Using phenomenological and performative action research methods as a way to explore space, place and context Collette and Bill outlined their recent research projects and showed how the research outcomes were introduced into the Year 1 curriculum.

"Work placement is, at this stage, a mandatory element of many programmes within CIT and as such poses many challenges for those involved in the process, i.e. staff, students and potential employers. In this session, Mary & Donogh, demonstrated the capabilities and suitability of Canvas, CIT’s recently adopted Learning Management System, to support students who are on work placement. It demonstrated how a range of tools can be used for providing information, assessing, communicating with and monitoring students."

Transposition, or the rearranging of equations, is a key topic in Mathematics but has wider application across Business, Engineering and Science. Students find this a tricky topic because they often don’t understand the underlying principles and consequently apply rules and procedures incorrectly. In this session, In this session, Catherine discussed some of the initiatives and resources that have been developed by colleagues in the Department of Mathematics to enhance learning and develop understanding and competence in this topic. The focus of the session was to demonstrate how an active learning strategy, peer instruction, is being used to enhance learning in this topic. Peer instruction is designed to engage students during class through activities that require each student to apply the core concepts being presented, and then to explain and discuss those concepts with their fellow students. The process has been shown to engage students, increase understanding of key concepts and support knowledge retention. While the examples presented will relate to Transposition in Mathematics – the teaching strategy can be effectively applied across disciplines to develop understanding of difficult topics.

"Work placement is, at this stage, a mandatory element of many programmes within CIT and as such poses many challenges for those involved in the process, i.e. staff, students and potential employers. Catherine and Denise have been focusing on enhancing the work placement process within the Bachelor of Business (Honours) in Information Systems programme within their Department and in this session will discuss some of the developments that they have introduced."

"Designing and managing in-class discussions is more challenging than the pause procedure or minute paper, but there is convincing evidence that collaborative learning works. This session will model an in-class discussion and discuss some of the evidence that supports this strategy."

"Designing and managing in-class discussions is more challenging than the pause procedure or minute paper, but there is convincing evidence that collaborative learning works. This session will model an in-class discussion and discuss some of the evidence that supports this strategy."

"The spacing effect refers to the process of spacing a topic that is to be learned over time, rather than teaching the topic in an intensive session. The implication for our modules is that rather than teaching all of LO1 in weeks 1 and 2 (for example) we should consider if it is possible to divide the topic and teach some in week 1 and then revisit (perhaps in greater depth) later on in the semester. The topic is then spaced out over the semester. The available evidence tells us that this is a more effective strategy. This session will explore this strategy in more detail and present some of the evidence that supports this strategy"

"The spacing effect refers to the process of spacing a topic that is to be learned over time, rather than teaching the topic in an intensive session. The implication for our modules is that rather than teaching all of LO1 in weeks 1 and 2 (for example) we should consider if it is possible to divide the topic and teach some in week 1 and then revisit (perhaps in greater depth) later on in the semester. The topic is then spaced out over the semester. The available evidence tells us that this is a more effective strategy. This session will explore this strategy in more detail and present some of the evidence that supports this strategy"

"Having students retrieve information from long-term memory on a regular basis, is known to have a positive impact on learning. This is especially true when learners need to put a bit of effort into that retrieval process. Hence providing opportunities for learners to take tests (e.g. computer based multiple choice tests) can be a very effective strategy. This session will examine some of the evidence in favour of testing and discuss options for using this strategy."

"Having students retrieve information from long-term memory on a regular basis, is known to have a positive impact on learning. This is especially true when learners need to put a bit of effort into that retrieval process. Hence providing opportunities for learners to take tests (e.g. computer based multiple choice tests) can be a very effective strategy. This session will examine some of the evidence in favour of testing and discuss options for using this strategy."

"The generation effect refers to a broad range of techniques that require learners to generate information on a topic e.g. create a presentation or predict an outcome. There is a growing body of evidence which shows that having learners generate information is more effective than if they simply read the information. This session will review this body of evidence and discuss ways in which we could incorporate this strategy into our day-to-day teaching."

"The generation effect refers to a broad range of techniques that require learners to generate information on a topic e.g. create a presentation or predict an outcome. There is a growing body of evidence which shows that having learners generate information is more effective than if they simply read the information. This session will review this body of evidence and discuss ways in which we could incorporate this strategy into our day-to-day teaching."

"The teaching strategy peer instruction was popularised by Eric Mazur to support the teaching of physics to undergraduate students at Harvard and is now one of the most widely used instructional strategies in undergraduate physics education. It has wide applicability outside of the physics discipline. This session will demonstrate peer instruction in action and discuss some of the evidence in favour of its effectiveness."

"The teaching strategy peer instruction was popularised by Eric Mazur to support the teaching of physics to undergraduate students at Harvard and is now one of the most widely used instructional strategies in undergraduate physics education. It has wide applicability outside of the physics discipline. This session will demonstrate peer instruction in action and discuss some of the evidence in favour of its effectiveness."

Getting feedback from our learners is important because it is the only way we can determine if our teaching methods are effective. On a day-to-day basis we can use a variety of short classroom assessment techniques to determine if our learners are “getting it”. While we can put a lot of time and effort into making our lectures clear and well organised, that the pace is right, etc. it is only by asking students that we find out if they are perceived that way or not. Simple mid-term evaluation forms are highly effective as they can be acted upon and changes made to enhance the quality of the lecture. Examples of commonly used end of semester evaluation forms will also be highlighted.

Getting feedback from our learners is important because it is the only way we can determine if our teaching methods are effective. On a day-to-day basis we can use a variety of short classroom assessment techniques to determine if our learners are “getting it”. While we can put a lot of time and effort into making our lectures clear and well organised, that the pace is right, etc. it is only by asking students that we find out if they are perceived that way or not. Simple mid-term evaluation forms are highly effective as they can be acted upon and changes made to enhance the quality of the lecture. Examples of commonly used end of semester evaluation forms will also be highlighted.

One of the factors that has a big impact on positive student evaluations of teaching is course organisation. In this session we will explore some ideas related to course organisation including the need to reimagine our topics from the perspective of someone who has never encountered them before, focus on core ideas and principles and relationships between those principles and the need to revisit difficult concepts over time. Defining intended learning outcomes for lectures and linking these to module learning outcomes and past lectures helps students to see the course structure and organisation.

One of the factors that has a big impact on positive student evaluations of teaching is course organisation. In this session we will explore some ideas related to course organisation including the need to reimagine our topics from the perspective of someone who has never encountered them before, focus on core ideas and principles and relationships between those principles and the need to revisit difficult concepts over time. Defining intended learning outcomes for lectures and linking these to module learning outcomes and past lectures helps students to see the course structure and organisation.

How we structure a lecture can have a significant impact on student’s ability to engage with it and learn from it. A lecture needs to have an introduction that motivates and engages students and outlines learning objectives. The body of the lecture needs to focus on three of four key points that are carefully elaborated. The conclusion should summarise and integrate the learning. In a basic way, learning is a function of content & retention. Placing more emphasis on retaining information, will lead to more learning.

How we structure a lecture can have a significant impact on student’s ability to engage with it and learn from it. A lecture needs to have an introduction that motivates and engages students and outlines learning objectives. The body of the lecture needs to focus on three of four key points that are carefully elaborated. The conclusion should summarise and integrate the learning. In a basic way, learning is a function of content & retention. Placing more emphasis on retaining information, will lead to more learning.

Stephen Brookfield talks about how when teaching something that we love, how difficult it is for us to empathise with students that find the topic boring. The more that we teach the topic, the further removed we become from our first experiences of learning it and the less empathy we are likely to have. Yet empathy and respect strongly correlate with student motivation and motivation is essential to developing understanding. This, final session will explore the importance of empathy and respect.

Increasingly, its being recognised that subjects tend to have a specific “way of thinking” that is quite unique to that subject. Experts have adopted and internalised that inner logic. For our students to develop proficiency in our subject areas that inner logic needs to be verbalised and made explicit. This session will introduce the concept and provide some examples of how to reveal the inner logic.

Within every topic there are elements that are central to the topic but which students really struggle to understand. If they don’t develop an understanding they may never get the topic. This session will introduce and explain this concept and why we need to identify and focus on these concepts

Having a good module structure and being well organised really helps students develop understanding. This session will explore this concept, provide examples of how to structure and organise a module.

"The science of learning, also known as learning sciences, is an interdisciplinary field of study that examines how people learn. An understanding of this field can help to improve our teaching practice so that we can have a greater impact on students’ learning. In this seminar, existing research related to how students learn was presented and the practical implications for teaching and learning were discussed. It provided participants with: A summary of existing research from cognitive science relating to how students learn. A variety of effective easily applicable teaching strategies that have evolved from this research. An insight into how to match the study method to specific learning outcomes"

The science of learning, also known as learning sciences, is an interdisciplinary field of study that examines how people learn. An understanding of this field can help to improve our teaching practice so that we can have a greater impact on students’ learning. In this seminar, existing research related to how students learn was presented and the practical implications for teaching and learning were discussed. It provided participants with: A summary of existing research from cognitive science relating to how students learn. A variety of effective easily applicable teaching strategies that have evolved from this research. An insight into how to match the study method to specific learning outcomes

Lectures are still the most widely used teaching method in higher education today. As a method for enhancing learning, the lecture is frequently criticised as being ineffective as most students are passive and disengaged. Yet, lectures can be engaging and highly effective. This workshop aimed: Provide some insight into how students learn Identify some of the barriers to learning students commonly face Encourage participants to reflect on and critique their own lectures Provide some practical and easy ways to make lectures more successful Encourage participants to identify one, or more techniques, that they intend to adopt in the next academic year.

In recent years, the issues of poor referencing skills and plagiarism have become a significant concern for higher education practitioners. In many instances’ students are often unaware of the problems associated with plagiarism since copying from various sources has unfortunately become the norm. This problem is further compounded by the fact that many students often struggle to understand the importance and basics of essential referencing techniques. This workshop: Highlighted how CIT Library staff can assist academic staff convey the importance of referencing to their students, helping them to avoid various forms of plagiarism. Explained how online referencing software can be easily utilised to ensure effective and consistent referencing when completing notes, essays and assignments.