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Item How is research disseminated, accessed, and utilised in Irish schools?(SAGE Publications, 2025) Barrett, Courtenay A.; Prendergast, MarkIn Ireland, as elsewhere, there has been growing recognition around the importance of using research evidence to inform educational policy and practice at both a national government and individual school level. Despite such importance, there is currently a dearth of empirical, peer-reviewed studies regarding the use of research evidence in the Irish education system. With this in mind, we conducted semi-structured interviews in Autumn 2023 with seven educational researchers based in higher education and ten teachers based in both primary and secondary schools. The purpose was to examine how research is utilised at both the individual- and systems-levels in Irish schools. In terms of findings, researchers and teachers noted there was insufficient dissemination, access, and utilisation of research in schools. Participants suggested that the use of research evidence in Ireland focused on the dissemination of the research process (e.g., how to conduct research as part of self-evaluation processes) rather than the dissemination of research findings (e.g., results from efficacy studies). However, all participants acknowledged that the use of research evidence to inform practice is nuanced and complex, and is dependent upon many factors such as the type of research (e.g., methodology, subject area) and the context (e.g., national policies in Ireland). Implications for research and practice, as well as potential pitfalls when using research to inform policymaking, are discussed.Item Lifting the lid on mathematics grinds at secondary level in Ireland: graduates’ perceptions of the impact of private supplementary tutoring(Routledge, 2024) Prendergast, Mark; O’Meara, NiamhIn Ireland, ‘grinds’ is the term used for private supplementary tutoring (PT) outside of school, where a tutor teaches a particular subject in exchange for a financial gain. This practice has seen a global and national increase in recent years, mirroring trends in East Asia, particularly in the subject of mathematics. From an Irish perspective, despite its growing popularity, there is little evidence from the voice of the student and their experiences in relation to PT. This study explores the impact of grinds on secondary mathematics education from the viewpoint of Irish students who have finished school and progressed to higher education. An online survey conducted among first-year university students in three higher education institutions yielded 686 responses. The findings highlight the central position that mathematics grinds now occupy in Ireland, especially in the final year of secondary education. The research revealed mixed views regarding PT, with both positive and negative impacts identified. The secondary graduates appreciated the one-to-one support and improved confidence and grades that grinds could offer. Yet, they also criticized grinds for being costly, time-intensive, and contributing to educational disparities.Item Title conversational learning in the age of ChatGPT(Springer Nature, 2024-10-15) Long, FiachraConversation of a particular sort holds the key to learning. I argue here that peer to peer conversation promotes two features that are essential to progressive learning, namely ‘contestation’ and ‘communication.’ Traditional learning is principally concerned with whether students have reached a standard of knowledge and skill prescribed by some authority whereas progressive learning values less predictable outcomes and interests itself on process rather than end product. Machine-based learning such as ChatGPT, if not skilfully used, hides the flexibility essential to progressive learning and entices learners away from vagueness where much creativity begins. Even if ChatGPT presents itself as ‘conversational’, I argue here that this ‘conversation’ is contrived as a medium that lacks these two key ingredients. The knowledge stance presented in ChatGPT can easily obscure the fragility of human learning. Educators need to wonder about this situation. My argument follows the paths of Dewey and Mead and uses Latour and Habermas to sketch out these two important elements that feature typically in collaborative learning. This article concludes by following Dignum to note a real need for computer engineers to have an educational grounding in the arts and humanities. Indeed, the separation of the Arts from Science in Higher Education can no longer be justified in the age of AI.Item Aiseolas ceartaitheach mar réiteach ar easnaimh theangeolaíocha sa tumoideachas lán-ghaeilge [Corrective feedback as a solution for linguistic deficiencies in Irish-medium immersion](Irish Association for Applied Linguistics, 2023-11-14) Ní Mhurchú , Caitríona; Ní Aogáin , Sylvaine; Ó Ceallaigh, Timothy Joseph; 2023Is le fada an lá a thuigtear go mbíonn dara teanga (T2) daltaí tumoideachais tearcfhorbartha. Sonraítear sa litríocht nach gan dua a fhorbraíonn T2 na ndaltaí tumoideachais agus go mbíonn dúshláin nach beag roimh mhúinteoirí agus dhaltaí tumoideachais leis an T2 a threisiú agus a shaibhriú. Déantar scagadh san alt seo ar thaighde ina ndearnadh iniúchadh ar úsáid Aiseolais Cheartaithigh (AC) ar bhonn córasach sa seomra ranga tumoideachais. Cé go raibh sé mar aidhm ag an taighde seo gort an AC in Éirinn a fhorbairt agus cur le tionscadail thaighde atá curtha i gcrích sa ghort seo cheana, bhí sé mar sprioc ag na taighdeoirí freisin anailís a dhéanamh ar earráidí coitianta daltaí tumoideachais mar aon leis na gnáthchleachtais cheartúcháin a úsáideadh chun na botúin a réiteach. Sa taighde faoi chaibidil úsáideadh córas AC in dhá sheomra ranga tumoideachais ar feadh cúig seachtaine. Ar an gcaoi sin, ghlac beirt mhúinteoirí, mar aon le 53 dalta tumoideachais, páirt sa taighde agus chuir siad córas AC i bhfeidhm ina seomraí ranga féin. Bailíodh sonraí taighde cáilíochtúla faoi scáth na paraidíme tógachaíche ó mhúinteoirí (n=2) trí agallaimh leath-struchtúrtha roimh agus i ndiaidh na hidirghabhála agus trí dhialanna machnaimh le linn na hidirghabhála. Lena chois sin, bailíodh sonraí taighde ó dhaltaí trí cheistneoirí (n=53) agus trí ghrúpaí fócais (n=10) roimh agus i ndiaidh na hidirghabhála. Bailíodh sonraí taighde ón dá sheomra ranga trí chuairteanna breathnóireachta seachtainiúla le linn na hidirghabhála. I ndiaidh anailíse, sonraíodh go raibh na hearráidí coitianta céanna le cloisteáil sa dá rang agus gur tháinig athrú ar an gcleachtas ranga agus ar fheasacht an mhúinteora agus na ndaltaí maidir le ceartú na n-earráidí coitianta tar éis an chórais AC a chur i bhfeidhm ar bhonn córasach, leanúnach. Táthar ag súil go gcuirfidh an taighde seo le corpas litríochta an ghoirt agus go mbeidh sé ina threoir luachmhar do mhúinteoirí tumoideachais agus daltaí tumoideachais chun sealbhú cruinn an dara teanga a chur chun cinn i gcomhthéacs an tumoideachais.Item Supporting key aspects of practice in making mathematics explicit in science lessons(Springer Nature Ltd., 2019-11-25) Johnston, Jennifer; Walshe, Gráinne; Ní Ríordáin, MáireSTEM integration has often been recommended as a way to support students to develop twenty-first century skills needed to function in the complex modern world. In order for students to experience integration, however, their teachers need support in designing, developing and implementing integrated curricular instruction, which is often at odds with a very subject-focused educational system. This paper reports on the second year of a research study conducted with five secondary science and mathematics teachers, concerned with supporting them to teach explicitly the mathematics components within science lessons, mediated via technology. It outlines how the teachers collaborated with the support of science and mathematics education researchers within a community of practice, named a Teaching and Learning Network (TLN). The network was intended to promote and enhance teacher capacity for the interdisciplinary teaching of mathematics in science in the face of various contextual and other obstacles observed in the first year of the study. This study found that the opportunity to work in a Teaching and Learning Network supported the teachers’ ownership of the design of the integrated learning unit, enhanced their content knowledge of mathematics, their use of the data logging technology and their understanding of an inquiry-based pedagogical approach. Participation in the TLN provided teachers with the mechanism to cross the boundaries of the subject disciplines and thereby promoted change in their attitudes, professional knowledge and to some extent, practice.