The National College
Support for Teaching at NCAD 2005-06
The Centre for Continuing Education is providing support for teaching and learning across college. CEAD has secured funding from HEA through the Strategic Initiative scheme, Support for Teaching. The scholarship of teaching is a critical part of academic life and is central to college policy. CEAD has scheduled seminars, workshops, developed a research grant scheme to support innovation in teaching, in order to support professional practice in art and design teaching and learning across NCAD.
Case Studies in Supervision, a research project, in supervisory practice in a third level art and design college.
Through the Support for Teaching Initiative, four members of staff at NCAD will undertake to develop case studies, which focus on supervision of post-graduate students in art and design. Kevin Atherton (Head of Media) Gary Granville (Head of Education) Margaret Lonergan (Head of Visual Communication) and Dr. Paul O’Brien, Lecturer in Visual Culture, will undertake a research project involving the documentation of the supervisors role and the supervision process over a period of time. The purpose of the project is to illuminate current supervisory practice and disseminate the learning across college. At the end of this project, a college-based seminar will take place and a complete document containing the case studies will be made available. Support for the project, is provided by the Head of Research, and the Head of Continuing Education.
Director’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
In 2005-06, NCAD will introduce the Director’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Staff can be nominated for the award, by their colleagues, or by current students and recent graduates. Details to be confirmed.
Developing Learning Outcomes
In 2005, NCAD will undertake to develop learning outcomes across a number of under-graduate degree programmes. This initiative is in keeping with policy developments at a national and European level in the area of transfer and transparency in and between qualification systems.
Teaching and Learning Activities at NCAD 2002-04
NCAD has offered seminars for staff in a range of subjects including: an introduction to elearning, problem based learning, supervision for research degrees, action research as a way of developing professional practice and developing learning outcomes. Staff from all areas, participated in the seminar programme which runs in March each year and also through the academic calendar.
Support for elearning
The web administrator at NCAD, was commissioned to undertake an evaluative study of appropriate software packages to support elearning developments in an art and design college. Several colleges who have developed initiatives in elearning provided data on the strengths weaknesses and implications of the various packages. The report was completed in March 2005 and presented to the college IT committee. It is available to staff through college intranet.
