Framed from a socio-cognitive perspective, and the contemporary increased salience of digital learning readiness and competence, the purpose of this study was two-fold: to validate Online Learner Readiness Scale in a new context and to explore potential variances in online readiness within a student-teacher population between less (pre-COVID) and…

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, restricted access to in-person facilities and traditional experiential learning activities meant that new, online solutions were needed to facilitate student learning/development across the disciplines of Allied Health and Engineering. Purpose: This article describes research conducted as part of an…

In the context of rapid economic, social, and demographic change, fostering equity and inclusion in third level education is a prerequisite for adaptability, social cohesion, and human development. Community-university collaborations demonstrate significant potential to widen participation in Higher Education (HE). In the following article, we…

This paper presents the findings of a survey on research activities and research cultures across the CercleS network. The survey was conducted under the auspices of the CercleS Focus Group on Leadership and Management and aimed to explore the scope of research in Language Centres; the links between institutional factors such as staff contracts and…

This paper presents findings from a research project that investigated the aspects of inquiry-based learning (IBL), specifically experiences of teacher inquiry, within initial teacher education (ITE) programmes. The participants in the project were four teacher educators and 127 student teachers with the teacher educators being the research team.…

Technology-enhanced learning supported by virtual learning environments (VLEs) facilitates tutors and students. VLE platforms contain a wealth of information that can be used to mine insight regarding students' learning behaviour and relationships between behaviour and academic performance, as well as to model data-driven decision-making. This…

Driven by COVID-19, remote work is popularising. Companies and employees are increasingly embracing its benefits of flexibility and convenience, showing reluctance to return to full-time office schedules. Similarly, companies and HEIs started offering remote forms of work-based learning (WBL) -- or eWBL. However, remote work presents social and…

Virtual laboratories (VLs) enable students to experiment, analyze data, or interact with digital content in a nonphysical space. VLs include simulations, electronic notebooks, videos, and augmented reality. As part of the "VL Project," comprising five academic institutions in Ireland, we sought to determine how VLs might enhance…

Mathematics and statistics support (MSS) plays an important role at many universities. Typically, support has been provided in person, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, online provision was required. This paper reports on a scoping study comparing how support services changed during the pandemic at institutions in Germany and Great Britain &…

Learning designers became the "first responders" during the great onlining due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this innovative practice article, we share the experiences of a team of digital learning designers created to support the university community's pivot online. This project adopts a case study methodology. The case study of the…

Lectures and seminars increasingly strive for continuous interactions between learners and the instructor. I study whether the communication program Slack contributes to these goals by analyzing daily activity statistics in methodological and project-based postgraduate courses at an Irish university. Both semester-long courses were taught online…

Purpose: A diverse range of initiatives in relation to the recognition of prior learning (RPL) have been introduced in higher education systems over the past 20 years. This paper aims to explore the implementation of RPL initiatives, in an Irish context, and the implications for quality assurance in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: A…

Laboratory practicals in life science subjects are traditionally assessed by written reports that reflect disciplinary norms for documenting experimental activities. However, the exclusive application of this assessment has the potential to engage only a narrow range of competencies. In this study, we explored how multiple modes of laboratory…

Global education is becoming increasingly important in higher education institutions in the United States. Concurrently, service-learning is another educational activity becoming more popular in higher education institutions. Very little research has been done on the impact on the community from a service-learning perspective, especially as a part…

This study responds to calls for more research on motivations for learning languages other than English (LOTEs) in the new era dominated by global English. In particular, it focuses on the role of societal contextual factors surrounding the status of English and the status of the LOTE as an L2/L3, as factors which may offer a more nuanced…