Life Sciences Teaching & Learning Symposium 24.02.11
The second UCD Teaching & Learning symposium hosted by the College of Life Sciences on 23rd February was held in the Conway lecture theatre. Over one hundred attendees gathered at the event that promised to get people thinking about new ways of enhancing the teaching and learning experience for staff and students.
The theme of the symposium was ‘Innovation & Creativity’ in Teaching and Learning, concepts central to the university strategy. A wide spectrum of speakers made presentations, with 6 schools across two colleges being represented, as well as an external guest speaker. The key themes addressed and points to emerge were as follows:
Interdisciplinary education
- Undergraduate interdisciplinary educational opportunities should be developed
- Developing interdisciplinary education means transcending traditional disciplinary differences
Use of problem based learning in Science
- There is tentative evidence that a PBL approach works in Science
- More investigation is needed into the usefulness of PBL in Science
Students choosing their own assessment
- Offering students alternative assessments may enhance engagement in a module
- Care needs to be taken in ensuring the methods of assessment on offer are equitable
Developing innovative and creative skills in students
- When afforded the opportunity, stage 1 students are innovative and creative
- Working in teams can enhance the level of module engagement in stage 1 students
Factors that enhance levels of student engagement
- Availability of personal tutor
- Visibility of Dean
- Follow up on students who may potentially withdraw
- Peer mentoring
The external speaker, Mr JP Donnelly, CEO of Ogilvy advertising, spoke of the need for teachers to think about how they brand themselves and their teaching. Key points in this presentation were:
- Teachers must be willing to embrace new challenges and different students needs
- Building a personal teaching brand will increase ones relevancy to the student and ones place within the wider university.
