02 Look

Look at examples of the 4 Curriculum Shapers in practice

This shaper is about encouraging staff and students to step forward and try new things.

Innovation in teaching, learning, assessment and curriculum design are essential to adjust to the changing focus of higher education, respond to the urgency of global challenges which higher education is well-placed to address, adapt to the current understanding of how people learn, and therefore how we can teach more effectively. Continual educational innovation not only helps to embed global citizenship, civic engagement and digital technologies into our practice, but also into society more generally. Read more …

This shaper is about using all of our talents and recognising that everyone has something to teach and something to learn.

Educational theories such as constructivism and social constructivism view learning and teaching as socially-situated, collaborative, and enacted through dialogue. They are evidenced in curricula which include problem-solving, a range of media to engage students in different ways, student research and discovery, peer teaching, authentic activities related to the real-world professions of graduates, and various forms of group work and group assessment (Carlile and Stack, 2008). They imply approaches to curricula that are inclusive of all learners and different learning preferences and allow for collaborative approaches to teaching and learning. Read more …

This shaper is about making our learning experience active, useful, and related to the world.

Central to this TU Dublin Curriculum Shaper are learner-centred approaches, active pedagogies and facilitation of learning by educators (Priestley and Philippou’s, 2019). Technological innovation, coupled with the demand for a more highly skilled workforce, have changed higher education is delivered and accessed (Ashford-Rowe, Herrington and Brown, 2014). Learning now must be deep, contextualised, and authentic to maintain relevance, to empower students to tackle the global societal challenges as well as positively contribute to industry . Read more …

This shaper is about creating the space and time to do work that matters.

Central to this Curriculum Shaper is the importance of allowing space for the ongoing development of curricula in higher education institutions. Scholarly literature and practice suggest the value of making time and space; curricula are not fixed, stable entities. Staff need space for formal and informal, accredited and non-accredited continuing professional development (National Forum, 2016) in order to develop curricula and their own practice. Read more …