The MTU Library Assignment Toolkit includes a suite of modules that guides students through the assignment completion process and provides a grounding in academic integrity by using best practice guidance at every stage. The modules include the following: - Getting to Know Your Library - Critical Thinking Skills - Misinformation - Effective Searching - Reading Academic Material and Planning for Assignments - Understanding Plagiarism - Assignment Writing - Referencing This tool will be of significant help to new students, but also a great refresher for those with some academic experience behind them. It is also a significant asset to academic staff as a rich, interactive resource that can support their students with their studies. The Assignment Toolkit is hosted on Canvas and requires you to enrol on the course. Course Modules can be taken in sequence or students can choose to start with a particular module.

"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!"

"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!"

"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!"

The project is concerned with opening the institutional dialogue about the benefits of adopting the principles of Universal Design for Learning in our practice.

"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? "

"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? "

In this seminar, we outlined the principles of UDL focusing on the why, how and what of learning. We shared with you our experiences of completing the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education’s (NFETLHE’s) UDL Digital Badge which we completed during the 2020-21 academic year. We provided an insight into what was involved and how it has impacted our thinking and practice in MTU.

"Active learning" may overthrow the style of teaching that has ruled universities for 600 years.

"This workshop briefly described the why and what of Active Learning. Members of the Active Learning Movement shared their experiences and key learnings. This was a great opportunity to learn from others about what active learning practices work in the MTU context. The perils, positives and possibilities of Active Learning were also be discussed and developed in this interactive and engaging workshop. "

"Writing a thesis is a huge undertaking and one that often overwhelms doctoral candidates. Many students struggle at this stage, experience writer’s block, delay writing and in some cases fail to submit at all. Supervisors can play a crucial role in this stage of the PhD. This seminar looks at the strategies supervisors can employ to help their student complete and submit their thesis. In this seminar, Hugh Kearns facilitated a discussion of: The writing challenges faced by late-stage doctoral students. How supervisors can support students in these challenges. Developing a writing plan and completion plan with the student Providing critical and constructive feedback Supporting the student when the going gets tough The problems experienced by supervisors and potential solutions On completion of the workshop, participants can now: Implement strategies for providing writing feedback to students. Diagnose common problems that need to be resolved in the final draft. Provide support for the emotional challenges of writing up. Offer advice on writing productivity to doctoral students"

"Writing a thesis is a huge undertaking and one that often overwhelms doctoral candidates. Many students struggle at this stage, experience writer’s block, delay writing and in some cases fail to submit at all. Supervisors can play a crucial role in this stage of the PhD. This seminar looks at the strategies supervisors can employ to help their student complete and submit their thesis. In this seminar, Hugh Kearns facilitated a discussion of: The writing challenges faced by late-stage doctoral students. How supervisors can support students in these challenges. Developing a writing plan and completion plan with the student Providing critical and constructive feedback Supporting the student when the going gets tough The problems experienced by supervisors and potential solutions On completion of the workshop, participants can now: Implement strategies for providing writing feedback to students. Diagnose common problems that need to be resolved in the final draft. Provide support for the emotional challenges of writing up. Offer advice on writing productivity to doctoral students"

"Writing a thesis is a huge undertaking and one that often overwhelms doctoral candidates. Many students struggle at this stage, experience writer’s block, delay writing and in some cases fail to submit at all. Supervisors can play a crucial role in this stage of the PhD. This seminar looks at the strategies supervisors can employ to help their student complete and submit their thesis. In this seminar, Hugh Kearns facilitated a discussion of: The writing challenges faced by late-stage doctoral students. How supervisors can support students in these challenges. Developing a writing plan and completion plan with the student Providing critical and constructive feedback Supporting the student when the going gets tough The problems experienced by supervisors and potential solutions On completion of the workshop, participants can now: Implement strategies for providing writing feedback to students. Diagnose common problems that need to be resolved in the final draft. Provide support for the emotional challenges of writing up. Offer advice on writing productivity to doctoral students"

"In a typically busy academic semester, lecturers and students are naturally focused on delivering and consuming course material and content. Consequently, neither rarely have the time to stop and consider whether the necessary tools are being utilised to promote long term durable learning. Accessing these learning tools is easier than one might think and simple implementable strategies which are backed by decades of research can dramatically improve learning. This interactive session focused on a simple case study which showed how effective the introduction of simple practices can be in facilitating effective learning. Attendees learned how to apply these tools in their own courses and modules and will also got to see what students felt about adopting these new practices."

In a typically busy academic semester, lecturers and students are naturally focused on delivering and consuming course material and content. Consequently, neither rarely have the time to stop and consider whether the necessary tools are being utilised to promote long term durable learning. Accessing these learning tools is easier than one might think and simple implementable strategies which are backed by decades of research can dramatically improve learning. This interactive session focused on a simple case study which showed how effective the introduction of simple practices can be in facilitating effective learning. Attendees learned how to apply these tools in their own courses and modules and will also got to see what students felt about adopting these new practices.

" When the first day of class comes around, you’ve reflected on your course goals and structure, gathered your syllabus together, shared materials in Canvas, and prepared your first day of class presentation. How do you then establish a relationship with your students? How do you talk with them on the first day? How do you set the tone?” (Cathy Bovill, January 2020, Georgetown University) Drawing on her most recent work, ‘Co-creating Learning and Teaching: Towards relational pedagogy in higher education’ (April 2020), Cathy Bovill explored the concept of relational pedagogy using the classroom as a focus for curriculum co-creation. We can often think that co-creation might only be available to small groups of students working closely with a member of staff, as might also be suggested of many student partnership activities. However, this seminar challenges this idea and explores how co-creation has the potential in both classroom and online class teaching settings to include all students in developing relationships and shared decision making. The seminar suggests that in the pivot to online delivery these opportunities should be maximised. Using her current research and time as a Fulbright Scholar (based at Elon University), Cathy shares examples from university and school settings, to set the challenge to participants to identify ways in which their presence in the classroom (online or otherwise) might be used to positively shape their learning and teaching practice in a way that demonstrates a care for their students thus building a more positive student learning experience. This seminar enabled participants to: Understand and explore the concept of relational pedagogy in a face-to-face and online environment Reflect on how their own experience in ‘whole-class’ engagement practices contribute to an engaged learning environment Consider how their own understandings and definitions of student engagement, partnership and co-creation impact their professional practice Identify and plan the practical/impactful methods/approaches that could be implemented in learning environments to support a whole-class resulting in a more inclusive experience for all students."

" When the first day of class comes around, you’ve reflected on your course goals and structure, gathered your syllabus together, shared materials in Canvas, and prepared your first day of class presentation. How do you then establish a relationship with your students? How do you talk with them on the first day? How do you set the tone?” (Cathy Bovill, January 2020, Georgetown University) Drawing on her most recent work, ‘Co-creating Learning and Teaching: Towards relational pedagogy in higher education’ (April 2020), Cathy Bovill explored the concept of relational pedagogy using the classroom as a focus for curriculum co-creation. We can often think that co-creation might only be available to small groups of students working closely with a member of staff, as might also be suggested of many student partnership activities. However, this seminar challenges this idea and explores how co-creation has the potential in both classroom and online class teaching settings to include all students in developing relationships and shared decision making. The seminar suggests that in the pivot to online delivery these opportunities should be maximised. Using her current research and time as a Fulbright Scholar (based at Elon University), Cathy shares examples from university and school settings, to set the challenge to participants to identify ways in which their presence in the classroom (online or otherwise) might be used to positively shape their learning and teaching practice in a way that demonstrates a care for their students thus building a more positive student learning experience. This seminar enabled participants to: Understand and explore the concept of relational pedagogy in a face-to-face and online environment Reflect on how their own experience in ‘whole-class’ engagement practices contribute to an engaged learning environment Consider how their own understandings and definitions of student engagement, partnership and co-creation impact their professional practice Identify and plan the practical/impactful methods/approaches that could be implemented in learning environments to support a whole-class resulting in a more inclusive experience for all students."

"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."

"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."

Deep Learning refers to the cognitive skills and academic knowledge that students need to succeed in the 21st century. These skills include critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration and learning to learn. The mastery of these skills will enable students to think flexibly and creatively, transferring and applying their learning from one context to new situations. This seminar looked at how one academic in CIT, Dr Anna Dynan, Accounting & Information Systems has used PeerWise, a free online platform, to provide a space where her students can collaboratively create, answer, discuss, and evaluate practice questions with peers and has thereby helped her students engage with unit concepts more deeply and critically. In this seminar, participants gained an understanding of: How PeerWise can be used to engage students and enhance their learning outcomes. The impact this approach can have on student engagement and learning The student view on this collaborative approach to learning Advice/best practice/tip & tricks when using PeerWise in your module.

"This aim of this seminar was to promote informed thinking about how assessment is conceived and practiced at third level with a view to greater alignment between teaching, learning and assessment. It allowed lecturers and academic managers to discuss and share good practice while also considering how current assessment procedures in place in their institutions might be enhanced to improve student learning, progression and success. Assessment for learning is one of the most powerful ways of improving student learning and achievement. Formative assessment, done well, improves student self-regulation and awareness of what needs to be done to enhance their learning, is forward focused and motivational. Participants considered how enhancing learning, teaching and assessment alignment can improve learning for different student cohorts and group sizes in times of limited resources and increasing accountability. The workshop element of the seminar gave participants the opportunity to share and take away some practical ideas and techniques that they could use in their classes. Participants in this seminar: Reflected upon the relationship between teaching, learning and assessment for learning Considered the challenges of effective management of assessment from an institutional, teacher/lecturer and student perspective Reflected on how assessment design, integration with the curriculum, marking and feedback could best be supported Discussed, shared good practice and considered current assessment procedures and how they might be enhanced with different student cohorts/group sizes Considered some practical/ impactful assessment for learning techniques that they may like to use in the future"

Cork Institute of Technology and Griffith College Cork came together to organise this seminar to examine digital teaching tools for Mathematics in Higher Education. The focus of this seminar was to explore and champion effective digital tools and technologies in the teaching of Mathematics in Higher Education in Ireland and to create an opportunity for networking and initiation of collaborative relationships in this area. It provided hands on experience of educational technology in Mathematics for participants and provided a forum for exploring challenges, exchanging ideas and disseminating practices. Talks/workshops included: Dr Maria Meehan, UCD, who discussed her experience of the use of technology in teaching Mathematics. CIT’s Technology Enhanced Learning Department who discussed Teaching Mathematics using virtual and augmented reality. Lightning Talks from participants who use education technology in their Higher Education Maths classroom/lecture who shared their experience with others Parallel Workshops on Mathematics e-assessment using Numbas catering for beginners and more advanced users.

"Our classrooms have become more diverse and complex in terms of both student culture and ability, but the question is, do students see themselves reflected in our practice? This workshop provided participants with an introduction to UDL (Universal Design for Learning) as a model for Inclusive Practice that provides a framework to manage diversity to include all students. It explored the complexity that is implicit in the idea of inclusion especially when supporting students. Some practical tools and strategies were identified that benefit not only students with a disability, but all students in the long run. The workshop was targeted at all CIT staff, and participants: Gained an understanding of what is meant by inclusion and Universal Design for Learning Engaged in practical activities where consideration is given to how designing a learning environment that is inclusive of a more diverse student population. Used the UDL model to design an inclusive learning environment. Considered how to create an Inclusive campus Gained an insight of the work of CIT's Disability Support Service and their work on the use of reasonable accommodations in a more strategic and inclusive manner."

Within CIT, mathematics and statistics play a key role in almost every programme and most students will encounter mathematics/statistics related modules at some point in their studies. Some programmes, especially those in the Faculty of Engineering & Science, are highly mathematical in nature and will contain many mathematics and statistics modules integrated from the start to end of the programme of study, whilst others have slightly less mathematical content, but any mathematics and statistics modules taken are continually relied upon over the duration of the programme. Frequently, however, mathematics lecturers find that students struggle with understanding when and where the mathematics that they are being asked to learn will be used in their chosen programme and in their future profession. In addition, because a lot of mathematics modules are taught to diverse groups of students there is little chance to show students problems applied to their own specific field of study. Therefore, mathematics can appear to them to be an abstract subject, separate from other topics encountered during their programme of study. In an effort to address this problem, members of a learning community established in CIT’s Department of Mathematics and Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, applied for funding from the Teaching and Learning Development Fund to develop relevance-orientated problems for students from different disciplines so as to support students to understand the importance of mathematics in their chosen field at an early stage of their degree and career. As a starting point for this project, the Department of Mathematics and Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering have initiated a pilot project to develop a bank of contextual materials for their students to enable them to better understand the role of mathematics in their chosen programme. This seminar was considered primarily to be of interest to staff in the Department of Mathematics and Department of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering as theirs is the first cohort of students for whom such resources are being developed. However, it was thought that it should also be of general interest to all staff so that they can see the type of work being done, the benefits of developing these types of resources and perhaps initiate their own department’s future collaboration with the Department of Mathematics. This seminar consisted of the following: • Talks: o Maths in Structural Engineering Seán Carroll, Chartered Structural Engineer, Assistant Lecturer Department of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering, CIT o Contexts & Concepts: A Case Study of Mathematics Assessment for Civil & Environmental Engineering Dr J.P. McCarthy, Lecturer, Department of Mathematics, CIT o Maths in Engineering: Perspectives of a Bridge Engineer Michael Minehane, Chartered Senior Engineer at RPS Europe, where he works on the design, inspection assessment and rehabilitation of bridges and large civil structures. He graduated from Cork Institute of Technology in 2010 with a BEng (Hons) in Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering, and in 2011 with an MEng in Advanced Structural Engineering. He is a part-time lecturer at Cork Institute of Technology since 2015 where he delivers a module on BIM for Infrastructure. • Contributions from several speakers, including: o Dr Clodagh Carroll, Lecturer, Department of Mathematics, CIT o Dr Violeta Morari, Lecturer, Department of Mathematics, CIT • Some short videos emphasising the centrality of mathematics within Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering which have been developed will be presented

"How can we design assessment tasks, so they inspire our students to learn? How can we use assessment to enthuse our learners, and keep them engaged? What are the processes which underpin effective feedback and what are some of the barriers and challenges we face in helping students’ uptake of feedback? How can we approach feedback so that it is meaningful and useful to students, but manageable for ourselves? How far and in what ways do we involve students in the process of evaluative judgment, so they learn to see how they are going while they are working on tasks? These are some of the questions and issues that were explored and discussed in this interactive seminar on engaging students in assessment and feedback processes. Participants who attended this: Explored key principles underpinning the design of Assessment for Learning (AfL) in Higher Education (Sambell et al, 2013), which include assessment for and as learning; Discussed the benefits, challenges and strategies colleagues in different disciplines use to engage learners as productively as possible in assessment and feedback processes; Gained access to practical AfL resources, shared ideas with each other and considered pragmatic tactics to develop students’ assessment and feedback literacy."

“Students learn a great deal by explaining their ideas to others and by participating in activities in which they can learn from their peers” (Boud, 2001). Peer Learning can significantly assist students in the transition into and throughout higher education and strongly motivates learning and enhances student success. This workshop explored the role of Peers in providing a holistic, value-added and enriched student experience. It provided answers to some of the following questions: What is the role of the Peer? How do you select Peers to be involved in structured support? What are the boundaries? What will be the benefits? This workshop was interactive and encouraged participants to consider different approaches to using Peers to support students."

"Assessment is probably the most important thing we can do to help our students learn. Traditionally, our assessment practices tend to be summative, for the purposes of progression and completion, rather than formative, for the purposes of improving instruction and student learning. If assessment is to be an integral part of student learning, formative assessment must be at the heart of the process. Formative assessment refers to a wide variety of methods that educators can use to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, module, or programme. Formative assessments help educators identify concepts that students are struggling to understand, skills they are having difficulty acquiring, or learning standards they have not yet achieved so that adjustments can be made to lessons, instructional techniques, and academic support. If we wish to use assessment as a tool to enhance student learning the provision of formative feedback is crucial. We need to help students understand not only where they have gone wrong, but also what they need to do to improve and when they have done well, we need to help them understand what is good about their work and how they can build on it and develop further. This workshop was aimed at all academic staff, whether new to the whole notion of formative assessment and feedback, or those who wanted to improve their feedback practice to students, or those looking for innovative ideas on how to enhance their current practices. It provided participants with an opportunity to think about the benefits of formative assessment and providing formative feedback to learners and an opportunity to examine some case studies of how this can be done in practice."

"If we want to improve students’ engagement with learning, a key focus of enhancement can be refreshing our approaches to assessment. Sometimes we need to take a fresh look at our current practice to ensure assessment is for rather than just of learning. In addition, we as educators in higher education understand the importance of giving good feedback to students, both to maximize achievement and to support retention. Research in the field suggests that good feedback has a significant impact on student achievement, enabling students to become adept at judging the quality of their own work during its production. In this workshop, the following aspects of assessment were considered: Fit for purpose assessment: designing assessments to promote student learning Assessing more students: ways of using productive assessment with large numbers Assessing first-year students well to promote retention Streamlining assessment: giving feedback effectively and efficiently"

The literature review is a core component of many, if not all, final year programmes at third level. Despite the importance of this, many undergraduate students are not given the instructional tools to complete the onerous tasks of organising and planning a literature review. This seminar presented results of a pilot study initiated by the Department of Biological Sciences with over 100 final year undergraduate life science students. These students attended a 1-hour weekly instructional lecture as part of the literature review module. The seminar was targeted at academic staff and focused on: What tools were made available to students How well students engaged with the tools What the learning experience was for both lecturers and students How this approach could be modified across different disciplines

"This seminar introduced participants to the flipped classroom: a pedagogical model used to engage students in active learning, where there is a greater focus on students’ application of conceptual knowledge rather than factual recall. In particular, this seminar showcased some of the results from the Flipped Classroom Initiative that ran in CIT during the semester. It was a chance for participants to engage with colleagues within the institute who have participated in this initiative and to gain valuable insight into their experiences. The aims of this seminar were to: Explain the concept of a flipped classroom Explain the advantages/disadvantages of the flipped classroom approach Understand how the flipped classroom approach can be applied to a variety of disciplines"