CONUL Teaching and Learning Annual Seminar. Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin, 10th November 2015

1. Transitions: an opportunity for engagement
Transitions reform and the Maynooth curriculum
CONUL Teaching and Learning 10 November 2015
Professor Philip Nolan
President
Maynooth University

2. Outline
• What do we want for our students?
• The ‘points race’
• The Maynooth Curriculum
• The opportunity
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3. What do we want for our
students?
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4. What do we want for our students?
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“the cultivation of the intellect....to
open the mind, to correct it, to
refine it, to enable it to know, and
to digest, master, rule and use its
knowledge, to give it power over its
own faculties, application,
flexibility, method, critical
exactness, sagacity, resource,
address, eloquent expression”

5. What do we want for our students?
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• The cultivation of the intellect
• The development of the person
• Rich and fulfilling lives
• Autonomy and agency
....and as a result
– creativity, innovation, economic growth, social
cohesion, engaged citizenry, cultural vibrancy,
democracy, civilisation

6. What do we want for our students?
• Disciplinary knowledge and skills
• Breadth of perspective
• Fundamental intellectual skills
– critical thinking and clear communication
• Personal attributes
– confidence, creativity, agency
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7. What do employers want for our students?
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National Employer Survey (2015) Fig 12

8. What do our students want for themselves?
• “I want to be a....” or “I want to do...”
• The emphasis is on a vocation and a job, less so
the development of a portfolio of skills for work
and life
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9. What do our students want?
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Ran
k Factors that impact on selection of third level institution Index
1 Offers the course that I really want 471
2 Provides the best employment opportunities when you leave with your degree 428
3 College offers excellent teaching 195
4 The courses on offer have achievable leaving cert points for me 185
5 A course that includes work placements or internships 173
6 Have a range of high quality teaching and study facilities 156
7 Offers the opportunity to study abroad as part of my degree 138
8 Offers modern sports facilities where I can improve my sporting ability 108
9
The ability to tailor my degree by choosing from a range of modules of study that are of
interest to me
106
10 Offers sports scholarships 96

10. What do our students want?
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Ran
k Factors that impact on selection of third level institution
Index
11
Offers the opportunity to study a range of subjects in first year before deciding on my
degree
91
12 Offers degree programmes with a mix of subjects that I can tailor to my interests 80
13 College emphasises practical work over theory 77
14
The opportunity to take modules in specific skills that employers value as part of my
degree
77
15 Plentiful supply of student accommodation on campus and near the university 74
16 Offers the possibility to concentrate wholly on my degree subject right from the start 62
17 College is accessible by public transport 59
18 Degree allows you to combine widely different areas, e.g. Sciences and Arts subjects 58
19 Offers support and assistance for first year students 57
20 Offers a wide range of clubs and societies 55

11. What do our students want?
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Ran
k Factors that impact on selection of third level institution
Index
21 College has an excellent reputation for research 40
22 Course has the highest points for the area I want to study 33
23 College offers small group teaching 32
24 Offers the ability to study a foreign language as part of my degree 31
25 Going to the same college as my friends 31
26 College has the highest points for the course I want to study 29
27 Taking a course that students/former students of the college recommend 27
28 College emphasises theory over practical work 26
29 Taking a course that my guidance counsellor recommends 18
30 Going to a college that my parents/family recommend 15

12. The ‘points race’
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13. The ‘points race’ and its impact
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100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
B1
B2
B3
C1
C2
C3
D1
D2
D3
E
F
NG
A2
A1
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
90
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
350 400 450 500 550 600
Numberofacceptances
Minimum points for entry
Law: points vs places available

14. The negative effects of the current system
• Every mark matters
– learning from marking scheme
• Strategic choice of subject and level
– workload and difficulty – return on investment
– matriculation requirements
• Points equated with prestige and quality
– and are not to be wasted
• Proliferation of separate entry routes
• Poor transition to third level learning
– prior learning, learning behaviours, course choice
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15. 2017 reforms
• Problematic predictability in LCE
• Wider grade bands in LCE
– with new common points scale
• Fewer, broader entry routes to university
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16. We need major reform of senior cycle
assessment
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• Senior cycle assessment
– greater diversity
– assessing higher-order
and general intellectual
skills
– general papers?

17. The Maynooth Curriculum
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18. The Maynooth Curriculum
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• Broad entry routes
• New first year
– 2, 3 or 4 subjects
– emphasis on critical intellectual skills
• Flexibility, breadth, choice
– Major-minor combinations
– Electives
– Arts and science combinations
– Language with any degree
• Experiential learning

19. Broad entry routes
• 20-25 entry routes for 2017
• Arts, Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Business, Law ...
• Immediate or progressive specialisation
• Clear pathways
– the same opportunities for students but without the
problems of narrow denominated entry
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20. First year
• Immediate or progressive specialisation
– 2, 3 or 4 subjects in first year
• Focus on small group teaching for engagement
and intellectual skills
– support transition to higher education
– student engagement and responsibility
– focus on fundamental intellectual skills
• how the subject is taught, specific additional ‘critical skills’ modules
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21. Flexibility, breadth and choice
• Major-minor combinations in two-subject degrees
• Elective options in second year
– Breadth (Law and Society, Great Books, Fundamentals of
Number and Logic, Film and Screen Studies)
– Skills (Entrepreneurship)
– Grand challenges (Climate change, Inequality)
– Languages
• Language with any degree*
• Arts and Sciences two-subject degrees*
*from 2017 entry
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22. Experiential learning
• Structured ‘real-world’ experiences to reinforce
intellectual skills and build working skills
– work placement
– service learning and volunteering
– international
– undergraduate research
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23. Our ambition ...
• The most comprehensive and far-reaching
curriculum development at university level ever
seen in Ireland
• Maynooth University an outstanding place to
learn ... for all our students
• Leadership in the sector
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24. The opportunity
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25. The opportunity
• A shift from teaching to supporting learning and
engagement
• The engagement of a wider range of
approaches, resources and people
• The need for strategic communication
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26. Ceisteanna | Questions
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