Initiative Lead
Dublin City University

Primary Contact
Marlene McCormack
marlene.mccormack@dcu.ie

€30000

Enhancement within Disciplines, Teaching and Learning within and across Disciplines

This collaborative T&L initiative aims to build student success through developing the digital literacy skills of the Bachelor in Early Childhood Education (BECE) lecturing team to design and develop an innovative, Blended Mentoring Module accredited at NFQ Level 9, which will be available to Associate Staff mentoring DCU students out on practice.

The Associate Staff (cooperating educators) who engage closely with DCU are critical to student learning and success on placement; however, they have no specific training in this area and have little access to mentoring supports.

The initiative will collaborate with the DCU School of Nursing, Mary Immaculate College and Plé (The Irish Association of Academics in Early Childhood Education and Care in Higher Education) each of which have used T&L funding to advance knowledge and know-how in the areas of mentoring, blended learning approaches and professional practice. A critical component of this initiative will be the engagement of students (current and alumni) and Associative Staff (cooperating educators) throughout the project, who will be on the Steering Group and whose needs and experiences will tailor the content and inform delivery of the project. An associated Advisory Group will benefit from national and international expertise in the areas of digital teaching/learning and mentoring.

The Mentoring Module will be offered to all Level 8 cooperating educators mentoring DCU/Mary Immaculate students on placement and it will also be made available to all Plé institutional members.