Challenges and Opportunities for Teaching and Learning in Irish Higher Education

Author(s):  
Ciara O’Farrell
2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Truong Trinh

This paper describes how the international, national and institutional conditions affect the primary processes of teaching and learning in the Vietnamese higher education institutions. Under such influences, the Vietnamese higher education institutions are facing both challenges and opportunities in terms of the competitions among institutions. establishment of credit-based system, quality assurance and accreditation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 388-400
Author(s):  
Yana Diachkova ◽  
Lilia Sazhko ◽  
Liudmyla Shevchenko ◽  
Anastasiia Syzenko

In English for Specific Purposes, one of the challenges is to transform teaching and learning into a process, which focuses on the development of professional skills, enables students to become successful learners of the target language, and makes them more aware of the local and global environments. This paper aims to analyse key challenges that teachers and learners face in the classrooms and suggest a way of integrating global issues into the process of development of professional soft and hard skills. The paper studies the existing ESP literature in terms of presence of global issues, explores the perceptions of global issues among university students in Ukraine, outlines the correlation between professional skills and global competence. The findings suggest that there are numerous advantages of introducing materials based on global issues into the teaching process as it has synergetic effect of fusing professional skills, soft skills and global competence. The paper concludes that this fusion improves the skill set of a future professional and has a positive impact on the quality of higher education in general.


2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-39
Author(s):  
Stephen Mallinder ◽  
Debbie Flint

Wider social, cultural and technological changes are precipitating transformations in higher education. There is increasing need for universities and specialist colleges to operate effectively in a global online environment. The development of accessible and re-usable online teaching and learning materials has provided challenges to staff and institutions. This article explores aspects of the UK Open Educational Resources Programme and, in particular, the Art Design and Media Open Educational Resources (ADM-OER) Project which has sought to examine the processes, challenges and opportunities open educational resources (OERs) present to these ‘creative’ disciplines. Part of the project has explored art, design and media tutors’ perceptions of the shift to ‘teaching in public’ and we share some preliminary findings.


Author(s):  
Håkan Eftring ◽  
Elinor Jeanette Olaussen ◽  
Helen Petrie ◽  
Merja Saarela ◽  
Tarja Ladonlahti ◽  
...  

The TINEL Project is running a series of camps for staff at higher education institution to support them in developing inclusive eLearning. The first camp was conducted face-to-face, but the coronavirus pandemic meant that the second camp was conducted online. This created a case study in inclusive eLearning in itself and allowed us to experience and reflect on the challenges and opportunities of inclusive online teaching and learning. This paper presents the structure and content of the two camps, our reflections on moving from a face-to-face to an online situation and our elaboration how the UDL principles apply to eLearning to create Universal Design for eLearning (UDeL). We found that because we already had a syllabus for the camp prepared, transferring it to an online camp did not present a great number of challenges. Some aspects of the online situation were actually advantageous (e.g. presenting all materials digitally and making them fully accessible) while others were difficult to overcome (e.g. engaging all participants in online activities and discussions). We provide a set of recommendations of how to implement the three principles of UDL in eLearning situations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 281
Author(s):  
Nur Hidayah Che Ahmat ◽  
Muhammad Arif Aizat Bashir ◽  
Ahmad Rashidy Razali ◽  
Salmiah Kasolang

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the education sector locally and globally especially in teaching and learning delivery methods as most universities have adopted online platforms. The present situation is not only challenging but also tests the flexibility of the existing education system. With the help of technology, the existing traditional education system could be more flexible to enable more individuals from around the world to access education. The latest revolution in online education, micro-credential, is growing interest among public and private universities worldwide, including Malaysia. However, to date, little scholarly work is found related to micro-credentials in higher education. This conceptual paper presents an overview of micro-credential and the challenges and opportunities of offering micro-credential certification in the form of digital badges to the national and global market. Recommendations are made to multiple stakeholders (e.g., higher education providers, employers) to enhance the use of certifications for graduate employability. Ideas for further research are also presented.   Keywords: Digital badges, Digital credentialing, Higher-education, Micro-credential, Online certification


Complexity ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph T. Lizier ◽  
Michael S. Harré ◽  
Melanie Mitchell ◽  
Simon DeDeo ◽  
Conor Finn ◽  
...  

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of complex systems as a field, students studying complex systems at university level have diverse disciplinary backgrounds. This brings challenges (e.g., wide range of computer programming skills) but also opportunities (e.g., facilitating interdisciplinary interactions and projects) for the classroom. However, little has been published regarding how these challenges and opportunities are handled in teaching and learning complex systems as an explicit subject in higher education and how this differs in comparison to other subject areas. We seek to explore these particular challenges and opportunities via an interview-based study of pioneering teachers and learners (conducted amongst the authors) regarding their experiences. We compare and contrast those experiences and analyze them with respect to the educational literature. Our discussions explored approaches to curriculum design, how theories/models/frameworks of teaching and learning informed decisions and experience, how diversity in student backgrounds was addressed, and assessment task design. We found a striking level of commonality in the issues expressed as well as the strategies handling them, for example, a significant focus on problem-based learning and the use of major student-led creative projects for both achieving and assessing learning outcomes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Murphy ◽  
Terry Maguire

This summary outlines the findings that emerged from the National Forum’s project on higher education policy and the challenges and opportunities posed for teaching and learning by digital technology. The project sought to define whether existing policies were enabling and reflected the language of digital teaching and learning. The summary discusses the findings within the wider context of a national and international drive toward utilising digital technology to facilitate a more flexible learning environment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-118
Author(s):  
Ndakaitei Manase

The Covid‑19 pandemic has led to changes from traditional face-to-face teaching and learning to online systems. These changes have resulted in a concerted focus by local and international scholars on how some students are disadvantaged from accessing pedagogy due to a lack of resources and supportive living conditions that enable meaningful off‑campus learning. Simultaneously, disabilities in higher education is getting international attention, too, highlighting how students with disabilities are vulnerable to further exclusions and mental health problems. This article focuses on the pedagogical arrangements during the Covid‑19 pandemic and the challenges and opportunities associated with online and remote learning for university students with learning disabilities. The article draws on the narratives of fifteen students with learning disabilities from a university in South Africa. An analysis of students’ narratives within the Capability Approach’s concept of conversion factors revealed how circumstances could enable or constrain students’ abilities to achieve what they value in higher education. Students’ narratives show that they engage better with online and remote learning despite some notable challenges. In conclusion, the pedagogical arrangements aimed at alleviating the disruptions caused by the Covid‑19 pandemic can address the unmet educational needs of students with learning disabilities even though they have to overcome specific barriers.


Author(s):  
M. Mahruf C. Shohel ◽  
Md. Ashrafuzzaman ◽  
Md Tariqul Islam ◽  
Shahriar Shams ◽  
Arif Mahmud

Emerging technologies and the digital transformation in society have changed the way teaching and learning take place. Therefore, techno-pedagogical content knowledge has become an integral approach in modern teaching and learning. This chapter explores issues related to blended teaching and learning in higher education and highlights the challenges and opportunities it possesses. This chapter also outlines how to overcome challenges to provide effective teaching and learning by exploring literature. Moreover, it categorizes challenges for discussion to identify possible solutions and outlines recommendations. In support of evidence, a case study approach was used along with a review of the literature to draw evidence for a wide range of best practices. According to the findings, the blended teaching and learning model allows students to learn freely, demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways, and develop crucial knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will help them become lifelong learners.


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