Book Description

This book presents a wide selection of issues currently of interest and concern in higher education institutions in Ireland. The chapters are snapshots of the intersection between theory, practice and research in particular settings; they are not meant to be comprehensive. Nevertheless, they present practice approaches, new theoretical considerations and informal conversations, and include signposts to important literature in the area. The authors contextualise current concerns, and discuss how they have responded strategically to national and international trends in higher education. They also highlight how new roles and identities for staff and students in higher education have emerged in response to changes in institutional, social and technological contexts, among others. This book contains the following: (1) Higher Education in Ireland: Introduction (Bettie Higgs and Marian McCarthy); (2) Writing Identity through the Educational Developers in Ireland Network (EDIN) (Ciara O'Farrell); (3) Mature Cynics and Fledgling Eclectics: Elaborating Instructional Design for the Net Generation (David Jennings and Diane Cashman); (4) Promoting Integrative Learning in First-year Science (Bettie Higgs); (5) The Journey to High Level Performance: Using Knowledge on the Novice-Expert Trajectory to Enhance Higher Education Teaching (Sarah Moore, Geraldine O'Neill and Terry Barrett); (6) Integrating Concepts of Integrative Learning (Bettie Higgs and Brendan Hall); (7) Strategies for Implementing Group Work in Large Classes: Lessons from Enquiry-Based Learning (Geraldine O'Neill and Ivan Moore); (8) Supporting Graduate Teaching Assistants at Trinity College Dublin (Jacqueline Potter and Orla Hanratty); (9) Teaching for Understanding for Lecturers: Towards a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (Marian McCarthy); (10) Encouraging Student Creativity in Higher Education (Terry Barrett and Roisin Donnelly); (11) Reflections on Conversations as a Catalyst for Change 2003-2007 (Marion Palmer and Conor Heagney); (12) The Changing Role of the Academic Library in Learning and Teaching (Helen Fallon and Ellen Breen); and (13) The Role of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in the Teaching of an Accredited Module in Information Literacy Skills (Claire McAvinia, Helen Fallon and Mairead McQuaid). Librarians' Reflections are appended. Each section contains tables, figures, and references.