students who participate in the SLC Drop-in service are less likely to fail and have around 7% higher average grades than nonparticipants.

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CTL Staff

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Dr Fiona Farr

DEAN, TEACHING AND LEARNING Dr Fiona Farr’s background is English language teacher education, which she has been involved in at undergraduate and postgraduate levels for more than 15 years. She is a member of the Centre for Applied Language Studies (CALS), and the Inter-Varietal Applied Corpus Studies (IVACS) Research Group. Her own 2011 book, The Discourse of Teaching Practice Feedback: An investigation of spoken and written modes (Routledge), is an applied corpus-based examination of spoken language as it is used in 3rd level language teacher education contexts.

Maura Murphy MANAGER

Maura Murphy works closely with faculty members, heads of departments and other key groups, to champion and support excellence, innovation and enhancements in teaching and learning activities within UL and throughout the sector. She is a qualified MBTI and Firo-B Practitioner and regularly presents learning styles, active learning and critical thinking workshops to students across the Shannon Consortium. She is Course Director for the Specialist Diploma in Teaching, Learning and Scholarship and manages UL’S First Seven Weeks Programme. She is co-author of ‘How to be a Student’ and The Ultimate Study Skills Handbook, both published by the Open University Press.

Dr Mary Fitzpatrick

REGIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING ADVOCATE Dr Mary Fitzpatrick (SFSEDA, MCIPD) works closely with faculty in promoting teaching excellence through continuous professional development initiatives such as reflective practice, feedback and evaluation, peer observation and the pursuit of teaching excellence awards. She is Course Director of the Certificate in Teaching, Learning and Scholarship and leads three modules on the programme.

She is an elected member of both Educational Developers in Ireland Network (EDIN) and Staff and Educational Developers Association (SEDA) Executive Committees. Her research interests lie within learning and development, with a particular focus on the efficacy of professional development activities, the student experience in teaching and learning, and the role of learning and development at work. She has extensive HRD consultancy experience within both the private and public sector.

Dr Angélica Rísquez

TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED-LEARNING ADVOCATE Dr Angélica Rísquez (FSEDA) has over thirteen years experience in educational development and a PhD in Educational Technology. She is the Course Director for the Specialist Diploma in Teaching, Learning and Scholarship, and leads two modules on it. Angelica represents CTL on the newly formed Technology Enhanced-learning Unit (TELU). She is Vice-Chair of the Educational Developers Network in Ireland (EDIN), and a member of the steering committee of the Irish Learning Technology Association (ILTA) and SEDA. Angelica has published extensively in high impact journals and other relevant publications. Her research interests include virtual learning environments, e-plagiarism prevention, and open educational resources.

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Karen McGrath

SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR, CTL Karen is a CEDR accredited mediator having spent 5 years as Manager of Dispute Resolution Services for CEDR in the UK. Karen returned to Ireland in 2004 and joined UL where she has worked in supporting roles in both the Marketing and Procurement Sections before joining CTL in 2009. Two of Karens key areas of responsibility include coordinating the First Seven Weeks programme and managing the Student Evaluation of Teaching surveys (SETs).

Victoria Kelly

SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR, CTL Vicky has over 15 years’ experience working in many departments within the University of Limerick.

She has also worked in both the UK and Australia for a period of time in office managerial roles. Her love of UL, however, always brought her back to the University of Limerick. Vicky is currently a Senior Administrator in the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Her role is to provide a high quality level of administrative support to both the Dean and Manager of CTL. She also assists and manages many events such as conferences, workshops and seminars that take place in the Centre.

Dr Íde O’Sullivan

REGIONAL WRITING CENTRE EDUCATION DEVELOPER -CONSULTANT IN WRITING AND WRITING PEDAGOGY Íde is involved in the design, delivery and evaluation of writing-support interventions, including the development of a Writing Across the Curriculum programme at UL, grounding writing centre initiatives in good practice and sound theory. Íde also works with faculty on the development of their professional writing for publication. Íde is a founding member and co-chair of the Irish Network for the Enhancement of Writing (INEW), a network of educators who wish to actively enhance their own writing and to help learners to do likewise.

Lawrence Cleary

RESEARCH OFFICER, REGIONAL WRITING CENTRE Lawrence assists staff and students with their efforts to become better writers. Alongside his colleague, Íde O’Sullivan, Lawrence designs, facilitates, and evaluates writing support initiatives in UL and throughout the Shannon region. Lawrence also works to develop tutors and tutor training and to advance faculty development of student writing and research.

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Student Engagement & Success

1: The First Seven Weeks 2: All-Ireland Conference of Undergraduate Research 3: UL’s Student Academic Advisor System 4: On-line resource to help with first year transition 5: The Threshold Concepts Project

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FIRST SEVEN WEEKS PROGRAMME The First Seven Weeks is an initiative at the University of Limerick designed to provide strong, enhanced, and targeted support to students during the very early weeks of their time as UL students.

Recognising that successful early adjustment is linked to subsequent success, we provide a range of information, target our resources, and interact with our new students, in ways that make them know we care about them and are interested in their successful adjustment.

Each of the first seven weeks has its own theme designed to focus students’ attention on the various issues that we know are important for settling in and thriving as a higher education student.

Week 1 Welcome, setting in & find your way around Week 2 Study skilly & time management Week 3 Meet your advisor Week 4 Health & wellbeing Week 5 Learner support centres Week 6 Civic engagement & volunteering awareness Week 7 Critical thinking & longer term planning

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All-Ireland Conference of Undergraduate Research (AICUR) a shared DESIRE to PARTICIPATE in, and share their research PASSIONS, using the AICUR as their platform

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The second AICUR (All-Ireland Conference of Undergraduate Research) was held in the University of Limerick on Thursday, 9th April, in the Kemmy Business School. It was a venture of collaboration between the Faculties, Students and the Centre for Teaching and Learning, under the leadership of the Dean of Teaching and Learning, Dr Fiona Farr.

What set it apart from many other academic conferences was that the primary content was delivered by undergraduate student presenters from across all the disciplines. On the day, AICUR attendees were presented with insights into a wide variety of topics: from the effects of oral contraceptive use on psychological and physiological health, to fitness profiling of female GAA players - and many more in between!

What transpired on the day was the emergence of a community of hitherto unconnected researchers, brought together by a shared desire to participate in, and share their research passions, using the AICUR as their platform. This included presenters from NUIG, TCD, LIT and other interested institutions. These AICUR participants showed all in attendance the value of undergraduate research in higher education, and, in turn, what it can achieve. Speaker awards on the day went to: Richard Bourke, English and History, UL; Amy Diviney, Applied Languages, UL; Alan O’Reilly, Civil Engineering, UL; Amy Walsh, Arts Joint Honours, UL; Victoria Ward, Social Care, LIT. The AICUR participants were encouraged throughout the conference by the plenary speaker (Prof. Mick Healey, University of Gloucestershire) and panel members (Dr Ross Anderson, Dr Eoin Devereux, Dr Aileen Dillane, Prof. Con Hussey, Prof. Sarah Moore), who shared their own insights into what it means to approach knowledge as a researcher in today’s world.

Faculty members from across UL came to the AICUR to show support for the notably high quality of presented research, and many of the sessions were chaired by lecturers eager to see what the AICUR was all about.

It is hoped that this sense of community and sharing of knowledge will continue at next year’s AICUR, which is already being planning by the Organising Committee (Dr Naomi Birdthistle, Kemmy Business School; Dr Fiona Farr, Dean of Teaching and Learning (Chair); Mike Forde, UL Students’ Union; Vicky Kelly, Centre for Teaching and Learning; Dr Óscar Mascareñas Garza, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance; Dr Patricia M. McNamara, Education and Health Sciences; Maura Murphy, Centre for Teaching and Learning; Dr Liam Murray, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Dr Walter Stanley, Science and Engineering).

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UL’s Student Academic Advisor System

The University of Limerick is committed to providing an outstanding and distinctive experience for each and every one of our students. Both empirical and anecdotal evidence points to the importance of strong personal academic supports and relationships playing a key part of a positive student experience.

However, UL data suggests that as few as one third of first years meet with their Academic Advisors in their first semester on campus. This occurs in a context where UL has an articulated commitment to student engagement and success and strives for better retention rates. The CTL has therefore initiated a project to revise the advisor system as one part of our endeavours to provide a supportive environment where students and lecturers engage in meaningful ways to ensure success.

During Semester 1 of the AY 2013/14, a working group was convened by the Dean of Teaching and Learning, with representatives from each of the faculties, the relevant divisions, and the Students’ Union. The group reviewed the existing system and initiated the development of a framework for a revised Personal

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Advisor Support System (PASS), which began on a pilot basis in the AY 2014/15. The two programmes involved in the initial pilot were Law Plus and Law and Accounting. The CTL has been coordinating the collection of data (survey, focus groups, interviews) from all parties involved in order to review and evaluate the pilot and has produced a short outlining how we move forward. In 2015/16, the following programmes are rolling out the PASS: Computer Games Development, International Business, and Politics and Public Administration. In line with our strategic commitments in Engaged Learning, we will continue with the development of the PASS framework and supports this year in advance of full roll-out in September 2016. Thanks to all of those who have been involved to date. PASS Committee members: Fiona Farr (chair), Angelica Risquez, Bernadette Walsh, Joachim Barnett, Declan Aherne, Sarah Gibbons, David Maloney, Cinta Ramblado, Colette Grey, Eric Igou, Jakki Cooney, Maria Bailey, Mary O’Donoghue, Norah Power, Nuala Cullimore and relevant SU representatives.

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On-line resource to help with first year transition

The CTL is involved in a project funded by the National Forum focused on the development of a Massive Open Online course (MOOC) to facilitate the transition from 2nd to 3rd level education.

The MOOC will consist of seven ‘modules’ or topics. Four of these (Learning to Learn, Critical & Creative Thinking, Digital Literacy & Communication Skills, and Responsible Citizenship) are specifically for senior cycle and first year undergraduate students and will constitute a 4/5 week long course. The other 3 modules will each be designed for different cohorts (parents/faculty/adult learners). The MOOC will have a number of different start and completion dates, likely to be every six weeks, commencing February 2016.

The development of each module of the MOOC has been allocated to the various 3rd level institutions involved (Sligo, Galway and Limerick ITs, UL, MIC and NUIG). As part of this partnership, the University of Limerick will work towards developing a module which focuses on the skills required in relation to digital literacy and communications, and a module for parents of first year students. The modules, which will take approximately 1-1.5 hours to complete, will be of particular help in making the transition to 3rd level.

The Transitions MOOC will be available to all schools and HEIs nationally and will be promoted through the Union of Students in Ireland, career guidance advisors and councillors, and school parent’s associations/National Parents Council.

For further information contact Fiona Farr or David Maloney in CTL.

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The Threshold Concepts project

At times learning can be tricky and troublesome. The theory of ‘Threshold Concepts’ was first introduced by Jan Meyer and Ray Land. These knowledge concepts are defined as those that are held to be central to the mastery of a discipline and students must grasp these concepts before they can move forward significantly. The Shannon Consortium Threshold Concepts Project, funded by the Strategic Innovation Development Fund, aims to provide a pedagogic intervention to help navigate students through various subject-specific challenging areas and to provide them with tools and supports when faced with potential difficulty in their learning. What it plans to do for the students is to provide them with opportunities to engage with potentially troublesome learning material/concepts and to provide each student with a positive and successful journey through the liminal space (where deeper understanding of concepts is gained).

This module also aims to support the students’ ‘Psychological Capital’ (e.g., self-efficacy, resilience, capacity to engage with challenging learning experiences and regulate negative emotions) in order to bolster subsequent learning experiences.

The CTL is currently working with a number of secondary school transition year students in piloting and evaluating the programme under the direction of a plenary group and an advisory board. For further information contact Fiona Farr or David Maloney in CTL.

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Learner Support Centres 1: Regional Writing Centre 2: Maths Learning Centre 3: ICT Learning Centre 4: Regional Peer-Supported Learning Centre 5: Science Learning Centre

Student support services play a crucial role in the success of students in higher education. All of our Learner Centres provide a space where students feel comfortable about raising issues that may help them to study or learn more effectively and build their confidence and selfesteem. Our range of helpful learning centres are part of the UL campus and help students to tackle challenges in maths, science, IT, writing, and through peer supported learning.

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Regional Writing Centre

The mission of the Regional Writing Centre is to engage both students and staff in a burgeoning national conversation on writing and to thereby provide all students and staff who avail of our resource with a framework for developing as effective, efficient, persuasive scholarly writers and writing mentors.The Regional Writing Centre at UL offers a free and friendly place for all students (undergraduate and postgraduate) to come and address any aspect of their writing. This resource is dedicated

to helping students develop strategies to become more confident, critical and autonomous writers. The Writing Centre practices a non-invasive, inductive approach to writing development, utilising peer-tutors and experts who work with both undergraduate students, postgraduate students and staff respectively to identify their writing practices in order to assess and improve strategic effectiveness. The Writing Centre is also available to staff who are interested in developing their students’ writing.

Key highlights at the RWC in AY2014/15: »

17 academic staff engaged with writing consultants in the Writing Centre to integrate writing into their modules/curricula, impacting on a total of 1,178 students (undergraduate and postgraduate).

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860 one-to-one Peer-tutoring Consultations in Academic Writing took place in the RWC.

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15 peer tutors were employed to work as Peer Tutors in Academic Writing in the RWC.

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The RWC designed and delivered six modules, including two new blended-learning modules on the Certificate in Generic and Transferable Skills and one module on the Specialist Diploma in Teaching, Learning and Scholarship.

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The RWC hosted the first National Forum for Tutoring in Writing (22 participants), and RWC tutors contributed to the Irish Network for the Enhancement of Writing (INEW) booklet entitled Peer tutoring in Writing, which is commissioned by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning and the All-Ireland Society for Higher Education (AISHE).

5 RWC peer tutors undertook research in the Centre and presented the outcomes at the international European Writing Centre Association (EWCA) conference hosted by the University of Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.

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Planning commenced for the development of a Communication/Writing-enriched Curriculum at UL, with the RWC leading development on the Graduate Attribute of Articulacy. Three major experts on Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) facilitated workshops for faculty on the integration of written and oral communication into the curriculum.

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The numbers of faculty, postgraduate and undergraduate students participating in initiatives such as writers’ groups and PhD writers’ week increased, supporting faculty and students in their writing development.

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The Second Annual UL One Campus, One Book initiative featured Professor Joseph O’Connor, Frank McCourt Chair in Creative Writing at UL.

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The National Secondary School Essay-writing Competition attracted 252 entries from across Ireland.

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RWC consultants in writing were engaged as external advisor/consultants to 8 external institutions.

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RWC consultants in writing continued to actively engage in research, with the publication of one book chapter, two Writing Centre Booklets and three conference presentations.

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Maths Learning Centre

A total of 887 individual UL students availed of MLC services in the first semester of 2014/15, with 712 individual students using our services in the second semester. In total the MLC services recorded 6,196 contacts/attendances, a decrease of 814 contacts/attendances when compared to 2013/14 (7,010).

A total of 137 support tutorials were organised and run by the MLC this year with a total of 1,781 attendances recorded at these classes. This figure represents a decrease of 267 attendances in comparison to last year. This can be partly attributed to the non-engagement from students in modules that traditionally accounted for large numbers of MLC attendances. The MLC drop-in centre accounted for a total of 2,244 attendances in 2014/15, while exam revision classes in week 13 of both semesters totalled 2,171 attendances. All of these combined to produce a total of 6,196 attendances.

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The MLC also facilitates the Leaving Cert Helpdesk which catered for a similar number of students this year when compared to last year. In total 151 Leaving Cert students availed of the LC Helpdesk, which recorded 2,294 attendances over 11 weeks (one lecture and one workshop per week).

Finally, a new free electronic sign-in system (using Google sheets) was introduced in Semester 2 this year. This was designed as a means to increase convenience with inputting attendance data of students. Though it was not envisaged, this method also eradicates the possibility of some unknown data arising. This sign-in system will continue to be implemented and refined over the coming year.

ICT Learning Centre

The Centre for Teaching & Learning (CTL) at the University of Limerick (UL), operates a student support unit, namely the ICT Learning Centre (ICTLC) which provides a number of academic enrichment and intervention schemes. These schemes target students on ICT-related programmes and hence form an important part of UL’s ICT retention initiatives. The main schemes currently offered by the ICTLC include a drop-in service, targeted topic and skills workshops, core programming language workshops and Peer Supported Learning Groups (PSLG). The ICTLC works closely with the Regional Peer-Supported Learning Centre (PSLC) and over 80% of PSLGs offered in UL during the AY2014-15 have targeted first and second year students in ICTrelated courses, impacting modules relating to computer programming, software and electronics subjects. The following are the AY2014-15 student usage figures and highlights relating to the ICTLC. Autumn Semester AY2014-15: Each week from week 3 to 12 the ICTLC operated 18 hours of Drop-In and 13 hours of PSLG support. In excess of 30 hours of Targeted support/workshop sessions were delivered during the Autumn Semester. Over 25 hours of in class Pair programming support involving research was carried out with 1st year computer programming students.

hours of PSLG support. In excess of 40 hours of Targeted support/workshop sessions were given during the Spring Semester.

Of the students that used the centre’s support services, over 75% were 1st year, 2nd year, Graduate Diploma and Higher Diploma students. Analysis of the impact on student progression based on ICTLC student engagement levels will be undertaken during the Spring semester when complete data is available.

In line with our in-class research into the effectiveness of pair programming for ICT students, we completed and presented a supporting conference research paper at SIGCSE 15 in March 2015.

For the 2nd year running, UL 1st year students emerged the overall winners of the 2015 National Robocode Programming competition, competing against students from 8 other institutions. The ICTLC organised the internal selection competition and mentoring of all UL students involved.

This summer, 80 students from 29 schools took part in UL Cybercamp 2015. This ICTLC initiative provides secondary level students with an early and enjoyable insight into ICT subjects.

Spring Semester AY2014-15: Each week from week 3 to 12 the ICTLC operated 18 hours of Drop-In and 6

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Regional Peer-Supported Learning Centre

The Regional Peer-Supported Learning Centre (PSLC) is the learning centre for promoting pro-active peersupported learning schemes, particularly those related to UL’s academic enrichment programme known as Peer-Supported Learning Groups (PSLG). The PSLG is a group-based, student-led collaborative learner support scheme that targets difficult subjects/modules in all study programmes offered by UL. Every academic year the PSLC runs, facilitates and supports a number of PSLG programmes across all faculties in UL. In Autumn AY2015-16, the PSLC ran PSLG programmes offering support to approximately 1000 students enrolled on study programmes from the faculties of Science & Engineering (S&E) and the Kemmy Business School (KBS). Similarly, in the Spring semester, PSLG programmes were run offering support to approximately 750 students from the above faculties. Our continuous quantitative analysis of students attending our PSLG programmes shows that those who were engaged with the programmes performed better (i.e. an average QPV 25% higher than the class average) than those students in their class who were not engaged (these students showed an average QPV nearly 5% lower than the class average). To support the modules provided, 22 student leaders were recruited to run the PSLG sessions. 6 of these were students who were recruited last year, and a training workshop was held in Week 2 of the autumn semester to train the other 16 leaders.

As part of our ongoing outreach to develop new PSLG programmes and offer support to new courses and programmes, we are currently collaborating with the Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS) department to help with deployment of a new Peer-Learning support within the school. This collaboration will involve facilitating student leaders/tutors training to add PSLG support for a 1st Year Human Anatomy module.

In addition to the PSLG, the PSLC regularly offers seminars and workshops to develop student

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communication, presentation, teamwork and other transferable skills. Within this context, the PSLC offers a number of seminars to assist 4th year Electronic & Computer Engineering (ECE) students to prepare for both their Final Year Project (FYP) and future careers.

32 students from the 4th Year class of ECE courses (B.E. Electronic Engineering, B.Sc. Mobile Communications and Security, B.Sc. Electronics) attended our annual autumn Presentation Skills workshop which prepares students for general presentations with a specific focus on presenting their FYP progress reports. 26 students from the 4th Year class of ECE courses attended our annual spring Report Writing workshop which prepares students for writing technical reports with a specific focus on writing up their FYP report. 2 one-off workshops on the use of Excel were also provided for students from the Physics and Energy department, which 11 students attended. The PSLC also makes the centre available as a study space to students of modules supported by PSLG. In autumn AY2014/5, 202 visits were logged from 67 students of various departments. The spring semester saw 180 visits by 56 students of various departments.

As part of our ongoing collaboration with the ICT Learning Centre, CSIS, ECE and Lero, the PSLC provided IT, administration & website support for the UL Cybercamp again this year. In addition, the manager of this centre ran 2 of the sessions offered to the students attending. 80 students from 29 secondary schools attended and feedback from the students was very positive of the workshops and introduction to ICT skills provided.

Finally, as part of our ongoing research activities, the PSLC worked closely with the investigators of the National Forum study conducted in UL on the impact of Supplementary Academic Learner Supports offered here in UL on the progression of students in ICT major courses from 1st to 2nd Year. The PSLC offered assistance regarding the services offered by it to students of ICT courses in the ECE and CSIS departments.

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Science Learning Centre

The Science Learning Centre (SLC) provides support to undergraduates whose degree includes a science component. In the course of the Autumn and Spring Semesters of 2014-2015 the SLC provided support to students by two main routes; (a) a dedicated drop-in centre, and (b) student-requested support tutorials. In addition the SLC will open in the week preceding the repeat examinations in August 2015. .

The Science Learning Centre operated for Autumn Semester 2014 between week 3 and week 13. The total number of student visits to the Science Learning Centre was 771 attendances at the Drop-in Centre and 1127 attendances at support tutorials. Support tutorials were provided for 8 different modules while students visited the Drop-in Centre seeking support across 46 different modules.

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The Science Learning Centre operated for Spring Semester 2015 between week 3 and week 13. The total number of student visits to the Science Learning Centre was 376 attendances at the Drop-in Centre and 405 attendances at support tutorials. Support tutorials were provided for 5 different modules while students visited the Drop-in Centre seeking support across 40 different modules.

The majority came for help with chemistry modules, followed by mechanical engineering and physics, with small numbers requiring assistance for biology.

The Drop-in Centre was also open in the week preceding the Repeat Examinations in August 2015. There were 57 requests for help with different modules during 50 visits by 25 individual students.

Dr Seamus McMonagle was appointed as Director to the SLC in September 2014. His role includes the provision of strategic input and guidance, involvement in the development of the centre’s activities, as well as forging collaborative relationships and communication between the Faculties and the SLC. Under the directorship of Dr McMonagle, the relationship between attendance at the Drop-in and grade achieved in General Chemistry 1 (CH4701) was analysed as an indicator of the effectiveness of this support service. The key conclusions from this study are: »»

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Participating students improve their grade point averages by around 7% in comparison with non-participating groups, with the grade improvements being predominantly into or in the lower and intermediate pass grades.

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Participating students achieve these favourable outcomes by taking only 2 or 3 tutorial sessions, indicating good targeting by the students on the subject material in which they are deficient.

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Not all students entering 1st year without a Leaving Certificate chemistry qualification are being captured in the drop-in elective tutorial system.

1st year general chemistry students who choose to participate in Drop-in Centre elective tutorials effectively eliminate their chances of obtaining a non-compensatible (F) grade.

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Recognition of Teaching Excellence The Shannon Consortium Regional Teaching Excellence Award Fourteen UL faculty were nominated for the award. Three nominees from UL were shortlisted. Eddie Keane (Law), Dr Diarmaid Lane (Design and Manufacturing Technology) and Dr Yvonne Cleary (Culture and Communication) represented the University. The overall Teaching Excellence award was presented to Dr Diarmaid Lane at a ceremony in Limerick Institute of Technology.

The Large Group Of Teaching Excellence Award & Small Group Teaching Excellence Award The nominations for these awards comes from the student body via student evaluation reports. The shortlist of nominations is derived from the people who receive the highest annually gathered scores for overall teaching effectiveness using the CTL student evaluation of teaching system. Engaging with this system is completely voluntary.

The Large Group Teaching Excellence Award was awarded to Dr Elaine Doyle (Accounting and Finance).

The Small Group Teaching Excellence Award was awarded to Dr Elaine Riordan (Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics).

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Dr Diarmaid Lane Regional Award Winner Excellence in Teaching

I’m Diarmaid Lane and I am currently employed as a lecturer in the Department of Design and Manufacturing Technology with primary teaching responsibilities in the initial technology teacher education programmes. I was very proud to be the 2015 winner of the Regional Award for Teaching Excellence in the Shannon Consortium. I feel that this award symbolises the real starting point in my career as an academic. It’s a solid indication that I am progressing in the right direction! Since joining UL as a lecturer in January 2012, I have been very fortunate to be in a position in which I can develop, shape and refine my teaching philosophy and methodologies. This is due in no small part to the support I have received from the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), my colleagues, and most of all the students I teach. Looking to the future, I endeavour to continue seeking excellence in my teaching both through my research and evaluation mechanisms provided by the CTL. I hope that this will continue to have a positive impact on student’s learning experiences here at UL.

I’m Elaine Riordan and I’m a lecturer in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) within the School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics. I mainly teach novice and practising teachers in the areas of language, teaching practice, corpus linguistics, the use of technologies and reflective practice. I am delighted to have won the UL Excellence in Teaching Award for small groups in 2014. The whole process of preparing my portfolio, collecting evidence, and reflecting on my practice, has helped me to gain a deeper insight into my teaching and my actions in the classroom. As teachers, we are often very busy, and can go about our daily practices without too much time for reflection. However, compiling the portfolio made me take the time out to really examine who I am as a teacher and what I would like students to take from my classes. Taking this step back and examining my practices and my students’ perceptions has made me more aware of my students, my actions and the teaching and learning environment I work in, all of which, I believe, have impacted on how I am in the classroom. As well as the process of compiling my portfolio and reflecting on teaching and learning, actually winning the award has been profoundly motivating as it demonstrates the emphasis that is put on teaching and learning in UL.

Dr Elaine Doyle

UL Award Winner, Excellence in Teaching Large Group

Dr Elaine Riordan

UL Award Winner, Excellence in Teaching Small/Medium Class Size

My name is Elaine Doyle. I am a lecturer in taxation at the Kemmy Business School. One of the proudest moments in my career to date was winning the 2010 UL award for Excellence in Large Group Teaching. As a young academic it represented a welcome validation of my teaching skills.

Winning the award gave me the confidence to be much more innovative in how I teach and assess students. However, perhaps more importantly, it also provided a platform for taking a leadership role in championing teaching excellence by introducing me to a community of academics, led by the team at the CTL, who are committed to teaching excellence and the student experience. Since then I have combined my research in ethics with my love of teaching and innovation, resulting in a strong stream of research in pedagogy which includes several published papers, an edited book, presentations at numerous national and international conferences and success in securing research funding to support this work. I was part of a team that won a national award for Innovation in Teaching in 2013 (The Jennifer Burke Award) and I co-chaired an international conference on pedagogy in UL in 2014 (EdiNEB 2014). Winning the UL award for Excellence in Large Group Teaching again in 2015 was really the icing on the cake and a further, very welcome, validation that my efforts to enhance my own and others skills in teaching and learning are having an impact.

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Technology Enhanced-learning (TEL) Pedagogical support in the use of virtual learning environments As part of the CTL on-going role in providing pedagogical support in the use of Sulis and Turnitin, 144 faculty requests for support and pedagogical advice in relation to these systems were solved, and 42 staff attended workshops and meetings during the year.

Technology Enhanced-learning Unit (TELU) 2014 saw the beginning of planning for the TELU, a joint venture between the CTL, ITD, LISD and CPE to realise the commitments for TEL in Engaged Learning.

This collaboration launched with a series of events where members of the community of practice engaged in educational technology shared their experience, with special emphasis on the use of the virtual learning environments (VLEs) in UL.

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National VLE Research Project CTL also led the national VLE research project, as referred to in the National Roadmap for Digital Learning (National Forum, 2014, p.7). This involved the design of a staff version of the survey (approved by UL AHSS ERC), dissemination of results in the National Forum seminar series (MIC, February 17th); and in EdTech2015 (May 29th); and the publication of research results in Risquez et al. (2015): The open dataset on students’ perceptions of virtual learning environments in Ireland: Collaborating to listen to the student voice in the British Journal of Educational Technology, 46: 1070–1074. We also coordinated funding from the National Forum to publish an edited book with results from this work in 2016.

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Learning Resources and Open Access

Edtech2015

The TCL led a successful proposal in collaboration with the Educational Technology Unit in ITD to host Edtech2015, the annual conference of the Irish Learning Technology Association. This is the largest annual national event around TEL, which featured over 120 presentations and also saw the launch of the New Media Consortium Horizon report in Ireland. The event generated a large amount of interest and participation amongst the teaching community, with over 30 presentations from UL.

o b se r vatio n s R ef e

We led a team of five universities around one of the focused research projects of the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning on the topic of Learning Resources and Open Access. Project results, available on the National Forum portal (http://www. teachingandlearning.ie/t-l-scholarship/ national-forum-research-projects/) are currently informing national policy around open education, and more specifically regarding the use of institutional repositories for the curation of open educational resources (OERs).

ctive practice Collaboration Research

king n i h t l a ip Critic h s r o t n e M CTL Annual Report 2014

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CPD Activities

Introduction to Teaching at Higher Education workshop series Three workshops for new teachers were facilitated in early September focusing on Teaching in Higher Education. Key themes are balancing feedback and assessment and active learning strategies.

Teaching and Learning Support CTL provided teaching and learning supported and workshops to faculty (UL and Other) and provided support and guidance on continuous professional development and teaching portfolios: »

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SC Regional Portfolio Development Workshop, Dr Mary Fitzpatrick, Dr Anne O’Keeffe and Dr Martin Fitzgerald.

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Five Minute Teaching Tips session took place in October 2015 with ten UL faculty presenting their teaching innovations in a sharp and succinct manner. This was very well attended.

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Workshop on Assessment and Learning delivered at Institute of Technology, Tralee.

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Conversations in the Consortium UL hosted two of six half-day events with speakers from UL presenting on the following themes: Technology Enhanced-learning, Innovation in Teaching and Learning, Writing and Professional Development and Student Engagement.

Student Evaluation of Teaching The overall Student Evaluation of Teaching process was reviewed resulting in an improved process in place for September 2015.

Peer observation of teaching Peer observation has continued to provide a forum for partners to learn both from being observed and acting as the observer. With 75 participants engaging with the process during the year, this network continues to be invaluable.

New Certificate in Teaching, Learning and Scholarship A new Certificate in Teaching, Learning and Scholarship was developed for, and delivered to, the instructors in the Garda College, Templemore. The first cohort of instructors graduated in August 2015, with the remaining cohorts completing in Autumn 2015.

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The National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning

UL’s Centre for Teaching and Learning supports excellence and enhancement. The developments this year continue to focus on our strategic goals and priorities. In particular, engagement with the National Forum has enabled UL to contribute to national collaborations in teaching and learning in a range of important ways.

UL has the highest level of output across the sector when it comes to scholarship and research in teaching and learning (National Forum, focused research project 5, 2015) and is fully linked to the National Forum work plan. This is enabling us to discover and share more about the challenges and opportunities of learning and teaching in a world that is increasingly digital, and to align our teaching and learning qualifications with the national approach to professional development. We are actively contributing to Ireland’s evidence base when it comes to effective approaches to student learning.

The activities outlined below show the particular ways in which we have connected UL to national level activity this year.

As chair of the National Forum, I am proud to see UL and its Shannon Consortium partners play such a strong role in these national activities and developments.

Professor Sarah Moore Chair, National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning 30

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Since the foundation of the National Forum in 2013, UL has been a major collaborator and partner in all of its many initiatives. Under its umbrella theme of ‘Teaching for Transitions’ for the first two years, it has launched a range of sector-wide projects and supported many events, projects and other activities. Some of UL’s engagement and successes with the Forum include: »

National Seminar Series: Legal Pedagogy in Transition; Queer Transitions: Preparing Students for the Complexities of Gender and Sexualities in Future Workplaces; Practice what we preach: How do we teach about transition and work in culturally diverse environments?

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National Teaching Heroes: Joseph Lynch and John Heneghan

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Roadmap for Enhancement in a Digital World: a university-wide engagement with the consultations and related events

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Teaching Enhancement Funding: received seed funding for a project entitled ‘Engaging with Languages’; partners in All Aboard! Enabling & Empowering Staff & Students to Flourish in the Digital Age; A MOOC to improve the Transition from 2nd to 3rd level education

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Focussed Research Projects: led funded research projects on The Impact of Learner Support Initiatives on ICT Retention and Learning Resources and Open Access; partner in Transition from Second Level and Further Education to Third Level

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Developing a Framework for Continuous Professional Development: participants in the initial round of consultations

For further information see: www.teachingandlearning.ie

Our Teaching Heroes The teaching hero award is the first of its kind in higher education in Ireland. Each higher education institution’s student body worked with the National Forum to ensure that they identify teachers across the sector who have had a positive and lasting impact on students’ learning experiences. This is a new way of ensuring that students have the opportunity to have their voices heard by identifying their teaching heroes, and to thank and recognise those excellent teachers at a national level.

The National Forum for the enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education identify Mr. Joseph Lynch (Department of Mathematics and Statistics) and Mr. John Heneghan (Department of Accounting and Finance) as the two National Forum ‘teaching heroes’ from the University of Limerick.

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Research Outputs

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PUBLICATIONS Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 40:1, 120-134 DOI:10.1080/02602938.2014.890695 Chambers, A., Atkinson, D. and Farr, F. (2015) ‘Research in progress’, Centre for Applied Language Studies, University of Limerick’, Language Teaching, 48: 2, 288-292.

Cross, C. & Fitzpatrick, M. (2015) ‘Delivering Programmes’, in Carbery, R. and Cross, C., eds., Human Resource Development: A Concise Introduction, London: Palgrave Farr, F. and Riordan, E. (2015) ‘Tracing the reflective practices of student teachers in online modes’, ReCALL, 27: 1, 104-123.

Farr, F. and Riordan, E. (2015) ‘Turn initiators in professional encounters: teacher education discourse in an Irish university setting’ in Amador-Moreno, C., Vaughan, E. and McCafferty, K., eds., Pragmatic Markers in Irish English, Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 176-202.

Riordan, E. and Farr, F. (2014), ‘Facilitating identity construction through narratives: A corpus-based discourse analysis of student teacher discourse’, in Cheung, Y. L., Said, S. B. and Park, K., (eds.), Advances and Current Trends in Language Teacher Identity Research, New York and London: Routledge, 161-174.

Risquez et al. (2015): ‘Learning resources and open access in Higher Education Institutions in Ireland’. Dublin: National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning.

Scholarship in Teaching and Learning Risquez, A., Raftery, D. and Costello, E. (2015), ‘The open dataset on students’ perceptions of virtual learning environments in Ireland: Collaborating to listen to the student voice’. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46: 1070–1074. doi: 10.1111/bjet.12323 Risquez, A.; Vaughan, E. and Murphy, M. (2014): ‘Online student evaluations of teaching: what are we sacrificing for the affordances of technology?’

Suarez-Ortega, M. and Risquez, A. (2014): ‘The Impact of Mobility on the Lives and Careers of Academics in Higher Education’. In Maadad, N. and Tight, M. (eds.): Academic Mobility. International Perspectives on Higher Education Research, vol 11. Emerald Press.

PRESENTATIONS AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES: Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 40:1, 120-134 DOI:10.1080/02602938.2014.890695 Cleary, L. ‘Using How I write Ireland for developing writing’.

Maynooth Summer Institute:, Maynooth University, July 2014.

Cleary, L. and Lenihan, A. (2014) ‘How I Write, Ireland: Sharing the Experiences, Processes and Strategies of Prolific Writers’. European Writing Centre Association conference, University of Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, July 2014.

Fitzpatrick, M. (2015) ‘Using artefact building to engage students in reflective practice’, Learning and Teaching Conference, Sheffield Hallam University, June 25th Fitzpatrick, M. (2015) ‘Assessment and Learning – getting the balance right’, Teaching and Learning Special Interest Group, Irish Academy of Management, Dublin: 29th April

Johnston, J., Ní Ríordáin, M. and Walshe, G. (2014), ‘An Integrated Approach to the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics Utilising Technology - The Teachers’ Perspective’, Journal on School Educational Technology, 9(4), 14-26 Ní Ríordáin, M., Johnston, J. and Walshe, G. (2015), ‘Making mathematics and science integration happen: Key aspects of practice’, International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology [online], 1-23, available: doi: 10.1080/0020739X.2015.1078001 [accessed 21 Aug 2015].

O’Donnell, C., Murphy, J., Mahdi, A., and English, M. (2014) ‘AN INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF STUDENT SUPPORT INITIATIVES ON THE RETENTION OF COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENTS’, 6th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, Barcelona, Spain, 7-9 July 2014. EDULEARN14 Proceedings, pp. 1721-1727.

O’Donnell, C., Buckley, J., Nelson, J., Mahdi, A.E., and English, M., (2015) ‘Evaluating Pair-Programming for NonComputer Science Major Students’, Proceedings of the 46th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Kansas City, Missouri, USA, 2677289: ACM, 569574. 5th-7th March 2015.

O’Donnell, C., Murphy, J., Mahdi, A., and English, M. (2014) ‘AN INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF STUDENT SUPPORT INITIATIVES ON THE RETENTION OF COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENTS’, 6th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, Barcelona, Spain, 7-9 July 2014. EDULEARN14 Proceedings, pp. 1721-1727.

O’Donnell, C., Buckley, J., Nelson, J., Mahdi, A.E., and English, M., (2015) ‘Evaluating Pair-Programming for NonComputer Science Major Students’, Proceedings of the 46th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Kansas City, Missouri, USA, 2677289: ACM, 569574. 5th-7th March 2015.

O’Halloran, M. Curry, N, Dunne, B. Moynhian, S. and Hardiman, S. ‘Empathy in the peer-tutoring relationship: Peering across disciplines to deal with emotion’. European Writing Centre Association conference, University of Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, July 2014.

Walshe, G., Johnston, J. and McClelland, G. (2014), ‘Integrating Mathematics into Junior Science’, Chemistry in Action!, 102, 48-50 Walshe, G., Johnston, J. and McClelland, G. (2015), ‘Integrating mathematics into science: Design, development and evaluation of a curriculum model’, presented at the European Science Education Research Association conference, Helsinki, Finland, 31 August – 5 September Walshe, G., Johnston, J. and McClelland, G. (2015), ‘Integrating mathematics into Junior Science: Formative development of exemplary curriculum materials’, presented at the EPI-STEM Research Seminar, University of Limerick, 23 March Walshe, G., Johnston, J. and McClelland, G. (2014) ‘Designing, developing and evaluating integrated STEM Activities for Junior Science’, presented at SMEC/SAILS Science and Mathematics Education Conference, Dublin City University, 24-25 June

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Professor Sarah Moore Associate Vice President, Academic 34

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Closing Comments from the Associate Vice President, Academic The University of Limerick is embarking on an exciting new phase of strategic development. Our new strategic plan, Broadening Horizons, commits to three important high-level priorities: building on our achievements, accentuating our distinctiveness and raising our international profile. It gives me great pride to know that our Centre for Teaching and Learning has a strong role to play in the achievement of all of these important goals.

From the very start, the Centre for Teaching and Learning has committed to working for and with the entire campus community in the support of excellence in teaching and learning. The accredited programmes for higher education - teaching and learning, on-going CPD with and for our teaching staff, the focus on technology enhanced learning and innovation, the empowerment of students and teachers in the development of their own competencies, the high-trust, formative and transformative evaluation and enhancement processes and the establishment and championing of discipline- and skill- specific learner support strategies – all combine to provide a strong strategic and academic focus on our core purpose – excellent teaching for impactful learning.

It is important that the work of the CTL is linked with developments in higher

education teaching and learning at a national and international level. As the Chair of the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, it gives me particular pride to witness UL’s engagement and leadership with national level research, innovation and enhancement through the Forum’s work. Similarly, UL’s response to recommendations in the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 and those in Europe’s High Level Group on the Modernisation of Higher Education, shows that our institution leads the way when it comes to embracing a culture of excellence and creativity in teaching and learning.

It has been another engaging year for the Centre for Teaching and Learning and all of the UL staff who interact with and participate in the development of our excellence culture. The challenges relating to some of our key concerns, such as the maximisation of digital capacity through technology enhanced learning, the issue of student engagement and success and the development of an internationally relevant, broad curriculum, continue to require much work. I look forward to working with the Centre for Teaching and Learning and with all staff at the University of Limerick as we continue to pursue these goals and I congratulate them on their achievements over the past year as detailed in earlier parts of this annual report .

Our INSTITUTION leads the way when it comes to EMBRACING a culture of EXCELLENCE and CREATIVITY in teaching and learning.

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