The Pedagogy First Approach to Blended Learning: Concept and Practice

Rob Lowney and Sharon Flynn explore the concept of Pedagogy First in Digital Teaching and Learnin

Students as partners in assessment (SaPiA): a literature scoping review

The purpose of this scoping review is to explore what the literature says regarding students as partners in the process of assessment in higher education. In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on students as partners in teaching, learning and assessment. Indeed, some educators would argue this is part of a larger paradigm shift in the latter part of last century towards student-centred learning. Conscious of this paradigm shift and the ever-present competing assessment discourses, the review investigates the growing interest in student partnership in assessment specifically, distinct from wider arenas of student partnership. This literature scoping review aims to demystify the ways in which those who teach can partner students by exploring initiatives such as involving them as self or peer assessors, as co-creators of assessment activities and marking criteria, and the use of collaborative opportunities to co-own the assessment process

Suddenly moving large classes online: Illuminating the experience of the teaching staff in one university

[EN] In early 2020, the transition of large classes from the face-to-face to the online context occurred overnight and at scale at a time when the crisis was being faced at all levels of society, nationally and internationally. This paper is based on research which examined the impact of this sudden transition on large classes in Dublin City University with a view to illuminating the experience to inform future practice (Authors., in press). A rapid, systemised review of literature was carried out with the aim of contextualising data gathered through surveys with staff and students in relation to our experience of moving large classes online in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the study examined the impact from the perspectives of teaching staff and students, this paper reports on the perspectives of teaching staff only. Large class teachers found this experience challenging, reporting a sense of isolation and worry. However it would seem that opportunity was seen in the face of adversity, whereby staff have identified potential for better ways of doing things going forward as a result of their experiences between March and May 2020.Glynn, M.; Farrell, AM.; Buckley, K.; Lowney, R.; Smyth, S.; Stone, S. (2021). Suddenly moving large classes online: Illuminating the experience of the teaching staff in one university. En 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'21). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 171-178. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd21.2021.13032OCS17117

Moving large classes online: illuminating the experience of the sudden transition of large, face-to-face programmes to the online environment in Dublin City University, in response to the Covid-19 crisis

This study was financially supported by the Dublin City University (DCU) Educational Trust as one of the projects accepted for the DCU Covid-19 Research and Innovation Hub. The motivation for developing the research project arose from discussions between the authors who, at the time of the call for proposals, were experiencing the emergency transition of a large class online from the perspectives of a teacher, a student, a learning technologist and an academic developer. The purpose of the study is threefold: To shed light on the sudden transition of DCU's large classes (100+ students) from the face-to-face teaching and learning setting to the online environment in March 2020 from the perspectives of staff and students. To contextualise the findings arising from the examination of the transition referred to above by reviewing relevant literature. To inform the work (a) of academics in DCU teaching large-class cohorts and (b) of DCU's academic developers and learning technologists, supporting them in this endeavour, as large programmes and modules move online in the forthcoming academic year. The composition of the research team was an advantage from the outset in terms of developing the proposal, designing the research and interpreting the findings. Viewing the above objectives from a range of perspectives ensured a richness in discussion, debate, synthesis, analysis and reporting. The report is divided into the following sections: Section 1 provides suggestions and guidance for transitioning large classes online, as we move into the academic year 2020/21. This is not a summary of the report; rather, it forefronts the implications and conclusions arising from the research process, instead of presenting them at the end. This section of the report was shared with DCU staff via email on 22 September 2020. Section 2 comprises the full report with the following elements: methodology; findings from the review of literature; findings from data analysis; discussion; authors’ personal reflections and references. Section 3 is an appendix, which includes relevant documentation that may be of use to the reader when navigating the document

Learning ecology theory as a tool to support student digital competences in higher education

[EN] The need for digitally competent graduates is well established and articulated in the New Skills Agenda for Europe (European Commission, 2016) and the European Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 (European Commission, 2021). The Enhancing Digital Teaching and Learning (EDTL) project seeks to enhance graduate digital attributes by providing professional development to academics to embed digital technologies across the curriculum (Flynn et al., 2020). Two key challenges to this work are: a lack of data on the specific digital competences required in the workplace; and a lack of clarity on the contexts in which students develop digital competences. This paper examines these challenges by reflecting on the results of a small-scale research study on the competences required in the workplace in Ireland, through the lens of learning ecology theory. The paper proposes that learning ecology theory can be a useful tool to support student digital competences in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).Stone, S.; Lowney, R. (2022). Learning ecology theory as a tool to support student digital competences in higher education. En 8th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'22). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1051-1058. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd22.2022.147181051105

Variability of bioaccessibility results using seventeen different methods on a standard reference material, NIST 2710

Bioaccessibility is a measurement of a substance's solubility in the human gastro-intestinal system, and is often used in the risk assessment of soils. The present study was designed to determine the variability among laboratories using different methods to measure the bioaccessibility of 24 inorganic contaminants in one standardized soil sample, the standard reference material NIST 2710. Fourteen laboratories used a total of 17 bioaccessibility extraction methods. The variability between methods was assessed by calculating the reproducibility relative standard deviations (RSDs), where reproducibility is the sum of within-laboratory and between-laboratory variability. Whereas within-laboratory repeatability was usually better than (<) 15% for most elements, reproducibility RSDs were much higher, indicating more variability, although for many elements they were comparable to typical uncertainties (e.g., 30% in commercial laboratories). For five trace elements of interest, reproducibility RSDs were: arsenic (As), 22–44%; cadmium (Cd), 11–41%; Cu, 15–30%; lead (Pb), 45–83%; and Zn, 18–56%. Only one method variable, pH, was found to correlate significantly with bioaccessibility for aluminum (Al), Cd, copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), Pb and zinc (Zn) but other method variables could not be examined systematically because of the study design. When bioaccessibility results were directly compared with bioavailability results for As (swine and mouse) and Pb (swine), four methods returned results within uncertainty ranges for both elements: two that were defined as simpler (gastric phase only, limited chemicals) and two were more complex (gastric + intestinal phases, with a mixture of chemicals)