"Learning communities serve many functions in education. They allow for the sharing of ideas, the standardisation of practices and the presentation of new solutions and insights. They can also enhance teamwork and collaboration, as well as reduce individual workloads within and across departments and schools. In the last 2 years the TLU have supported the creation and development of over 20 Learning Communities across MTU Cork. This session allowed them to share their experiences and gave those interested in developing their own LC an understanding of how the TLU can help support and fund their ideas."

"There is a prevalence of survey usage across third level Institutes. Surveys are sometimes regarded as an easy approach to obtaining opinions and measurements. However, it is easy to conduct a survey of poor quality rather than one of high quality and real value. This seminar will provide a checklist of good practice in the conduct and reporting of survey research. Its purpose is to assist the participants to produce survey work to a high standard, meaning a standard at which the results will be regarded as credible. The seminar will first provide an overview of the approach to questionnaire design and then guide the participants step-by-step through the processes of data collection, data analysis, and storage. The seminar is not intended to provide a manual of how to conduct a survey, but rather to identify common pitfalls and oversights to be avoided by researchers if their work is to be valid and credible. Anyone involved in collecting data from subjects has an ethical duty to respect each individual participant’s autonomy. All surveys should be conducted in an ethical manner and one that accords with best practice. Confidentiality with regard to all participant information should always be respected, with due care given in both the collection, recording, storage and destruction of data. The seminar will highlight the importance and role of ethics, research integrity and data storage in questionnaire design. This seminar was particularly relevant to academic staff, i.e. lecturers, supervisors and researchers, but was also relevant to professional management support staff. Participants attending this seminar gained insights into: The steps involved in designing a reliable questionnaire such as qualities of good questions, questionnaire length, question wording, order of questions, etc. The importance of a Statistical Analysis Plan (SAP) in questionnaire design. How meeting ethical standards ensures researchers act in good faith and protects the integrity of the resulting data. Processes to help us to be aware of, respect and protect the personal data collected."

"CIT’s Teaching & Learning Unit (TLU) launched an inaugural call in 2018 to develop and support a number of Learning Communities (LCs) across the institute and is currently working with 13 emerging LCs from across the institute as a direct result of this call. LCs facilitate the exchange of good teaching and learning ideas amongst its members and provide a platform for professional discussions and sharing of practices. The main purpose of this session was to support our current cohort of (LCs) but was also useful to those who would like to learn more about the benefits of initiating and sustaining an active LC."