Search

In March 2020, teaching and learning (T&L) in higher education pivoted online and in 2021 the disruption to traditional forms of teaching, learning and assessment continues. Like many other academic development programmes, our PG Cert programme pivoted online effectively and efficiently. Programme evaluation data (June 2020) reported that modelling of online teaching and learning within our programme helped lecturers teach online, facilitate peer interaction among their students and assisted informed change in assessment practices to suit the online context. At the heart of our programme’s ethos lies a commitment to community building among students. However, the art of gathering is more than bringing students into a virtual room. Design and careful planning is necessary to elevate a learning experience from modes of presence to participation and to foster a sense of belonging for students within that learning environment. Also given the Pandemic context, a period where the effects of isolation from other people and society were felt acutely, the programme team felt it vital that time was designated for check-ins with participants of the learning environment. Bali (2020) advocates a Pedagogy of care, an approach that demonstrates a genuine concern for students’ wellbeing and life experiences. This exploratory case study examines how the pivot to online teaching on our Postgraduate (PG) Certificate in University Learning and Teaching has impacted on teaching practices of academic staff across the disciplines undertaking the programme. We wish to investigate if and how community building and care was subsequently implemented in the learning environments of academic staff who undertook the PG Cert. Secondly, to inspect what T&L practices, with a focus on the pedagogy of care, that might remain in place in a post pandemic university. Thirdly, to investigate if fully online learning is suitable and viable for the PG Certificate which values community, professional relationships and shared practice. Lastly, this disruptive change to online teaching necessitates the investigation of the future teaching development needs for lecturers teaching in online and blended spaces. Also, in our context, as an emerging technological university, through our experiences and research we propose some recommendations for the university to consider at a strategic level in support of the development of teaching and learning practice in a post digital higher education environment.

Providing space for students to reflect and integrate their learning is the theme of this chapter, where Muireann has researched ways of integrating ePortfolios into the curriculum to encourage students to develop and reflect on their learning through student-led communities of practice.

This small scale study aimed to explore and establish if support strategies implemented to enhance student ePortfolios were helpful to students and to identify useful ways of supporting ePortfolio development with future cohorts of students. This action research study was informed through focus group discussion and individual interviews with students. The importance of reflection for the development professional practice and of creative abilities is discussed. The substantial benefits of creativity within education are investigated and characteristics of creativity that might be developed with students’ ePortfolios are revealed. Specifically this paper seeks to foster Crafts (2011) four characteristics of creativity, pluralities, playfulness, possibilities and participation within ePortfolios, through student engagement with multimedia and peer-learning. Findings describe how support strategies were perceived by students and if the activities were supportive of reflection and creativity. Recommendations for the future support of the ePortfolio will involve an increase in support for peer-learning; more support on reflective writing; workshops on developing artefacts with multimedia; exploration of meaning and characteristics of creativity with students.

Higher education, in Ireland and globally, is undergoing profound change influenced by a variety of factors. In conjunction with these changes many initiatives to improve teaching and learning and the quality of graduates in higher education have been introduced in recent years. The changes and expansions in the sector has enabled growth of new roles in higher education described as ‘third space’ professionals by Whitchurch (2008). This paper describes the struggle of those in third space professions, such as academic development, to establish a professional identity in higher education. The benefits of these contemporary roles to higher education are discussed, while the circumstantial challenges presented to third space professionals in building collaborative relationships between academics and administration both internally and externally to the institution are acknowledged. Finally the professional futures of academic developers are considered. This paper urges investigation into professional values of academic developers and the key strategies that might develop and sustain a community of academic developer professionals in Ireland. Also these approaches must acknowledge the dynamic and complex nature of higher education and academic development in order to survive into the future.

This special purpose award was designed as part of the LIN flexible pathway to a postgraduate diploma in learning teaching and assessment. The certificate was developed by the AIT Learning and Teaching Unit in conjunction with experts from the DIT Learning, Teaching and Technology Centre with the support of the Learning Innovation Network (LIN).

The need to develop the skills in students for smooth progression from higher education into employment are even more important in today’s economic climate. Students need to be increasingly adaptable and entrepreneurial in their ability to locate and create employment opportunities. Consequently, efforts are afoot throughout the higher education sector to develop measures to ‘broaden the curriculum’ addressing the holistic development of the student. In an attempt to prepare these students to manage their work and learning throughout all stages of their lives, lecturers now recognise the importance of fostering key skills and competencies. However, supporting and implementing these measures necessitates a shift in the academic and professional role of lecturers. This paper considers this shift in roles, illustrated through an institutional initiative ‘Get Smart!’, designed to develop personal and professional key skills, and close the loop between students perception of the fit between self, programme and career.

The nurturing of creativity as a key skill in students is a current and topical issue due to the potential important economic and social benefits it can imbue. This paper outlines a case study in progress in an Irish higher education institution, which initiated as an evaluation of student ePortfolios and transformed into an examination of creativity within students ePortfolios. The context for the research is a group of postgraduate students using ePortfolios to build evidence of their learning experience on the programme. This research seeks to explore the notion of learner empowerment through creativity in ePortfolio use, specifically if the ePortfolio is a suitable pedagogical tool for enhancing creativity in their learning and practice. Findings from this research will influence the development of a framework to enhance student creativity in developing ePortfolios in higher education (HE).