Mathematical Competencies of Third Level Students: a Review

Many lecturers of mathematics and related disciplines in Ireland and internationally believe there has been a gradual decline in mathematical competencies of students presenting for first year at third level educational establishments. Some of the evidence to support this view is reviewed, along with the types of solutions being applied in Ireland and the UK. Attention is drawn to the explicit and implicit decline in standards potentially associated with some of the solutions, particularly for short courses involving mathematics

Superharmonic solutions of nonlinear differential equations

This thesis is a study of the structure of superhaxmonic solutions of order m, to the sloshing equation introduced by Chester and Ockendon &; Ockendon, and to a lesser extent, Duffing’s equation. We use the Lyapunov Schmidt procedure to reduce these problems to two bifurcation equations. We elucidate the form and leading terms of the bifurcation equations. The usual scaling techniques fail when superharmonics of order 4 or greater are sought. An alternative scaling method is provided, which works for superharmonic solutions of all orders. The method is rigorous, and naturally provides an explicit approximation to the bifurcation surface. To produce a formula for the approximate bifurcation surface it is necessary to explicitly calculate coefficients in the bifurcation equations. A simple algorithm, which calculates the terms which may be required, is given. The method is implemented using Macsyma. The program, TAYLOR, produces the information for superharmonic and subharmonic solutions for a large class of nonlinear oscillation problems

Emotional Intelligence and Graduates - Employers\u27 Perspectives

Research has demonstrated that employers favour graduates who possess higher levels of emotional intelligence. Many initiatives to increase students’ levels of EI have involved ‘whole school’ approaches, whereby generic EI skills programmes are delivered to all students in a third level institute. This paper details an initial survey of employers’ (n = 500) opinions on the importance and current level of graduates’ social and emotional competencies. The survey was completed across five sectors: engineering, IT/computing, professional services (including accounting, business, finance, HR, law, retail), science (including pharmaceutical and life), and social science which are identified growth industries in Ireland. It sought to explore employers’ perspectives to determine if there are differences in terms of social and emotional competency requirements among graduates, across different employment sectors. Preliminary survey findings demonstrated a major disparity between the degree of importance attributed by employers to emotional intelligence competencies and the current levels displayed by graduate employees. This potentially represents a significant opportunity to enable students to develop those specific skills most favoured by employers in their chosen career areas, thereby possibly increasing their employability and success at work

Enhancing the academic and social learning of Irish undergraduates through emotional and social skills development.

This paper considers the potential merits of emotional competency coaching for undergraduate students. We outline the findings from our previous work which showed, for example, that a sample of First Year undergraduate students failed to engage with coaching primarily because it was not a mandatory aspect of the curricula. An analysis of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) - which details the specific learning outcomes that must be achieved by all Irish academic syllabi found that this framework makes scant reference to the development of social and emotional skills. Therefore, a revised working model of the NFQ is proposed, which incorporates learning outcomes related to emotional and social development at all levels of academic attainment

The 21st Century Graduate: Delivering a Tailored Approach to Social and Emotional Competency Training for Final Year Students to Enhance Graduate Attributes and Increase Employability

The Higher Education Authority recently reported an average drop-out rate of 16% for Irish third level students, which poses significant pedagogical and economic challenges across the educational sector and negatively impacts the Irish economy. With respect to tackling this issue, a considerable body of international research has identified a strong positive correlation between higher levels of emotional intelligence (EI) and increased levels of student engagement and academic attainment. A wealth of previous research has also shown that employers favour graduates who possess higher levels of EI, for example, Job Outlook Survey, 2008, therefore, increasing students’ levels of EI is also a viable means of improving graduate employment rates. Previous attempts to improve students’ emotional competencies have involved ‘whole school’ approaches, whereby generic EI skills development programmes are designed and delivered to all of the students in a given school or third level institute. As of yet, no attempt has been made to develop a range of programmes explicitly aimed at targeting specific populations of students. Therefore, this represents a significant gap in current knowledge. This research aims to conduct a comprehensive survey of employers and based on these findings and follow up qualitative interviews, a suite of educational modules will be developed that will specifically aim to enable students to develop key emotional strengths that are linked with academic and career success in their chosen field of study. It is anticipated that this will lead to reduced attrition rates and higher engagement levels and allow students to develop key abilities that will help them to improve their employment prospects. Employer engagement will be a critical aspect of this project and employers will be involved in student assessment, which will include practical workshop assessments, self-reflection via an e-portfolio and competency based interviews with employers and academic staff

A New Integrated Style to Teaching Engineering Mathematics at Third Level Engineering Courses

Mathematics is the main pillar in the engineering foundation courses and the engineering profession where mathematical manipulation, modelling and simulation are used widely. However, experience in engineering courses has shown that students encounter some difficulties in mathematics, with a certain degree of disinterest and apathy. This is reflected in the mathematical continuous assessments, final exams, laboratory reports for other engineering subjects and in answering engineering numerical question-based mathematical formula. This paper investigates a new development and the implication of two models of a CBL integrated with course lecture material. This is part of an overall integrated approach, achieved through an embedded Visual Basic mathematics programming into MS Excel. The results of this paper attempt to promote mathematics in engineering courses and provide substantial information to the educators in both mathematics and engineering at third level education

Do educators value the promotion of students’ wellbeing? Quantifying educators’ attitudes toward wellbeing promotion

Educators’ attitudes toward Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and health and wellbeing promotion can significantly influence the success (or otherwise) of such policies and practices. While numerous studies exist, from which a broad understanding of such attitudes can be garnered, there is currently no attendant measurement which quantifies educators attitudes regarding the promotion of student wellbeing. The aim of this study was to address this gap in knowledge by quantifying the degree to which educators are positively or negatively disposed to the promotion of student wellbeing. The Attitudes Toward Wellbeing Promotion (ATWP) scale was administered to a diverse participant sample (n = 324), which was opportunistically recruited from the population of post-primary educators in Ireland. Analyses using General Linear Modelling (GLM) identified several statistically significant differences in attitude. Main effects included position held in school and the presence/absence of practices such as streaming and vertical education, while Interactions included educator gender*age and educator gender*single-sex/co-educational school status. The results of this study suggest that, overall, educators appear to be positively disposed toward the promotion of student wellbeing. The highest levels of positivity were observed among female educators, particularly those working in all-girls schools. The lowest levels of positivity were observed among older male educators and educators working in schools that adopt streaming and vertical education practices. This study provides the first baseline data pertaining to the degree to which post-primary educators may be positively or negatively disposed to the promotion of students’ social and emotional wellbeing

Comparing Variable Importance in Prediction of Silence Behaviours between Random Forest and Conditional Inference Forest Models.

This paper explores variable importance metrics of Conditional Inference Trees (CIT) and classical Classification And Regression Trees (CART) based Random Forests. The paper compares both algorithms variable importance rankings and highlights why CIT should be used when dealing with data with different levels of aggregation. The models analysed explored the role of cultural factors at individual and societal level when predicting Organisational Silence behaviours

An Analysis of the Impact and Efficacy of an Online Mindfulness-based Intervention as a Support for First-year University Students

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many university courses transitioned to online delivery, therefore, educators and students faced new challenges associated with the delivery of modules and the provision of necessary student supports. Given the scale of this transition, it is likely that many universities will continue to teach remotely far beyond the reach of any pandemic specific restrictions. This study sought to explore the impact and efficacy of a five-week online mindfulness course to a cohort of first year university students (n = 25) at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Ireland. Results demonstrated that participation in the course led to decreased levels of perceived stress for students and increased levels of resilience. Students who took the course reported that it provided emotional support, aided them in finding a healthy work-life balance and that ultimately, they felt the course broadened their perspective and helped them be more aware of positive coping mechanisms

A qualitative study of Irish first year undergraduate students reasons for non-engagement with the provision of emotional competency coaching.

Very little is known as to why students choose not to participate in emotional intelligence coaching programmes. This qualitative study was undertaken with a sample of Irish undergraduate students (n=20), who chose not to engage with the provision of coaching at a technical college in Dublin.  The reasons for non-engagement were explored by means of face to face interviews.  The four principle reasons for non-engagement were: failing to appreciate the value of coaching; a perceived heavy academic workload; the fact that coaching was not a mandatory component of the academic curriculum; and fear that coaching may reveal weaknesses of character.  Based on the findings from this study, it is recommended that institutes of higher education consider providing emotional competency coaching as a mandatory aspect of the First Year undergraduate curriculum.   &nbsp