"Maths anxiety is a psychological phenomenon in which a person experienced fear, tension, or discomfort when faced with mathematical tasks or situations. It is a common problem among students in higher education, particularly in subjects that requires a strong mathematical foundation such as physics, engineering, and economics. Maths anxiety could have a range of negative effects on a student's academic performance and well-being and could also have wider implications for a student's academic and career prospects. Joined the Irish Branch of the Mathematical Resilience Network for a Maths Anxiety Awareness Day workshop!"

"This one-day course was designed for education professionals who work closely with those who have dyscalculia either in a teaching or supporting role or those who wish to develop their own knowledge and understanding of the area. The one-day course had a particular focus on identifying dyscalculia in learners in a post 16 setting. By the end of the one-day course, participants got an understanding of: What is Dyscalculia? How is dyscalculia different from maths learning difficulties? How can dyscalculia and maths learning difficulties be identified in Post 16 learners? What is maths anxiety? What is good practice in supporting learners with dyscalculia? "

"Though nearly as common as dyslexia, dyscalculia is neither well-known nor well-understood among educators and clinicians. In recent years students with dyscalculia have presented in different MTU Cork programmes of study and have struggled with completing core maths modules or using maths within modules of their course such as Science and Business subjects. Staff in MTU Cork were surveyed about their awareness of and questions about Dyscalculia. In addition, students with the Disability Support Service (DSS) were surveyed on their experience of dyscalculia in college. The results of these surveys were used to inform the design and content of this workshop and their findings were presented during the workshop itself. The objective of this workshop was to raise awareness about dyscalculia among the MTU community and identify best practice approaches to support our students with dyscalculia. Following universal design for learning (UDL) principles that promote increased accessibility in teaching and learning we hope that this raised awareness will in fact benefit all students who interact with maths and numbers as part of their studies at MTU Cork. A major focus of this workshop was on ways in which lecturers or tutors can support students with Dyscalculia to succeed. Hilary Maddocks has worked for many years supporting such students at Loughborough University. The student perspective was also presented as we heard from an MTU Cork student about her experiences of learning with Dyscalculia, and the DSS gave some background."

The World Health Organisation defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. In direct alignment with this holistic ethos, ‘A Healthy MTU’ (AHMTU) is a campus health promotion initiative that aims to maximise the health and wellbeing of all MTU students, staff and indeed the extended university community. To date, the initiative has been informed by a designated programme of research that has endeavoured to investigate the complex determinants of health within university settings. The overarching purpose of this event was to challenge traditional models of health, and to discuss the inextricable links that exist between health, education, social equity, inclusion, organisational cultures and broader societal determinants. The event encompassed an overview of empirical evidence that has been gathered to date by the AHMTU Research Team, pertaining specifically to the health and wellbeing of MTU staff. In addition, the event aimed to challenge attendees to consider the international ‘Healthy University’ movement, and its aligned initiatives such as AHMTU, as a powerful, synergistic force to contribute towards the creation of a more diverse and inclusive higher education landscape.

"Ireland’s reception system for asylum seekers is known as Direct Provision. Under the Direct Provision system, people are accommodated across the country in communal institutional centres or former hotel style settings. The vast majority of the centres are managed on a for-profit basis by private contractors. In this session, we heard from Fiona Finn , CEO of Nasc, about the work of Nasc and we also heard from two of Nasc’s clients about their stories and the challenges they have faced, because of living in Direct Provision. In addition, we were treated to a short Palestinian cookery demonstration from Izz and Eman’ Alkarajeh, who previously spent time in Direct Provision on arrival in Ireland but have since leaving opened the amazing Izz Café in Cork City!"

"Following the disappearance of Sarah Everard, and the news of her subsequent murder, a post by social media influencer Lucy Mountain with the green WhatsApp message on a white background simply reading “text me when you get home xx” went viral with many women taking to social media to share their personal stories about feeling scared and unsafe in public. This workshop was an interactive 90-minute workshop dealing with the following topics: What is consent, the law and consent? What are the barriers and things that help communicate consent? How to give consent and skills for resisting pressure? Sexual harassment, what it looks and sounds like? What to do if you witness /are being harassed? Where to get support?"

"Diversity in the workplace has become a popular topic of conversation in recent years, as more progressive movements and views have permeated society and culture. At this point, the need for and benefits of more workplace diversity regarding gender, race and sexual orientation has been well documented. However, age is one dimension of diversity that is equally important in a learning and working environment. This event celebrated “Age” and offered an insight into generational differences while featuring inspiring talks and experiences of successful MTU professionals. By removing the lens of age as a way to view and label individuals, you can shift the focus to their abilities, skills, experience, and knowledge, where it belongs."

"White Irish Travellers are an Irish ethnic group, making up almost 1% of the Irish population. Travellers have their own unique culture which was based on travelling around the country. As a society Ireland needs to work in partnership with Travellers to address the issues that face the Traveller community, such as education, housing and health. There is a need for public services to respect the cultural and ethnic identity of Travellers when they access services. Less than 1% of the Traveller population progress to third level education. The session was delivered in two parts as follows: Part 1: Denise Baker, a CIT postgraduate, whose thesis was on traveller education and who works with the Traveller community presented her research findings. Part 2: Traveller Cultural Awareness Training (TCAT) was delivered by Traveller Community Workers who have been trained in facilitation skills to deliver the programme. The aims of the TCAT programme are: To raise awareness of Traveller issues To provide information on Traveller culture and how this impacts on educational opportunities To identify the main barriers experienced by Travellers in accessing education To identify ways of moving forward to improve access and uptake of education"

"Every year, people from all over the world travel to different countries in Europe to work and study. Ireland is the destination of choice for some, particularly international students, with its reputation for having a high-quality education system, being English speaking and being a friendly and welcoming destination. But what’s it really like being an international student? Hear, first-hand from our panel of current and former international students about their experiences, the benefits they perceive of being an international student and the challenges they faced and had to overcome."

"There is often a misconception that due to our history of colonisation, racism does not take place in Ireland, but this is not true. Racism has existed in Ireland for a long time and it is important to educate ourselves about the different types of racism that people can experience in order to actively work to be anti-racist in our daily lives. This event was an opportunity to hear from members of the black community in Ireland who shared their personal stories of growing up, living and working in this country, their experiences of identity and racism, and their views on what needs to be done to make Ireland a more inclusive society."

"When a woman goes through the menopause, the symptoms can have a devastating effect on her work life, social life, and relationships. Women going through the menopause often find that they are met with a lack of understanding and empathy in their workplace. Misunderstanding and lack of information about the menopause contribute to everything from dips in employee performance to loss of employees. It is important therefore that organisations make every effort to give their employees the tools necessary to ensure an understanding of the menopause is firmly embedded at all levels within an organisation."

Executive function (EF) describes a set of cognitive processes and mental skills that help an individual plan, monitor, and successfully execute their goals. The “executive functions,” as they’re known, include attentional control, working memory, inhibition, and problem-solving, many of which are thought to originate in the brain’s prefrontal cortex. Many behaviours in which humans engage, such as breathing or stepping out of the way of an oncoming car, occur without conscious thought. Most others, however, rely on executive function. Any process or goal pursuit that requires time management, decision-making, and storing information in one’s memory makes use of executive function to some degree. Since much of college life is process-driven and demands that students set and meet goals, disruptions in executive function can make it challenging for students to succeed. This workshop examined how we, as lecturers, can support executive functions in our students through the way in which we organise our modules on Canvas.

Universal Design for Learning Co-Designing Your Classroom Dr Amanda Bastoni, Educational Research Scientist, CAST Dr Amanda Bastoni’s workshop introduced the concept of co-design and (using the UDL framework) highlighted how educators can increase creativity, collaboration, and learning in their classroom by designing learning with their students. In the workshop, we covered the why and how of co-design, including stories from the field, resources, and strategies educators can use immediately - in any learning environment. Timestamp 0:00 Introduction 9:15 What does it mean to Design Learning? 15:00 Reflect on UDL 19:07 Building Relationships 37:17 Ways to Co-Design your classroom 39:00 Co-Design rubrics 41:28 Reflection on Co-Designing 49:14 Co-Design with peers 54:47 Tools to support Co-Design

UDL-ifying a university and its people Prof Jo Rushworth National Teaching Fellow and Professor of Bioscience Education Dr Jo Rushworth draws on her experience as a UDL champion for her School as she outlins a range of options and starting points for colleagues who are starting out on their Universal Design journey. This work focussed on providing students with flexible learning resources, flexible ways to engage with their learning and flexible ways to demonstrate knowledge and skills, that impacted both learning and teaching and institutional policy. In an interactive presentation, Jo tells us about how the UDL guidelines were brought to life and implemented across DMU and leads us in a discussion of early steps toward achieving UDL compliance in teaching practice and of options for continuing development and enhancement. Jo’s work on co-creation with students was among the highlights from her case study. Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 4:13 Overview 9:54 Getting started: UDL Champions 12:31 6 UDL ideas: Quick wins and bigger ideas 13:10 Ideas 1 & 2 13:43 Ideas 3 & 4 14:00 Ideas 5 & 6 14:40 Moving forward: Staff UDL guidance & Training 16:51 UDL staff guidance 17:57 UDL self-assessment & development tool 19:16 Flexible study resources 23:05 Flexible ways to learn 27:03 Flexible ways to show learning 30:36 Co-creation 37:03 UDL-ify a module 56:22 Thank you!

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) aims to eliminate barriers in the design of the learning environment to make the curriculum accessible for all. COVID-19 has, if anything, highlighted the need for higher and further education providers to fully embrace UDL principles and practice so as to ensure high-quality education for all students and allow for full active participation by all learners. This session will outline the principles of UDL, examine what these principles look like in action and provide advice on how these principles can be applied, even when at distance or online. In addition, it will demonstrate how, with the correct mindset at the creation stage, we can ensure resources created for students are accessible and how students can be offered flexibility through engagement, representation, action and expression. To conclude, the core tenets of inclusive assessment and feedback practice will be outlined, and how this practice can be developed at programme and individual level will be demonstrated. Drawing on research from the National Forum, UDL and practical case studies as examples, specific assessment methodologies will be examined and consideration will be given as to how these might be transformed, through the lens of universal design, to ensure inclusion of the full student population. Facilitated By: • Dr Lisa Padden, Project Lead - University for All, UCD • Trevor Boland, Digital Media and eLearning Officer, AHEAD (Ireland) • Lorraine Gallagher, Information & Training Officer, AHEAD (Ireland)

In June 2021, a project entitled “UDL@MTU – Towards Embedding UDL Practices and Principles at MTU” received funding under MTU’s allocation of the Strategic Alignment of Teaching & Learning Enhancement Fund 2020. As part of this project, in semester 1 of the 2021/22 academic year, a local MTU iteration of the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education’s (NFETLHE) Digital Badge “Universal Design in Teaching and Learning” was rolled out with twelve colleagues participating from across MTU. In order to complete the badge, participants learnt about Universal Design for Learning (UDL), reflected on their own practice and redesigned some aspects of a teaching activity they were delivering in line with the principles of UDL. They then had to implement and deliver the redesigned activity, collect some feedback from students in terms of their experience of the redesigned activity and submit a short ‘Redesign Activity Report’. Catherine O’Mahony, a lecturer in Tourism in Hospitality, was one of the twelve MTU badge participants.